Climbing Mount Vesuvius
 

Just returned from Italy with my three teen-agers and 11 year old. One of the highlights of our trip was climbing Mt. Vesuvius. I haven't read about this much on this forum, and just want people to know how fantastic this is. Vesuvius is a national park, and the mountain is not commercialized at all except for two souvenir shops. The climb can be a challenge, especially at the very top where there are no guiderails either down the mountain side nor into the massive crater. We made Vesuvius the theme of our trip - we had a fantastic view of it from our Villa Terrazza in Sorrento, climbed it, visited Pompeii, then saw Pompeii art in the Naples Archeology Museum. Do it if you get a chance.

thanks for your post. We are considering doing that. Good to know its worth the trip. How did you get there? Can we take public transportation, or only tours?

From Rome, take a 2-hour train to Naples then change to an approximately 40-minute commuter train to Pompeii. It is an amazing place.

Actually, getting to Vesuvius is slightly different than just going to Pompeii. You can either go to the Circumvesuviana station in Pompeii or in Herculano and in the square outside the stations, catch a tour bus to Vesuvius which leave about four times a day. (Hercolano is closer.) HOWEVER, you can also hire a minivan or cab to take you up independently. For our group of six, it would have been 6 euros per person to ride the tour bus, and we negotiated for 40 euros for a minivan. It was FAR, FAR, better, because the tour buses go the long way and pick up a bunch of people and the minivan does a quick 20 minute trip straight to the place where you start to climb, then wait for you. We were just climbing back into our minivan to go home when the tour bus arrived at the mountain. It means the difference between spending three hours or eight hours for the event, mostly spent waiting for other people.

Joanneaj, how long does the actual climb take? I thought it was several hours up and a couple down, but your post makes it sound like you weren't there that long in total?

We did that in 2000 w/ our 12 yr old son and loved it. Unfortunately a heavy cloud sat on top and we could not see any view once up there. We were taken to a haf-way point in the bus we were in and climbed to the top. Highly recommend for anyone in the area - especially those w/ kids. The climb is steep though, on a crushed lava rock path.

I took us about 45 minutes to get to the top - and that was going rather slowly to enjoy the view and catch our breath. We spent about 30 minutes on top, then it took about 25 minutes back down. Once on top you can literally walk around the rim - but that is dangerous and parts of it require a guide and equipment. We circled part of the crater, then returned. Some people climb from Hercolano, and that would take several hours going through small villages over lava fields, and scaling the smaller Mount Somma clifts, etc.

We are interested in the tour of Pompeii with a private guide and minivan, and climbing to the top. How far is it from the cruise ship point. We arrive at 8am, and leave about 5pm. If you know a specific guide, please email me! Arlene [email protected]