My family (2 adults and 2 children) are staying in Naples one day before heading to Rome. I would like to just take the train down to Pompeii on our own and tour the city and Mt. Vesuvious.

My question is whether we can hire guides or join a tour group once we are in Pompeii or do we need to arrange something beforehand.

Thanks for any help.

Robert

Hi R,

Pompei Scavi has licensed guides that put together group or private tours.

You can join a group when you get there.

Hi Robert - You can do Vesuvius easily enough by public transport from Pompeii before or after your visit.

The Vesuvius Bus departs from Pompeii (- Piazza Amfiteatro) at:

08.00 - 09.00 - 09.30 - 10.15 - 10.30 - 11.25 - 12.25 - 13.20 - 14.30 - 15.30

[Departures leave Pompeii Terminus bus station 5 mins before the above].

Fare: € 8.60 round trip. Journey time: 70 mins

Service operator: Vesuviana Mobilita

http://www.comune.ercolano.na.it/erc...suvio_2006.pdf


Bus tickets can be bought at:
- Circumvesuviana railway station OR
- 'Sgambati' (- station newsagents/tobacconist kiosk)

Entrance fee to the crater: € 6.50

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Steve - thank yu for the information. We are staying in naples and wanted to take a quick day trip down to pompeii and vesuvius.

My thought had been to take the circumvesuviana down to pompeii, tour it for a couple of hours and then take the CV back to ercolano where we could catch a bus to vesuvius.

Do you think it is easier to catch the bus to vesuvius from pompeii (one way) and then catch a different bus down to ercolana for the trip back to naples?

Thanks for any insight.

There are about 10 departures daily from Pompeii - but only two, I believe, from Ercolano.

So I think it will be more convenient to catch the bus from Pompeii.

Depending on your return time from Vesuvius, you may be able to return directly to Ercolano. Otherwise you will have to return to Pompeii and back to Naples from there.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

P.S. Bus times FROM Vesuvius (- Vesuvius 1000m) to Ercolano (- Circumvesuvian railway station) are:

Dep. 13.55 ( - arr. Ercolano 14.30)

OR

Dep. 16.30 ( - arr. Ercolano 17.20)


(Departures FROM Ercolano to Vesuvius 1000 are at 08.45 or 12.45)

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Is this true, as Ira indicates, that there are always guides at the entrance to Pompeii ready to put together group tours?

What would a tour of the site with a private guide cost? How informative are these guides in general?

HI Robert,

I sounds like you probably won't have time, but if you do, try to get to the archeological museum in Naples to see the "stuff" excavated from Pompeii. The condition of the mosaics, frescoes and everyday items that were found there is absolutely extraordinary. It really helped to bring Pompeii to life for me.

Patti

bookmarking...Thanks!

We were underwhelmed by our walk up Mt. Vesuvius. It was only "okay." However, it did afford some very nice views of the bay.

LOVED Pompeii and were glad we had a guide to point some things out and explain them -- but would have also liked several additional hours on our own. Maybe because I was already with a group, but I didn't notice any tour guides outside.

I was not aware that tour guides congregate outside and will put together a group of strangers as Ira described...sounds unusual to me....

Can anyone shed more light on this issue?

Also, is the Pompeii site open daily?

ekscrunchy,,

Guides do indeed gather at the entrance to Pompei and will put together groups, or at least they did three years ago when we were there.

The licensed guides wear ID cards.

We were our own group of 10, so we hired Luigi for 10 Euro a person for a wonderful tour.

After our tour, we took the Circumvesuviana to Ercolano, where we hired one of the waiting vans for the trip up Vesuvius.

I think that was probably also 10 Euro a person.

Byrd

When I was at Pompeii a few weeks ago, there were guides inviting people to join them on tours. I chose to go on my own, with a rented audio-guide, in part because I already had reservations to see some of the buildings that require reservations. I don't remember how much the guides were charging, but I do remember thinking that it wasn't very much. Hope that helps!

ekscrunchy, we made arrangements for a private guide before leaving the US. He charged us €60 each for the two of us for a 2 hour tour. He met us at the gate and took us to a section that was not yet open to the public in addition to the usual highlights of Pompeii.

My thinking was that we'd come a long way for a once-in-a-lifetime visit to a very special place and we wanted a high quality tour. But I know that's a personal choice & not one everyone would make.

Didn't notice if there were other guides at the gate.

kja-
What are the buildings which require reservations and where can I find out more?
Thanks!

For advance reservations to certain sites at Pompeii and Ercolano, go to:
http://www.arethusa.net
It's in Italian, but I found it pretty easy to navigate.
Enjoy!

Thanks! I saw that site, but wasn't certain because it was all in Italian. I've going to have to dig out my Italian dictionary.
Which rooms did you visit?
Was it a guided tour, or did they just allow you entrance?
Any advice?
Thanks!

LA Woman I agree with you. I would much prefer to reserve to insure an informative guide with good English skills. Do you mind sharing the name and address of the one you used?

I reserved and visited each of the three reservation-only buildings at Pompeii that would be open when I was there - the Terme Suburbane, Casa degli Amorini Dorati, and Casa dell'Ara Massima. In each case, my reservation meant that someone let me in; no one acted as guide, although I think all three were covered by the audio-guide. The Terme Suburbane are right next to the main entrance; I gave my reservation to someone there who let me in. The two Casas are more or less next to one another; the same person let me in to each of them. You might search this forum for further information - I remember exchanging posts with someone else who had made reservations before I went. And if it helps, I used BabelFish to translate the information on the arethusa web-site; see http://world.altavista.com

ekscrunchy -

His name is Gaetano Manfredi, his # is (338)725-5620 (+ Int'l/Italy codes). I think that's his cell #.

He was good and we were very satisfied - call it a 7 on a scale of 10.

He is a native of Pompeii and has a doctorate in Archaeology or something like that. (Forget the actual degree & subject!)

He has family in England and his English is good.