Pompeii, Amalfi Coast & Positano Day Trip from Rome

4.51

(6112 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

"Did you see that fresco?" I heard someone whisper as we stepped through the old stone archway into Pompeii. Our local guide, Lucia, was already waving us over — she had this way of making 2,000-year-old stories sound like gossip from yesterday. The air inside the ruins felt heavy with dust and something else I can’t name. There was this burnt smell in one corner near the old bakery — Lucia said it might just be my imagination, but I’m not so sure. We skipped right past a long line at the entrance (which honestly felt like cheating), and then wandered through silent villas where sunlight fell in strange angles on cracked mosaics. At one point, she pointed out a faded sign for what used to be a tavern; I tried to read it out loud and butchered the Latin so badly Lucia snorted. Still makes me smile.

After Pompeii, we had maybe half an hour to grab lunch — I just sat on a low wall with some salty focaccia from a street vendor. Then back on the coach for that drive along the Amalfi Coast. If you’ve never done it: imagine blue water flashing between cliffs and tiny villages clinging to impossible slopes. The road twisted so much I lost count (and almost lost my sandwich). Our driver chatted with a local fisherman at a stoplight about last night’s Napoli game — you could hear them laughing over the engine noise. Somewhere near Positano, it started smelling like lemons and sea salt mixed together.

Positano itself is all steps and colors — laundry flapping above shops selling ceramics or linen shirts I couldn’t afford. You get maybe an hour or so to wander around or just sit with limoncello (I did both). There was this old lady selling lemon candies who insisted I try one “for luck.” Not sure if it worked but her laugh was contagious. By then my legs were tired but I didn’t really want to leave yet — you know how some places feel like they’re still moving even after you sit down? Anyway, we piled back onto the coach as the sun started dipping behind those crazy cliffs.