I'd like opinions on which is best - Pompeii or Ostia Antica. Thanks so much

Pompeii is infinitely better, bigger, and far more genuine, although less convenient. Ostia was butchered by Mussolini in a hasty and artificial reconstruction/prettying-up that looks really fake unless you are tone deaf to such things.

If you're thinking about a day trip from Rome, definitely Ostia Antica because it's much easier to reach.

We loved Ostia Antica. We have been to both, and both are interesting int heir own right.

Pompeii is definitely much larger and has a more intriguing history, which is part of why its so famous. But its very touristy and much farthur away.

Ostia Antica was more of a working class town. The town itself is quite large and not nearly as touristy. There is much to see and its less than an hour from Rome's Piramide station.

I'm not sure about the above statement on Ostia, as I don't recall anything fake and false about it. Mussolini was responsible for helping dig a lot of it out, sure, but its an archeological sight and nothing has been moved or altered to my knowledge, and I definitely don't remember any reconstructions. I actually liked it better than Pompeii in a certain sense because its a lot less tourisy so you can really get a sense for the layout of the town and what it must have been like.

I think that as a daytrip from Rome Ostia would certainly be a good choice. We visited both as daytrips from Rome on two separate trips. Pompeii can most certainly be done. If you leave early in the morning you can get there and spend 5-6 hours before heading back to Rome. It makes for a long daytrip but its a great sight. Ostia can be seen in half a day unless you are really interested.

If you do a search on here you will see that many people recommend Ostia, as well as many opinions on which one is the better daytrip.

Good luck!
Tracy

We visited Pompeii about 10 years ago on our first trip to southern Italy - it was one of the things that I REALLY wanted to see in my lifetime, and it did not disappoint.

We visited Ostia Antica on our most recent trip to Rome.

I enjoyed both, but Pompeii "wowed" me much more, because more of it is there to see - though you have to use your imagination for both locations to picture how it once was. But Ostia Antica was a very nice day trip from Rome, it was definitely less touristy, and I did really like the mosaics, especially in the market area.

Pompeii would be difficult as a day trip. We visited it on the way to Sorrento, which worked out well for us. If you have the time, and are interested (or very interested) in ancient ruins, then choose Pompeii.

I'm sure Ostia Antica is notorious in the academic world as one of the worst jobs of excavation and misleading reconstruction by a developed country. That's not to say it's a bad experience; at least it's shady and handy to Rome. But a timid traveler might even find a group tourbus trip to Pompeii even easier logistics-wise than the kind of weird transfers and stuff to get to the Ostia site.

I can't find much supporting info on the web, but here is one quote "Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome. Mussolini's government did a slap-dash restoration, and parts of the site are falling to pieces now. " but the problem is more that they reconstructed too much, with new brick in a amateurish misleading fashion. scat-he-g4.sunderland.ac.uk/~harryerw/blog/index.php It just screams fake to me, although I have some schooling in archeology.

We did a full day trip to Pompeii from Rome (in August). Since this is such a subjective question, perhaps a better way to approach it is: how much time do you have in Rome? We had five full days and so for us the day trip (using Viatours, purchased online in advance)was also a chance, mid-week, to escape the city, besides being a lifelong dream. If you have only 1-3 days, unless Pompeii is also high on your own must-see list, it might mean sacrificing some of the other important sites/sights in Rome. This was not a guided tour- you basically got an air-conditioned big bus ride that left from near the train station about 8 am, returning about 6 pm, I think. It was about three hours one way, with a rest stop at an Italian gas station/mini mart each way. The bus dropped us at the main entrance- important to do that (I think the train does not)! Also, at least at the time we were there, credit cards were not accepted for the admission price, so make sure to have enough cash, as well as lots of water. I saw tours advertised that include the museum in Naples- siince almost all the artifacts have been moved there. Nonetheless, it was every bit as fantastic as I'd hoped, and I'll never forget the sight of Mt. Vesuvius through one of the ruined windows!

There have been prior threads on this subject. From Rome, Ostia is a much easier day trip and you will be exhausted from walking around before you have seen everything. The mosaics are fantastic. You can even see the market and, from the mosaics in the floor, you can tell which merchant set up where. Fantastic!

The chief attraction at Pompeii is that it was buried in the eruption.

Pompeii, as someone else noted, is easily done on the way to Sorrento and/or the Amalfi Coast or if you are staying in or near Naples.

I think the best/worst example of the reconstruction at Ostia is the Theater which had a *major* job done on it.

patiboo;
Both sites are wonderful in their own right.
But I'd go with Pompeii as the best.
It's a complete walled & gated 1C Roman city, sort-of a mini-Rome.
It also has more interesting stories to tell.
Regards, Walter