Pompeii or Herculaneum?
 

I can only have one day in sorrento to do a tour and want to visit pompeii and Herculaneum. I know I can do both on one day, but the day would be too difficult for other family member

I may have to choose between which to visit and how I can do these by myself with little ability to speak Italian. Any advice. I'm able to walk and handle the day easily.

Or if I can join in another group and do both alone. I can't find a tour group to join that visits these sites in sept 10. 2014. The ones I found only go on Sunday.

Also family is interested in a winery tour that day. Wish I could do it all, but we are not in agreement on choices or Ability to do all three in one day.

Appreciate any experienced travels suggestions.

No one can do all 3 in one day.

Just P and H will be a LOT to do - esp if you get a really hot day. Language is not an issue - you can pick up a guide at the gate or you can rent an audio tour in English.

But if anyone is bothered by heat or a lot of walking on uneven pavements I do not reco P. And do get there as soon as they open to avoid the heat as much as possible (no shade and no water inside).

I enjoyed both sites but in mid September go to Herculaneum as it's easier walking and smaller.

If someone in your party cannot do both sites in one day then it's unlikely he/she will have the stamina to visit Pompeii.

My experience suggests you don't all have to do the same thing on any given day. Split up and let everyone get what they want, however that might play out.

I originally booked a private full day tour for all three places with private guides. But then the rest of family didn't want to be included and I thought cost was too expensive just for me. So then I began looking for what I can do alone Thanks for all your help.

Is it difficult for other family member because of the mobility issue? Then I don't think there is much choice. Pompeii requires considerable walk on uneven stone streets to get to any interesting homes. Herculaneum requires less walking to get to the first house. Other houses are not far, but still require walking on uneven stone lined streets.

Pompeii is a major international travel destination. There is no need to know Italian. Things are set up for the foreign tourists.

I have done Pompeii on my own as well as with a tour guide. The quality of the visit depend on the tour guide. Even so, what they chose out of hundreds of homes may not match what you wanted to see.

You can read up on your own or look at excellent architectural lesson videos for these sites. For Herculaneum http://oyc.yale.edu/history-art/hsar-252/lecture-6 and for Pompeii http://oyc.yale.edu/history-art/hsar-252/lecture-5

There are many detailed books on Pompeii. For example, <i>The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found Hardcover </i> by Mary Beard

Are you on a cruise to be in a hurry?

Both P and H are super easy to do on your own. No need to set anything up ahead of time. You do not even need to decide now to do one or both.

Catch the train from Sorrento to Pompeii as early as you can. At the entrance, there are many guides whom you can hire right on the spot if you choose, but you can take or buy your own guide book. There are in-depth guides, and also those beautiful books with colored plastic overlays. I love those to look at later. They make great coffee table books.

So, tour Pompeii first. Take as long as you like.Then decide if you want to go on to Herculaneum. If not, just take the train back to Sorrento. If you decide to go on to H, then take the train on toward Naples and get off at H. It is about a 15 minute walk to the site. If you are hungry, there are several little places you can grab a salad or pizza on the way.

Having done both separately, I would find them a bit much to do the same day, not so much physically - just to absorb and take it, but if you think you will never get back, and you are up to it, then do both. H is small and can be done in a couple of hours once you are on the site. They are quite different and both wonderful.

IMHO, you could do a wine tour almost anyplace in the world. P and H are both unique, one of a kind, places to see. So, unless wine tours around the world are a priority for you, skip that and see some of the world's most exciting archeological sites.

We did both in a day. Took the train from Naples to Pompeii and met up with an English speaking guide that we had hired. We spent approximately 3 hours at Pompeii.

We then took the train back to Herculaneum. We walked from the train station to the site. It was downhill and took about 15 minutes??

We then spent about 75/90 minutes at Herculaneum. We did not have a guide. We used audio guides.

We then walked back up to train [we were a bit tired, but took our time; you can take taxi to and from train] and took train back to Naples.

the trick is how much you want to see. You could easily spend the whole day exploring Pompeii - it was a sizable town. You can see some highlights in 3 or 4 hours.

Can;t imagine how the OP found a guide to do all 3 in one day - I think it would give everything short shrift.

It is true there is no shade at Pompeii but there is water. I saw at least two fountains and their cafeteria sells bottled water.

There are LOTS of posts on this very topic here on Fodor's. Here are just a few...

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...in-one-day.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...i-418743-2.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...erculaneum.cfm

It depends on your interests and stamina. I agree that a wine visit is non-productive.

Pompeii is large. It is a ruined city. The buildings and streets are there, but nearly all the surfaces are not as they were. Artefacts in stone remain, but artistic details not so much. There are homes, stores, bakeries, the forum, the basilica, brothel, etc. See it and know how an ancient city was laid out and how it functioned.

Herculaneum is much smaller, as only the part not under the modern city is excavated. There are few civic buildings. On the other hand, wood, frescoes, and entire structures are there, some looking as they did 2000 yrs ago. All of Herculaneum can be seen with 2 hours of walking, including the time to and from the train.

If you want to see the structure of an ancient city, its bones as it were, then see Pompeii. If you want the flesh, see Herculaneum. The art and daily artefacts, the life of these places, by analogy, is now preserved in the Naples archeological museum, which you cannot see on your schedule.

We walked both Pompeii and Herculaneum in a single day based from Sorrento, and although tiring on the feet, it was feasible. We went to Naples another day, so got the full ancient history experience.

I might suggest something you may not have considered: Commit tourism heresy and skip Pompeii. See Herculaneum and the Naples archeological museum on the one day. You will feast your eyes rather than straining your feet. You can even include a pizza in Naples in between and feast your stomach!

>>>I may have to choose between which to visit and how I can do these by myself with little ability to speak Italian.<<<

That's not a problem. You should decided your priorities (all three things in one day are too much) and let the family decide theirs. If you are staying in Sorrento, all of you could take the train from Sorrento to Pompeii and join a tour there (there will be guides outside the gate soliciting people to join their tour).

After Pompeii, your family could head back to Sorrento and book a wine tour from there if they wanted. You could head to Herculaneum (a few train stops from Pompeii) on your own.

Your family might also look for any wine tours departing Pompeii so they wouldn't have to trek back to Sorrento.

If you decide to see both Herculaneum and Pompeii, buy the 20€ ticket which includes both.