devadevil

Ciao, can we hire a guide before going into Pompeii or do they have guides inside for hire ??? Also Is Postiano very hills or is it pretty flat, wife has a bad knee. About how much time does it take to see Pompeii and are there good restaurants near by. Everything is planed around good food.
Grazie

raincitygirl

Positano is pretty much vertical with a bit of flatness down at sea level, it is built onto the side of a very steep hill. I have bad knees too and climbed about halfway up before deciding that was enough. But if you are just visiting for the day like we were she might find it manageable. There are restaurants etc on the flat bit and shops and restaurants a bit further up, but not too bad for climbing.
With bad knees it isn't a place I would stay.

As for Pompeii, you could spend hours and hours in there depending on your interest and energy, it is vast. Flat for the most part with some small climbs. Depending on the time of year you are going it can be very hot.
We did not have a guide and kind of wished we did. I am sure I saw some for hire there, but I'm not sure of their qualifications.
We had an amazing guide in Naples who gave us a walking tour of the old city, she also does Pompeii. Her name is Marina di Martino and you can contact her at : [email protected]
She was very informative and passionate about what she does.

As for good food around Pompeii, all we saw were pretty touristy places, maybe someone else has a good recommendation. We got sucked in to a place right outside one of the exits and it was terrible food. I knew better but we were hot, tired and thirsty.

Also, please don't take this the wrong way but don't greet strangers in Italy with "ciao", that is an informal greeting used for people you actually know. Use instead Buongiorno until someone Italian uses ciao to you, then you can switch.

Have a great trip.

Rostra

devadevil, This is a "What worked for me with the possiblity that it might(?) help your wife's bad knee"?

~10yrs ago in Rome I did alot more walking than I normally do plus add in the stairs I encountered.

At home back then my bad knee usually only bothered me when I had to get up from the floor or ground.
But the next day in Rome it swelled-up and I couldn't walk without major pain for a couple of days.

The next and following years I always wore an over-the-counter knee brace on my Italy vacations and had no more problems even with a alot of walking/stairs.
At home it has gone out a few times over the years but not due to walking.

The knee brace I used was like this one;
http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/07...51_500X500.jpg
(OR THIS URL)
http://tinyurl.com/klyuwz6

Long, so it went high above and below the knee with a light flexable/hinged metal strip on each side of the knee for added support.

I wore it outside my pants during the day so I could adjust it or loosen the velcro straps when resting, sitting or eating.

Have A Wonderful Trip!

Flame123

I can HIGHLY recommend a guide for Pompeii (and also for Herculaneum which we did on the same day with her :

Lucia Pompeii Guide

Sorrento (Italy)

Mobile ; +39 3384202154

[email protected]

www.luciapompeiiguide.com


We were two couples and Lucia could not have been more wonderful, helpful, informative and just such a lovely person to spend the day with.

Good luck and enjoy!!

kybourbon

>>>wife has a bad knee<<<

Pompeii is huge and the walking is very uneven. You might find Positano easier walking than Pompeii.

http://archaeology.about.com/od/arch..._streets_5.htm

http://archaeology.about.com/od/arch..._streets_2.htm

http://archaeology.about.com/od/arch..._streets_3.htm

There will be guides outside Pompeii gathering groups for tours. You can also rent the audio guide (about 7€).