i don't know if it's ok just to post random experiences in these forums, but i just did the Rome to Pompeii daytrip a couple days ago...and wanted to share my experience (& make it forever google-able) with all those asking the same questions i was asking this week...
Rome to Pompeii in one day is easy and well worth it
i can see why people say it's best to spend a couple days in Southern Italy...as most of the artifacts from Pompeii are in a museum in Napoli (Naples), where you can probably spend a day...then there is the Pompeii Site itself...then Herculaneum which i have read some people like more than pompeii...
BUT if you're like me and you don't have the time & money to make a separate trip or extend your Rome vacation to another region...take my advice and go. i will also mention that i walked around Napoli for about 30 minutes before transferring to the regional train to Pompeii...and it's not a city where I'd want to spend the night. i travel quite a bit (and always alone), and i rarely feel threatened, but my instincts to be on guard really kicked in in this town...and that was in the middle of the day.
you can get cheap train tickets if you buy 30 days in advance (right now they are advertising 25 euros Rome to Naples for the fast train which is about 1hr 15mins)...but i don't know a single non-Italian who has ever successfully purchased a Trenitalia ticket online with a foreign credit card, even if you can navigate the wildly dysfunctional website.
if money is no object, just buy the fast ride from Rome to Pompeii (44 euros the day-of, as of this writing). there's also options for 34euros, 20euros, 10 euros...the less you pay, the longer the trip takes (although i warn you Trenitalia is notorious for delays...and you may very well pay double for a quick trip & end up taking just as long as the slow one)
anyway, i opted for the 20 euro / 2 hour ticket from Rome to Naples at about 9:30a.m., arriving about 11:30a.m. or a little after. i was curious, so i took a 30 minute walk through Naples. as i said earlier, Italy warns a lot about pickpockets/thieves/etc., and i have never really felt threatened. but in Naples i did get approached and even touched by people who were clearly trying to get something from me. a kid trying to steal money, etc. maybe it's just like this near the train station, but...if it's during the day, it's totally worth seeing this different world for a few minutes. and i stumbled into St. Catherine's church which was really quite beautiful. oh, and supposedly Naples has the best pizza on earth...i only had a slice in the train station, which was even pretty tasty.
anyway, afterwards, go to the lower level of the train station, following the signs to the Circumvesuviana (this is the regional train). the roundtrip ticket from Naples central station to Pompeii Scavi Villa dei Mysteri is about 5 euros. read the monitor for the next train to Sorrento (the blue line i think) to see which platform it leaves from, and when it arrives, take it about 15 or 20 stops to the abovementioned stop. the ride is 30+ minutes.
once you exit the train, you cross the street and head to the right a little. the entrance to Pompeii is clear. admission i think was 11 euros (i forget exactly), and there are guides at the front if you want to purchase a guided tour. if you have the time & money, spending extra on a guide or the audio tour i think would be nice...it would give you a better understanding of what you're seeing, without fumbling through the literature over & over again. but - if you're on the low-budget version like me - make sure you get the FREE map & guidebook from the information booth next to the toilets....that way you can look at the signs & map & book ... and the numbers for each site correspond, and you can read about each site as you go.
i breezed through for about 3 hours. i could have spent more time, were the site not closing (it closes at 5p.m., 6p.m. during summer high season).
MAKE SURE YOU GO TO THE VILLA DEI MYSTERI AND LOOK AT THE CAGED AREA NEAR THE FORUM...those are the two locations that display plaster casts of the hollows in the rock/ash where human & animal bodies had been buried by the debris. and the Villa has one room with artwork on the walls that is particularly impressive.
once you're finished, take the Circumvesuviana (go underground to cross to the platform that heads back to Naples), and Naples (Napoli) central station is the last stop.
buy your ticket back to Rome from the machines (it's really easier to buy it at the station rather than plan in advance what time you'll want to head back...and you won't save any money unless your advance purchase is about 30 days in advance. i also have to say ive never been on an Italian train that felt "sold out", so you really don't have to worry about not getting a train. if you are concerned, maybe buy your ticket back from Naples upon arriving in Naples? just keep in mind the park closes at 5 or 6, so a 9 or 10 o'clock train will have you wasting a lot of time in Naples station...or walking around Napoli in the dark...not my idea of fun haha)
i got on the 9:30am train from Rome, and returned to Rome about 12 hours later
i'm so glad i did it, and it was really worth it. food & water are available at Termini station in Rome, the Naples train station (and surrounding area), and there is a cafeteria (Autogrill) within the Pompeii site. if you want to pack snacks, that is helpful but pack light - because you are carrying your bag all day with a lot of walking.
i meant to write this entry the night i got back or the next day, so all would be fresh in my mind. but it's about 4 or 5 days later now, so hopefully this will still be helpful.
**oh as a sidenote, i feel a little bad about my portrayal of Naples...i could be wrong about it, maybe it's not so dangerous. i'm just relaying what my instincts were telling me as far as being very aware of my surroundings...and again this is from someone who rarely feels in danger on the street alone at night in many cities around the world. my Italian friends in Rome also admitted they wouldn't want to live...or maybe even spend the night...in Naples. :) so please take my comments as advice to pay attention to what's happening around you - not as a discouragement to explore a city that's probably very different than where you're from, and those experiences are why we travel, right?
good luck! have fun! don't be scared and go to Pompeii!! it's a special place with so much value. it's a long day, but not difficult. it can be done & it's worth it.





