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Full day Pompeii/Herculaneum Tours?


lamb616
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All the tour companies I see mentioned here only spend 2ish hours at Pompeii, then move on to Sorrento and/or Amalfi Coast.  I wouldn't mind hitting one of those, but not both, as I would like more than 2 hours at Pompeii.  So either a Pompeii & something else tour (with at least 3-4 hours at Pompeii), or a Pompeii/Herculaneum tour is what i'm looking for.

 

I know we can take a bus or train to Pompeii and see it on our own, but I don't want to do that.  I would like a tour group. 

 

Anyone have any recommendations for a good tour co. that does something like this?

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38 minutes ago, lamb616 said:

All the tour companies I see mentioned here only spend 2ish hours at Pompeii, then move on to Sorrento and/or Amalfi Coast.  I wouldn't mind hitting one of those, but not both, as I would like more than 2 hours at Pompeii.  So either a Pompeii & something else tour (with at least 3-4 hours at Pompeii), or a Pompeii/Herculaneum tour is what i'm looking for.

 

I know we can take a bus or train to Pompeii and see it on our own, but I don't want to do that.  I would like a tour group. 

 

Anyone have any recommendations for a good tour co. that does something like this?

 

any of the frequently mentioned tour companies would put together a private tour for you based on your needs-question is do you want to find enough like minded people on your roll call to make up a group yourself to bring costs down

 

most popular tours incorporate Amalfi coast as that makes most use of private driver being further away from Pompeii and taking in coastal views

Italy tour guides cant accompany you in to sites such as Pompeii or Herculaneum-you would have to hire a private guide at entrance if you don't want to explore ruins on your own

 

there are taxis available at dock which have fixed fares to and from ruins with 2 hours there before they meet you-you may be able to negotiate with one to give you longer but they prefer standard 2 hours as means can pack more fares into the day

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
4 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

try seeamalficoast dot com.  they do tours to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Oplontis.

We used them a few years ago and driver was great.  We arranged a tour for 8 through the roll call.

 

And Oplontis is really WELL worth a visit if Pompeii and Herculaneum are of interest. It is an extraordinarily well-preserved, huge villa that conveys how the 1% lived in ancient Rome very well...

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IMHO, doing both in the same day is a bit much and redundant.  Pompeii easily takes at least a half day itself.  Not sure how far apart they are.  We did Herculaneum on a later cruise.  That tour also included Sorrento and the Amalfi coast.  Herculaneum is quite compact, compared to Pompeii, but I do think the frescos in the homes were a bit more colorful as I don't think it was covered in ash by the Vesuvius eruption as was Pompeii.

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On 11/17/2019 at 8:28 PM, BarbinMich said:

IMHO, doing both in the same day is a bit much and redundant.  Pompeii easily takes at least a half day itself.  Not sure how far apart they are.  We did Herculaneum on a later cruise.  That tour also included Sorrento and the Amalfi coast.  Herculaneum is quite compact, compared to Pompeii, but I do think the frescos in the homes were a bit more colorful as I don't think it was covered in ash by the Vesuvius eruption as was Pompeii.

 

Herculaneum was covered by molten mud; damaging but in a different way. Wood tended to be preserved in Herculaneum.

 

Pompeii has many frescoes; however, the site is very large and most people do not devote enough time there to see it properly. A few examples from Pompeii:

 

image.thumb.png.633318f30a63b20c7f90c39c635b813b.png

 

image.thumb.png.4edcd15f193abf89cc6807a218dd8523.png

 

image.thumb.png.6947aa5a28f3dfa49edf576be0b737c6.png

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  • 3 weeks later...
2 hours ago, konatyme said:

So how much time would you suggest for Pompeii in order to see it properly? I, too, have been concerned that many of the tours only spend 2 hours there & I'm afraid that may not be enough.

 

As a bare minimum I would say four hours at the site. I have spent (on various visits) about 6 days there and still haven't seen everything -- especially now that they have been opening up newly restored houses and also some of the latest excavations (in Regio V) are starting to open to the public.

 

What I would want to include in a 4-hour tour of Pompeii:

 

  • The main Forum of Pompeii and the buildings surrounding it
  • The Temple of Isis
  • The Amphitheater
  • Either the large or the small theater
  • One of the Necropoli (area of tombs)
  • The famous Brothel/Lupanare
  • One of the Thermopolia ("fast food" shops)
  • The fullonica (a type of industry laundry) of Stephanus
  • One of the baths complexes (Stabian, Central, Forum -- or Suburban, if they are open)
  • At least 4-5 "city" houses with remaining frescoes/mosaics. Good options include: House of the Vettii, House of Menander, House of the Golden Bracelet, House of Venus on the Half Shell, House of the Cryptoporticus, Praedia of Julia Felice, plus many more....)
  • The Villa of the Mysteries (do not miss this!)

That already looks like more than 4 hours to me, but I tend to linger a long time at each place and really look at all the details. 

 

Edited to add:   A brief but good guide to most of the open houses/sites in Pompeii is available at this website, you can print it out and study it in advance to help plan your time (or at the least bring it with you for information onsite):  http://pompeiisites.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Guide-to-the-Pompeii-Excavations-2.pdf

Edited by cruisemom42
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