I really feel like most individuals who go to southern Italy entertain a Pompeii day journey sooner or later. Shockingly, I’ve met many who fail to really take it (often as a result of they’re overwhelmed with the town heart of Naples).
In the present day’s publish, due to this fact, will clarify all of the methods to combine Pompeii into your journey—should you miss one, you’ll be able to strive one other. I’ll additionally focus on variations and similarities between Pompeii and Ercolano (aka Herculaneum), one other metropolis destroyed in the course of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
Whether or not you intend to go to Italy quickly or someday within the considerably distant future, I hope my recommendation will get you pumped in your journey to Pompeii.
Find out how to Attain Pompeii from Naples
The commonest Pompeii day journey sees you touring from Naples to Pompeii and again in a single day. Right here’s the place the confusion begins. Though it’s a must to enter a particular space of Napoli Centrale practice station and board a practice generally known as the “Circumvesuviana,” the car you enter is neither branded nor significantly good. It’s simply an abnormal second-class Italian practice automobile.
Which is ok: The journey from Naples to Pompeii is lower than an hour, relying on which practice you’re taking. Right here’s one other tip, to that finish. Attempt to take one of many categorical providers between Naples and Sorrento, which is able to get you to Pompeii with out stopping at each single station. These will likely be denoted as such on the departure board simply outdoors the Circumvesuviana ticket gates.
Methods to Go to Pompeii
Take a day journey from Naples
The simplest approach to go to Pompeii is to do as I described within the part above: As a self-contained day journey from Naples. Observe that should you observe this plan, it’s doable to nest in a cease in Ercolano (whose deserves I am going into later on this article) both in your approach to or again from Pompeii.
Be a part of a gaggle tour
An much more senseless approach to get pleasure from Pompeii day journey is to not go independently in any respect. Whether or not you e book a Skip-the-Line Pompeii Tour from Walks of Italy, select a unique tour firm or avail one of many supply your resort is providing, a tempting approach to beat the tour teams that crowd Pompeii is to affix them.
Cease on the way in which again from Amalfi
The dangerous information? Except you allow the Amalfi Coast extraordinarily early within the morning, your journey (by way of Sorrento) again to Naples will likely be a hellish nightmare. The excellent news? When you do depart very first thing within the morning, it’s straightforward to cease at Pompeii (and doubtlessly Ercolano) in your means again to the town.
Spend an evening in Pompeii
Who says it’s good to restrict your Pompeii day journey to only a day? Whereas not one of the lodges or Airbnbs within the neighborhood of Pompeii are a lot to jot down house about, there’s one thing to be stated about having fun with the final ambiance with out having to hurry by it.
Go to from farther afield
As a result of Naples is linked by high-speed practice to many different locations in Italy, it’s doable to take a day journey from different cities in Italy to Pompeii. Whereas Rome (which is round an hour from Naples by way of HSR) is the obvious alternative, it’s additionally technically doable to take a Pompeii day journey from Milan, Florence or Venice.
Pompeii vs Ercolano
Though I’ve taken greater than half a dozen journeys to Italy, my 2021 go to was truly my first time in Pompeii itself. Beforehand, I solely go to Ercolano (Herculaneum), one other close by metropolis that additionally succumbed to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. I selected Ercolano on the advisement of Francesco, an Italian pal of mine who’s an architect and a historian.
So far as why he advisable Ercolano, fairly than a extra normal Pompeii day journey? “The homes in Ercolano have two tales,” he defined, including that they had been in typically higher situation than their counterparts in Pompeii. “Nicely, a minimum of most of them.” As we explored the ruins, he additionally remarked that Ercolano appeared barely much less crowded than Pompeii, though each (having now visited Pompeii) had been madhouses are far as I may inform.
Different FAQ About Visiting Pompeii from Naples
Are you able to do Pompeii in a day?
You may completely do Pompeii in a day! The easiest way to efficiently execute that is to depart Naples no later than 8:30 so that you could arrive in Pompeii by the point it opens at 9. Shopping for your ticket to Pompeii on-line may also provide help to save time. After having fun with Pompeii within the morning, you’ll be able to eat lunch at one of many eating places close to the practice station.
Is a day journey to Pompeii price it?
A day journey to Pompeii is totally price it, contemplating how straightforward it’s to succeed in Pompeii from Naples. Alternatively, should you plan to go to Pompeii from elsewhere in Italy, you might discover the time, cash and power you expend to be too nice for the joys of a day journey to Pompeii.
Are there day journeys from Rome to Pompeii?
Many organized excursions depart Rome for Pompeii, however it’s also possible to take the journey by yourself. To take action, journey a high-speed Italo or Frecciarossa practice from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale, then switch to the Circumvesuviana. Return to Rome the identical day, or keep in a single day in Naples.
The Backside Line
No matter how you’re taking it, a Pompeii day journey will likely be a spotlight of your journey to Italy. That is very true should you’re a 90s child like me, and attended college when renewed consideration appeared to be paid to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius practically two millennia in the past. No matter once you grew up, after all, it’s unimaginable to stroll alongside the cobbled streets of Pompeii (or close by Ercolano) and never really feel moved. Together with the Amalfi Coast, Capri and/or Ischia islands and Naples itself, Pompeii is likely one of the prime highlights of Italy’s deep south.
Robert Schrader is a journey author and photographer who’s been roaming the world independently since 2005, writing for publications comparable to “CNNGo” and “Shanghaiist” alongside the way in which. His weblog, Go away Your Each day Hell, supplies a mixture of journey recommendation, vacation spot guides and private essays protecting the extra esoteric facets of life as a traveler.
