Efrem

I would normally yield to someone from that area, over the considered opinion of a tourist who has visited Italy several times, but I don't want to let this go by with no comment. First, the perspective of a local often differs from that of a visitor. The visitor perspective can sometimes be more valuable to another prospective visitor than the perspective of someone who lives there - even though the visitor may come up short in terms of detailed knowledge or specific facts. Also, consider the reviews here of a typical day trip from Rome to Pompeii on TripAdvisor. I am quite aware of the pitfalls of relying on TripAdvisor reviews and the fact that some reviews are paid fakes, but when 279 reviewers (13 on TripAdvisor, 266 on Viator) give a day trip such as this an average rating of 5 - not 4.9, but 5, therefore at least 4.95 before rounding - it goes beyond the practical ability of any company to fake them and suggests that this would not be a waste of a day.

That said, I have nothing against visiting Florence. I've done that. I just suggested that they look at this option. I get no commission from the Pompeii ruins people and have no vested interest in someone going to one place or the other. I simply hate to see people do the first thing that comes to mind. If they end up doing the same thing after they look at other options, great!