Visiting Pompeii - Need itinerary help...
Jun 3rd, 2013, 06:14 PM
#1
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Visiting Pompeii - Need itinerary help...
My 12 & 13 year old kids and I will be visiting Rome for 4 nights in July. My daughter wants to visit Pompeii so I'm working that into the schedule. I have two options that I'd like advice on. Should we do Pompeii as a day trip during our stay in Rome? Or should we leave Austria 1-2 days early and spend a couple of nights further south? If option 2, where would you recommend staying? We will be coming from Innsbruck.
Jun 3rd, 2013, 06:21 PM
#2
Pompeii will be horrendously hot in July. If you make it through 4-5 hours, you will have seen enough.
So, I think a day trip from Rome will work although it may be a long, hot day.
What's the rest of your trip look like? It may alter people's opinions.
So, I think a day trip from Rome will work although it may be a long, hot day.
What's the rest of your trip look like? It may alter people's opinions.
Jun 3rd, 2013, 06:23 PM
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This is just one leg of a 3 week trip. Here is an itinerary summary for the rest of the trip
June 27th Arrive Paris
4 nights Paris
July 1 Night train to Munich, then train to Innsbruck
Option #1
July 8th travel Innsbruck to Rome
4 nights Rome (including 1 day trip to Pompeii)
Option #2
July 6th travel Innsbruck to Naples, etc (would I need to leave on July 5th to make sense?)
2 nights in area (visit Pompeii and see coastline)
July 8th travel to Rome
4 nights in Rome
July 12 travel Rome to Venice
2 nights in Venice
July 14th travel Venice to Innsbruck
3 Nights Innsbruck
July 17th travel back to US
If we chose option 2 it would limit time we could travel through Austria. Which is better, Vienna, Salzburg, or Amalfi Coast area?
June 27th Arrive Paris
4 nights Paris
July 1 Night train to Munich, then train to Innsbruck
Option #1
July 8th travel Innsbruck to Rome
4 nights Rome (including 1 day trip to Pompeii)
Option #2
July 6th travel Innsbruck to Naples, etc (would I need to leave on July 5th to make sense?)
2 nights in area (visit Pompeii and see coastline)
July 8th travel to Rome
4 nights in Rome
July 12 travel Rome to Venice
2 nights in Venice
July 14th travel Venice to Innsbruck
3 Nights Innsbruck
July 17th travel back to US
If we chose option 2 it would limit time we could travel through Austria. Which is better, Vienna, Salzburg, or Amalfi Coast area?
Jun 3rd, 2013, 06:44 PM
#4
Is there a reason why you will be in Innsbruck twice during your trip? It doesn't seem like the best use of time.
Both regions of Austria and Italy are very much worth exploring.
I wouldn't base in Innsbruck while in Austria however. Salzburg would be a better base for Austria. Innsbruck can be seen in a day and Hall in Tyrol in a few hours.
To make things more confusing, you may also want to look at Hallstatt and St. Wolfgang/St. Gilgen in Austria!
Not going to spend anytime in Munich? Just going to pass through on the train? Have you been there before?
Both regions of Austria and Italy are very much worth exploring.
I wouldn't base in Innsbruck while in Austria however. Salzburg would be a better base for Austria. Innsbruck can be seen in a day and Hall in Tyrol in a few hours.
To make things more confusing, you may also want to look at Hallstatt and St. Wolfgang/St. Gilgen in Austria!
Not going to spend anytime in Munich? Just going to pass through on the train? Have you been there before?
Jun 3rd, 2013, 06:55 PM
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My Mom's family is in Innsbruck and she will be travelling from the states with us. She will visit Paris with us, but will spend rest of trip with family in Innsbruck area. That is the main reason we will be there twice, once to drop her off, then to join her again before travelling back to states.
We could spend some time in Munich but will have all of our luggage with us and my Mom will be anxious to get to Innsbruck so no overnight stay.
We could spend some time in Munich but will have all of our luggage with us and my Mom will be anxious to get to Innsbruck so no overnight stay.
Jun 3rd, 2013, 07:14 PM
#6
OK, understand it now.
I guess I'd leave Innsbruck a couple of days early and head to the AC. You're daughter will get to see Pompeii and you all can see the coast although I'm not too sure how much fun the kids will have along the AC. Beaches are stoney, not sand.
But, saying that, I think they'd enjoy Salzburg more.. Fortress, Sound of Music stuff, trick fountains at Hellbrunn, etc. Steam train in St. Wolfgang, luge runs and cable car rides around the area. Seems to be more kid-friendly than the AC.
Being July, you'll want a hotel with a pool.
I guess I'd leave Innsbruck a couple of days early and head to the AC. You're daughter will get to see Pompeii and you all can see the coast although I'm not too sure how much fun the kids will have along the AC. Beaches are stoney, not sand.
But, saying that, I think they'd enjoy Salzburg more.. Fortress, Sound of Music stuff, trick fountains at Hellbrunn, etc. Steam train in St. Wolfgang, luge runs and cable car rides around the area. Seems to be more kid-friendly than the AC.
Being July, you'll want a hotel with a pool.
Jun 3rd, 2013, 08:11 PM
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In answer to your first question, we did it in 2011 as a driving day trip from Rome and yes it is do able but makes for a very long day with the single focus being Pompeii. We left Rome about 8am drove about 2.5 or 3 hrs, 4 hrs in Pompeii then back, returning about 6pm. Leaving Rome was quick and easy as the heavy traffic was inbound.
It was late June and a little warm but not by any means unbearable. July may be different.
It was late June and a little warm but not by any means unbearable. July may be different.
Jun 4th, 2013, 10:22 AM
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eureka_16
In June, 2012, my husband and I visited Italy with our daughter and 15 year old granddaughter.
One if the things that made the trip very special was having a private tour guide for Pompeii and Naples. The cost was very reasonable and well worth every euro.
I would highly recommend a private guide. Our guide was Carmine Afeltra ([email protected]).
A previous trip to Pompeii without a guide and using a guide book, we found to be inadequate. After we had a private tour we realized what we missed on our own. With Carmine we had the opportunity to see areas not in the guide book. The ability to go ahead of long lines gave us valuable time to see more sites.
Carmine's knowledge of the sites was extensive and his easy going manner and upbeat tone had a way of making the history and the sites come alive.
By the end of the day, we all felt as if Carmine was one of our family.
Grazie Mille, for an absolutely wonderful experience Carmine!
Have a wonderful and safe trip,
atmrjy
In June, 2012, my husband and I visited Italy with our daughter and 15 year old granddaughter.
One if the things that made the trip very special was having a private tour guide for Pompeii and Naples. The cost was very reasonable and well worth every euro.
I would highly recommend a private guide. Our guide was Carmine Afeltra ([email protected]).
A previous trip to Pompeii without a guide and using a guide book, we found to be inadequate. After we had a private tour we realized what we missed on our own. With Carmine we had the opportunity to see areas not in the guide book. The ability to go ahead of long lines gave us valuable time to see more sites.
Carmine's knowledge of the sites was extensive and his easy going manner and upbeat tone had a way of making the history and the sites come alive.
By the end of the day, we all felt as if Carmine was one of our family.
Grazie Mille, for an absolutely wonderful experience Carmine!
Have a wonderful and safe trip,
atmrjy
Jun 4th, 2013, 10:45 AM
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I second atmrjy's advise: I'd take a day trip from Rome with a private guide, if it's within your budget. Pompeii is not all that close to the Amalfi Coast and it's not all that attractive for children. We've done it both ways, and a day trip from Rome is doable--a long day, but doable.
Also second joannyc's thought that Austria will be a better choice at that time of year and for your children than the AC. Although I love Italy and the Bay of Naples, if it were my trip, I'd spend the time in Austria. Austria is probably the most civilized country we've ever been to.
Also second joannyc's thought that Austria will be a better choice at that time of year and for your children than the AC. Although I love Italy and the Bay of Naples, if it were my trip, I'd spend the time in Austria. Austria is probably the most civilized country we've ever been to.
Jun 8th, 2013, 04:33 AM
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OK, so I've decided to skip the AC and just focus on Pompeii. Looking for advice on that decision. I've decided I want to have a private tour in Pompeii. I think it would make it the most memorable. Should I book a tour from Rome or take the trains to Pompeii and book a local tour? Recommendations of tour companies for either option?
Jun 10th, 2013, 10:28 AM
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Ours was a day trip from Rome, which also saw parts of Naples--enough to make us want to go back.
That had the advantages of transportation to and from Pompeii and Naples without changes and knowing the guide. It had the big disadvantage to not spending enough time at Pompeii and spending too much time at the "World Famous Cameo Shop." For you all, it might also have the advantage of having a few other teenagers along for the ride.
Getting a guide at the entrance to Pompeii has the advantage that it will probably be cheaper--three round trips to Naples and three to Pompeii on the Circumvesuviano. Also, you will be able to interview a guide before hiring him or her to make sure he or she speaks adequate English. You will probably get a longer tour of Pompeii itself if you take this alternative. Also, depending on how earlier you can get the young ones up and about, this may also have the advantage of arriving at Pompeii earlier in the morning so that you can hire a good guide and see something of Pompeii before it gets too hot. Another advantage this may have, depending on your level of interest in Roman ruins, is that you may find at a certain point that you've seen enough of Pompeii (or that it's gotten too hot to see more), so you can go back to Naples for lunch and then to the National Archaeological Museum, which contains the artifacts dug up at Pompeii and Herculaneum--a good complement to a tour of Pompeii proper.
That had the advantages of transportation to and from Pompeii and Naples without changes and knowing the guide. It had the big disadvantage to not spending enough time at Pompeii and spending too much time at the "World Famous Cameo Shop." For you all, it might also have the advantage of having a few other teenagers along for the ride.
Getting a guide at the entrance to Pompeii has the advantage that it will probably be cheaper--three round trips to Naples and three to Pompeii on the Circumvesuviano. Also, you will be able to interview a guide before hiring him or her to make sure he or she speaks adequate English. You will probably get a longer tour of Pompeii itself if you take this alternative. Also, depending on how earlier you can get the young ones up and about, this may also have the advantage of arriving at Pompeii earlier in the morning so that you can hire a good guide and see something of Pompeii before it gets too hot. Another advantage this may have, depending on your level of interest in Roman ruins, is that you may find at a certain point that you've seen enough of Pompeii (or that it's gotten too hot to see more), so you can go back to Naples for lunch and then to the National Archaeological Museum, which contains the artifacts dug up at Pompeii and Herculaneum--a good complement to a tour of Pompeii proper.
