Pompeii Suggestions Needed
 

My friend and I (college students) are planning an extended trip to Italy next year. We will be in Naples and would like to visit Pompeii from there. Any suggestions about getting to Pompeii (local train or bus, I suppose) would be useful, as well as any specific tours that are offered. Budget is TIGHT so any heads up about the price situation for the sites would be great. I'm having difficulty finding any useful info on the web about exactly what there is to see and do in Pompeii and how much things cost....

Thanks so much for any advice you can offer!

There is a commuter train run by Circumvesuviana that goes from one floor below the regular trains at Napoli Centrale to Pompeii. You get out at Pompeii Scavi. The admission fee to Pompeii is 10 Euros per person. There are guides waiting at the entrance to collect people for guided tours. I'm not sure what it costs, but I imagine it would depend on the size of the group that the guide takes in (larger group, lower price per person). Even if your guide does not take you there, go to the Villa dei Misteri, which has the largest preserved fresco cycle in Pompeii. There is a Circumvesuviana stop very close to the Villa dei Misteri.

I imagine you can also take a group tour from Naples, but it would probably cost more and give you less possibility to wander through the site on your own, which you can always do after the tour with the local Pompeii guide is finished.

What there is to "see and do in Pompeii" is to see the ruins of Pompeii.

The least expensive and easiest way would be to take the Circumvesuviana train from Naples as suggested above.

If you are on a tight budget, your best bet would be to get a guide book that lays out a walking tour of Pompeii, and explains the sites with good maps and directions. You can even get one from the library and copy out the needed pages. A tour guide could cost more than you want to spend.

There may be student discounts available at the entrance to the site. Take your current student ID with you to take advantage of such discounts.

The Circumvesuviana train will only cost a few euro one way. At Pompeii you can rent a handheld audio guide instead of joining a tour group. You and your friend can share the audioguide but you will be required to leave an ID at the rental booth until you return the guide. Pompeii is very large and you can easily spend a day there. Take water bottles and snacks or lunch with you instead of eating in the cafeteria inside if you want to save money.
This link is a bit out of date but will give you an idea of Pompeii.
http://touritaly.org/pompeii/pompeii-main.htm

Thank you all for your replies, which answered my questions exactly! To reply to "someone"'s sarcastic comment, when I asked what there is to see and do in Pompeii, I meant perhaps some specific site that is not to be missed--the fact that the ruins are there has not escaped my attention;)

Best to all

I just reposted my lost directions :) for a Rome to Pompeii daytrip which will give you info on Pompeii and other sites in the area.
Just click-on ParadiseLost and it will list my posts if you can't find it.
Also you might want to check-out http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com it's a budget backpacker forum.
Regards, Walter

Rent the audioguides -- excellent! -- and follow the route outlined by the London Times:

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/arti...080163,00.html

Pompeii is so huge that it does help to have a plan, and the London Times suggested itinerary worked well for us.

Hi

This is the Pompeii website - http://www2.pompeiisites.org/Databas...B?OpenDocument.

The audio guide is an excellent suggestion and probably your cheapest "tour" option. It's an extra cost but we found it is well worth it. Otherwise you really don't know what you are looking at!

Bring a hat and plenty of water. There is a place to buy food etc. but as it is inside the site it is not cheap. So bring your own food if you can.

As others have suggested it is very easy to get from Naples to Pompeii. The train stops right outside the site.

Have fun.

beccatrvm

Sorry..I realized I was sounding and being sarcastic after posting. Your original question did sound like you were looking for more to do in Pompeii than see the ruins: "exactly what there is to see and do in Pompeii and how much things cost...."

However, there was no need for me to sound snotty and I apologize.