Pompeii excursions or on our own?

Hi all.

We are going to Italy in Aug with RC. We consists of 3 adults and 3 kids (2,5 and 7) and we are really wanting to do Pompeii. RC offers 2 or 3 Pompeii excersions and 2 of them only give you a max a 4 hours (which includes travel time).

Are we worth braving it on our own as we were really hoping to spend a full day there. We are pretty new to cruises and also very new to Italy so it does seem kind of daunting but the £250 price tag is really off putting when we will only be getting a few hours there.

Thanks :)

Hi all.

 

We are going to Italy in Aug with RC. We consists of 3 adults and 3 kids (2,5 and 7) and we are really wanting to do Pompeii. RC offers 2 or 3 Pompeii excersions and 2 of them only give you a max a 4 hours (which includes travel time).

 

Are we worth braving it on our own as we were really hoping to spend a full day there. We are pretty new to cruises and also very new to Italy so it does seem kind of daunting but the £250 price tag is really off putting when we will only be getting a few hours there.

 

Thanks :)

It is very easy to visit Pompeii on your own. From the cruise terminal (stazione Marittima), you catch the tram on the main street in front of the terminal (Cristoforo Colombo) and get off the tram after it makes its first stop after the left turn. This is Porto Nolano - the station from which the Circumvesuviana train will take you to Pompeii (get off at Pompeii scavi).

Good info on Rome toolkit:

https://www.rometoolkit.com/naples_visit/naples_circumvesuviana_trains.html

Rick Steves has an audio tour of Pompeii that you can download for free at:

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/italy

Good advice above.

I will just mention, given the age of the children, that Pompeii is tough walking for a 2-year old, especially I would imagine, for more than a couple of hours. It is not stroller friendly either. Would you be able to use a backpack-carrier by chance?

Also, interest may flag with the younger ones after a couple of hours. I would suggest you try to see the major highlights (the Forum, with Vesuvius looming in the background, the Amphitheatre, a couple of houses and one of the Baths) without too much duplication.

Finally, it will be broiling in August. The best advice I can give is to go early while you can take advantage of milder temperatures and fewer crowds. Take sunscreen, wear hats, drink water.

(P.S. The water in the ancient fountains on the site is still drinkable -- the kids may get a kick out of drinking some.)

Although Pompii is fascinating (I've been there twice), I think a full day is a bit ambitious, especially with young children. Also, having a guide who will meet you at Pompeii makes the experience much more pleasurable and time efficient.

The Amalfi Coast is absolutely beautiful. You might consider combining Pompeii with the towns of Ravello and Positano. We have used Aldo Limos and found them reasonably priced and very professional.

Excellent advice as always.

I've just returned a couple of days ago from a trip that included Sorrento so did a DIY tour on the train to pompeii and Herculaneum. It was very easy and the total train fare cost for the 3 journeys was less than €8. If you were travelling on your own I wouldn't recommend any other way.

But this will be august and as others have said pompeii especially will not be easy. Obviously it doesn't matter how you get there, it will be hot and walking tough.

Im back in august myself and have booked a trip with "worldtours" in Naples and have ambitiously set the trip to also include Vesuvius. There will be an awful lot of walking involved but stress free as we wont need to worry about trains, getting to stations etc as it will make use of a driver and vehicle.

Is the £250 you mention per person? Include tickets?

We are stopping in July in Naples and are using Pina Esposito from Rick Steve's book for our group of 5(one 11yo). We used her on a previous trip and really enjoyed her. We are doing Pompeii and Herculaneum with a food stop and Naples as well. We have done the Amalfi coast several times and love it. Use one of the private guides recommended her and you will be much happier. You can also cut things short if the kids get out of hand.

Rather than the train I would encourage you to take the bus, as the bus depot is walking distance from the cruise port (about a third of a mile), the price is the same as the train but you'll be pretty much guaranteed a seat and the AC will work (neither is generally the case on the Circumvesuviana train).

Alternately, if the timing works for you and you'd prefer the train, try the Campania Express. It costs more that the regular train but it's an express, you'll get a seat, and the AC works on it: http://www.eavsrl.it/web/it/content/campania-express-2016-1

DIY but get an early bus so you are at the site before it opens.

You will then have an hour or so to enjoy the site before the tour buses and crowds arrive. You will also be there when it is slightly cooler.

You will not stay all day as you will be hot and tired after 3 to 4 hours, but DIY you can decide when to leave.

Do take a walking guide with a marked route, otherwise it will just look all the same.

One area of the site that gets very busy when the tour groups arrive is the brothel, as hundreds try to cram through a small house.

Bus was a better option than train (next to cruise port, guaranteed seat, aircon), but does have a more limited timetable than the train which I believe now has upgraded air-conditioned rolling stock.

Bus was a better option than train (next to cruise port, guaranteed seat, aircon), but does have a more limited timetable than the train which I believe now has upgraded air-conditioned rolling stock.

Les37b

Could you email me (monybrian at gmail dot com) details of how you did the combined trip to Pompeii & Herculaneum (with lunch stop in between)? We have read that it would be too tiring to do both in one day so we're not sure what to do. :confused:

We will be in Naples twice whilst on our next cruise. On the first day (15th) we are visiting Sorrento, Positano & Ravello but nothing booked for 26 May, hence considering the above.

Thanks

Monica & Brian

The logistics of going to Pompei in the morning, lunch, and Herculeneum in the afternoon are quite simple. No one, even you, can predict how you'll feel after a morning at Pompei, so why not simply plan it out and if you are not up for the second stop, just head back to the ship?

Les37b

 

Could you email me (monybrian at gmail dot com) details of how you did the combined trip to Pompeii & Herculaneum (with lunch stop in between)? We have read that it would be too tiring to do both in one day so we're not sure what to do. :confused:

 

We will be in Naples twice whilst on our next cruise. On the first day (15th) we are visiting Sorrento, Positano & Ravello but nothing booked for 26 May, hence considering the above.

Thanks

Monica & Brian

Apologies for not responding earlier - I've only just seen this.

As Euro Cruiser said, the logistics are a doddle as long as you are off the ship in good time. We did our journey from Sorrento, but Im banking on it being the same from Naples. When we arrived in Pompeii by train, we had no tickets and were worried about queues. The site is right outside the station. We were lucky enough to have gone straight to the ticket office and no queue. We bought joint site visits which included Herculaneum. Saves about 2 euros I think.

We bought the voice guide - which we gave up on. I think I was more interested in taking photos with the various cameras Id brought with me. We were hopelessly lost on the site and found it difficult to know where things were (despite it being a grid) We wanted to see the plastercast bodies - we found the building (we think) but nothing there AFAICS.

The one thing you will find - and Ive read it on here numerous times - is the scale. It is huge!

We probably spent just over 3 hours - maybe more, before jumping on the train to Herculaneum. Dont be fooled into jumping in a taxi. Its a 10 minute walk and straight line. The site is much more manageable. The temptation is to think you have seen it all. On our way out, we spotted something we wanted to see - but settled on telephoto photos.... of all the bones and skulls.

Getting back was equally a doddle (To Sorrento - Naples will be no different.)

If you go by train, be prepared for the musical accompaniment you will be exposed to (and the cup for your appreciation!) Its all part of being in a foreign country. We got seats on all legs - apart from the last - but it wasnt long before we did. The cost per train journey was about 2.2 Euros

Funnily... We are back in August - in the height of the hot weather and tourist season! I half expect the train situation may be a little different then and certainly the "parks" will be fuller and we will be more hot and bothered. The cost factor for taking this particular tour (transport only) was the cost at only 30 euros - if we fill the mini bus with 14 people. Even if we dont do so completely, the cost to travel air conditioned in August is worth it

Not for that reason - but because we wanted to also go to the summit of Vesuvius - we have booked a tour, which enables us to do all three. It limits our time at each, but if I'm honest, for the next one Im not that bothered - and I will certainly make sure this time, I am armed with better material so we dont miss the things we want to see.

If there is anything specific you wanted to speak about, Im happy to do so by email as suggested.... and send a few photos...

Have fun on whatever you decide.

Hi all.

 

We are going to Italy in Aug with RC. We consists of 3 adults and 3 kids (2,5 and 7) and we are really wanting to do Pompeii. RC offers 2 or 3 Pompeii excersions and 2 of them only give you a max a 4 hours (which includes travel time).

 

Are we worth braving it on our own as we were really hoping to spend a full day there. We are pretty new to cruises and also very new to Italy so it does seem kind of daunting but the £250 price tag is really off putting when we will only be getting a few hours there.

 

Thanks :)

As others have said it is very easy to do on your own. There is a kiosk across the road from the cruise terminal where you can buy tickets for the trolley bus and the train. They are very used to cruise passengers. I have visited both Pompeii and Herculaneum with my children this way.

The train journey to Pompeii is longer but the station is right on top of the site; the journey to Herculaneum is shorter but there is a longer walk to the site.

Personally I prefer Herculaneum and I find it great for exploring - I thought that when I first visited over 30 years ago and still feel the same way after visiting last year. There is no cafe at Herculaneum although there is a spot with vending machines, whilst Pompeii has a cafe on the edge of the site, where we bought ice-creams in October a couple of years ago.

Both sites are great and well worth a day's visit. My advice would be that if you go to Pompeii then don't try to do all of it in one day, especially in the summer.

With three young children to take care of I would urge you to either take the bus (depot is at Piazza Immacolatella, one third of a mile from the cruise port) or the Campania Express train rather than the regular Circumvesuviana. The reason for this is that the Circumvesuviana is extremely crowded and you will not get seats, standing for a 40 minute ride may be too much for young children and the crowding could be frightening.

Apologies for not responding earlier - I've only just seen this.

 

As Euro Cruiser said, the logistics are a doddle as long as you are off the ship in good time. We did our journey from Sorrento, but Im banking on it being the same from Naples. When we arrived in Pompeii by train, we had no tickets and were worried about queues. The site is right outside the station. We were lucky enough to have gone straight to the ticket office and no queue. We bought joint site visits which included Herculaneum. Saves about 2 euros I think.

 

We bought the voice guide - which we gave up on. I think I was more interested in taking photos with the various cameras Id brought with me. We were hopelessly lost on the site and found it difficult to know where things were (despite it being a grid) We wanted to see the plastercast bodies - we found the building (we think) but nothing there AFAICS.

 

The one thing you will find - and Ive read it on here numerous times - is the scale. It is huge!

 

We probably spent just over 3 hours - maybe more, before jumping on the train to Herculaneum. Dont be fooled into jumping in a taxi. Its a 10 minute walk and straight line. The site is much more manageable. The temptation is to think you have seen it all. On our way out, we spotted something we wanted to see - but settled on telephoto photos.... of all the bones and skulls.

 

Getting back was equally a doddle (To Sorrento - Naples will be no different.)

 

If you go by train, be prepared for the musical accompaniment you will be exposed to (and the cup for your appreciation!) Its all part of being in a foreign country. We got seats on all legs - apart from the last - but it wasnt long before we did. The cost per train journey was about 2.2 Euros

 

Funnily... We are back in August - in the height of the hot weather and tourist season! I half expect the train situation may be a little different then and certainly the "parks" will be fuller and we will be more hot and bothered. The cost factor for taking this particular tour (transport only) was the cost at only 30 euros - if we fill the mini bus with 14 people. Even if we dont do so completely, the cost to travel air conditioned in August is worth it

 

Not for that reason - but because we wanted to also go to the summit of Vesuvius - we have booked a tour, which enables us to do all three. It limits our time at each, but if I'm honest, for the next one Im not that bothered - and I will certainly make sure this time, I am armed with better material so we dont miss the things we want to see.

 

If there is anything specific you wanted to speak about, Im happy to do so by email as suggested.... and send a few photos...

 

Have fun on whatever you decide.

Thank you for all your information.

Monica

Rather than the train I would encourage you to take the bus, as the bus depot is walking distance from the cruise port (about a third of a mile), the price is the same as the train but you'll be pretty much guaranteed a seat and the AC will work (neither is generally the case on the Circumvesuviana train).

 

Alternately, if the timing works for you and you'd prefer the train, try the Campania Express. It costs more that the regular train but it's an express, you'll get a seat, and the AC works on it: http://www.eavsrl.it/web/it/content/campania-express-2016-1

The bus sounds great, but I am wondering can where we buy tickets? Thanks!

There is a ticket office at Piazza Immacolatella, right where you get the bus.

Make a google map of Piazza Immacolatella (or of these coordinates: 40.841845, 14.258090) then go to street view and spin around until you see a two story brick building with a sign over the door that says "TAVASSI", this is the ticket office.

Wow! Thank you for such detailed information! It has been many years since we visited Pompeii and it seems time to revisit. The bus seems much easier than finding a tobacco shop, catching a tram and then the train we did last time for Caserta. We enjoy all the possibilities in Naples itself as well as the area and islands. :)

Is there anywhere to find the times for the bus?