Is Amalfi Coast and Pompeii tour worth the cost?

[pepcab]

Hi. Just wondering if we should do this tour or if we should just pick one over the other. We would like to see both and have the time, but the cost is quite high to make this possible. Any suggestions?

[CruiserBruce]

Only you can make that decision. One is about a very scenic area, one is about an intense historic experience.

 

Personally (we don't know you and your interest), as we did a combo tour of both, I would do Pompeii again in a heart beat.

[euro cruiser]

Are you willing to go on your own, DIY?  

 

When is your cruise?  And what are your hours in port?

[Beth and Bailey]

I've done the coast with Pompeii twice.   Amazing and wonderful.  DO IT

[cruisinginapril2012]

18 hours ago, pepcab said:

Hi. Just wondering if we should do this tour or if we should just pick one over the other. We would like to see both and have the time, but the cost is quite high to make this possible. Any suggestions?

Take a look outside of cruise line it might be cheaper and especially if you find more people to share a van.  We did in 2018 and loved both, we went with this driver Taxi mister cab driver Naples & Amalfi coast on Strikingly (mystrikingly.com)

[ski ww]

We did both & loved them, only you can decide if the cost is worth it. Look at it this way will you ever be back there again?? Will you regard it later when you had the chance & didn't take it.

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, ski ww said:

We did both & loved them, only you can decide if the cost is worth it. Look at it this way will you ever be back there again?? Will you regard it later when you had the chance & didn't take it.

 

That's one thing to consider, surely.  But on the flip side, would you regret being rushed through the day only to get a brief taster of everything when you really wanted to spend more time walking the streets of Pompeii (or Positano)?

 

I still remember being in tears at the end of a long "taster" tour of Istanbul because we barely had 15 minutes in Haghia Sofia.

[ski ww]

21 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

That's one thing to consider, surely.  But on the flip side, would you regret being rushed through the day only to get a brief taster of everything when you really wanted to spend more time walking the streets of Pompeii (or Positano)?

 

I still remember being in tears at the end of a long "taster" tour of Istanbul because we barely had 15 minutes in Haghia Sofia.

I agree. But at least you had the chance to see it. Now you know you want to come back and spend more time there.

[erby2283]

We did both with ItalyTours - We went to Pompeii first to avoid the crowds - we were there about an hour.  It's enough to get a feel of it but if it's something that really intrigues you, you may want more time.  We then had lunch in the town of Sorrento and onto the drive of the Amalfi coast with a stop for Lemoncello on the way home. I was really hoping to make it to Positano but traffic was too bad and they didn't want to risk us not making it back to the ship.

 

As Cruisemom said, if there is something you really want to see, make sure you see it. I still am extremely disappointed I did not get to see the magnificent views from Positano but on the other hand, I'm also kind of glad I got to to see so many other things.  Since it could possible have been my only trip ever to Europe, I had to do quantity over quality.   

[mapleleaves]

How long are you in port ?

Instead of doing a set tour, look at hiring a private driver with a Mercedes minivan for the day.  This gives you control over how long to spend at the stops and Where to stop.   ie do you want to spend 90 minutes having lunch in Sorrento or use that time to explore Amalfi with a slice of pizza to go ?

 

Check your Roll CAll to find people who also want to see Pompeii and Positano/Amalfi and will share the cost with you.  The vans can hold 8 but I think 6 wuold be a more comfortable ride.

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by mapleleaves

[marazul]

I agree with mapleleaves.  A private tour is the way to go.  You can go to Pompeii first.  Then directly to Positano and the drive to Amalfi - that is the scenic Amalfi coast.  Skip Sorrento and a long lunch stop anywhere. 

[Jilliebean28]

We did a private tour through Rome in Limo to the Amalfi Coast (Positano and Sorrento) and Pompei in one day.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Rome in Limo was so easy to work with and the tour and guide were fantastic.

[pepcab]

On 4/11/2022 at 8:53 PM, euro cruiser said:

Are you willing to go on your own, DIY?  

 

When is your cruise?  And what are your hours in port?

We are willing to DIY. We will be there in Wednesday August 17, 2022. We will be there from 6am - 5pm.

[euro cruiser]

Well, the timing is not ideal because Pompei doesn't open until 9 so going there first wastes a couple of hours.  Going to the Amalfi Coast first would work but it puts you in Pompei at the hottest part of the day.

 

If you're willing to pay for a car service you could save some money by getting yourself to the Amalfi coast using public transit, then use the car service as a transfer with a stop along the way at Pompei.

 

Here's how it might work using public transit:

Trenitalia train from Naples to Salerno, departing at 7:15 and arriving at 7:54, followed by the first ferry of the day from Salerno to Amalfi, departing at 8:40 and arriving at 9:15. You could also take the bus from Salerno at 8:00 and arrive to Amalfi at the same time, 9:15.  Same view, just one from the road and one from the water.

 

From Amalfi you could take a ferry to Sorrento, and from Sorrento the Circumvesuviana train to Pompei.  There is a ferry from Amalfi to Sorrento departing at 11:35 and arriving at 13:20 on Alilauro.  You could then connect to the 14:00 Circumvesuviana train, arriving to Pompei Scavi at 14:36.

 

Unfortunately, this doesn't allow you enough time to actually visit Pompei and get back to the ship by 16:00 (4 PM) for departure.  

 

The timing is only a little better going the other way, back via Salerno.  You'd need to be on the 11:20 ferry, arriving to Salerno at 12:20, then on the 12:37 train to Pompei arriving at 13:19.  You wouldn't be able to take a guided tour, there simply isn't enough time, but you could do a self guided tour beginning at the Anfiteatro entrance (a half mile walk from the train station) and ending at the Porta Marina entrance/exit, near the Pompei Scavi Circumvesuviana station.

 

You'd need to be on the Circumvesuviana train at 15:00 (3 PM) or 15:24 (3:24 PM) in order to be back with plenty of time for a 17:00 (5 PM) departure.  In other words, about an hour and a half, give or take, in the ruins. 

 

I think you'd be better to pay for a car service to pick you up in Amalfi around noon and drive you to Pompei, wait while you take a tour and then drive you back to Naples.

 

Some of the schedules involved can be found here:

 

Train Naples-Salerno:  www.trenitalia.com

 

Ferry Salerno-Amalfi:  Orari traghetti Travelmar - Traghetti veloci in Costiera Amalfitana

 

Train Sorrento - Pompei - Naples:  ORARI NAPOLI SORRENTO_dal 6 dicembre 2021_REV07032022.pdf (eavsrl.it) 

 

[marazul]

If you are going to hire a car service, you could see more and use your time better by starting at 7:30.  First from Naples to Positano (1 hour). Then to Amalfi (1 hour slow driving to enjoy the views) and from there to Pompei (1 hour).  Then 30 minutes back to Naples.  This gives you time to walk around Positano and Amalfi and to take a tour of Pompei.

[euro cruiser]

I think you are underestimating the drive times, they will be there the week of Ferragosto, when half of the Italian population is also on vacation, the roads will be beyond congested.

[marazul]

11 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

I think you are underestimating the drive times, they will be there the week of Ferragosto, when half of the Italian population is also on vacation, the roads will be beyond congested.

You are absolutely right.   A 7 or 7:30 early start should get them to Positano pretty much on schedule. After that, they should add 50% to the driving times.  They can adjust their time at Pompei accordingly. 

[euro cruiser]

It's not ideal no matter what they do. 

 

In the middle of August I would want to be in Pompei as early as possible but that unfortunately wastes two hours of their day.  I thought that in the past the ruins opened at 8:30 in the summer, if that comes to pass this year it makes it easier to put Pompei first.  Maybe make it a true Neapolitan experience and get a caffe (espresso in English) and a cornetto to start the day, then head to Pompei?  

 

In this case I think I'd use the car service in the morning and have them leave you after Pompei on the coast, then use ferries and the train to get back to Naples.  I'm afraid that the traffic will be obscene that week and it would be safer to use the train, it doesn't get caught up in that.

 

Returning from the coast by ferry and train would mean leaving Positano on the ferry at 1:30 PM, or Amalfi at 2:10 PM, arriving to Salerno at 2:45, in time for the 3 PM train from Salerno to Naples.

 

But if you've spent even just 90 minutes at Pompei and it takes another 90 minutes to get to Positano, that means arrival sometime after noon and leaving at 1:30.  If you go to Amalfi the numbers will be about the same, just shifted about a half hour later for arrival and departure.

 

And remember that it will be blisteringly hot the entire time.

 

I don't know, I really think you need to choose one or the other, or accept that you can "visit" one and just "drive by" the other (which is what the ship excursion would do).

[marazul]

The official website for Pompeii lists summer opening time at 9:00 (April-October). 

 

[mskaufman]

It also depends if you think you are going back.  On our first trip we did Amalfi Coast by water in the morning (Stop in Amalfi) and Pompeii in the afternoon.  Great trip.  Turns out we had a second trip during which we did the Amalfi Coast drive.  Also great.

[kayjaypea42]

To piggyback onto this thread, has anyone done Royal Caribbean's Amalfi and Pompeii by Land and Sea?  How was it?  Thanks!

[euro cruiser]

As most of the discussion here tends to be about DIY port visits, you might have better luck posting your question on the RCI boards.

[kayjaypea42]

28 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

As most of the discussion here tends to be about DIY port visits, you might have better luck posting your question on the RCI boards.

LOL And the Royal boards say "Go ask on the Italy board"

[euro cruiser]

So, in other words we're now in the world's slowest race to see where an answer pops up first.

[pepcab]

Thanks for everyone's input into this. We are actually considering a tour through Viator that will let us see Positano, Sorrento and Pompeii.