Paige

I want to take a day trip to Pompei while I am in Rome. Is it best to go with a tour group? I know I can get there just taking hte trains, I am just wondering about the historical background that is given on the tour...will I miss out on the good stories, or is there information available once I get there, or does it just speak for itself?

uncle sam

Once inside you can hire aguide. Skip the tour an express train to Naples then get the local, and that thing stops every minute or so it seems.<BR><BR>Even before you pay admissions the potential guides will come calling.<BR><BR>Be certain to negotiate!<BR><BR>US<BR>US

Nancy

There is an excellent audio guide you can rent at the entrance shop. It gives you more information than you probably even need. I like this option because you can go at your own pace, take a break, have lunch and then go back on the tour. YOu can also choose which parts you want to see, because a tour guide is not going to take you to all the places unless you have about 8 hours there.<BR><BR>Sorry to not give employment to the locals, but I would go with the audio guide. There is also a great little red book sold in the shop that has overlays showing what various sites looked like in the pre-volcano glory. Very interesting.

Walter

Paige: A bus tour will only give you ~2hrs actually at the site. <BR> Considering 2hrs isn't much to begin with plus going site to site as a slow moving large herd. Add people asking questions, sometimes just to hear their own voice I think. <BR>And you will end-up seeing only see a small section of Pompeii. DIY (i like that, get a good guidebook &amp; map, rent the excellent audioguide and see the site in detail. Regards, Walter

sss

Go there under your own steam by express train to Naples. Then take the local train from Naples to Pompeii. Then at the entrance to Pompeii, get a guide (they will be coming up to you to offer their services). For Pompeii, I prefer a human rather than audio guides as it is such a big area and easy to get lost or make a wrong turn. It is much easier to get your bearings and hear all sorts of stories with a guide taking you around. Then do some poking around on your own. When in Naples, make sure to go to the Museo Archeologica (sp?) as that's where many of the most fabulous frescoes, mosaics etc. from Pompeii are now kept. Also worth walking around Naples a bit on your own - very very different than Roma and very fun, you really are no longer in Northern Europe when in Naples.

Joyce

Even if you do not sign up for a tour, you will probably still hear the tour guide commenatries. When I visted in May, there was no way to avoid this. Everytime I stopped to look at a ruin, there was a tour group already there (often 2 or 3 groups), with guides explaining the ruin. As soon as one tour group walked away, another one immediately replaced it, so there was always a commentary going on, usually in English.<BR><BR>I also recommend buying the &quot;overlays&quot; book suggested by someone else in this thread. It is invaluable in understanding the ruins you are looking at.

sss

Oh yes, I forgot about the overlays books... they are great. When we went in September, there were hardly any groups, in fact, there were very few people there...so we were glad to get a guide (we did share him with another couple we met at the entrance). Guess the level of crowds depends on what time of year it is. Enjoy, Pompeii is really a fantastic experience.

Lynn

I'd recommend you get a guide. I also suggest you arrive there early so you can go in as soon as the gates open. That way you'll be among the first to be in and you'll have a chance to see some of the spaces in their full majesty, &quot;uncluttered&quot; by fellow tourist groups.

JET

We had a wonderful time just be buying a guide book at the gate and then spending the entire day the ruins (a 'self steem' day trip from Rome). Was a long day, but a fantastic day. The guide book we bought had a couple of suggested tours of sites etc and was great to get a tour of the site (given it will be impossible to see the entire site in a day from Rome).<BR><BR>JET