So Confused! Pompei, Herculaneum or Ostia Antica?
 

I was all set with taking a day trip from Rome to Pompei during our family's trip to Italy in late December. It seemed, on the whole, to be a long day, but do-able on our own, with possibly engaging a tour guide on site. However, I've read others strongly advocating a day trip to Ostia Antica instead. Much easier from Rome and similarly well preserved. Then there are others who say that if we want to make the trip to Pompei, we should actually go to Herculaneum instead!!

Has anyone been to all three sites (or at least two of the three) and could give me a sense of what they found most engaging or worthwhile? If you had to tour the sites again but could only do one, which would you do?

As a little background, there are five of us -- 2 teenaged daughters (17 and 19), an 8-year old daughter, and my husband and I. The older girls are excited about going to Pompei (they've at least studied it a bit along the way); my youngest daughter loves to climb and run around so will probably be happy whichever we choose (although the shorter train ride to Ostia Antica would be viewed favorably by her); and my husband has never been to Pompei either but is also a bit out of shape and will get winded before the rest of us.

We will probably take this day trip on December 22 or 23, waiting until we get to Rome (on the 21st) to see how the weather is. We have 5 days in Rome before going on to Florence. We will also be staying at a hotel within a few minutes walk of the Pyramid station which makes Ostia Antica even more attractive! However, it's hard to beat the backdrop of Vesuvius.....really can't decide what to do!

I've been to all three.

Pompeii is by far the largest – it's pretty huge, so is impressive for sheer scale and variety of sites alone. Herculaneum is much smaller – just a few of streets really – but is better preserved as it was encased in mud rather than ash. This means a lot of the buildings are still two floors.

Ostia Antica was not encased in ash or mud – it was abandoned over time as the sea receded, rendering its port status obsolete. It's still fascinating, but nowhere near as well preserved as the other two. But, obviously, as Rome's former port, it's a much easier day trip.

It's not totally out of the question for you to visit both Pompeii and Herculaneum in a day if you got up at the crack of dawn and really motored. They're not that far apart (and, from memory, are on the same train line that runs between Naples and Sorrento).

So, in answer, Ostia is great but pales in comparison with the other two. However, as it's quite a distance to go, I think Pompeii would be better worth the time, as it has so much more to see.

Ditto all of Kate's comments. I'd just add that you won't see all of Pompeii, even if you skip Herculaneum. It's that big of an excavation. You should hire a guide at the entry gate or have a plan for your visit to see what interests you most.

I wouldn't make a trip to any of the three on a rainy day.

I've been to Pompeii and Ostia Antica, and would agree with the other's assessments. I had wanted to visit Pompeii for a long time, and we went there on our first trip to Italy, many years ago. It was fabulous, and worth the time to get there; we drove from Tuscany to Sorrento, spent the night there, then drove to Pompeii, spent most of the day there, before driving up to Rome for the remainder of our trip.

Ostia Antica we visited later, on a subsequent trip, and while we enjoyed it, it did not compare to Pompeii.

I would say that if enough of the group REALLY wants to visit Pompeii, it's worth the time and energy to do so.

I've been to Pompeii twice and Ostia Antica once and generally agree with previous posters - if you're planning to see only one of the two, Pompeii is the one you want to see. Pompeii was a relatively well-to-do city and that's reflected in the houses and their decorations, which document a way of life very different from working-class Ostia (and also in part to the way each city was preserved, as Kate noted. If you go to Pompeii, do take the time to walk a short distance out of town to visit the Villa of the Mysteries. It's well worth the walk.

Given the very short days of December, I highly advise you not to try to make Pompeii a day trip from Rome, and especially not to lock yourselves into one unless you are sure of dry weather.

Weather and short days aside, I have a very different response than the posters above. Ostia Antica is a very vivid, atmospheric place, where it is much easier to imagine how daily life proceeded in an ancient Roman town. The bakery, the fireguard station, the ordinary living quarters, the restaurants, the market with its signs out front (embedded in teh sidewalks) and the town square -- all these places are extremely easy to imagine bustling with people. The grassy paths also give the place life even though it is abandoned. I often urge people to visit Ostia Antica before they visit the Forum in Rome because then the Forum comes to life too.

Pompeii and its subsidiary areas are vast and tremendous. Apparently most people go for a few hours and declare themselves has having satisified their curiosity, but I was crushed when I arrived and realized I had only given myself a full day there. I will be going back this December to spend several days there. To me, the first short visit was just an exercise in frustration, knowing I would have to leave before seeing less than half of what there was to see of great interest -- plus I was able to spend part of the next day at the archeology museum, which you won't be able to do on a day trip. The most stunning artwork of Pompeii has been removed to the museum for safekeeping.

So I can't recommend a day trip to Pompeii in December.

Just to be clear: I also have been to all 3 sites, but Ostia Antica is the only one I was able to fully appreciate in a single day.

Part of the appeal of seeing Pompeii for me was that it had captured my imagination as a child, and I was really excited to be able to go there. This might be true of the children in your party, who might like to see something they have heard of and learned about.

I have not been to the other two sites, but I was awed and humbled by Pompeii on my two visits there. My college aged daughter was with me the first time, and we saw a bunch of kids on school trips. She commented that if you lived in Italy your school trips went to way better places than the school trips she went on in Massachusetts.

I went to Ostia Antica last October, and then a few days later, to Pompeii. We did Ostia Antica as a day trip from Rome, but saw Pompeii while staying in the town of Pompeii itself. They were both marvelous - but I would vote Ostia Antica for a day trip especially given the time of year. The days are very short in December and they may start herding you out of the excavations relatively early in the afternoon - like 3pm. That could mean that you have a very short day at Pompeii, with a ton of travel time to get there and back. And you will never regret seeing Ostia Antica. The mosaic floors at Ostia Antica are better by far than in Pompeii - where much of that type of thing was removed long ago and taken to the museum in Naples. There is so much to see there that you will be fascinated and it will definitely be a day well spent, and you won't be as worn out as if you go all the way to Pompeii. Consider how much more you will get done in Rome the following day if you aren't totally tired. Going to Ostia Antica will require a lot of walking (same for Pompeii) - there is a bit of a walk from the train stop into the Ostia ruins themselves and the ruins are extensive if you go all the way in. One more thing, we hired a guide from Context tours for the Ostia Antica trip. She met us and we rode out together on the train. I learned so much from her, that I think it also made the tour of Pompeii more interesting because I could appreciate what I was seeing. My experience traveling with young people is that they really enjoy a good guide who can talk to them about what they are seeing. The Context guides are incredible. Ours was an architect who could explain all about the building techniques etc. This will also increase your enjoyment because you won't have to have your nose in a guidebook the whole time or worry whether you are on the right train - things like that. If you go to Ostia Antica, check to be certain of the hours it is open, and whether the lovely little cafeteria will be open when you are there. If not, there is no place else in the ruins to get something to eat or drink, so take things with you. You can easily spend an entire day there. And one last thing, in planning my trip to Italy last year I was so worried about whether I was spending my time on the right things - but once I got there I realized there is so much that is worth seeing and doing - you can hardly go wrong. For example, because of a strike that shut down transportation in Rome on the day we were going to see the Forum area, we got there very late and were only able to see a small part of it. But by then I had realized it didn't matter because I had seen many many other things on the walk there. You just can't make a bad choice - so do the easy thing - go to Ostia Antica.

Pompeii. The others don't compare.

I've been to all 3. The Ostia Antica trip was this summer and we went there because it was really way too hot to go further south to the Naples area. We spent the entire day there and could have stayed longer. It is a remarkable site but difeferent from the other 2. I'd go there if you only have the 1 day. It will be an exhausting day. Of the other 2 I'd pick Herculaneum. I think there is more to see on site. For Pompei you really need to see the museum in Naples too. But nancythenice is absolutely right when she says you can't make a bad choice - it's all good. It's just a question of not over doing it.

Definitely Pompeii. We have also visited Ostia Antica and it is well worth a trip but if you can visit only one, make it Pompeii. I do not agree that you can't do it justice in one day but of course, you will have to get the earliest possible start.

I can't speak for Ostia Antica but otherwise would agree with the previous posters.

IMO, the Rome-Naples train is easy and not so long - just make sure you take an express where there are no stops between. (These run about once an hour.) After your long day, it will be nice to sit back and watch the countryside blur by on your return to Rome.

Likewise, the transfer to the Circumvesuviana commuter train is straightforward and well marked in the newly renovated Naples train station. As mentioned, the route to Sorrento stops at both Erculano and Pompeii-Scavi, for the archeological sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii, respectively. Note that you do not want the "Pompei" station, as that will put you in the modern town center, whereas the Scavi stop is directly in front of the entrance to the archeological site.

For Herculaneum, you must exit the train at the modern town of Erculano, then take a hired, communal van to the site. (It's not within walking distance.) There's a little office at one end of the parking lot in front of the train station, not particularly well marked, where you buy the round trip tickets (10 euro each). The van driver will tell you what time he will pick you up for the return.

While it's true that Herculaneum is better preserved, IMO there's nothing like the scale of the site at Pompeii. Perhaps because it has relatively long site lines, I felt that you really get the magnitude of the site in a way that even Ancient Rome does not elicit. The Herculaneum site is below current ground level and encircled by modern residential buildings. If you do choose Pompeii, definitely make a plan to go to the Villa of the Mysteries, as it is a good illustration of what these homes would have looked like inside...

I usually recommend a trip to the National Archeological Museum in Naples - but given your timeframe and the kids, despite its wonders it's probably best to leave it for another trip. (If you are able/interested, the collection at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC is also quite good - and some of its mosaics are even referenced at the Naples museum!)

Overall, I would heartily agree that ultimately you can't go wrong no matter what you choose: it's all so incredible to see!!

For background on all three sites, as well as many others and many monuments in Rome itself, I recommend highly the free course on line offered by Yale University on ancient Roman architecture. http://oyc.yale.edu/history-of-art/roman-architecture

Thank you, these are all very helpful suggestions. I think nikki is right that the story of Pompei is what is going to capture their imagination and give the ruins unique meaning. I think we'll stay flexible though -- if after two days touring Rome they are up for an EARLY train to Pompei (and the weather looks promising), we'll go for it. If that just seems like too much, we have a great second option with Ostia Antica. I do appreciate the comments about having reduced daylight hours and not being able to see it all. I definitely want my girls to enjoy what they do see and experience, rather than trying to cover too much ground. But with an early start and some advance research, we should be able to get a good flavor of it (and while I usually prefer to explore independently, hiring a guide at Pompei seems to be worthwhile). We will have a rather quiet Christmas Eve and Day to recover if we do decide to make the trek to Pompei. Thanks to nikki as well for the great link to the online course at Yale. I'm really excited to dig into that!

>>>For Herculaneum, you must exit the train at the modern town of Erculano, then take a hired, communal van to the site. (It's not within walking distance.) <<<

Actually, it is within easy walking distance of the train station (just down the hill - 5 minutes if that). Perhaps ggreen got off at the wrong train station as a van is not necessary. You would need to get off at Ercolano Scavi stop, not Ercolano Miglio D'Oro.

You need the communal van to go to Vesuvius from the Ercolano Scavi train stop.

We have been to all three and concur with the benefits of doing Ostia Antica as a day trip from Rome - - the markets and warehouses really give you the flavor of the commercial city it once was. The baths are also very impressive. Traveling with kids is taxing and I cannot see how they would not benefit more from an enjoyable day at Ostia rather than a too-long day at Pompeii. Pompeii and Herculaneaum are great when you are based in Sorrento or Naples - - but not from Rome with the short days of December.

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We've been to all three of the sites on at least two occasions, and I really can't imagine - once home again - that anyone ever says, "Gosh, I'm glad we went to Ostia not Pompei"...?

And you'd perhaps never stop kicking yourselves if you passed up on the opportunity to see those magnificent remains... though it would be a good reason to return again!

Generally we're not huge fans of being led round places, but sometimes a good guide can weave magic out of a pile of stones - and if you're interested then you might save some of the cost with the tips offered here...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._Campania.html

(Apologies for the cross-site posting, but the version here got rather sidetracked!)

One or two suggestions of my own: particularly if you'll be visiting the Colosseum, maybe skip Pompei's less interesting amphitheatre.....
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/ovals

... these could be useful: the new official website...
http://www.pompeiviva.it/pv/en/pompei.htm

.. a couple of handy maps...
http://www.unicocampania.it/index.ph...n=mappe_pompei

... and, for an idea of how nice it can be down here near Naples in December, try some of these pictures...
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/ischiawinter

Peter

<<The older girls are excited about going to Pompei (they've at least studied it a bit along the way)>>

this would answer the question for me