Pompeii tour?
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Anonymous
| We are going to be in Pompeii over Spring Break and are unsure if it’s worth it to pay for a tour, and if so if we should book in advance. Does anyone have insights? Thanks very much! |
Anonymous
| Yes, definitely. Even the tours off of GetYourGuide are archaeologists who are very educated. There’s no way to just know things from looking at bricks from 2000 years ago. I would do at least a 2 hour tour and then save time for walking around at your own pace. In the summer there is very little shade and the sun can be brutal so plan accordingly. |
Anonymous
| Sorry just saw you are going during Spring Break. The weather should be nicer then. |
Anonymous
| We all loved it! So interesting! agree with advice to do a tour and budget time also for wandering |
Anonymous
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If you are at all fluent, go by yourself not with a hokey tour.
If you speak Spanish at least you will do ok with Italian. I just rented a small car when visited Italy and spent a week driving to different areas, took a couple ferries and use a bicycle a few times. |
Anonymous
| Get a private guide, GetYourGuide is just fine. Only licensed tour guides, many of whom are archaeologists or art historians, are allowed to guide people in the sites. They do a fantastic job and it makes it much more enjoyable and impressive. Pompeii can really be a maze and it’s helpful to have people who know where to go. It is not well marked with signage. |
Anonymous
| Agree. Get a private guide. We loved visiting Pompeii. Fascinating and a great guide can steer you around the crowds and provide great insights. |
Anonymous
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Book a tour! We booked a fabulous one (in advance) and it made Pompeii come alive (our tour guy was so engaging and was able to teach us so much). Others who were touring at the same time with a tour book in hand took the time to comment on how smart we were to book a tour. If you are traveling with children…it will make a huge difference! Our kids were in elementary school when we went to Pompeii and the guide really made it interesting g for them. https://toursofpompeii.com/
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Anonymous
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Definitely book a tour. We went through Viator. Either that or get your guide and look at the ratings. We did this one and it was very good. We wished we had booked a longer one though.
Explore Pompeii with an Archaeologist ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.9/5 (391 Reviews) From $52.36 https://www.viator.com/search/23258P140?mcid=64243 |
Anonymous
| Thanks all! This is so helpful. (This is OP.) Is get your guide the group that you sign up with when you arrive at the site? I think there are guides there, permitted to operate at the site, who aren’t booked in advance but I don’t know if that’s dicey to count on. We’ll be going on a Monday in March but I figure it could still be crowded. |
Anonymous
Book ahead of time. Don’t roll the dice with whoever is there when you arrive. |
Anonymous
| Book ahead. The guide can also help time your entry so that you avoid crowds. |
Anonymous
No get your guide is an app as is Viator. They are both similar and you book ahead. Viator is owned by Trip Advisor. |
Anonymous
| Consider Herculaneum. I haven’t been, but learned about it in an art history class and have heard from people I mentioned to that they liked it better than Pompeii. |
Anonymous
| If you like Pompeii and have time, definitely go to Herculaneum. It’s smaller in scale but better preserved. You can get the same type of guide on GetYourGuide or Viator. |