Pompeii Travel Forum

Hi - At the end of the week we're going to Italy for 2 weeks. First week in Rome and then a week in Tuscany - we will be renting a car when we get there. We would really like to get to Pompeii - is driving there advisable? (We will have a sat nav by the way). As we will be 2 adults + 2 kids, I'm assuming driving will the cost effective way.

I'm curious about the tolls on the way - does anybody know how much these total?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

unfortunatelly sat nav will not tell you where to find a park free.
as a day trip I would take the train to Naples - Garibaldi and then Circunvesuviana till POMPEI - SCAVI VILLA MISTERI. This is the right station, all the other are not and the station of ferroviedellostato is Pompei downtown.
Train from Rome to Naples could be much faster then a car. FrecciaRossa Train it takes 1h:21m from downtown to downtown, by car 1h more minum and an other hour plus minum to go back. The same line of Circunvesuviana goes to Sorrento, you might also plane to see Sorrento and/or on way back to have a stop also at Ercolano SCAVI.
http://www.vesuviana.it/web/en

BTW it's not only where to park the car, it's also how much! this might cost more then you think, beside there is not a 'regoular' fare, it might happen you do not find a 'regoular park' so you need to leave the car to someone who watch for you. If you do not speak neapolitan it would be expensive, if you do not speak italian, much more, otherwise you might have to walk a lot.
Pompei - Scavi station it's just a stone's throw away, maybe less if I remember well.

I'd take cgf's advice - the train from Naples is extremely easy, very frequent and very cheap. And driving in the Naples area seems to me to be rather hair-raising and congested. The Pompeii entrance is just a few steps from the Pompeii Scavi station.

You can use either mappy.com or the michelin website to get driving instructions, tolls, even speed traps. You will not need a car when in Rome. You also need to be aware that there are areas within cities and towns that only allow cars with appropriate tags to drive on those streets otherwise there are steep fines. there are reduced train fares for kids. Checked by cameras.

I would not drive, for all the reasons given above.

Trains to Naples from Rome are frequent and speedy.

http://trenitalia.com/homepage_en.html

will give your times and fares in english. ticket machines at Rome Termini station (and Napoli Centrale) have English language options and are very easy to use.

when you get to Napoli Centrale follow the signs to the adjacent Napoli garibaldi station, where you can catch the frequent, cheap circumvesuviana train (more like Metro carriages than long-distance trains, although overground). You need the train to Sorrento, and to get off at Pompeii-Scavi-Villa-dei-Mysteri station (about 30 minutes from Naples). The site entrance is almost directly opposite the station.

Circumvesuviana train times here:

http://www.vesuviana.it/web/en/Orari

You can just buy tickets at the stations as you need them. Many, many tourists use this line....so much so that announcements at Pompeii Scavi station are given in English as well as Italian (and French and German!).

If there is time, do explore Herculaneaum as well. Much smaller, and very different from Pompeii. Get off the Circumvesuviana at Ercoland (about 10 minutes back towards Naples) then just walk straight down the hill to the site (about 5/10 minutes walk). Well worth seeing.

Make sure you take lots of water to Pompeii. It is very exposed and, being almost all stone, very hot. There is a cafe on site.

We were going to drive from Rome to Pompeii last year until we got talking to the head of the local cabanari just outside Rome - who told us to take a coach excursion.

Driving is hair raising to say the least - all cars have dents and I don't know the purpose of traffic lights as no one obeys them. There is a secure coach park opposite the entrance to Pompeii. Chances if you leave your car properly parked you will find a dent on it on your return

Generally speaking Italian tolls are reasonable and the service stations frequent with acceptably priced plastic food

Sometimes its better to pay a bit more on transport and enjoy a trip rather than to do it in a cost effective method. Italians are hot blooded and this comes through very much in their driving. We pulled over out of courtsey as we were driving slowly and were trying to find a campsite just outside Florence. Unfortunately the Italian took it as an insult and put his fists in our face for being polie - had this been in England it would have been taken as a gesture of courtesey.