Lady’s Pompeii Day Trip Guide

The final stop on my travels around the Amalfi Coast in Italy was Pompeii. Given my love of ancient Roman ruins, I was excited to take a Pompeii day trip en route from Sorrento to Naples.

Pompeii Day Trip

On my last day on the Amalfi Coast my boyfriend and I took the Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento to Pompei Scavi station to stand in awe of Mount Vesuvius and its power to destroy Pompeii in 79 AD.

We knew Pompeii was a big place, but it wasn’t until we arrived, dropped our bags at left luggage at the train station, and got our map and guide booklet at the information desk that we realized just how massive it was.

Pompeii Tour

Over the course of the next four hours, we spent our Pompeii day trip exploring the archaeological site and taking in the ruins of temples, houses, theaters, coliseums, and Roman baths.

From huge collections of pottery to well-preserved mosaics, statues, and frescoes, Pompeii was remarkably intact for having undergone both major earthquake damage and a volcanic eruption in the span of 17 years.

That’s to say nothing of the fact that the city was buried for the next 17 centuries.

We started our Pompeii day trip slowly, taking in the temples near the entrance and working our way to the massive forum.

There we stopped to see some of the collections of household items in a small open-air building. Hauntingly, there were casts of bodies of people who’d been killed in Mount Vesuvius’ eruption.

Continuing along the path, we ducked into the restored Roman baths, which had rows of statues and remnants of wall paintings.

The floors were covered with mosaics, which were covered with rugs to protect them from our intruding feet. The parts that were uncovered were stunning to see.

From the baths we explored several houses before making our way to the gorgeous Casa del Fauno, or House of the Faun.

With elaborate gardens and a huge intact mosaic depicting a battle scene, the house was one of the highlights of our Pompeii day trip.

Moving on, we explored the theaters and the long street leading to the coliseum. By then the crowds were growing thick and we had a hard time maintaining our previous pace.

We were able to explore a few more houses and get a glimpse of the coliseum, but our time in Campania was running out.

Day Trip to Pompeii

As we headed back to the Circumvesuviana train to start our long journey to Naples, then Rome, then London, we passed by some bright red poppies among the toppled columns of the once great city.

We hoped their presence was a sign we would one day return to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. I hope you can visit someday, too.

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