Pompeii in August

[carolinesmom]

We're working on plans for our port days. We're leaning toward booking Rome In Limo for Rome and Florence, but not so sure about Pompeii. Someone advised us to not go to Pompeii since it will be very hot and dusty in August. Has anyone been there in August who could confirm this? Any other suggestions on how to spend the day. We are docking in Naples. We are 3 families - 6 adults, 5 13-16 year olds, and 5 8-12 year olds. We need something that will be good for all the children. Thanks!

[Penny S.]

You will probably get more replies if you post this in the Italy section rather than the Spain Ports.

 

Pompeii will be hot, but is so worth it. Go there first thing in the morning, wear hats and bring plenty of water.

[txladycruiser]

We were there in mid June. It was terribly hot. We had our kids with us ages 16-21. You will definitely need to wear hats and put sunscreen on. I'm pretty sure you can buy bottled water at the entrance. It is very interesting, though, so if you are prepared, I would do it.

 

 

 

Karen

[CruiserBruce]

We went to Pompeii in August. It was warm, but fine. Don't miss it. As mentioned, this entire thread should be on the Italy board.

[carolinesmom]

Thanks so much! I will put this on the Italy board. I was working on booking a hotel for Barcelona and had Spain on my mind!

[Ashland]

Thanks so much! I will put this on the Italy board. I was working on booking a hotel for Barcelona and had Spain on my mind!

We also did Pompeii in August '11 with no regrets..I normally am not a fan of ship excursions at all but due to logistics and transportation for our first visit we opted to take RCI's more or less DIY Sorrento & Pompeii....Naples & Monte Carlo (we took the little tourist train down & back to Monaco) and Pisa & Florence..these ended up being much better and less expensive than I thought...However we did use RomeInLimo when in Rome for a private driver in addition to having a private guide for the Vatican..and that was amazing....ENJOY !!!

[chipmaster]

RIL second week of August, it was HOT. We were off the ship at as early as possible, at the entrance to Pompeii before opening. We got to tour some of the places before the hordes of tourist and bus from cruise ship arrived. For example in the attached picture we were the only people lounging at the Plaza. When we left it was packed with people. Every child learns the story of Pompeii not sure how you can skip this just because it is hot. It will be hot in Rome and Florence too!

 

Absolutely going with a private driver has some goodness. We did about 2 hours in pompeii than we did Amafli coast, well worth it! No question by the time we got to Amalfi my kids had car fever...

 

Having so many kids could get long in tooth around the drive into and out of Amalfi, but if you can do Rome and Florence with that gang whats one more day like that. Or with so many kids they will figure out how to have fun togather in the car... :eek:

 

 

We're working on plans for our port days. We're leaning toward booking Rome In Limo for Rome and Florence, but not so sure about Pompeii. Someone advised us to not go to Pompeii since it will be very hot and dusty in August. Has anyone been there in August who could confirm this? Any other suggestions on how to spend the day. We are docking in Naples. We are 3 families - 6 adults, 5 13-16 year olds, and 5 8-12 year olds. We need something that will be good for all the children. Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

Chipmaster, I agree totally. RIL gets you there before the gates open, and for the first hour or so you have the place to yourself. Same thing happened to us. It was great to see Pompei without the mobs.

[BKFlowerMound]

We were there in Mid-July last year with our sons, 9 and 12. We're Texans so we know HOT. And it was HOT. No shade, no breeze, intense sun. The boys whined and complained and whined and complained, but they say it was one of their best memories of the cruise. I'm glad we did it (on the ships tour), but we won't be going back anytime soon. (and we're going to be in Naples again in August).

 

If I had to do it over again, I would do RomeInLimo. One of the annoyances of the ships tour was the constant waiting in the midday sun for the guide to herd the group along. The kids probably wouldn't have minded the heat so much If we could have moved at our own pace. We would have been able to skip the obligatory stop at the cameo factory as well.

[carolinesmom]

I booked the RIL tours for Florence/Pisa and for Rome. We're still not sure about the Naples stop. The kids don't seem too excited about Pompeii. We might go to Capri for the day and try to see the Blue Grotto. We need to do some more research. Three full days of touring might be a bit too much for everyone (adults included). Thanks for all your feedback. It always helps to get first hand info.

[Eileen G]

What I think might be nice is after Pompii take the train to Sorrento and spend some time at their "beach". You could find a nice place to have lunch and then let the kids go swimming. After take the ferry back to Naples.

 

 

This picture was taken in May. It will probably be crowded in August.

[ollienbertsmum]

You can easily catch a train in Naples and get off in Pompeii and then go on to Sorrento and catch the Ferry back to the port.

 

RIL services will make the same trip much easier - and you can see up the Amalfi coast The difference is the cost. I think if i were not planning to come back to the area I would pay for the limo service.

 

I also think that kids get tired. Encourage them to sleep in the car. They will have stayed up late with their friends in the kids club. Ours stayed up much later than the supposed curfew. They were not causing trouble, it is just that in the Med, kids are used to late nights, but that has to mean that they will not be bright and chirpy at 7 am.

[ollienbertsmum]

What I think might be nice is after Pompii take the train to Sorrento and spend some time at their "beach". You could find a nice place to have lunch and then let the kids go swimming. After take the ferry back to Naples.

 

 

This picture was taken in May. It will probably be crowded in August.

 

I want to be there.

[carolinesmom]

My husband was doing some reading this afternoon and mentioned Sorrento to me as an option. It looks beautiful. A leisurely lunch and the beach might be just the thing that day. Thanks for the suggestion, I'm going to look into it more.

[texancruzer]

We have used APTours for our private tours in Naples. We have used them twice now. Check out their website since their prices are quite a bit less than RIL. We have had two spectacular days with them and can highly recommend them.

 

Pompeii (we too got there before the gates opened), then Ravello, Amalfi, Positano and then to Sorrento where we took the ferry back to Naples. This is good option with kids since it keeps you from a lot more driving. It was fun to see the coastline from the ferry up close....... another option to think about :)

 

As for August, you are going to be hot pretty much anywhere you go.... Rome can be stifling in August. Hats, umbrellas, sunscreen and WATER.......will be the morning routine when leaving the ship !

[4774Papa]

We're working on plans for our port days. We're leaning toward booking Rome In Limo for Rome and Florence, but not so sure about Pompeii. Someone advised us to not go to Pompeii since it will be very hot and dusty in August. Has anyone been there in August who could confirm this? Any other suggestions on how to spend the day. We are docking in Naples. We are 3 families - 6 adults, 5 13-16 year olds, and 5 8-12 year olds. We need something that will be good for all the children. Thanks!

We were there in July, and it was hot. We didn't have a problem, but we are from Georgia and it is hot there in July.

When we were there, my Son was 7 and Daughter was 13. I did a lot of traveling in Europe with my kids (we lived overseas for several years) and found that from age 10 up, kids seem to take in historical sites pretty well. Under 10 it is mixed. My 7 year old Son was interested in Pompeii, especially the casts created by voids left by people killed by the ash. Also, remember his fascination with the Sistine Chapel and the Coliseum.

I would suggest that you prepare you kids for the trip with some background on the history of Pompeii and Rome. They will love it.

[Joisey Guy]

Many tours seem to start the day by visiting Pompeii in the morning. This seems to make sense if it's a bit cooler and less crowded than later in the day.

 

However, my private guide for Pompeii has suggested that we tour the Amalfi Coast first and then visit Pompeii in mid-afternoon. She claims there's generally an afternoon breeze that makes the summer heat more tolerable and that the majority of tours and tourists stop at Pompeii in the morning.

 

Has anyone toured Pompeii on a summer afternoon and what was your experience? Do you think it preferable to visit in mid-afternoon than in the morning?

 

We will be arriving in Naples aboard the NCL Epic on 8/14 and have hired a car and driver for the day. In addition to Pompeii, we plan to visit Amalfi/Positano and Ravello. I don't think the limo company has specified the order we'd be visiting each location, and I'm sure we could ask the driver to stop at Pompeii in the afternoon.

 

I assume that if we got to Pompeii at 2:30pm and toured for two hours, we could be back at the Port of Naples around 5:00pm, as NCL recommends.

 

Thanks,

 

 

JG

[euro cruiser]

However, my private guide for Pompeii has suggested that we tour the Amalfi Coast first and then visit Pompeii in mid-afternoon. She claims there's generally an afternoon breeze that makes the summer heat more tolerable and that the majority of tours and tourists stop at Pompeii in the morning.

 

 

I assume that if we got to Pompeii at 2:30pm and toured for two hours, we could be back at the Port of Naples around 5:00pm, as NCL recommends.

It will be hot all day in the summer, at least in the afternoon you'd have less people to deal with in the heat. If you have a small umbrella with you that's a good way to keep the sun off while walking around Pompei.

 

I would not count on making it back to the ship from Pompei in thirty minutes. Even though it's less than 20 miles, the traffic can be horrific. Best case is 40 minutes, but to be on the safe side I'd plan for an hour. I doubt that most of the limo services would agree to your timetable anyway, they build their reputations on getting everyone back to the ship on time and I don't think they'd take the risk.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I've been there in late July and it was very hot but it was so worth it. Bring umbrellas for shade and large water bottles. You can refill them in Pompeii there are water fountains. My 6 yr. old son (in green shirt) and his cruise buddy (girl in pink dress) had a ball in Pompeii. We ditched our guide and did our own thing. It was great!

[cruisemom42]

Many tours seem to start the day by visiting Pompeii in the morning. This seems to make sense if it's a bit cooler and less crowded than later in the day.

 

However, my private guide for Pompeii has suggested that we tour the Amalfi Coast first and then visit Pompeii in mid-afternoon. She claims there's generally an afternoon breeze that makes the summer heat more tolerable and that the majority of tours and tourists stop at Pompeii in the morning.

 

Has anyone toured Pompeii on a summer afternoon and what was your experience? Do you think it preferable to visit in mid-afternoon than in the morning?

 

We will be arriving in Naples aboard the NCL Epic on 8/14 and have hired a car and driver for the day. In addition to Pompeii, we plan to visit Amalfi/Positano and Ravello. I don't think the limo company has specified the order we'd be visiting each location, and I'm sure we could ask the driver to stop at Pompeii in the afternoon.

 

I assume that if we got to Pompeii at 2:30pm and toured for two hours, we could be back at the Port of Naples around 5:00pm, as NCL recommends.

 

Thanks,

 

 

JG

 

I think your company probably suggested this itinerary because it is better to do the farther locations from the ship (e.g., Ravello) early. Then you'll be working your way back closer to the port rather than being a long distance away at the end of the day.

 

Yes, Pompeii will be hot and dusty. I suggest light colored, lightweight, and loose fitting clothes; a hat (or umbrella -- I like that idea), sunscreen, and lots of water. Some people bring those little personal fans. Might be a good idea also to bring a bandanna or scarf that you can dip into the water (plenty of fountains at Pompeii) and use to cool yourself off.

 

I agree with Eurocruiser -- I'd allot an hour to get back to the ship from Pompeii. It could take less, but better safe (and onboard) than sorry.