Bill

In May, 2002 we are going to Italy and will be staying in Rome. We want to take two day trips, one to Pisa and one to Pompeii. We are looking for suggestions as to the best way to get there and back...train, bus, tour group,etc. If anyone has specific tour groups in mind we would love any information you have as we have not been able to find anything on the web. <BR><BR>Thank you

Kay

I used a day tour recommended by my hotel and hated it! You might try American Express. My daughter took some of their day tours in Rome and enjoyed them but said they were rather too ambitious for one day. They do not put you in transport with the AX name on it! If budget isn't a problem, your hotel could probably recommend a driver. When I was in the area in 2000 (I am going back to Italy May 2002 also) my driver charged $35/hr. and took us anywhere we wanted to go, waited for us to see Pompeii, shopping in Sorrento, etc. He doesn't work out of Rome or I would recommend him. The ES trains are always a good option although I haven't taken one to Pompeii, only Rome to Naples. Enjoy your trip.

Walter

Bill: I see you also asked for the "best way to get there and back". I would do these 2 daytrips on my own. For Pompeii go to http://twenj.com/ click-on "Rome" and on the sidebar "Pompeii". There is one minor mistake the directions at Naples to the Circumvesuviana Station should be the *Centrale* and not the *Garibaldi* train station. Actually the same station just at different levels. For Pisa there are other trains but these seem the best IMO. Take the *direct* Eurostar at 7:07am arrive 10:52. Pisa is small, the train station is at one end and the Tower at the other. It's ~25min walk or taxi or bus (No 1 I believe). For the return there are 2 *direct* InterCity trains 4:34pm-7:57 & 5:34-8:57 and a *direct* Eurostar at 6:31-9:27. These times at this year's schedule, they don't change much but double-check in 2002. A bus tour of Pompeii usually only gives you ~2hrs at the site, for a 13-14hr day. On your own you could do 4hrs in Pompeii and 2hrs in Herculaneum or all day at Pompeii in the same amount of time or less. HTH Regards, Walter

elaine

Bill<BR>Some people like the convenience of the bus tours, but I investigated many of them before my recent trip to Rome, and almost every group tour of Pompeii allows usually two, and at most three hours at the Pompeii Scavi site.<BR>Most of them include a drive through Naples (no stops) and/or a stop in Sorrento, and some also include a shopping stop at a cameo factory.<BR>If you go on your own, you can work in a stop at the Naples Archeological Musuem if you like, where most of the artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum now lie.

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Bill, The Appian Line is a good tour bus company that has many options. You can get their brochure at any travel agent in Rome. They have an all day venture to Pompeii/Sorrento and others to places like Tivoli and Orvieto. I would forget Pisa--too far and not as good as some of the closer choices.

cheryl

Hey Bob - Does that company have a website? I'm interested too and would<BR>like to see what they have before I get<BR>there.

Kay

The museum in Naples is a must see! All the best preserved artifacts are there.

Steve James

Hello Cheryl,<BR><BR>www.appianline.it/panorama.htm<BR><BR>There are several other companies offering similar tours.<BR><BR>Hope this helps ...<BR><BR>Steve

run

Hi Bill,<BR>We met last year a young operator who is well introduced in many italian areas.<BR>We were 20 friends and catherina ([email protected]) organized four days for us in Rome and Naples.<BR>GOOD LUCK

Frank

Bill: Check out Carrani Tours for a Pompeii day trip, we took it and enjoyed it very much. Long day but door to door transport, lunch, rest stops in each direction, and an opportunity to see both Naples and Sorrento.

Patty

We took a day trip "American Express" tour from Rome to Florence because my travel agent had recommended them. An American Express bus picked us up at the hotel and then we were driven to a parking lot and waited for an entire host of other bus companies to arrive. They gathered all the people together on one bus and took us to Florence. Don't think just because you book on Appian or American Express that that is who will be touring you. It was an ok tour except obviously it wasn't long in Florence and they seemed to want us to shop rather than tour the museums. Every store we went into asked which tour we were with - they obviously get a cut - and when we said we came in on our own, they were very skeptical. <BR><BR>Dinner was included on the way back and it was lovely, except they set just enough places for the members on the bus. My husband, 14 year old son and myself had to sit at three different tables to fill in the seats. They wouldn't hear of letting us sit together even though the restaurant was empty.<BR><BR>As before you go.

Don

I agree with Elaine. We took a day tour to Pompeii with Green Line Tours and thought it was poor. We were actually in Pompeii for about 2 hours. We also stopped at the cameo factory, which turned out to be a big waste of time.