Pompeii tour?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Let's assume that OP is not fluent, and even if he/she was, Pompeii is not a museum with plaques explaining what you are looking at; it is just the ruins. When we visited last year, we had a tour guide and learned a lot. I would highly recommend.

[Anonymous]

Pompeii is HUGE and a good guide will make all the difference in getting the most out of your visit. I would go with a private guide or a very small tour (6-8 people max).

We used this site -- https://www.pompeiitourguide.com/ -- and had a fantastic experience. This a small family business with guides who have been working in Pompeii for several generations.

The driver picked us up from our hotel in Naples, drove us to Pompeii where we met Ciro and had our tour. He was very knowledgeable and fun to talk to. The driver then took us to Vesuvius where we hiked up the volcano, then he drove us to our next hotel in Positano. It was $$$, sure, but made for a very convenient and enjoyable day.

[Anonymous]

Seconding to get a guide. Pompeii is absolutely huge and a good guide can take you to some of the best preserved artwork.

[Anonymous]

OP this is PP who recommended Viator and Get Your Guide. I wanted to come back and tell you to book soon because over the past few days I've heard of several people just in my small circle of friends planning to go this summer! The one we did was [/url]Pompeii Tour[url] I did a lot of research and reading reviews so happy to share other tours we looked at if you would like something different. I am organized that way

Another recommendation for visiting Pompeii - If you take a tour, they will likely have you meet near the main entrance. There is a little cafe literally right across the street. They have a juice stand in the front. The orange juice was so, so good! We wanted to go back for a lemonade after our tour but we ended up exiting by the colosseum which is on the opposite side.

Also for Pompeii and anywhere in Italy, be sure to bring reusable water bottles. There are refilling spouts everywhere and you will need to drink a lot in the summer heat. The water is cold, clean and free!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP this is PP who recommended Viator and Get Your Guide. I wanted to come back and tell you to book soon because over the past few days I've heard of several people just in my small circle of friends planning to go this summer! The one we did was [/url]Pompeii Tour[url] I did a lot of research and reading reviews so happy to share other tours we looked at if you would like something different. I am organized that way

Another recommendation for visiting Pompeii - If you take a tour, they will likely have you meet near the main entrance. There is a little cafe literally right across the street. They have a juice stand in the front. The orange juice was so, so good! We wanted to go back for a lemonade after our tour but we ended up exiting by the colosseum which is on the opposite side.

Also for Pompeii and anywhere in Italy, be sure to bring reusable water bottles. There are refilling spouts everywhere and you will need to drink a lot in the summer heat. The water is cold, clean and free!

Sorry, here is the link https://www.viator.com/tours/Pompeii/Explore-Pompeii-w-an-Archaeologist/d24336-23258P140

[Anonymous]

We did our own rambling tour and I think we would have gotten so much more out of the visit with a guided tour. Guided tours of both Pompeii and Herculaneum would have been worth the money for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Let's assume that OP is not fluent, and even if he/she was, Pompeii is not a museum with plaques explaining what you are looking at; it is just the ruins. When we visited last year, we had a tour guide and learned a lot. I would highly recommend.

+1. We made the mistake of not getting a tour guide. That PP clearly has not visited Pompeii, or doesn’t care about actually understanding what they’re seeing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This, it is a truly amazing place to also do a tour, though much smaller, more like an hour or two than half a day.

[Anonymous]

BTW, you can do this as a day trip from Rome...an early train to Naples and then the commuter train to Pompeii, meet the guide at the train station and voila.

Hit one of the historic pizza places in Naples on the way back.

[Anonymous]

Yes, absolutely get a tour guide from one of the many companies recommended here. We went several years ago with our then nine-year-old, and our guide started us at the far end so that we didn’t get caught up in the scrum at the main entrance. He made it interesting for a child, and skillfully navigated the “red light district” with euphemisms that we adults understood but went completely over our kid’s head.

Interestingly, my husband and I were watching James May’s Italian travelogue a few years later when up popped our guide. “That’s our Paolo!” I exclaimed, to the endless amusement of my husband.