Where to stay

Sorrento or Piano di Sorrento are favourites.

Where to visit

Pompeii

Herculaneum

Naples

Boscoreale

Oplontis

Livia's Villa

Capri

How to travel

The Circumvesuviana railway runs between Naples and Sorrento, passing Pompeii (Pompei Scavi), Herculaneum (Ercolano), Oplontis (Torre Annunziata). Boscoreale is a bit of a walk from its nearest station. The official site is in Italian, with occasional translations into English.

Wikipedia has this on the Circumvesuviana:

The complete journey from Sorrento to Naples takes about one hour. Half-way along the line is the station at Pompeii Scavi, situated about 100 metres from the entrance to the excavations. There are also stops within reasonable walking distance - less than one kilometre - from the Roman city of Herculaneum and the Villa Poppaea (nearest station Torre Annunziata). Parts of the line are very scenic, particularly on the Sorrento peninsula, where the line passes through several tunnels and bridges.

How to help students get the most from the trip