sasha_g

Hi,
Want to know if visiting mt. vesuvius (as in climbing all the way to the top) and pompeii is doable as a single day trip from Naples.
Any clue??

bellastarr

Yes, of course it is. There are plenty of tours that go up there, and buses too. Or you can hike it.
You mention Pompeii too. I don't advise trying to do both on the same day.

sasha_g

oky..so u r saying i should schedule one day for pompeii and one day for vesuvius (2 separate day outs) and not a morning - afternoon trip.
is it necessary to take a guided tour to vesuvius? cant i do it on my own??

Giovanna

I don't think Bellastarr meant Vesuvius was a problem, but rather you wouldn't be allowing enough time to do Pompeii justice if you tried to do both the same day.

I can't help with suggestions for Vesuvius as we've never been there. When we went to Herculaneum (Ercolano)when we got off the Circumvesuviana there were drivers in the station asking if we wanted to go to Vesuvius.

Steve_James

Hi Sasha - I don't think doing both in one day is any problem.

For most people an hour or two on Vesuvius is plenty - which leaves you half a day for Pompeii.

The Vesuvius bus goes up to 1000m - from where you can walk. Plan it around the bus timetable ...

Hope this helps ...

Steve

bellastarr

What I meant was that of course they are both doable in a single day, but I have found that to enjoy Pompeii, you would want to allow for several hours therre, not counting travel time (even if you don't use up all that time, you may want to spend more than 2 hours.
Depending on the time of year, it may be hot, which can tire you out.
So if you are climbing Vesuvius to the top (as you mentioned) as well, I think it would be more enjoyable of you didn't to do both on the same day.
If you only have a day- I would follow what Steve James said about the buses part of the way up Vesuvius.
If it were me, I would divide up the trips and opt for long, incredible lunches before or after! (But I've been there several times)

MacPrague

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traveller1959

bellastarr is absolutely right.

Pompeii means lots of walking over rugged terrain - in sum, 4 or 5 km (2 or 3 miles). You will be exhausted afterwards.

Going up on Vesuvius is a different story. You drive up pretty far and then it is a rather short stroll up to the crater (there are even vehicles to carry you up - for considerable charge, of course). You will not spend more than an hour at the crater (not so much to do there - you just look down into the pit and that's it). BTW, Vesuvius is a rather small volcano.

sandi_travelnut

We took a tour through Pompeii for several hours, had lunch then boarded the bus to Vesuvius. The bus took us halway up to the parking lot then we walked the rest of the way. We were finished around 6pm having started at 8am. If you go on Vesuvuis, be prepared for a drastic temperature change as you climb. It will get extremely cold and windy.

Steve_James

The bus fare is approx € 8.50 return - no need to hire a taxi.

Steve

stargirl66

I'm looking for info on exactly this topic and finding good info. here! I'd like to know more about the bus to Mt. Vesuvius. Where does it depart from and how often does it run? We're staying in Sorrento and was planning on taking the train to Pompeii. I'm hoping the bus departs from that area. How far/difficult is the walk to the crater from where the bus arrives?

sandi_travelnut

We took a bus from "golden tours" that our hotel helped us book. There was a flyer at the hotel and we decided at the very last minute to book it so we didn't have to drive.

basingstoke2

The path up Vesuvius can get pretty steep in places but it is a nice hike. Rent the walking stick for 1 euro from the old man who is usually at the entrance. It is well worth it. When you get nearly to the top, you have to buy a ticket for the remainder of the climb to the actual crater. I agree with bellastarr about combining Vesuvius with Pompeii in one day if you want to give Pompeii the time it deserves. I would however, combine Vesuvius with Herculaneum which is more do-able. Herculaneum is far more compact than Pompeii and its fine state of preservation calls for a visit.

aussiefive

We did do Vesuvius and Pompeii in on day. We bought combined entrance and transpot tickets at the train station in Sorrento. This ticket booth was actually outside the train station. We received all our train tickets for the day (Sorrento to Popmpeii and return) and the Mt Vesuvius return bus ticket plus entrance tickets to Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius crater. When we arrived in Pompeii we only had a little over 2 hours before we needed to catch the bus for Vesuvius. We took a 2 hour guided tour of Pompeii. This was good and enough for my teenagers. However I would have liked a little more time there. We could have had more time though if we left earlier in the day - the last bus to Vesuvius was at 1.30pm as this was in winter. The bus leaves from a stop 50m down the hill from Pompeii (near the parking lots). The bus took us to the crater and included a rather unusual stop at the "gatekeeper of Vesuvius" home and souvenir shop. The bus finally gets to the Vesuvius ctrater where you have to walk up. The path is a little steep but not too hard and not scary. Our return bus left at about 4.15pm. This gave us about 2 hours at Mt Vesuvius which is more than enough time to spend there. There is not much besides a crater, a view and about 10 sourvenir shops. The bus then took us back to Pompeii train station. My family are all glad we did this The kids in particular enjoyed it. Now that I can say I have "done" Mt Vesuvius I really never need to go there again. I will definitely go back to Pompeii though.

sglass

You don't say how long you will be in Naples. If you only have one day, you found out it is physically possible to pull off going to both IF you leave early and don't stay for more than a couple hours at Pompeii. Nobody has mentioned the museum yet, though, in Naples, where almost all of the plaster casts, etc. now are. I would ask if you want to be able to say that you went there, "did that", or that you truly experienced them? (I don't mean this in a judgemental way- we all travel for different reasons, all equally valid ones!) But, if the latter, then I would definitely suggest splitting it between two days-the Vesuvius hike first and then the museum when the day warms up (when is your trip?) Then the next day you could leisurely explore Pompeii and have the context for what happened there. For me one of the highlights of our trip was stopping at one of the ruined houses and seeing Vesuvius framed by the window...

greene

Does anyone have information on whether Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius are "doable" from Rome? I know that if we leave early, we can catch an approx. 90 min train from Rome to Naples and then a comuter train from Naples to Pompeii. But I am guessing that I will not be able to see the museum in Naples and also Pompeii. Should I skip Mt. Vesuvuis and spend all my time in Pompeii? Does anyone know of any good tours from Rome to Pompeii?

Steve_James

Hi Greene - Pompeii and Vesuvius are certainly doable from Rome.

If you want to include the museum too it would be more rushed. You would need to make an early start - and be there at opening time.

It really depends how long you want to spend in each place. Personally I'd probably skip Vesuvius and just do Pompeii and the museum.


As regards tours, there are several companies which run bus tours from Rome to Pompeii - Vastours, Appianline, Carrani, Greenline ...

VASTOURS (Tour 13)
http://www.romeguide.it/vastours/

CARRANI (Tour 13)
http://www.carrani.com/gb/viaggi/tour13.htm

APPIAN (Tour 14)
http://www.appianline.it/italy2004/fuldayro.htm

GREENLINE (Tour15)
http://www.romeguide.it/greenline/greenline_eng.htm


A common problem with these tours is that for most people they don't allow enough time at Pompeii - usually only about 2 hours.

They usually include a cameo factory visit and lunch en route - and you don't get to Pompeii till after lunch.
Some also include a short 30 mins. stop in Sorrento before returning to Rome.

It's all a bit rushed IMO - and not cheap; most charge approx. €100

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Alternatively you can do it rather more cheaply by public transport.

TRAIN

- If you go by TRAIN, with an early start you can be at Pompeii by opening time or soon after.

Take the train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale, then the Circumvesuviana train to POMPEII SCAVI.

For timetables see:
www.trenitalia.it (Rome-Naples trains)
www.massalubrense.it/circum.htm (Circumvesuviana)

[You could include Sorrento too - it's only 30 mins by train from Pompei].

BUS

- There are SHUTTLE BUSES from Rome in high season run by MAROZZI (approx. €29) and by ENJOY ROME (€45-55).

www.marozzivt.it/HomePage.htm
www.enjoyrome.com/shuttle_tour/pompeii.html

The MAROZZI Rome-Pompei-Sorrento shuttle service runs in summer, leaving Rome at 07.00(- deps. from outside Tiburtina station), arriving Pompei about 10.00.

The return Marozzi bus leaves Sorrento approx. 18.00 and Pompei approx. 18.45, arriving Rome about 21.30.

The ENJOY ROME Pompei shuttle returns to Rome earlier - for details see the above link.

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Hope this helps ...

Steve

greene

Steve,

This is all extremely helpful. Thanks!