Colosseum, Pompeii and Naples Ferry Questions.

Finally, someone else agrees that the Colosseum interior is kind of a bust! I’ll die on this (Palatine) hill. IMO, I don’t imagine the underground tour to be any kind of an upgrade. I would exert your experience here and gently guide your crew away from entering in the first place. If they insist, I’d stick to the bare minimum.

You’re a step ahead of booking tickets around Pompeii etc. and can wait until a few weeks ahead. You’re not there in high season, so you should have no problems. Pompeii is massive, 20K visitors in a day won’t keep you out. Same with any ferries. Anecdotally, when I was in the area (late May about 8years ago) the folks at the ferry ticket booths all looked at me like I was crazy for trying to buy a ticket for the next day or even later the same day.

The limit on Pompeii tickets will only cap capacity on the busiest of days. You don't mention when your trip is but unless it is deep in season you should be fine. Buying tickets ahead of time will save you time waiting in the ticket line outside, however, and is worth it.

Guides at the entrance are not offered by Pompeii - there are no official guides - and while all guides in Italy need to be tested and licensed there is no guarantee of personality or dedication. Rick's book has a good, basic walk through guide to the various sites. Note that if you are coming from town the entrance by the arena may be closer than the main gate.

Don't miss the semi-permanent working excavation site at Pompeii on Via dell’Abbondanza. You climb the stairs and walk over the working excavation site and see all levels of things being revealed from fully documented to still mostly buried. The site is best marked as Insula dei Casti Amanti and if you check the pictures you can see the how it is set up and the kinds of view you can get. I recommend watching the good recent documentaries about the new excavations for good background on Pompeii and the eruption.

With the time you have I would encourage you to look into Paestum as well.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

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

Pompeii audio tour. ( Scroll to the very bottom of the list)

We found it did a good job and at our own pace

For the Colosseum we booked a tour through The Tour Guy (Colosseum and Forum). Our guide was great, and it really made a difference to actually learn about what we were looking at.

Thank you for all of the suggestions!
I have decided to purchase the regular Colosseum ticket that includes the forum.
I won't worry about getting tickets to Pompeii, but will order prior to the trip to make entry easier.

There are a bunch of ferry providers that offer half-empty boats all day long this time of year. Just choose the one that fits your schedule. You can book the night before. It isn't something you need to lock yourself into now. Just pay attention to the departure location (cruise dock vs car ferry dock)

It sounds like you're really interested in Pompeii so I'd probably spring for a guided small group tour. There are many you can find mentioned on these boards.

In Naples, your Pompeii visit will be elevated with a visit to the awesome Archeological Museum. Again, I'd spring for a guide. The RS guide is pretty out of date and confusing for today. If you get there early, you can use their free bag lockers and experience the Sundial Room around midday.