Crystal_Wu

Hello,

Planning a day trip to the 3 sites and wondering what is the best way to get to all 3. We are on a tight budget, so we were looking for buses to take us between Pompeii and Vesuvius and then Vesuvius to Herculaneum. I've been looking all over, and I can't seem to find a recent timetable. Has anyone does this before?

Thanks in advance for your help!
Crystal

caroline_edinburgh

Sorry if this seems harsh, but... What makes you think this is remotely a good idea ? How much are you really inteested in each site and wht do you expect to see ? We spent 7 hours at Pompeii alone (which wasn't really enough) and c.3.5 hours at Herculaneum the next day, from a base in Naples. Where is your day trip from - please tell us it's not from Rome ?

Michael

We met a couple who did Vesuvius in the morning and Herculaneum in the afternoon. I doubt that you could add Pompeii to the mix.

twoflower

Michael: if we left Vesuvius out of the mix, would Pompeii and Herculaneum be doable in a day? If so, how would they best be done without a car?

Jean

A day trip from where?

I would definitely leave Vesuvius out, and you could spent a few hours each at two places. But I'd be torn between Pompeii + Herculaneum or Pompeii + Naples archeology museum. (FWIW, I'd probably choose the museum.)

Pompeii, Herculaneum and Naples are all on the Circumvesuviana train line. (Search: Pompei Scavi, Ercolano Scavi, Napoli.)

http://www.vesuviana.it/web/en/Orari

Michael

Pompeii and Herculaneum are on the same commuter line that starts out in Naples. Public transportation connections are not a problem. From the Ercolani station, just walk straight downhill and you'll come to Herculaneum.

kja

> would Pompeii and Herculaneum be doable in a day?

I did both in a single very long day from Naples. I'm sure I would have enjoyed more time in both places, but was pleased with what I saw. If you are starting from anywhere else, I think it would be very difficult to see even just these 2 sites in one day, although people differ in what they want to see and at what pace. I saw the archeology museum in Naples on a different day, and like Jean, would consider skipping either Ercolano or Pompeii (depending on your interests) to see the museum if you have only 1 day for all of it. And if Vesuvius is a priority, you can probably see it and either Ercolano or Pompeii. Hope that helps!

kybourbon

Pompeii and Herculaneum are not very far apart by train. The Circumvesuviana train only costs a few euro. You can buy a ticket that includes both Pompeii and Herculaneum which will save you a euro or two over buying separate entrance tickets. Have cash to pay for the tickets. If you have an IPod, you can download Rick Steves Pompeii walking tour from ITunes free.

If you are in the area several days, you might want to buy the Campania Arte Card 3 day Tutta la Regione (27€) which gives you free admission to two sites and then discounts at others. It also includes most of the transport in Naples and along the coast (not water transport) all the way to Paestum.
http://www.artecard.it/

flanneruk

You really do have to ask yourself what the value to you is of both Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Though they're very different sites (and, before the eruption, very different towns), they're still vast collections of semi-destroyed aesthetically underwhelming, buildings, laid out on the same Roman cookie-cutter street plan, with virtually all their artefacts long removed to museums. Or rather, in most cases, one museum.

Pompeii is stunning, but physically immense, potentially exhausting and spectacularly time-consuming: Herculaneum less stunning but a great deal more intimate. Personally, I couldn't stand doing both in a day, and I'd assign a max of half a day to visiting the major destroyed towns, and choose just one. The minor excavations north and south of Naples featured in the artecard give you a completely different perspective on the culture

The Archaeological Museum, on the other hand, is far and away the world's most breathtaking collection of Roman art and craft, because most of the world's stock has been excavated from Campania in the past century or so, and most has gone into the Naples museum.

Whatever your attitudes to museums, the classical-era glass, mosaics and pornography (most from Pompeii) in the Archaeological Museum tell you at least as much about the destroyed cities (and are much more satisfying to look at) as the sites themselves.

caroline_edinburgh

DH and I are evidently in the minority, but we were underwhelmed by the Naples archaeological museum (and I did my degree in arcaheology, so was prepared to be interested !). Having so far spent a total of 10 days in Naples, I'd rank at least a dozen sights above the archaeological museum for interest.