Returning to S. Italy & will be travelling to the Amalfi coast with a group as part of the trip.
Group is visiting Pompeii (we're based in Sorrento). We've been before & liked it, but wondering the logistics of leaving the group and hitting Herculaneum instead.

Best to take car service from the hotel in Sorrento? Or travel with them to Pompeii, & then catch a car. Will need to return to Pompeii entrance to catch up with the group again.
Rail option?

Just continue on the Circumvesuviana to Ercolano. Since it is smaller, you should be able to return to meet your group at Pompeii station.
http://www.eavsrl.it/web/en

The Herculaneum excavations are about a half mile walk downhill from the Circumvesuviana. Being smaller and having been preserved by ash rather than destroyed by pyroclastic flow, Herculaneum has much better preservation than pompeii. It is much smaller, so can be seen with less walking and in less time.

We did a long morning at Pompeii and then an after lunch Herculaneum in one heavy walking day. All transport (Sorrento, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Sorrento) via Circumvesuviana, and the 3 day ArteCard paid for admissions and the train.

I decided to visit Herculaneum instead of Pompeii while staying in Sorrento. It's an easy walk through the town from the Circumvesuviana station, as mentioned above, so no need for a car. It was December and there were very few visitors which added, I have no doubt, to my enjoyment of the place. I had the feeling I was in a town, rather than visiting ruins, fascinating.

My pictures: http://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/herculaneum-79-a-d

I actually preferred Herculaneum to Pompeii. I visited the Villa Oplonto (sp?) on the same day, don't know whether you will have time.

Having been to Pompeii a few times, last time in Naples, I went to Herculaneum. Agree with MmePerdu about it feeling like a real town, so very different from Pompeii. It is quite beautiful, so definitely go.

We did both sites on different days from Sorrento. We did Pompeii first and ran out of energy after about 5 hours. It was a great site. Next day we did Herculaneum and I enjoyed it more. First it is smaller so it isn't as tiring but it is also more intact so you get a better understanding of what it might have been like.
Images of both in this album.
Sorrento http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7634654031558/

After Pompeii and/or Herculaneum, you ought to go to the Archeological Museum in Naples (just a short subway ride and a few blocks walk from the Circumvesuviana station). where there is preserved the art and artefacts from those sites. Frescoes, sculptures, mosaics, and more. The artistic soul of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

AJPeabody - Herculaneum was buried under 20 metres of volcanic mud - not ash - which hardened like concrete and effectively swallowed the town.
Pompeii was rained on by ash and pumice which is why the buildings collapsed from the top down.

yorkshire gave you the key logistical info -- take the circumvesuvia from Pompeii to Ercolano. From there, walk to the site. And since it is smaller, you should have time to meet up with your group again by returning the same way -- or you could simply arrange to meet up with your group again back in Sorrento.

Interesting comments above: Because of the richness of the remaining structures at Herculaneum, I thought it felt much more like a resort than a town; in contrast, Pompeii seemed to me much more of a working city. On the other hand, I think I understand the distinction that MMePerdu and Sassafrass may be drawing: It was easier for me to picture life in Herculaneum, which still had structures with 2 stories and with wooden parts, etc., while Pompeii has many more bare areas and "gaps" (and so felt more like a ruin) for reasons related to the different means of their destruction.

And yes, if you haven't already done so, be sure to visit the Archeology Museum in Naples.

Hope that helps!

My wife and I went to Hercalanum, we really liked it there. Everything is amazingly preserved, a lot of objects remained, you can go into many houses and enjoy the interior decoration. We walked around this city for about three hours. However, we like Pompeii more, since it conveys the atmosphere of that time much better, you can better feel this city and that era. When you walk in Hercalanum, you constantly see modern houses around, you see modern life, laundry drying on the balcony, the sounds of cars ...

Archaeological Park of Herculaneum



All this creates a completely different feeling. Therefore, we went to Pompeii 6 times, and to Hercalanum 1 time and will not go again. And also in Pompeii there are many large and interesting buildings and objects

Archaeological Park of Pompeii

Archaeological Park of Pompeii Coliseum

While helpful, you're responding to an old thread from 2016.