Naples to Pompeii/vesuvius

You don't need a tour company for this. You can easily reach both places via the Circumvesuviano railway line from Naples. This will save you money, and you can set your own starting time and pace. For Pompei, get off at Scavi di Pompei station and the main entrance is right in front of you. Either do your own research in advance, or pick up a guide a the entrance. For Vesuvius, get off at Ercolano station and there are minibuses for the volcano nearby.

Pompei is an enormous site, so this and Vesuvius in a single day trip is pushing it. It can be done, but it means limiting your time at both, and of course Pompei is one of the finest archaeological sites in the Western world. If this trip is specially to see Pompei, it's worth allocating a full day. Another day can be spent by combining Vesuvius with Herculaneum.

Don't miss the main museum in Naples. This has a pile of stuff from Pompei. Extend your trip if "a couple of days" doesn't look like it's enough.

Yes - I agree with thomajd. We simply went to Naples Centrale and caught the Circumvesuviana local train to Scavi di Pompei station - our pre-purchased Pompeii ticket was useful for avoiding the ticket line, but it wasn't too bad on our day (29 April).

Also - if you go to Porta Nolana Station (just south of Centrale) you can catch the Pompeii train from its origin, and therefore much more likely to get a seat - it does get crowded.

There is also the Campania Express tourist train if you want more space and a bit quicker trip.

You don't need a guide or a tour - we simply got the site map, and asked the first staff person we spoke to to outline the six or eight best things to see, and off we went ... it was pretty straightforward. Take water and a hat.

After Pompeii (it doesn't necessarily require a full day), on your return you can get off at Ercolano and visit the other ash-buried site of Herculaneum - well worth it. In Naples itself, well worth a long stroll along one of the main shopping and dining boulevards (Via Toledo).

I can't comment on trips up to the crater of Vesuvius - but read the reviews - some of them are less than positive.

As above...cheap and easy to DIY from Naples.

If you want a guide for the site itself you can get one there easily enough,but I agree that its not really necessary...do a little research before and see what interests you.Pompeii is large,open and will be hot....bring water and don't try to run around it too fast!

Yes, assume no shade and refreshments at Pompei - come prepared.

Unless you take your own car, you will have to pay the going rate for the buses up the volcano. Be aware of the scam at the top, where you need to climb for a bit - somebody kindly "lends" you a walking stick, then charges you for it on the way down. The climb isn't that big a deal, but if you think you need a stick, take your own.

Comment

While we enjoyed our Pompeii day (its archaeological value is very hard to overstate), there is still a feeling of some disappointment, or perhaps frustration. You walk around all the blocks of the town, and apart from the narrow street widths, it has a familiar feel and scale of lots of inner-city precincts.

But just about all the houses and other buildings available to walk through are very bare, and essentially all the same to experience. I think the authorities could do a lot more to make it a better experience - after all a lot of income is being generated each year.

Surely they could take one or two of the key houses / villas and restore them to original condition as best they can ... totally done up, and including all furniture and much else.

I didn't expect to see mummified bodies sitting at tables, with unfinished meals in front of them, but I confess I did expect a rather better experience than I received. I don't think it's good enough to say that all the best stuff is in a museum in Naples or Rome somewhere.

It's still worth visiting of course ... it just could be better.

Don't go to Naples just to leave it to go to Pompei etc. There's loads of stuff to do in and around the city - if necessary do more research, use the search facility at the top of this page, eg check out Vomero for views, quaint Pozzuoli, via San Gregorio Armeno etc for other surprises.

Sunbird9: who pays for this? Bits of Pompei are already at risk (literally falling down) because there aren't the government funds for the upkeep.

(Not wishing to hijack the thread.)

I think the OP's question has been effectively answered, so a threadjack is acceptable!

Yes - we did notice many parts of Pompeii that were in various states of repair and disrepair, with little active work going on. But it can't be impossible ... increase the entry fee by a euro ... the numbers turning up won't change, and they are big numbers.

And in any case I'm not asking for a whole new theme park with a scale model of an erupting Vesuvius and an attached thrill ride (although that would be great) - just a couple of faithfully restored houses to give the place some life. It feels pretty dead as a display, in general.

That's why i found Herculaneum so rewarding. It is much smaller than Pompeii (though we've easily spent 3 hours there as well) but it is far much better preserved. Also, it makes a perfect combination with nearby Vesuvius.
I personally think that a combination of Pompeii and Vesuvius on the same day is a bit ambitious. After all, you also need to eat, have a drink, digest all you have seen… and this will be during the hottest time of the year.