How do we make the best of a day trip to Pompeii from Positano? Transportation options/cost? Is one day of the week better than others? Will be in Positano for nine days in April. Should we do a separate day trip to Naples? As its our honeymoon, we are not interested in busy site seeing. Although, we are excited to leisurely explore the various towns along the Amalfi Coast. Relaxation is key. Stay away from Naples, you say? Perhaps. Do want to see Pompeii, though. Any thoughts on that day trip?

If you are relaxing you don't want to do both Naples and Pompeii from Positano in a day!<BR>In my view you need a whole day at Pompeii if you are really interested in it rather than just ticking it off a list of 'been there's. It is a vast site.<BR>Naples can be a relaxing day out on its own if you just stroll around eating ice cream and soaking in the atmos, perhaps spend an hour or two at the National Archaeological Museum. My advice is do both but on separate days at either end of your hols. <BR>Congratulations and enjoy your honeymoon!<BR>Ian

Hi Idby,<BR> An interesting alternative to Pompeii is Paestum - easily reached by train from Salerno. <BR> See http://www.initaly.com/regions/campania/paestum.htm

Take the day for Pompeii, bring a small picnic lunch w/wine and find a grassy, shaded, secluded spot around the Amphitheatre area. There is also a tourist restaurant on the site. <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;Hire a guide for a couple of hrs and/or rent the audioguide tour. Also definitely exit the site at the Villa del Misteri (Villa of Mysteries), only a 600M walk back to the train. <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;Naples, IMO isn't a very romantic city, you might want to give it a pass. Regards, Walter<BR>

assuming you have an auto, drive to termini (before sorrento coming from positano) where there is ample parking and take the train to pompeii. <BR><BR>i agree that pompeii demands a full day. it is also helpful to have a map of the dite which points out attractions.<BR><BR>however, i vehemently disagree about napoli which, while as vibrant as rome or milan, has a unique character all its own. i absolutely love the neopolitan atmoshere with its easy going lack of pretension and fun loving and animated residents.<BR><BR>i don't go to naples for the monuments (aqltho they certainly have those. i go for the people.

I definately vote for a full day in Pompeii and a separate day in Napoli. In Pompeii, hire a private guide (inside the gates) for 2 hours (95euros) then stay for a couple or three more hours on you own to wander and ponder.<BR><BR>Napoli is so wonderful and most sights can be taken in by just a casual stroll one day. The two waterfront castles are beautiful. Just wandering along the waterfront, eating gelato, and gazing at the sights would be very romantic. If you venture into the historic district you can walk, talk and really take in a vibrant side of Italy. (might want to check out the Naples walk described in detail in Rick Steves book).<BR><BR>We did not get any farther south than Sorrento but I know the blue SITA buses run regularly from Sorrento to all the towns down the Amalfi Coast. If you don't have a car (and I wouldn't want to in Napoli) just take the SITA bus to Sorrento and then the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii one day. Repeat to go to Napoli. Train from Sorrento to Napoli is about 70 min. It will let you off dead center of the historical district Naples and from here is only about 5 blocks to waterfront. <BR><BR>Have a wonderful honeymoon.<BR><BR>Congratulations,<BR>AprilA<BR>li [email protected]

Thank you all. So very helpful.

You definitely need the whole day for Pompeii if coming up from Positano (bus to Sorrento the Circumvesuviana train). Try to get to Herculaneum too on another day. A great tip I got from here for Pompeii was to go into the bookshop at the entrance and get a book which contains transparencies you can hold up over the buildings which show in colour what they would originally have looked like. We had to dig around to find this but it made a huge difference to our appreciation of the place (it's hardback, white spine, called 'Pompeii - Monuments Past and Present'). Also get the people at the entrance to give you a map and mark on it where the body casts are, or you will miss most of them. You may well get more from hiring a guide, but we really enjoyed being on our own, taking our time, reading guidebooks as we went around and soaking up the atmosphere at our own pace. NB. There aren't many toilets - kind of had to 'improvise...' as I'm sure many of the original inhabitants did! IMHO if you want to relax, I'd stay away from Naples - plenty to keep you entertained more quietly nearer Positano. Make sure you eat at Buca di Bacco beach restaurant there and maybe for a big treat Le Sirenuse, gorgeous hotel and restaurant (or maybe you're staying there, as it's your honeymoon). You'll love Positano.

Hello,<BR><BR>Pompeii is a full day adventure. If you want to reduce that day an alternative that is parallel, but compact and doable in several hours is Ercolano. <BR><BR>Whether choosing Ercolano or Pompeii a visit to the musuem in Naples is worth the time as that is where many of the artifacts are displayed from both sites.<BR><BR>If you get bored with the Amalfi Coast you may want to consider a day or two in Paestum. The Best Western - yes that is not a typo - is super hotel with a private swimming beach perfect for a honeymoon experience. Rooms, food, service are all first rate.<BR><BR>I can't believe I just typed that - I rarely recommend hotels or restaurants - but it just popped into my thoughts.<BR><BR>Have a great honeymoon.

We had a car, and so drove to Pompeii from the Amalfi Coast. The drive over the mountains and back again was really neat. At the entrance there are guides who put together groups of 10 or so. They are personable, give a great tour, and I don't think it cost more than $15 per person when we were there in 2000. It will truly enhance your visit. The parking was free if you ate lunch at the restaurant under the trees next to the parking lot. We had pizza and beer after we'd seen our fill of Pompeii. It wasn't great, but it felt good to sit down and relax before the drive back.

Idby - Don't take the bus as far as Sorrento. It's better to get off instead at META (20 mins before Sorrento) from where you can catch the Circumvesuviana to Pompei. This can save you 30 mins.<BR><BR>The Circumvesuviana station is a short walk (3 mins) downhill from the bus stop in Meta.<BR><BR>Combined round-trip bus/Circumv. fare is approx EURO 5.80.<BR><BR>Steve

It is a bit far from Positano to Pompeii/Naples for a relaxing daytrip. You might want to consider going there before Positano. We did our visiting of Naples/Pompeii using Sorrento as a base. We took the hydrofoil to Naples in the morning and then the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii (and the reverse to get home). I who would recommend Naples to visit - especially if you are going to Pompeii. The Museo Arceologico (sp?) in Naples is fantastic and has most of the best frescoes and mosaics from Pompeii, so you need to see them. The old city is really colorful and you definitely feel like you are no longer in Northern Europe! It's not the same kind of relaxing as hanging out at a beach or pool reading a book, but it is relaxing nonetheless.<BR><BR>As for Pompeii, we got a guide at the entrance to Pompeii (don't remember how much it was, but not much - we hooked up with another couple and shared the cost between four) and it was well worth it. Pompeii is (was) a much bigger city than one would think before visiting. I also recommend the transparency books! Enjoy your trip and congratulations.