2 Days in Herculaneum and Pompeii

I used Rick's audio tour for Pompeii along with the free booklet I got at the entrance. In Herculaneum, I got the audio guide (it's the same as the booklet, but I didn't see any when I entered - when I left, I saw them but there were none in English).

Sandt, many people advise visiting the museum in Naples before going to Pompeii. Many of the finest works of art from Pompeii are now located in the museum, while of course the ruins of the streets and structures are in Pompeii itself. Also, I tried to navigate the ruins of Pompeii with a map and the RS guide book and audio guide. I found I was lost a lot and missed some major sites, in part due to the fact that the street signs did not match the street names on my map. (Of course the ruins of Pompeii involve a whole large city.) I think it would be very helpful to get a human guide from the many available at the entry, talk to a few and choose one who seems personable and whose English you can easily understand. They are not too expensive, something like €10 for a couple hours I think, Not only do these guides have extensive information, they of course know their way around the ruins thoroughly, including which sections, streets or sites might be closed for repairs at that time, and that would not be reflected on any written map, book or audio guide. In May 2014, I visited the museum while staying in Naples, then while staying in Sorrento took one long day and visited by train Herculaneum, then Vila Oplontis (had a nice lunch at a restaurant in that town, in part because there was a 2-hour gap in the train schedule, also I was hungry!) and then went to Pompeii in the afternoon, then back to Sorrento. All that was really too much for one day.