This guide is for you if you are based in Rome and want Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast without moving hotels. It is a thirteen-hour day, the longest we run in Italy, so most of this page is about whether it is the right day for you, and how to set it up so the hours in the car are worth it.
When to go
Pompeii has a busy season and a quiet one. The park treats 16 March to 14 October as its peak period, and in those months it splits the day into two windows: a morning one from 09:00 to 13:00 and an afternoon one from 13:00 to 17:30. Most of the places go to the morning. Across the whole day there is a cap of 20,000 visitors. We arrive at about 09:45, inside the morning window, so book your ticket for it.
The coast is the other half of the decision. The road along the cliffs is busy from June to September. We plan the day around the traffic, but in those months expect slow stretches and a longer evening drive. Outside those months the road is usually less crowded.
Pompeii normally closes on 25 December and 1 January, and single houses or areas can close for conservation or safety at short notice. Free-entry Sundays have drawn more than 36,000 people in a day. Check the official park site before you settle your date.
How the day fits together
It is about 250 km each way, most of it motorway. That is why the pick-up is at 07:00: the road south is fastest before Rome wakes up. Here is how the hours fall:
- Two and three quarter hours to Pompeii. You arrive at about 09:45.
- Two hours in the excavated city. Enough for the forum, the painted houses and the bakeries, with Vesuvius behind them.
- Over the hills at midday. Across the Sorrento peninsula, with lunch above the sea.
- The coast road from 13:00. Then Positano from 14:00, with time to walk down to the beach and be collected at the top.
- Back at your hotel at about 20:00.
Add it up and you see the honest shape of the day: two long blocks on foot, and a lot of road around them. The car is yours, so the order and the pace can change. Some people want longer in Pompeii and less in Positano, some the reverse. Tell your driver in the morning.
Getting there on your own, or with a driver
Pompeii alone is easy by train. High-speed trains link Rome Termini with Naples Centrale in about 70 minutes, roughly every half hour. From Naples, the Circumvesuviana local line reaches Pompei Scavi - Villa dei Misteri in about 36 minutes, and the main entrance is a short walk from the station. On summer Sundays there has also been a direct high-speed train from Rome to Pompei.
If Pompeii is all you want, that works well. The coast is a different matter. Adding Positano to the same trip, and still getting back to Rome that night, means stacking connections that each have to run on time. Driving yourself is possible, but on busy summer days the coast road has run an alternate number-plate scheme between Positano and Vietri sul Mare, and rental cars were not exempt. Check the current year's rules before you plan to drive it.
A private day joins the two halves with no changes. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page.
What to book and bring
Entrance to Pompeii is not included, so you buy it yourself. Every Pompeii ticket carries the holder's name, and ticket offices ask to see a passport or ID card before issuing one. Buy online for the morning window, with the names spelt as they appear on your documents.
In Italy, guiding inside the sites is reserved for licensed guides. If you want one in Pompeii, we can book a licensed guide to meet you at the gate.
- Flat, closed shoes. The streets are paved with the original Roman stones, uneven and worn.
- A hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. Almost all of the visit is outdoors.
- Water. There are public fountains inside the site where you can refill.
- Your passport or ID card, for the ticket.
- Money or a card for lunch and a coffee in Positano.
Who it suits, and who should think twice
It suits travellers with only a few days in Italy who want both the Roman town and the coast, and who do not mind a long day sitting down between them.
Think twice in these cases:
- You have young children. The day is long, and much of it is in the car. Families often prefer Pompeii on its own, which gets you back to Rome by late afternoon.
- You are already staying in Naples or Sorrento. Starting from there makes the day much shorter. Our article on Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast from Rome or from Sorrento compares the two, and the Amalfi Coast day from Sorrento adds Amalfi and Ravello.
- Heat bothers you. In July and August, two hours on Roman paving in the sun is hard work. Consider the shoulder months.
- You are more than 16. Two vehicles travel together on one booking. Message us with your numbers.
If a shorter day suits you better, our guide to day trips from Rome sets this one beside the Tivoli villas, which take six hours.
Questions people ask
Is two hours enough for Pompeii?
For the main streets, the forum and a handful of houses, yes. The site is large, so choose what you want to see before you arrive, or book a licensed guide who will choose for you.
Can we skip Positano and stay longer in Pompeii?
Yes. The itinerary can change on the day. You come back to Rome earlier, too.
Can we go to Capri?
Not on this day. Capri is reached by boat, and there is no time for it on a return trip from Rome.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you get a full refund. See our cancellation page.
Booking the day
Choose a month that suits the road, book Pompeii for the morning window in everyone's name, and pack for sun and stone. The rest is on the Pompeii and Amalfi Coast day trip page, where you choose the size of your group and book.
