Herculaneum and Pompeii Tours from Naples

For many, Naples is Pompeii, although the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum are actually located nearby. It is true that there is a lot to do and see in Naples, but given its proximity you cannot miss an excursion to these ruins which are a truly impressive archaeological treasure.

In the year 79, the volcano Vesuvius erupted and took with it the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, leaving even human remains that did not even have the slightest chance to escape. Today, after many excavations, it is possible to admire the ruins of these cities. If you are in Naples, there is no excuse: Pompeii and especially Herculaneum are very close, so you can come and go with ease.

Yes, it is possible: if you have just enough time and don't want to miss anything, you can go to Pompeii and Herculaneum in one day. Tours are usually planned to go first to Pompeii in the morning because it is the furthest away and then to Herculaneum in the afternoon, returning to Naples before sunset.

This is one of the most popular packages, because one day is enough time for you to get the best of both sites.

The duration of tours to Pompeii varies greatly, but with a guide everything is usually much more compact. Some of these tours include lunch, but I recommend you make sure when booking.

Generally, the tours pick you up at your hotel or start from central points in Naples and from there, you go by air-conditioned bus to Pompeii and Herculaneum.

This option is for early risers, as buses are often waiting around 8am to be the first to reach the ruins.

Interesting details

• Approximate cost: between 70 and 80 €, depending on whether lunch is included.
• Travel time: 25 minutes to Pompeii, 15 minutes to Herculaneum.
• Advantages of this option: you can visit both ruins in one day.
• Disadvantages of this option: the journey can be a bit rushed, especially in Pompeii.

However, if you have the time, my advice is to take it easy and spend one day in Pompeii and another day in Herculaneum. The two may seem very similar and not worth spending so much time on, but I promise you they are not, because this is something you will remember for the rest of your life.

There are tours for tourists that also pick you up and drop you off in Naples, in comfortable buses. But if you want to go on your own and with your own agenda, then this is your best option. Public transport, via the Circunvesubiana train line, can drop you off in Pompeii one day and Herculaneum the other.

The visit to Pompeii can easily take six or seven hours. Therefore, I recommend you leave it for the first day and even arrange your meals in the vicinity of the site.

Herculaneum is smaller, so you can spend about three hours there, but you can also explore the surrounding area. The best thing to do is to spend the night in Naples and continue your adventure the next day, because Herculaneum is very close to the city.

Interesting details

• Approximate cost: around €70 including entrance fees and meals.
• Travel time: 40 minutes to Pompeii, 25 minutes to Herculaneum.
• Advantages of this tour: you will spend more time in each archaeological park.
• Disadvantages of this visit: you need to spend at least a day and a half, which is difficult on a short schedule.

Let's see: you know those traditional Italian postcards that always show a cluster of houses and buildings huddled together on a hill by the coast? Well, many of them are among the things to see near Naples, and there are numerous tours that visit Pompeii and Herculaneum and also include excursions to the Amalfi and Sorrento coasts, where you can see those beautiful seaside buildings.

You have to know that this is an accelerated tour, because it is usually done in one day. The idea is that you visit Herculaneum and Pompeii in the morning and then go on the same bus to see the best of the Amalfi Coast, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The best places to visit in this area are the towns of Amalfi and Positano, where the tour you book will certainly take you.

Although time will not be in short supply on this excursion, you should know that this is a trip for history lovers. In Pompeii and Herculaneum you can learn about the region's Roman past, while in Amalfi, as well as enjoying the beautiful scenery, you can learn about its past as the dominant maritime republic of the Mediterranean Sea.

These excursions usually include lunch and refreshments as well as transport and depart early in the morning.

Details of interest

• Approximate cost: about €120 all inclusive
• Travel time: 25 minutes to Pompeii, over 1 hour to the Amalfi coast.
• Advantages of this tour: apart from Pompeii and Herculaneum, you can also visit the Amalfi Coast.
• Disadvantages of this tour: You won't have time to see everything in detail.

Short on time? No problem: you have to adapt and the worst thing would be to miss Pompeii and Herculaneum, so why not do them both in half a day? Whether it's early in the morning or just after lunch, there is a chance to do an express tour that takes you around these two archaeological sites.

These tours are really for people who want to see everything in the shortest possible time. It is common to do a longer tour in Pompeii that can last about three hours and then a shorter one, about an hour or an hour and a half in Herculaneum. This way you could see both archaeological sites in as little as half a day.

In order to time these visits, it is necessary to hire a tour that can take you to and from Naples in the time you need.

Otherwise, you can take the train and check in advance the timetables of the archaeological parks, which can vary according to the season. Be sure to check the train and tour schedules before deciding on one or the other.

Interesting details

• Approximate price: around 70 € with a contracted tour, but can be half that if you go on your own without additional services - Travel time: 25 minutes to Pompeii, 15 minutes to Herculaneum - Advantages of this tour: you can visit both Pompeii and Herculaneum in half a day - Disadvantages of this tour: it is a very short time

Do you want personalised attention? No problem: in Pompeii and Herculaneum you can get it if you hire a private tour where there is a private guide who is a specialist in archaeology and gives you details of every element of the past of these ancient Roman cities.

The problem is that these private tours require time and money, but I give you my word that Pompeii and Herculaneum are worth every penny. In general, by hiring a private tour you will be able to have a lot more time dedicated to the visit which will extend for more than three or four hours in Pompeii and at least two hours in Herculaneum.

If you are interested in archaeology and history, make sure that the private tour service comes with a guide who has extensive knowledge of the subject. Also, this tour usually picks you up and drops you off at your hotel and transfers you between Pompeii and Herculaneum in the same way: just for you and your group. If you're going as a couple or a family, this is a great option, because you split the costs and it's still a private tour.

Interesting details

• Approximate price: about 250 €, including guide
• Travel time: 25 minutes to go to Pompeii, 15 minutes to go to Herculaneum
• Advantages of this tour: you will have an accurate knowledge of the archaeology of Pompeii and Herculaneum, without rushing.
• Disadvantages of this tour: the cost can be quite high.

There are tours that cover other sites, in combination, because this whole area has a lot to offer. I recommend you take the packages that offer to visit the archaeological ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but if you also need to know how to visit Vesuvius, the only active volcano in continental Europe, I recommend you look at options to hire a tour that will take you to all these points.

This is very attractive, as it was an eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum.

You will realise as soon as you are in Naples: Vesuvius is quite a big mountain. For that reason, visiting Vesuvius from Naples is very easy.

There are many villages around the volcano and there is even a train line called Circunvesubiana that runs through most of them and gets around the traffic difficulties generated by the volcano itself. But it is a great idea to go to Vesuvius and Pompeii and Herculaneum on the same day, especially if you are short of time.

Often, the archaeological parks are visited in the morning and after lunch, often included in the tour, the group heads to Mount Vesuvius, where they see the crater, which can be reached on foot in about 15 minutes.

Interesting details

• Approximate cost: 150 €, depending on whether guide, meals and entrance fees are included.
• Travel time: 25 minutes to Pompeii, 30 minutes to Vesuvius.
• Advantages of this visit: you will be able to see not only Pompeii and Herculaneum, but also the cause of the destruction: Mount Vesuvius.
• Disadvantages of this visit: it requires some physical effort to reach the crater of the volcano.

It all depends on which tour you choose, but my advice is to spend at least a full day exploring the archaeological parks. Although Pompeii and Herculaneum are very close to the city of Naples, they are still outside the city and transportation takes some time. When planning your trip, I recommend that you set aside a day to do a good tour.

Of course, if you have less time, that doesn't mean you can't do a shorter tour. You could leave Naples mid-morning and return from Pompeii mid-afternoon, having spent about five hours there.

The downside of this plan is that it can be difficult to get to Herculaneum as well, especially in the winter months when it closes at 17:00.

If you choose a private tour that offers a combined excursion, don't expect to take less than a full day. To visit Pompeii, Herculaneum and then go to Amalfi or Vesuvius you can spend at least one day.

Traveller Tip

The access times to the archaeological parks change according to the season. The later it gets, the longer they work. Check the closing time before your excursions.

There is definitely a lot to see and do in Pompeii. When you arrive, you'll find a city that was paralysed by a volcanic eruption and excavations have found the remains of people who were covered in lava. Families eating, people working or strolling. For all these reasons, it is a very exciting site that deserves a lot of respect when you visit it.

In itself, the ruins of Pompeii are very large and you have a lot to see. What you'll see most are buildings, because many of its artistic finds are in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Here are some of the places you can't miss.

Roman Forum

All the cities of the ancient Roman Empire, like Pompeii, had a forum. In general, the forums were long esplanades where events were held, and Pompeii's forum has been well preserved.

This is an area to behold, as there are still original columns and floors that give you an idea of how big the city was.

Amphitheatre

Another icon of Roman cities was the amphitheatre. This is probably the ruin of Pompeii that most attracts the attention of tourists, because even today different concerts and events are held there, due to its huge capacity of 20 thousand spectators.

Just imagine: if 20,000 people is still a lot, what it would have been like in the 1st century BC, when it is presumed to have been built. If you go with a tour guide, he or she will surely explain its origin and the activities that took place there.

Lupanar

Not everything was veneration of the gods and power in Roman cities, because there was also a lot of lust and the Lupanar, an ancient brothel in Pompeii, is the best example of that.

This construction is a delirium for anthropologists and archaeologists, because they have been able to study how the brothels worked, see their beds and even the erotic art in it.

House of Faun

And where did the city's rich live? Well, in mansions like the Casa de Fauno. This was a large house belonging to a wealthy Pompeian family who owned various works of art, both sculptures and frescoes. In the end, without distinction of class, the lava took them all away.

As with Pompeii, Herculaneum was a city that was destroyed by lava. This was a smaller city but its inhabitants were apparently better off.

If there were images that shocked you in Pompeii, in Herculaneum they will shock you more, because the ruins are better preserved due to the fact that they were more buried by lava. You will have the imposing Mount Vesuvius right in front of you and you can also visit it after your tour of the archaeological parks.

Although smaller, Herculaneum will make your hair stand on end. Many of the remains found were not enveloped by lava, but were burnt by it, so only the bones remain. Here are some constructions that you should not miss for anything in the world:

The Fornicis

If you stand at the viewpoint of Herculaneum, you can see a city, even if there is no one there and there are only ruins. Seen from above it looks like a neighbourhood, but the Fornicis were buildings that were used to store the products that arrived from the port to the city. Many of them are quite interesting two-storey buildings.

Seat of the Augustan priests

In the Roman religion different gods were worshipped and the seat of the Augustan priests was one of these spaces. This space is reached at the end of a cobbled street and you can admire its columns, its plaques dedicated to the Emperor Augustus and especially its frescoes made with mosaics.

House of the Mosaic of Neptune

For many, the House of Neptune's Mosaic has one of the most precious works of art in all of Ancient Rome: a mosaic depicting the god Neptune with Amphitrite. It is striking to see these buildings because it is evident how far the lava reached and how what was left underneath it was preserved with mosaics.

Visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum is something you will never forget and I am sure it will be an experience you will be able to tell all your loved ones about.

But among the tips for visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum that you should take into account, it is important to know that you are going to visit an archaeological site that is also a kind of cemetery: you will see many corpses, completely blurred by lava, so sensitivity is required.

Although it's an impressive archaeological park, it's not a place to celebrate either, so it's best to go with a keen interest in history and to understand how the people who died in these two cities lived.

You should also be aware that there is a lot of sun and walking, so try to bring comfortable shoes, plenty of water and sunscreen so you won't be affected at any time.

Worried about your wallet? Nothing to worry about. If you are already in Naples, you have most of the way done and Pompeii and Herculaneum are not far away, so you won't have to pay anything exorbitant.

In fact, the most convenient option is for you to go on an all-inclusive tour, including food, entrance fees to the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as transport. This will save you a lot of money. But if you choose to go on your own, it's also a good decision, because train tickets usually cost around €3.

In general, an excursion including the two archaeological parks of Pompeii and Herculaneum with a tour guide costs around €70. Of course, this will depend on whether it is all-inclusive or whether there are additional costs, as the entrance fee to the ruins is €16.

The cost of packages will also vary depending on how they are offered: separate excursions to Pompeii and Herculaneum tend to be more expensive than if you do both sites in one day.

If you want to visit the Amalfi Coast on the same day, the cost of the excursion will increase, but you will probably end up saving time and energy. You're sure to be able to choose the best plan for your finances.

The Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were razed to the ground after the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius and that's why we see their ruins there today. Naples is the closest city to all these archaeological sites, so if you are there it would be a shame to miss out on visiting all this paradise.

It's an incredible contrast, because in Naples you'll have a modern, traditional city while in Pompeii you'll feel like you're travelling back in time.

There are many excursions and trains leaving from Naples every day to Pompeii and Herculaneum so you have nothing to fear and instead, there will be hundreds of options for you to choose the one that best suits you.

My recommendation is that you set aside at least one day to see all the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum in detail, because I am sure you will never forget it. This entire archaeological park has been declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. When you're in there admiring every single ruin of these cities, you'll understand why.

Want to go on your own to the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum? No problem. Fortunately there are good public transport routes that you can use to get there by train. My advice is to go first to Pompeii, the farthest ruin, and then to Herculaneum, which is much closer to Naples.

If you are in Naples, the best thing to do is to take the Circunvesubiano train. To do so, enter the Circumvesuviana station at Piazza Garibaldi and take the line to Pompeii.

Follow the route to Pompei Scavi Villa dei Misteri station. Just in front of you is the Porta Marina Superiore which is one of the entrances to the archaeological park.

In the direction of Herculaneum, you can take the same line in the direction of Naples and get off at Ercolano Scavi station. From there, you only have to take Via 4 Novembre and walk about five minutes to the entrance to the archaeological site. You can't miss it.

If you go on a private guided tour, it is very likely to include at least lunch. It is common for tour operators to rent parts of restaurants and you can enjoy a delicious Neapolitan meal, with lots of sea and vegetable flavours.

But don't worry if you're on your own, because if you're wondering where to eat on your excursion to Pompeii, you'll find plenty of options. My advice is to eat once you finish your tour in Pompeii and before you go to Herculaneum.

Since you are in Italy, it would be great to visit the Trammiere trattoria, where you will be able to taste the best pizzas. You can also order a very traditional and inexpensive pasta at Na Pasta, so you can recharge your batteries and continue your tour in the afternoon.

Would you be surprised if I told you that in the archaeological finds of Pompeii they have even found wine? Don't let the charm of the ruins go to waste: if you need something that is right next to the archaeological park of Pompeii, then the Caupona restaurant is your best option.

You'll love this place because it's set in ancient Pompeii and serves dishes that they think were eaten before the eruption in 79. Even the waiters are dressed as Romans! It's great fun.

Although they were once populated cities, today Pompeii and Herculaneum are archaeological sites that have a fixed entrance and timetable.

They are large spaces where you can admire many constructions that have been frozen in time, but they are still an attraction. For this reason, it is usually better to hire an excursion that will find you, take you there and guide you while you are visiting the parks.

Outside of the parks, the attractions in the areas are not so much, although further along the Amalfi coast there is plenty to see and you can even take the best Naples tour buses that have routes out of the city.

If you're going to Pompeii and Herculaneum on your own because you want to manage your time and try to save a bit on budget it's also a great option, but you'll probably have to spend more on food, entrance fees and transport, plus you won't have a guide to accompany you.