Pompeii Sightseeing Shuttle?

[Cruising-along]

Has anyone used Pompeii Sightseeing Shuttle out of Naples recently?  We're interested in using their shuttle to get to Herculaneum and back.  I realize we could take the train, but this time we aren't interested in doing that and really want to see Herculaneum on our own.  

Thanks!

[gatorchinsky]

I would be interested in hearing thoughts from others on this as well.  I am contemplating using this shuttle from the Naples port instead of traveling by train.

[rachiem]

Any up to date info on this?

[Cruising-along]

1 hour ago, rachiem said:

Any up to date info on this?

No 😞  I haven't been able to find any good reviews and the few reviews I've seen haven't been good 😞  

So we decided to book the ship tour to Herculaneum.  Any other tours I've seen include places we've been to several times already. We just want to see Herculaneum this time.

[rachiem]

Thank you...

I'm only looking at catching the shuttle to Pompeii. It's half the price of the cruise line's shuttle and offers longer at the site.

[rachiem]

Free Sunday warning

Review of Pompeii - Archaeological Area.

Reviewed 30 October 2016

Unaware that it was Free Sunday (first Sunday of the month), we arrived at Pompeii Scavi at 12.30 to find the gates shut. On Free Sunday the site is closed between 12.30 and 2.30 pm. It was explained to us that on Free Sunday the crowds are so big , that they close at 12.30 to let morning crowds explore (and leave ? ) before they let afternoon crowds in. No big deal, but would have rather known in advance and adjusted our arrival time accordingly. I am sure all the restaurants facing the gates were happy as they got most of the tourists who had nothing to do for two hours. We paid for a 2 hour guided group tour and were happy with what we saw in 2 hours.As in most of Italy you pay at least 50 cents to use the toilet which is situation at the station. Otherwise once inside Scavi the toilets are free

[rachiem]

From a review off trip advisor

 

[Cruising-along]

9 minutes ago, rachiem said:

From a review off trip advisor

 

Thank you, very helpful and explains what I wondered about.  

Interesting, because I just looked all over the Herculaneum website and it says nothing about closing those hours!

Edited March 21, 2019 by Cruising-along

[euro cruiser]

The First Sundays program was started by the previous government, the current government abandoned the program several months ago.

 

However, each region has decided to carry on the program in their own way.  Some only open a few sites, some on days other than the first Sunday, etc.  Everyone is asserting their independence since now they have to pay for the program themselves.

 

For example, at Pompei there are eight free days in 2019:  http://pompeiisites.org/comunicati/iovadoalmuseo-20-giorni-di-ingresso-gratis-a-pompei-nel-2019/

[euro cruiser]

5 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

Thank you, very helpful and explains what I wondered about.  

Interesting, because I just looked all over the Herculaneum website and it says nothing about closing those hours!

 

Herculeneum hasn't needed to close even for a few hours on free days because they don't get the traffic that Pompei does.  Even at Pompei it's not a set policy to close at certain hours, it's tied to crowd levels.  If they reach what they have defined as the breaking point at 10 AM they will close then until enough people have left to safely open the gates again.

[Cruising-along]

Thank you so much euro cruiser.  You are a wealth of information! 

[fabnfortysomething]

there is another option to take a taxi from the port

there are fixed rates to either Pompeii or Herculaneum which includes transport there and back and 2 hours free time[you could ask for more time but they work it this way so know what fares they can fit in during the day]

 

admission is extra but depending on how many in your party it could work out cheaper than a shuttle at individual rates

 

our taxi driver along with others was touting for business at port gates and so impressing tourists with their spoken English

[rachiem]

I've just booked the Naples-Pompeii-Herculanuem shuttle with Pompei-sightseeing.

I've asked them several questions and they always email straight back.

We are catching the 9.30 shuttle which takes us to Pompeii, then a shuttle from Pompeii back to Herculaneum, then from there straight back to Naples port.

It was 30 euros each (there are two of us) and apparently you can then inform the driver/rep at each stop on your intentions to which timed shuttle you'd like.

I figured that worse case scenario, we're never far from a train station! Live a little dangerously huh 😉

[Cruising-along]

5 hours ago, rachiem said:

I've just booked the Naples-Pompeii-Herculanuem shuttle with Pompei-sightseeing.

I've asked them several questions and they always email straight back.

We are catching the 9.30 shuttle which takes us to Pompeii, then a shuttle from Pompeii back to Herculaneum, then from there straight back to Naples port.

It was 30 euros each (there are two of us) and apparently you can then inform the driver/rep at each stop on your intentions to which timed shuttle you'd like.

I figured that worse case scenario, we're never far from a train station! Live a little dangerously huh 😉

Thank you for letting us know.  Do they pick you up at the port too?  When is your cruise?  When you return could you let us know how it went?  It seems I remember when I asked them about the shuttle to Herculaneum that we would have to meet them at some point in Naples, and they don't come to the port.  I may not be remembering correctly though.

[rachiem]

We will be there on the 21st of May and I will definitely feedback our experience.

The meeting point for our shuttle is just to the left of the taxis at the port 

[Cruising-along]

22 minutes ago, rachiem said:

We will be there on the 21st of May and I will definitely feedback our experience.

The meeting point for our shuttle is just to the left of the taxis at the port 

Wonderful.  We won't be going until October, plenty of time to cancel our ship excursion if we want to.  Thank you!

[lamb616]

On 3/22/2019 at 12:40 PM, rachiem said:

We will be there on the 21st of May and I will definitely feedback our experience.

The meeting point for our shuttle is just to the left of the taxis at the port 

Update?

[rachiem]

1 hour ago, lamb616 said:

Update?

Sorry....

yes, we had an excellent experience with them. 
they were quite casual in the communications but were at the waiting point with a board and their buses (so you couldn’t miss them) and as we were the only ones who had booked the Pompeii and Herculaneum shuttle they had put us on a guided tour with another small group (who had all paid twice as much as us) 

We will definitely use them again

[lamb616]

19 hours ago, rachiem said:

Sorry....

yes, we had an excellent experience with them. 
they were quite casual in the communications but were at the waiting point with a board and their buses (so you couldn’t miss them) and as we were the only ones who had booked the Pompeii and Herculaneum shuttle they had put us on a guided tour with another small group (who had all paid twice as much as us) 

We will definitely use them again

@rachiem

 

Thanks, so this didnt include any admission tickets, correct?  Did you buy the tix beforehand?  

 

This is basically just a shuttle......similar to a bus? It just goes through it's route all day and whenever you're ready to go on to the next stop, you just wait at the designated stop until it arrives?

 

 

[rachiem]

15 minutes ago, lamb616 said:

@rachiem

 

Thanks, so this didnt include any admission tickets, correct?  Did you buy the tix beforehand?  

 

This is basically just a shuttle......similar to a bus? It just goes through it's route all day and whenever you're ready to go on to the next stop, you just wait at the designated stop until it arrives?

 

 

We were put on a tour (which was basically a shuttle with commentary on the bus) so it might have varied slightly but were dropped off at Herculaneum first and given 2 hrs to look around, which we found plenty. We then drove onto Pompeii and given a time for picking up, which again gave us plenty of time (about three hrs I think). There were a few different buses, so if you wanted to catch a later, you could ask but our timings and meeting points suited us. 
The price was just for transport and no entry tickets. We bought at the gate and had no queues. 

[lamb616]

14 minutes ago, rachiem said:

We were put on a tour (which was basically a shuttle with commentary on the bus) so it might have varied slightly but were dropped off at Herculaneum first and given 2 hrs to look around, which we found plenty. We then drove onto Pompeii and given a time for picking up, which again gave us plenty of time (about three hrs I think). There were a few different buses, so if you wanted to catch a later, you could ask but our timings and meeting points suited us. 
The price was just for transport and no entry tickets. We bought at the gate and had no queues. 

 

ok, thanks.  We're going during the summer so more crowds than when you went.  Hopefully we can pre purchase our admission tickets.

[rachiem]

45 minutes ago, lamb616 said:

 

ok, thanks.  We're going during the summer so more crowds than when you went.  Hopefully we can pre purchase our admission tickets.

You won’t need to for Herculaneum as it’s never crowded. 
Pompeii was about €3 extra to prepurchase, so not a lot of you’re worried about crowds. We arrived at about midday so missed the rush of the tours  

[Cruising-along]

5 hours ago, rachiem said:

You won’t need to for Herculaneum as it’s never crowded. 
Pompeii was about €3 extra to prepurchase, so not a lot of you’re worried about crowds. We arrived at about midday so missed the rush of the tours  

It was Very crowded the day we went because it was the first Sunday of the month when it’s free for everyone. Also there were a lot of ships in that day. 

[Alaskanb]

Are there places to buy drinks etc at Herculaneum and Pompeii?

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, Alaskanb said:

Are there places to buy drinks etc at Herculaneum and Pompeii?

 

Pompeii being a larger site, there is a cafeteria within that sells drinks, ice cream and very basic fast-food type meals. 

 

Herculaneum is much smaller and there is nowhere inside the site to purchase any drinks or food. Before entering, there is a small snack bar next to the book shop where you can purchase beverages and snacks.

 

Both Pompeii and Herculaneum have nearby restaurants for lunch. If you wish to leave the park for lunch and re-enter later, you can stop at the exit and get a wrist-band that allows you to return on the same ticket. At least, that's how it was managed the last time I was there (in 2018).