VirtualRain

thanks sooo much for giving us your tour of Rome- we will b traveling in early Dec flying into venice and cruising ports back to the states on crown princess-20 days-your info has been great planning our trip- was wondering about the weather u encounted -thanks

 

Miriam Domash

When I was there in Oct. it had rained in the early morning hours but turned out to be a very nice day.

VirtualRain - thanks for sharing your tips and photos. The pictures are gorgeous!

Thanks. I'm going back to Rome in Oct. and will spend a couple of nights pre-cruise... so I'm hoping to get some nice evening shots of the many monuments to add to my collection :D

Ha!... it's awesome this thread has such legs! 8 Months and still going! :)

These wine packages sound good at first but when you look at the wine list... Not so much. Especially if they're not giving you credit for wines over the limit. You save only when the wine you choose is between the avg for the package $31/$32 for 5/7 bottles and the limit... $45 for Gold.

The problem with this is there are only a half dozen choices in that range, and many of them are closer to the bottom than the top. You will end up saving a few bucks here and there but you're limiting your selection unnecessarily.

If they offered a flat 25% discount on a commitment of five bottles or more, that would be a package worth considering.

As it is, I think you're better off bringing some wine on board and paying corkage and even buying the odd other bottle at full price instead of these overly restrictive packages.

VirtualRain...Thanks for the great info. We will be in Rome in June and may try your route. Can you give me an idea of about how many total miles of walking you did?

I can't guess at the actual number of miles we walked, but it's not as bad as it seems. Central Rome is fairly compact. Although, using the transit system strategically as we did late in the day when we were tired and our feet were sore was a good call.

Hi Virtualrain - great and helpful review!

 

I have a couple of specific questions for you since "doing Rome" for me includes getting the pictures I want. You have the same kit that I have (Cannon 7D, 17-55mm and 10-22mm).

 

Did you feel you needed a longer lens (i.e. should I bring my 70 - 300mm)?

 

Could you have gotten by without the 10-22 (i.e. go light w/ just one lens)?

 

I'm not looking for lens recomendations as those are covered to death elswhere, just some feedback from someone who did it on what focal lenghts were handy and/or must haves!

 

Thanks!

I found the 10-22 invaluable for capturing the grandeur of some of the interior locations... inside the coliseum, Pantheon, Vatican, and the basilica. The 17-55 covers the full range of outdoor shots. I couldn't imagine wanting to pack more, and frankly can't imagine a need for a longer lens anyway.

If you really wanted to go light, you could consider just taking the 10-22 and simply crop those shots in post where the field of view ends up being too wide for your desired composition. With a 7D you have 18MP to work with so cropping is not a bad option.

However, if you get a lens pouch for your belt that can hold both the 17-55 or 10-22 like I did, you can easily swap lenses when you go in/out of buildings and the added weight won't seem like a burden. In my view, the camera on a strap with a lens pouch on my belt is much more desirable than a camera bag.

Yes, we were able to walk almost everywhere, and a cab ride to the Vatican from the Spanish Steps was less than 10 euros. Don't waste your money on the Hoho.

I wouldn't spend money on taxi's either... your BIRG ticket entitles you to use of the Metro and there are stations conveniently located near the Vatican and Spanish Steps among many other places.

Thanks for all the fantastic information on your day in Rome. Can you help us decide what to do. We are visiting Rome in May on our own whilst on Liberty and then we are visiting Rome in July with our two girls aged 12 and 10 on Oceana. We would like to visit attractions/tourist spots that our kids will not be interested in during our visit in May and in July visit attractions with our girls. We do not want long days and feel taking the train would be our best option so we can please ourselves when we wish to return to the ship. In July I would imagine lines for things will be long and it will be very hot. Kids get bored easily so would like to tailor this visit around them. I know they would like to see the coliseum and the trevi fountain any other suggestions would be good. I thought they might enjoy the hop on hop off bus.

I can't really suggest what you vs. your girls may or may not be interested in. I would look at my itinerary and modify to suit your tastes either eliminating sights or adding them as you see fit or splitting the set into two different trips. However, most of the advice on getting into Rome, getting around Rome, and the order of taking in the sights should still be highly relevant even for a modified sight-seeing itinerary. And of course, there are good threads here in this forum loaded with other sights to see so I encourage you to check those out as well.

Wow, looking good there, VirtualRain!

 

Thanks for posting all this information.. you have inspired me that we can DIY, see much of what we want to see, and save a ton of cash. Map, photos, and description all tremendously helpful. Thanks again!

 

Becky

Thanks, but I should have been clear (or perhaps said nothing more) but the good looking dude in those photos is not me :)

Virtual - Did you have any problems bringing your camera anywhere? I am debating what camera and lenses to bring given the no bags rule in certain places, pickpockets etc.

No, I didn't have any problems.

When I'm in Joe Tourist mode, I like to travel light so this is what I used on this trip...

Sunsniper Pro Strap (with steel cable embedded in the strap)

When I need to take a second lens such as I did on this day, I use one of these that's attached to my belt...

All these photos are beautiful! What kind of camera did you use? Thanks for posting these!

Glad you like them! As mentioned above, it's a Canon 7D with either a 17-55 f2.8 EFS Zoom lens or my 10-22mm Ultra Wide Angle

Thanks to many for the kind words, it is indeed a bit of effort to post this kind of info, but I spent many more hours absorbing others info on here so it's the least I can do to give back to this great community.

I also dont expect this kinda DIY tour is for everyone and as others have said, easy to modify to your own liking.

I should point out that it's not as aggressive as it may sound. It certainly wasn't rushed. I would describe it as a fairly leisurely pace that allowed plenty of photos (and as you've noticed, I'm not a snap shot type), people watching, treats along the way (like gelato), shopping, and resting at times (side walk cafes). There was never a point where we wished we could linger a lot longer or felt pressed for time.

I can see from your EXIF data that you were using a Canon 7D :) I have the same camera. Which lens were you using? I need to get something more wide angled for my excursions. Fill me in if you get a chance.

 

Excellent review and photos.

Indeed... it is a Canon 7D and the lens that's on my camera most of the time is the Canon 17-55 f2.8 EFS IS lens. However, as you noted, in Rome, I also took along my Canon 10-22 ultra wide angle which came in handy for capturing many of the shots I posted.

The only thing I would quibble with in your write-up is suggesting going through the Vatican Museums in order to avoid the line for the basilica. The line at the basilica can be long but I've waited on it many times and it moves quickly; it would not be a time savings to go all the way through the museums just to avoid it.

Yeah, I only could guess at the length of time one would spend in the line for the Basilica... as you can see from my picture from the Cupola, it wrapped all the way around St. Peter's square. But I have to agree, if it moves quickly, and you otherwise have no interest in the museum, then my advice is off the mark.

Two points -

 

First of all, your topic header was wrong. You did not cover "all" of Rome in a day. You did not even cover a little bit of it. On one trip to Rome, my wife and I got on public transportation and spent half a day just riding around the city. We did it because she had a bad blister on her foot and could not walk but it was still a totally unplanned and enjoyable experience.

 

Second and more important, you were so busy trying to see "all" of Rome and keeping up with your schedule that you spent almost no time seeing anything in depth. By rushing about, you missed the essence of Rome.

 

Imagine trying to see all of New York City in a day. Well, you did the same thing in Rome.

 

I would prefer to pick one or 2 things that were of special interest to me (even if they were not #1 or #2 on the CC or TripAdvisor to-see list) and enjoying them instead of worrying if I was going to make it to the next site.

 

Just my opinion.

 

DON

Yeah, I certainly use the term "all of Rome" loosely, but it does cover most of the landmarks and sights that first time visitors to Rome would put on their to-do list. And of course, I agree that you don't see anything in depth, but that's almost the nature of cruising... visit a port each day and at best get a cursory experience to determine if it warrants going back to spend more time.

Rome is certainly one such city. We will be going back and will not go back when there are 5 ships and 15,000 tourists in town. That's the worst way to see Rome, really, whether you try to cover a lot of ground or just one or two things.

In fact, on a busy port day, I feel you're better off trying to see a lot of different things to get an overall feel and then come back when it's not so busy or in the off season to really explore what interests you most in more depth. For example, I'm not really a museum guy, but the Vatican Museum is amazing, yet when it's wall-to-wall people and you're being herded like cattle through there, it's no fun whether you choose to spend all day in there or just 1 hour. Frankly, on the day we were there, all we wanted to do was get out of there, and come back some other time when there were no crowds. But had we not experienced it briefly, we'd have no idea whether it was something we really wanted to explore further or not.

So I absolutely agree with you about wanting to see some thiings with more time, but this is a cruise forum where most people have a day to cover a lot of ground and not really a forum for how to spend a week in Rome - which is what would be required to do it right.

For the average cruiser, I suspect my advice and recommendations are probably very helpful... it was for me which is why I chose to share it in compiled form ;)

Inside St. Peter's Basilica...

Spanish Steps...

Trevi Fountain...

Tiber River and the Vatican City in the distance...

Supreme Court of Rome...

Gallery of Maps in the Vatican Museum...

Sistine Chapel...

View of St. Peter's Square and Central Rome from the Cupola...

(note the size of the line to get into the Basilica)

Inside the Basilica...

Pictures in order of the walking tour itinerary I posted above...

The forum from the vantage point I mentioned in the walking tour...

The monument to Victor Emmanuel II

The Pantheon...

Piazza Navona...

It looks like you can't edit posts after a short time... what a mess.

Anyway, here's the map... (click for full size)

Reserved for last set of pictures

Reserved for more pictures

Reserved for pictures

We recently spent a day in Rome from Civitavecchia (can anyone actually pronounce that?) and here's how you can easily avoid some lines and cover all the sights in a very effective and efficient way on your own.

Our plan was the result of the research here on this forum and from other sources, and so is nothing original, but it is a good validation that some of the advice I found was truly beneficial.

Getting to the train station

This is covered well elsewhere but it's worth a recap and a few special notes.

The ships dock in the Civitavecchia port which is extensive. Shuttle buses take you from your ship to the port entrance (near the castle). What was a bit confusing and annoying the day we got off our ship, was the fact that we were among the first off at 7:30 hoping to catch an 8AM train into Rome. However, at 7:30, the pier was a bit disorganized. There were several shuttle buses parked but it wasn't at all clear which one was leaving first. None of the bus drivers spoke a word of English and the only person on the pier from the cruise ship didn't really know what was going on either. Once a mass of people started to collect near the buses, one of them opened the door and let people aboard. Then we had to wait several minutes until the bus was full before it departed. All of this meant that we were dropped off at the port entrance about 7:55. According to my schedule there was a train to Rome at 7:59 and the next one wasn't until 8:40. I was obviously a bit concerned and annoyed that we would probably miss the 7:59 and end up on the 8:40. However, I had read that trains are notoriously late, so we double-timed it to the train station.

From the port entrance it's a short 10 minute walk along the water front to the Train Station (5 minutes if you walk fast). When you see a road angled upward to the left, take that to get to the trainstation at the top of the road.

Catching the train

The train trip to Rome is well covered in many places on this forum, which I can summarize as follows:

- Buy a BIRG ticket from the newsstand at the train terminal (or at a shop along the way). The ticket machines in the train station will have a line of people.

- Validate your ticket using the yellow ticket box or risk a fine

- Check the monitors for the next train leaving Civi for Rome Termini and what "Bin" or platform it's on

- Go to that platform using the undergound tunnel

- Wait on the platform in an area clear of crowds so you have a fighting chance of getting a seat

If you don't know what a BIRG ticket is, that's a Rome transit ticket that costs about 9-Euro and covers your travel for the day on trains, metro, and buses. You can search the forums or web for additional information on the BIRG ticket.

Check train times using the Trenitalia site

Use stations Civitavecchia and Roma Ostiense (one way) for the date and approx time you desire. You will see a time table that shows the trains and the length of journey. Don't bother to buy reserve tickets online - they only work on certain trains and the BIRG is a much cheaper and better way to go.

Some additional advice based on our experience:

In our case, we arrived at the train station at about 8AM after double-timing it from the port. When we arrived, a train was sitting on the near platfrom... we thought we were lucky having caught the 7:59 train before it departed. Without really thinking, we quickly purchased BIRG tickets and along with several others, tried to board it. However, the conductor realized we were tourists and didn't let us on. At first we were confused and annoyed, but that caused me to check the monitors. Of course the train to Rome was not leaving on platform 1, but platform 3 and it wasn't supposed to be here for another 5 minutes. So had we got on that train, we would have ended up going the completely wrong direction. The moral of the story is, no matter how pressed for time you are, take time to check the monitors and make sure you know what platform your train is on and when it's leaving.

Avoiding Lineups

There are three potential line ups you will want to avoid (thanks to others who've posted similar advice in the past - it saved us a ton of time!)...

1. Coliseum tickets: The line up for Coliseum tickets can wrap around the building. I can only imagine that by 10AM it can be an hour or more long. Don't waste time in this line. Buy your combo (forum/coliseum/palentine) ticket at the Palentine Hill ticket office which is half a block south of the Coliseum. There is absolutely no line up there.

2. Vatican Museum tickets: The line up for the Vatican museum tickets can wrap around the Vatican wall... Again, I can't imagine how long the wait in this line is, but I would guess an hour or more. Buy your Vatican Museum tickets in advance online. I suggest picking the 2PM time slot for the day you are in port based on my walking itinerary below. Print the voucher out and take it with you. Proceed right inside without waiting in line and save valueable time.

3. Entrance to St. Peter's Basilica: This line is to clear security for St. Peter's Basilica and it can wrap all the way around St. Peter's square. This line up is probably visible from space! Even if you don't plan on going to the Vatican Museum, but still want to see St. Peter's Basilica, I would recommend buying Vatican Museum tickets online, swallow the added cost, and in doing so, you bypass both the museum and the Basilica line. Enjoy the museum (or breeze through it if it has no interest to you) and when you get to the Sistine Chapel, use the group tour exit to land yourself in the Basilica secured area without having to wait in the security line (since you already cleared security to enter the museum). At the back end of the Sistine chapel, there is the regular tourist exit on the left and the group tour exit on the right (with your back to the altar). Take the right exit. If there is security there, just blend into one of the tour groups there to get through. You will decend a long stair case and end up at the Cupola ticket line (short) which you can join if that's on your todo list or go down to the Basilica from there.

Walking tour - the most efficient way to see all the sights

There are plenty of alternates to this, and you can obviously plot your own route, but this particular itinerary and route was planned with a lot of thought and consideration. The primary goal was to cover all the key sights in one day without killiing ourselves. It assumes you can get off the ship around 7:30AM and don't need to be back on board until around 8PM. You may need to cut or adjust accordingly if your ship's time in port is different.

Besides seeing everything easily in a full day, it has a few other side benefits:

- You won't be among the massive crowds that opt to visit the Vatican in the morning (although I'm not sure they are any better in the afternoon when several ships are in port on the same day)

- You will avoid some walking late in the hottest part of the day when you are most tired

- You will see all the sites that have opening hours while they are open

- You will be able to skip the least important sights at the end of the day if you're short on time

- You will have a seat on the train back to the port at the end of the day

My recommended route is shown on the attached map.

The blue line represents a rough walking route, red lines represent metro travel

I'm not going to explain what these points of interest are. They either need no explanation or Google and Wikipedia are your friends in that regard.

1. Start by getting off the train at Roma Ostiense station.

2. Walk to Paramide metro station through the tunnel and ride to the next station, Circo Massimo

3. Walk up the street and notice Palantine Hill on your left... mid-block buy your combo ticket at their ticket office (see avoiding lineups above)

4. Proceed to the Arch of Constantine and the Coliseum

5. Enter the Coliseum without waiting in line as you already have a ticket

6. Head to the Forum and explore that using your combo ticket

7. Leave the forum via the north west corner and come around a large building there to get an excellent vantage point of the forum from above at street level

8. Head out front of the giant white marble monument to Victor Emmanuel II

9. Proceed to the Pantheon by zig zagging up the streets

10. Enjoy the Pantheon (free)

11. Head to Piazza Navona for lunch. If you followed this itinerary so far, you will probably arive here around noon and you will want to leave here around 1:15 or 1:30. There are lots of sidewalk cafes, arts and craft vendors in the square, amazing architecture and a few beautiful fountains.

12. After lunch (around 1:15 to 1:30), cross the bridge towards the Supreme Court building and then pass by the Castle of St. Angelo

13. Head towards the Vatican, but before entering the main square, turn North and head around the wall to the Vatican Museum Entrance. With your pre-purchased ticket in-hand, proceed directly inside without waiting in line. If you follow this itinerary, buy tickets for 2PM.

14. Enjoy (or not) the extremely crowded museum and Sistine chapel (there are some stunning rooms but they are hard to appreciate in thick crowds). Exit through the group entrance (see Avoiding lineups above)

15. Head up the Cupola (top of the Basilica). You can pay either 7-Euro for an elevator ride part ways (and climb 350 stairs) or 5-Euro to climb all 550 stairs. It's probably worth the extra 2-Euro to save your energy.

16. After the Cupola, you will end up in St. Peter's Basilica (see Avoiding Lineups above).

17. Head out through St. Peter's square and the main gate of the Vatican but turn north again and retrace your earlier route but instead of going to the Museum Entrance continue north a few blocks to the metro station.

18. Use your BIRG ticket for the Metro and Watch out for pickpockets - this is where they like to operate

19. At this point it will probably be around 4PM. If you still have time left in your day (see below about calculating what time you need to leave Rome), take the train to Spagna and complete the rest of the itinerary outlined below. If you are short on time, you can simply skip one or both of the last two points of interest and continue on the metro to Termini to catch the train back to port.

19. Exit the metro at the Spanish Steps. Good designer shopping is in this area if you prefer and have time.

20. Work your way to the Trevi Fountain.

21. Get back on the metro at the nearest station and head to Termini

22. Exit the Metro at the Termini train station.

Calculating when you need to leave Rome

Be sure to work backwards from your required back on board time, subtracting 15-20 minutes for getting from the train to the ship and subtracting the duration of the train ride. Then I would pick the train leaving before the last one that meets your schedule needs. This gives you some added buffer in case the train is late or something else happens. Of course, if you get to Termini earlier than planned, just take the next scheduled train.

Example:

Back on board: 8PM

Train to ship: 20 min

Train Ride: 65 min

Leave Rome by: 6:35PM

Last train before this: 6:28PM

Train before that: 6:00PM <- Shoot for this train

Returning to the Port

At Roma Termini station, check the monitors for the next train to Civi or talk to the ticket agents in the station. Your BIRG ticket covers your return trip. It may be a 10-15min walk from the main terminal to your train platform so be prepared if you are trying to catch a train that is leaving in minutes or are cutting it close to your required departure time.

Check train times using the Trenitalia site

Use stations Roma Termini and Civitavecchia (one way) for the date and approx time you desire

You will see a time table that shows the trains and the length of journey

You should find that trains run about every half hour or so around the end of the day.

Summary

We had a fabulous day, saw everything we wanted to without being stressed, and did so without spending much money at all.

I hope this helps and saves you from feeling like you need to spend a lot of money on a private/ship tour in order to see and enjoy everything.

Our total cost for this day was:

BIRG: 9

Combo ticket: 12

Vatican ticket: 14 (purchased in advance)

Cupola ticket: 7

= Total: 42-Euro per person plus food/drinks

Looking west along the coast from the base of Positano...

Another view of Positano...

A view of the western end of the Amalfi Coast and Positano from high up in Montepurtuso...

A portion of the Amalfi drive... what an amazing marvel of engineering!

Downtown Sorrento...

The ruins of an old mill in a deep chasm in the heart of Sorrento...

Positano as viewed from a lookout along the Amalfi Coast highway just beyond (east) of the town...

Another view of Positano from the highway...

From the base of town...

Ceramics for sale in Positano...

Positano at Sea Level...

Strolling the walkways of Positano...

On our recent Medi cruise out of Barcelona, we ported in Naples for a day.

Here's a summary of what we did...

Car Rental:

We rented a car from Hertz. Booked well in advance, the car cost 46-Euros for a small economy car. We spent another 20-Euro on gas for the day and perhaps another 20-Euro for parking. So the two of us were able to see everything we wanted, on our schedule for just 86-Euros. Compared to the hundreds they can charge for a private tour or ship tour, this is a no-brainer.

We chose Naples Harbor location for pickup/return on the Hertz site and their location is shown on the map attached below. It's where the green arrow is on the map which is slightly different from where a Google search would lead you to believe it is. Either way, it's a short walk from either of the piers where Cruise ships tie up (noted by the blue X).

Driving:

From the rental agency, you're a short 5 minute drive to the A3/E45 freeway that heads south towards Pompeii, Sorrento, and the Amalfi coast.

This is a toll highway and costs 2-Euros each time you get on the highway. The toll booths take Euro change and bills.

Despite reports I had heard to the contrary, driving on Italian roads and freeways is actually pretty easy. Exits and signage is easy to follow. But I always use a GPS and these day's there no excuse for not having one. Italian's drive fast (and so do I), but if you stay out of the fast lane, you won't be getting in their way.

Driving to Pompeii, Sorrento, or Positano, couldn't really be simpler. If you look at a map, you will see that the A3/E45 takes you directly to Pompeii and from there you can take SS145 towards Sorrento and the Amalfi coast.

As a general rule, I always drive to my furthest destination on a port day and then start working my way back, leaving at least an hour buffer in my itinerary at the end of the day in case there are unforseen traffic incidents. If there are none, I'm back on the ship an hour early, and if there are situations, an hour is certainly enough to drive around nearly anything or wait it out.

Positano:

The drive to Positano took about 1hr 20min. The latter part of which is on the Amalfi coast road which is not as harrowing as some would lead you to believe. It is a windy two lane road, but not dangerous in any way and there are a couple of pull outs to enjoy the view and take photos although they can be full of cars some times. Don't worry just go to the next one or catch one on your way back.

Positano is serviced by a one-way winding road that descends from the Amalfi coast highway down into the village. It's easy to miss and drive right by it, so study Google Maps or somethign or set the turn on your GPS so you don't miss it.

Drive down into the village.

Parking... There is street parking near the top, but I don't recommend this as it's a long ways down from there by foot, and of course, you have to come back up! There are about 6 different parking garages on the way down. They all charge about 20-Euro for a full day and a portion of that by the hour. We used Garage Mandara, which is near the bottom, and it's obvious because it's the only gas station in the village (Agip). A lot of the tour drivers use this garage for their vans. For a small car, the cost is only 3.5-Euro per hour. They take your car and park it in their underground parkade and keep the keys on busy days so they can jockey vehicles around. It seems safe but you may not want to leave valuables in your car, as with any parking lot really.

From the car park, you can easily stroll by the shops on the main street and descend further into the heart of Positano along the various pedestrian walk ways working your way down to sea level.

There are a lot of restaurants, cafe's, and shops... it's just an amazing little place to spend a couple of hours poking around. The ceramics are just beautiful but pricey.

You may want to have lunch in Positano. I would recommend it over where we ate (more on that below).

Ceramica Casola and Montepurtuso:

On the Amalfi coast highway, just a few minutes drive beyond Positano, is a large Ceramics shop and factory... Ceramiche Casola. While they have some very nice stuff, it's extremely expensive. We didn't buy anything there. The benefit of going a bit further east along the Amalfi coast highway was the views you get of Positano. That was worth it.

After that, we drove back towards Positano and then turned and went up the hill to Montepurtuso for lunch at La Tagliata. That was a fun drive up the steep hill. It was interesting when a couple of tour buses meet head on and we watched the one coming down have to back uphill to a wider spot to allow the other bus and line of cars behind to pass. Crazy! I don't know how those bus drivers do it! Anyway, in a small car, it's easy to move around.

La Tagliata has an amazing view of Positano and the western end of the Amalfi coast. It's worth a drive up there just for the view. Lunch was good value, but not great food. They cater to tour groups, so there is a set menu of three or four courses for 25-30Euro each. It includes a bottle of house wine, water, antipasto, pasta, and meat (additional charge) plus desert. Again, it's good value but the food is not spectacular but the view is. You might have better food down in Positano village but you might also pay more for it... I didn't even look at dining options in the heart of Positano.

After lunch we headed back to Sorrento.

Sorrento:

We parked in the main Sorrento car park. Search for "Autoparco Vallone dei Mulini" in Sorrento on Google Maps and you'll know where it is. It's a block from the main square.

I was half expecting all the shops to be closed in Sorrento in the afternoon based on other reports from people about them observing ciesta but this was not the case. It's a busy shopping area and there are a couple of narrow long streets with tons of shops. Pottery in Sorrento is more reasonably priced than in Positano. I purchased a couple of bottles of wine in Sorrento to take back on the ship (Carnival was particularly liberal with this on our cruise - YMMV)

After a couple of hours in Sorrento, we were ready to head back. While traffic was heavy at the end of the day with several ships in port, and therefore lots of tour buses and vans making their way back to Naples, it moved along well and we were back at Hertz in Naples with my one hour buffer fully in-tact.

Pompeii:

We obviously didn't opt to visit Pompeii but you could do so easily since it's right along the way. However, you really have to decide what your priorities are and where you want to spend your time if you have just one day. We found our day was filled just visiting Positano and it's environs and Sorrento. Adding another stop would have really rushed our itinerary more than we wanted. Just keep that in mind when planning your day.

Map showing Hertz location at the Naples Harbor (green arrow):

In case anyone's interested, I've been researching train transportation options and here's the link... (in fact this covers trains all over Italy - you just need to know the stations you're interested in)

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ad1ce14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD

Use stations:

Messina Centrale (it appears to be a few blocks from the pier)

and

Taormina-Giardini (at the base of the town)

It appears at this time of year that the trains run about every hour or less and take anywhere from 40min. to 1hr. and cost around $4Euro each way.