Tour of Pompeii and Amalfi Coast

[newbie2468]

We will be staying in Rome for 3 days pre-cruise. On one of the days we had planned to go and see Pompeii/Amalfi Coast.

 

We have two options.. any opinions about which would be best? Essentially the same cost for either

 

1) take private tour from Rome to Naples,Pompeii (with private guide there) and then a tour of the Amalfi Coast and back to Rome

 

2) Take train early in a.m. to Naples, meet local guide for Amalfi Coast and then Pompeii (again with a guide for Pompeii)

 

My concerns: #1) if We go from Rome the for the guide it is a LONG day driving and the guide is from Rome rather than local

#2) If we go on the train.. is it easy to use..

 

WE don't have time limits on us to get back to Rome that evening as we still have 1.5 days until we sail..

 

Thanks for any input !

[texancruzer]

Having been there and since you have the time...... I would go for #2.

 

Take the train (neat experience) and use a local guide for the area. We used APTours (office in Sorrento but they picked us up in Naples)and they were great but there are others that are good too.

[newbie2468]

Thanks Texancruiser.... I guess I was a little nervous about taking the trains (never done before in Europe).. I will start looking for local guides and check out the different "personalities"

 

We are from Texas, too (Dallas/Ft. Worth) Where are you from?

 

Tori

[texancruzer]

Tori: We're in Corpus Christi (Padre Island).

 

While we did not take the trains while we were there.....now that I have been there I don't know why we didn't ??? I guess I just didnt have enough time to figure it all out since we booked very close to our sail date. Thats another story for another time :) Have read it is not hard. We will definately use them next trip !!!

 

We were very happy with APTours. Had a really handsome driver..... and they arranged a private guide for Pompeii for us too. Pina - she was great. You are gonna love the Amalfi coast !!! It is like no place else.

Have fun !

[801Jeff]

We toured Pompei and Herculanuem about 2 weeks ago. I have 3 suggestions that may improve your experience.

 

You can take a train from Naples to Pompei. (I'm ignorant of whether it is at the same terminal as the trains from Rome.) It is called the Circumvesuvio. Because the highway is under construction from Naples to the south, I think that is the best way to get there.

 

I would go to Pompei first. There is relatively little shelter from the sun there, and it will get hot through the day. And, as we did not do that, we found that, however interesting it was, we could not help but think of it in terms of our visit to Herculaneum. In addition, much of Herculaneum is shaded because the mud flow preserved roofs.

 

Finally, we had a wonderful guide. Giusppe Galano is fluent in English, extremely knowledgeable, and personable. You can reach him at famigliagalano@libero.it. The web site is http://www.guida-turistica.net. I can provide you full particulars if you want phone numbers etc.

[lilrainy]

Can someone tell me if there are taxi's waiting around at pompei that could take you to sorrento or would that have to be prearranged?

Loraine

[Travel to Ports]

We will be staying in Rome for 3 days pre-cruise. On one of the days we had planned to go and see Pompeii/Amalfi Coast.

 

We have two options.. any opinions about which would be best? Essentially the same cost for either

 

1) take private tour from Rome to Naples,Pompeii (with private guide there) and then a tour of the Amalfi Coast and back to Rome

 

2) Take train early in a.m. to Naples, meet local guide for Amalfi Coast and then Pompeii (again with a guide for Pompeii)

 

My concerns: #1) if We go from Rome the for the guide it is a LONG day driving and the guide is from Rome rather than local

#2) If we go on the train.. is it easy to use..

 

WE don't have time limits on us to get back to Rome that evening as we still have 1.5 days until we sail..

 

Thanks for any input !

 

newbie2468:

Ask an excellent driver out of Naples/Sorrento for his advice. He will suggest you use a private guide for Pompeii and then would probably drive you to Ravello himself (Mariano Fiorentino: info@pleasantravel.com).

I assume that your cruise doesn't have Naples or Sorrento as a port?

Good luck in your planning,

David Lachar (Tell Mariano I suggested that you consult with him.)

Sugar Land, Texas