A number of continuum models, combined with ab initio wave functions, are used to predict the affect of solvation by water and by di-n-butyl ether on the Claisen rearrangement of allyl vinyl ether. The polarizable continuum model (PCM) is the most successful, although the lowering of the barrier height in water is slightly underestimated. The effect of electron correlation both on the gas phase barrier and in water is predicted using the B-LYP density functional. A comparison of the molecular dipole moments from the different calculations yields a rationalization of the success of simulation calculations based upon gas phase SCF charge distributions.