Pompeii on Your Own

[tring]

We will be docking in Naples early Oct (a Saturday) and Pompeii is of interest. We prefer independent travel, so are thinking of going on the cruise ship 'on your own' tour or just doing the whole thing independently. However we are thinking we may be better to have a guide to interpret the site, so would consider booking an organised tour. Is a guide needed, or are there boards around the site to explain what we would be seeing?

 

I am also thinking that it could be very busy at that time of year, so would it be better to leave Pompeii for a less busy time of year and find something else to do from the port of Naples, which we have never visited previously?

[CruiserBruce]

There are guides at the gate. They also have the audio tours. One or the other would be nice.

 

I would try to get there as early as possible. The first hour or so is on the quiet side.

[cruisemom42]

It won't be empty, but I don't think early October would be particularly crowded for Pompeii. The site is large and only when it's really crowded does it get unmanageable.

 

There is very little by way of explanation on the site. As suggested above, tour guides at the main entrance are usually trying to get groups of about 10 people together for private tours. Such tours are usually about 2 hours and show you only the "highlights" (there is so much more). I don't think most of the two-hour tours take you to the Villa of the Mysteries, which is a 'must see' but is just outside the ancient city walls -- it has wonderful one-of-a-kind frescoes that were recently restored.

 

https://www.archaeology.org/news/3109-150323-pompeii-villa-mysteries

[Ski Mom 2]

Several years ago we booked a car and driver from Rome where were staying to drive us to Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Pompeii. A tour guide met us at Pompeii and took us around and showed us the sights. For the four of us it was perfect. I would say you definitely need a guide for Pompeii.

[Keith1010]

October wil be fine.

 

Busy time of the year is the summer months when on top of the crowds you have the heat and humidity to deal with.

 

Yes visit Pompeii. It is amazing.

 

I like the idea of a tour guide and would arrange for one even if it is someone outside the entranceway.

 

Keith

[tring]

Thank you all for the detailed replies. Does anyone know what price we could expect to pay for a guide? We prefer to just go as a twosome if that is a viable price. Picking up outside the gate would be best as we would not have to panic to get there at a specific time, though we would hope to be early.

 

We have been intending to have a land hol in Sorrento for some time, so when we get around to that we could make a second visit fairly easily, I suspect.

[cruisemom42]

Thank you all for the detailed replies. Does anyone know what price we could expect to pay for a guide? We prefer to just go as a twosome if that is a viable price. Picking up outside the gate would be best as we would not have to panic to get there at a specific time, though we would hope to be early.

 

We have been intending to have a land hol in Sorrento for some time, so when we get around to that we could make a second visit fairly easily, I suspect.

 

I haven't heard the price quoted in the last year but it has been about 100 euro for the 2-hour tour. Guides like to get a group of 10 and charge 10 euro each, but they will also do a tour just for two if you are willing to pay the total cost.

[tring]

I haven't heard the price quoted in the last year but it has been about 100 euro for the 2-hour tour. Guides like to get a group of 10 and charge 10 euro each, but they will also do a tour just for two if you are willing to pay the total cost.

 

Thanks, that gives us a good idea of what to expect.

[Ski Mom 2]

It looks like we paid 120 euros for our private tour guide for the four of us back in 2011. The car service we used arranged for our guide.

[hbrote]

We have done Pompeii twice without a guide but did use "Rick Steves" audio with map as the guide. No problems at all and you can down load both from his web site. We did find that two hours at Pompeii would not let us see everything and that is the reason we returned. When you consider you are walking on streets that where covered in 79AD is impressive. We have also done Herculaneum which is impressive but Pompeii gets our vote. Enjoy your trip with what ever method you chose.

[tring]

Thanks for those other replies. I was thinking the cost of a guide could easily be more once we get there and we wanted to go independently rather than in a group.

 

The Rick Steves site looks really good and I have not seen that before so have put it on Favorites. May well give that a go for Pompeii. Thanks a lot hbote.

[kelliq]

Sorry to hijack the thread....

 

May I ask how to get to Pompeii from Rome? We are a group of 9, will be staying in Rome pre-cruise, thinking of visiting Pompeii for one day.

 

Thanks!

[cruisemom42]

Sorry to hijack the thread....

 

May I ask how to get to Pompeii from Rome? We are a group of 9, will be staying in Rome pre-cruise, thinking of visiting Pompeii for one day.

 

Thanks!

 

There are frequent trains between Rome and Naples. A fast train takes a few minutes more than an hour between the two. Once in Naples central train station, you would transfer to another train line (in the same building but down one floor), called the Circumvesuviana line. Buy a ticket and look for the next train in the direction of Sorrento. They run about every half hour. You'll then exit at the Pompei Scavi station and you'll be very close to the main entrance (follow the crowds and the vendor stalls.....)

[Ski Mom 2]

We stayed in an apartment in Rome and the owner recommended a car service that we were able to make up our own tour. They picked us up at the apartment and dropped us off at the end of the day. We were a family of four and it worked out great for us.

[cruisemom42]

jumping in on this thread...I am also considering doing Pompeii DIY....best way to get there from Naples port? taxi?

 

You already got quite a bit of good info on both the train and the bus on the thread you posted here a little while back:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2568597&highlight=pompeii+bus+train

[kelliq]

There are frequent trains between Rome and Naples. A fast train takes a few minutes more than an hour between the two. Once in Naples central train station, you would transfer to another train line (in the same building but down one floor), called the Circumvesuviana line. Buy a ticket and look for the next train in the direction of Sorrento. They run about every half hour. You'll then exit at the Pompei Scavi station and you'll be very close to the main entrance (follow the crowds and the vendor stalls.....)

 

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation! It is VERY helpful! :D:)