Is it possible to see Pompeii, Positano, and Sorrento in one day?

[redcruzer]

Hello, the cruise gets to Naples around 10am and leave sport at 7pm. We definitely want to see Pompeii for the ruins, but want to explore the other towns.Thoughts?

thanks

[Joanne G.]

What does your cruise line offer for an excursion?  With the distances and the traffic, a ship excursion may be good idea.   On the other hand, you could contact independent tour companies and see what they can offer given your port times.   Pompeii is not far from Naples, but the other towns you mentioned are farther away, largely on narrow winding roads with probably heavy traffic. 

 

Last month I took a Celebrity-sponsored excursion that included Pompeii first, then time on our own in Sorrento, and then a visit to a farm near Sorrento where we sampled mozzarella, olive oils, and limoncello.  It was a great day.   Our port time was 7:00 - 6:00, and the excursion was pretty much all day.   As a matter of fact, we got back to the ship about 30 minutes past the all-aboard time due to heavy traffic.

  

Some years ago, I was on another Celebrity-sponsored excursion from Naples that was an Amalfi coast drive with a short stop in Positano and a lunch in Ravello, and then Pompeii in the afternoon.   I can't remember the port times, but it was about a 10-hour excursion.

 

Given your shorter port time, Pompeii and one other town should be do-able.   Two other towns, probably not. 

 

 

[cruisemom42]

Your ship has a rather late arrival time. I would not count on being able to see all three places in a day, at least not if you want to have enough time to have a reasonable look around. 

 

You could likely fit Pompeii and Sorrento into a day. If you look at the simplistic map below, though, you can see that Sorrento and Positano are both a fair distance from Pompeii, which is already a fair distance from Naples. The traffic on the Sorrentine peninsula (where both towns are located) is bad at the best of times; at worst there can be long delays. 

 

With a private excursion, I'd suggest going to whichever town you decide on first, then heading back to Pompeii. From Pompeii there is a good highway route to Naples, thus there is less chance of getting caught in traffic (except that traffic near the port in the late afternoon is also very clogged...you may have to plan to exit your car and walk the last several blocks to the port if your timing is tight....)

 

There is an old, local commuter train that goes from Naples to Pompeii to Sorrento. You could make use of that one or both ways. There are also ferries that run between Sorrento and Naples, which you could use, depending on timing, to get you back. The ferry port is right next to the cruise port. 

 

Edited October 6 by cruisemom42

[CCJack]

6 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

What does your cruise line offer for an excursion?  With the distances and the traffic, a ship excursion may be good idea

I agree.  Ship's excursions have drawbacks but occasionally they are a smart choice, especially if you are travelling far from your ship and the traffic / roads are unpredictable.    

 

[euro cruiser]

That's a short day.  You also haven't shared the time of year, but even so, I think you can reasonably expect to get to Pompei and Sorrento, but Positano is a bridge too far.

[strobellayjam]

I concur with the other members.  it's a bit of a stretch to do all three independently given the short amount of time you have ashore.  I'd look to your cruise line excursions for piece of mind given the distances you have to travel and barring any delays that pop up, you want to ensure you get back on the ship.

[Thisguylikestocruise]

2 weeks ago we took the “Best of Positano, Sorrento, Pompeii-small group” excursion through Royal Caribbean. It was a 10 hour excursion, and I’ll start by saying I’m happy I got to see these places, they were incredibly beautiful.

 

It was a 2 hour drive from Naples to Positano. No bathroom breaks. I was not drinking any fluids, and it looked like everyone else had the same idea. The small group tour is a on a mini bus, if you’re above average height you’ll have to keep your legs in the aisle. Free time in Positano was 1 hour. We walked to the beach, took pictures, ate a cannoli and bought a couple souvenirs. 
 

Sorrento free time was 1 hour, 20 minutes. There was a lot of places to shop and eat. We ate lunch in a 4 star hotel on a cliff overlooking the water, Mt Vesuvius was looming over the bay. It was a great view and everyone was taking pictures. They made good choice stopping here for lunch.
 

Pompeii was approximately 90 minutes. This was by far the best destination out of the 3. If I could do a Naples excursion again I’d just pick Pompeii or see the Amalfi Coast by boat. It was a long day and I’m glad we took an excursion through Royal Caribbean because we made it back just on time due to traffic. 

Edited October 10 by Thisguylikestocruise

[kctwinmommy]

We did an all day excursion through Viking that was Sorrento and Pompeii and it was the worst out of all our excursions. Now, I don't mean it was awful and we didn't enjoy any of it. BUT - it was too much to see in one day. The drive to Sorrento is long and a lot of traffic. They underestimate how long it takes IMO. We then barely had 90 minutes at Pompeii, and with a massive rain storm, it turned into 60 minutes.

 

Pompeii was what I really wanted to see. However, due to a last minute change with a private tour we had, this was my only option. Well, not really, I just didn't feel prepared to try and do Pompeii on our own (my regret!).

 

I truly would pick one of those things and really enjoy it. But if you just want to see a snippet of them, then go for it.

[euro cruiser]

You could easily see Sorrento and Pompei on your own, using a combination of bus or train and the ferry.  The ferry between Naples and Sorrento takes 45 minutes and departs/arrives to Molo Beverello, adjacent to the cruise port.  It could not be easier.  Compare those 45 minutes with a minimum of 90 minutes by road, often as much as two hours.

[John Bull]

The ship-sponsored excursion mentioned by @Thisguylikestocruise is unusual for a ship's excursion in that they had an hour's free time in Positano - and time on that beach tells me that it was a proper "Positano" visit.

"Small group tour" and "minibus" are also clues.

Ship-sponsored coach tours which mention Positano don't actually go there - coaches aren't allowed to leave the high coast road and drive down into the village, passengers just have a photo-stop from way up on high.

That excursion also shows that Sorrento, a "proper" visit to Positano, and Pompeii can be dome in a long day, especially with the comfort of it being ship-sponsored (ships' emphasis on the advantages of taking over-priced ship's tours is grossly over-egged, but this is one of the rare occasions when it's well worth considering).

90 minutes at Pompeii is pretty limited, and I'd reckon it worth more time at the expense of Sorrento. Sorrento is charming, but I rate it unexceptional and unworthy of 1hr 20 mins. And even less worthwhile if it's timed for the afternoon, when a big proportion of Sorrento shops etc are closed (I think translators have gotten a bit mixed up - I think it more likely that "siesta" is an Italian word, not Spanish 😉)

 

For a DIY day, note @EuroCruiser's post about ferry & train

One time we took the ferry, one hour from Naples (right by the main cruise berths, but a little bit of a hike or a shuttlebus from secondary berths) across the Bay of Naples to Sorrento, just a brief foray into Sorrento, then from Sorrento station the half-hourly Circumvesuviana train which goes back to Naples via Pompeii (station name Pompeii Scavi, just yards from the entrance) and Herculaneum (station name Ercolano Scavi, a 10-15 minute walk or shuttlebus to the entrance)  Having visited Pompeii previously we chose smaller Herculaneum, but there'd be plenty of time to visit Pompeii instead.

Going that way round avoids any risk of a ferry problem getting back to the ship.

Going the opposite way round means visiting Pompeii in the relative cool of the morning.

Advantages & disadvantages of the two options.

That DIY doesn't visit the Amalfi coast, and taking am Amalfi-bound bus from Sorrento is fraught & not worth the risk of delays.

 

JB 🙂