It was our second day in Italy on our 2023 trip and we were taking the train from Rome to Pompeii. We were both a little nervous about this as it was something new for us. This took some pre-planning and some research as we did not want to miss either of the trains.
Catching the First Train
We purposely stayed near the Rome Termini so we could walk there in the morning. This took us about 10 minutes and we had no trouble finding where we needed to be. We found the schedule easily enough and after about 15 minutes our train location populated on the screen and we followed the directions to the track we needed. Again, this was much easier than we had feared and soon we were settled in. We pre-bought the train tickets for Rome to Naples in advanced through Omio, although to my knowledge, you cannot buy tickets from Naples to Pompeii in advance or online. I downloaded the Omio app and it worked well.
We took the High Speed Trenitaila and zoomed through the countryside. We did splurge on First Class so we could have room for our luggage above us. I thought it was a great way to travel. Comfortable, efficient and easy.
Catching the Second Train
Finding the train for Pompeii was a bit more difficult but we managed. We had watched this video about how to find the train to Pompeii at home, many times and it was spot on. The only problem was we intended to ride the Circumvesuviana Railway and instead found ourselves on the Compania Express. Not truly a problem but a more expensive trip. The Circumvesuviana from Naples to Pompeii costs less than 5 euros per person and the Compania Express is around 15 euros per person.
I am sure a language barrier caused us to ride the wrong train as we do not speak or read Italian. We asked a gal, at what we thought was an information desk, where the Circumvesuviana Railway was for Pompeii and she told us it was right here, this was the ticket booth. She said the train left in about 10 minutes or so and we could get tickets from her. So we did. We followed her to the train and hopped on. We ended up where we wanted to go so no problem, we were just happy it would take us to the right place. This train was not as deluxe as the first one but it worked. There were no assigned seats but plenty of room.
Storing our Bags at Pompeii
Once we arrived in Pompeii we needed to store our bags. We asked the gentleman at the ticket booth where we store the bags. He told us upstairs. After looking in vain for the way upstairs we finally stepped outside and discovered the stairs were on the outside of the building. Up we went toting our bags, we were happy we packed light. The process to store the bags was easy and the cost was reasonable so we were happy with this.
Coffee Time
There was a cute little coffee bar inside the station so we enjoyed a cup of coffee the Italian way. Standing at the bar. Seems like we always have time for coffee and a snack!
Off to Pompeii
After our coffee we were off to Pompeii. We were both quite excited and I will cover Pompeii in my next post.
The Circumvesuviana Train to Sorrento
After our fantastic Self-Tour of Pompeii and lunch, we trekked back to the train station. Our last train of the day was to Sorrento where we would be staying for the next four nights. This train is definitely no perk transportion as it is standing room only and pretty tight. I believe it only cost a bit over 5 Euros for two tickets. Holding on to the rail and also to my luggage was a bit of a challenge as the ride was about 45 minutes. We arrived tired but no worse for the wear. We were very glad we packed light as we had a 15 minute walk to our hotel. The walk though was beautiful and we instantly knew we loved Sorrento.
Conclusion
Riding the train from Rome to Pompeii was much easier than we had feared. Thankfully we did a lot of research before our trip and this really did help.
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Click below for more from my Italy 2023 trip.
Our Rainy Day in Rome – May 2023
Check out my 2022 Italy trip posts:
Wandering Lecce, Italy – April 2022
Tenuta DonnAnna Cooking Class-Puglia, Italy, April 2022
Walking Through Porto Selvaggio-Puglia, Italy April 2022
Walking Through Capo di Leuca-Puglia, Italy April 2022
The Ciolo and Cipolliane Path-April 2022
Punta Palascia Italy-April 2022
Trains are the way to go in Europe; even better that they can be inexpensive, depending where you go! Looks like despite the slightly pricier ticket from Naples to Pompeii, it was still a very-affordable journey from one side of the country to the other!
I did enjoy the trains! Since it was relatively easy I will travel that way again if in Italy!
As a train nerd and a professional working towards decarbonisation, hydrogen and clean transportation, I laud your efforts to ensure traveling more via trains than aircrafts or road transports.. Having said that, Italy is one great country offering high speed railways across quite large distances.. 🙂
Eager to watch your photographs and blog posts on Mt. Vesuvius, the geology and orogeny of the same and some hydro-geothermal features in that area.. Thanks for sharing.. 🙂
Thanks! I’m working on the Pompeii post now. It was an active trip as we did some hiking, wandering, and even biked up Mt. Vesuvius! Thanks for reading!
Wow.. That’s a great adventure you had.. 🙂 Thanks for sharing and eager to read about your adventure.. 🙂
In the meantime, may I request you to kindly review a journey of mine – into a similar sounding place? Your expert feedback will be highly appreciated.. 🙂 Thank You..
http://theunclicheophile.com/2023/07/10/%e3%81%ae%e3%81%bc%e3%82%8a%e3%81%b9%e3%81%a4-the-fury-of-hell-%e3%81%98%e3%81%94%e3%81%8f%e3%81%a0%e3%81%ab/
Very nice post. It showcases how knowledgeable you are on this subject! It allowed me to like the post, but I was not allowed to leave a comment even after being logged in.
Thank you so much for your kind words and taking the time to review my article .. 🙂 glad you found it decent.. 🙂
It’s strange to hear this issue you faced.. let me raise this issue with WP, they seem to be having a lot of issues
Thanks! I am on my mobile at the moment. I will check if I can comment on my computer later. Sometimes that makes a difference.
Oh.. I see.. Wasn’t aware of this aspect.. Thank you so much once again for your time.. 🙂
Hoping you two burst into a short rendition of “Taking the A Train” as you cruised along. 😎🤓😁
We should have! But it was early and we were tired!! 😜
Glad the “wrong” train went to the right spot – that coulda been a disaster! 🙂 Look forward to your post about Pompeii, though we’re of to Europe soon so I’ll probably be off the blogosphere for a while…
I’m glad we made it to the right place too! Enjoy your time in Europe!!!
I assume finding where you’re supposed to be in a train station is similar to doing the same thing in an airport, but it sounds daunting to this road tripper. I am glad to know that it wasn’t as bad as you anticipated though. I am looking forward to your Italy posts, Lori!
It is similar to an airport but it had me worried as I can’t read Italian!
I used to take the train in Italy in the 1970’s. It was usually pretty awful with no air conditioning and standing room only. I remember one trip from Rome to Florence when it was very hot and for some reason it was full of military guys. We had to stand in the walkway with all these guys trying to pick us up.
What memories! Sounds like the train system has improved!
Great info. I sent to a first time solo traveler who will be traveling in that area.
Thank you! I know it’s probably all common knowledge for most people but we were first timers in the area and gathering information really helped us!
Train travel in Europe is a breeze. This is a great post. Thank you!
I did enjoy the train travel!
Thank you for sharing the trials and challenges of your train trip. Glad that it worked even though not perfect. We will be in Rome mid October for a week, then to Naples, Pompeii and Sorrento via train, so your cautionary tale is very helpful to us. A big virtual hug for your help. Thank you.
Glad you liked this! Have a wonderful trip!
🙏🙏🙏🙏