Vesuvius & Pompeii: Unearth Ancient Worlds from Naples

Great service and MONEY for value Pompeii tour guide was AWESOME ,,,Great Lunch and Mt Vesuvius was great

Fantastic day. Well organised and glad we went early in the morning as crowds later at Pompeii were horrendous. All in all, a great quality experience and well worth the cost. Recommend highly.

A little rainy today, but wow what an adventure. This was one of the tours we were most looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint. Our guide Maria was outstanding. Thank you for a great time.

Pompeiiis amazing , the immensity of it and history that is known from an awful catastrophe is mind boggling , our guide a local Pompeii girl had just the right mix of drama , history and empathy for the humanity of Pompeii, 2 hours passed by in a flash and the whole experience was easy to follow .

The tour offered an incredible glimpse into ancient history, with Pompeii’s ruins and Mount Vesuvius’ dramatic landscape providing unforgettable scenery. The guide Maria was knowledgeable and the pace although perfect for us (2 hrs) didn’t quite allow time for everyone to absorb the rich stories behind the Pompeii site. We opted for hotel pickup which was good, the organisation at the meeting point in Pompeii could be improved—there was some initial confusion that delayed the start. Once underway, though, the experience was well worth it. One member of the group did get lost near the start and didn’t catch back up until the exit potentially due to group size and wandering off. Lunch was good, I opted for a Pizza which was large and we also had a drink included. We had just over an hour break before the final part of the day. Mount Vesuvius was the final part and we were dropped off around 200m or so below the crater rim. We went off quickly and complete the accent in 28 minutes and came down in 17. Wear appropriate footwear as it’s steep and slippy in places! Improvements - smaller groups, more time in Pompeii/Vesuvius, earlier start to beat traffic and cruise ship coaches arriving. Thanks to Maria & Elaria for a great day!

Overall the day was enjoyable and the sites we visited were very impressive and the main reason we visited Napoli in the first place. There were however some things that could be improved to make it an even better experience for guests. 1. Pick up - The traffic in Napoli in the morning can make the pick ups and travel time quite long with the knock on effect being that you arrive at Pompeii mid morning when it’s starting to get very busy. An earlier start might cut down travel time. 2. Tour - The Pompeii guide (Maria) was very knowledgeable however due to the large size of the group (20) it was difficult to stay close to be able to see her explain some of the sites. I thought in the pre tour documentation we were told it was going to be smaller groups of 10-12? In fact one of our party got lost at the beginning and never managed to find us until the very end. This gentleman was not happy and demanded a refund. Some members of our group felt we were rushed round as Maria had another tour starting at 1pm. If it were a smaller group I think it would have been easier and a better experience for both the guests and the guide. 3. Lunchtime Food - after seeing previous reviews we were expecting the food to be fairly bland, however we were pleasantly surprised. There were 3 choices not just pizza (Pizza, Pasta and Salad) with a cold a drink. My pasta was ok and hot which was the main thing and the pizza (Margarita) was also fresh and hot as well. So overall better than expected. 4. Organisation - we felt there could have been better organisation at Pompeii with the groups and at the start we were standing around for a while at waiting for the guide and then other members to join us. When we finally had everyone we were told we that now have to wait for the entry tickets to be purchased before we can enter. Surely this could have been organised in advance, it seemed they were doing some things ‘On the fly’. The Vesuvius experience was not an issue as we were left to walk up to the top of the crater on our own and given a time to be back down by which allowed for all fitness levels. Overall a good day out and both sites did not disappoint and this was made easier being prearranged than trying to do it yourself.

Very moving experience, our tour guide was very informative and passionate about Pompeii. Walking up Mount Vesuvius was challenging for some, but so worth the journey up the mountain

Pompeii was fantastic. Disappointed in the weather as we were unable to go up Mt Vesuvius because it was too windy. The views were stunning.

Let’s start with the second half of the day; the guided tour of Pompeii (and the pizza lunch). The tour was excellent. Our guide, Elise, was full of fascinating information as she showed us the highlights of the site. Pompeii was busy but it didn’t detract from the tour. The lunch was very good, too. Freshly baked pizza with a zingy tomato sauce. Do let’s get to the bad bit. The weather in Naples had been great all week, but thunderstorms had been forecast on the day of our tour for at least a week. I emailed the tour provider – Napoli.tours – the day before the tour to check it would still go ahead. They replied promptly, assuring me that bad weather would not affect the events. However, on the morning, the forecast storm was in full effect. So the path to the summit of Vesuvius was closed. That was only confirmed once we had driven to the car park at 1,000m. The end result was driving round a rainy Naples are for three hours. What a waste of precious time in the area! And the only refund on offer is the €12 for entry to the mountain path. So, only book this tour if you can guarantee that the weather will be ok. Otherwise it turns into a rather disappointing, expensive drive part way up a mountain, followed by a good lunch and a great tour of Pompeii.

Pompeii tour was good, lunch OK but the staff in the restaurant very rude. Vesuvius leg there was not really enough time to enjoy it. In retrospect, I'm not sure it was value for money. I'd give 3.5 stars if it was an option. Highlight was Michele our tour guide at Pompeii