Visiting Pompeii, my husband and I have one recommendation is to get a guide. We used Gaetano Manfredi, a guide who came highly recommended by Rick Steves. He is a third generation Pompeii guide. Gaetano painted vivid pictures of a Roman seaport town that you will not get from reading a guidebook. He explained what we were seeing so that we would understand what we were seeing and appreciate it.
Posted by
Lubbock, TX, USA
113 posts
Would you mind sharing the tour cost please?
Posted by
10 posts
I completely agree with Beckie that getting a private guide for Pompeii is the way to go. In fact, I just posted on the Day Tours section of this forum this review for the guide I used, Dario Davide:
Dario Davide will make your visit to Pompeii unique and unforgettable. Dario is a true professional, whose knowledge is grounded in academic as well as practical experience. Pompeii can be overwhelming, but Dario provides a contextual background and shares his extensive knowledge while always taking one’s particular interests into consideration. He is conversant with current scholarship on Pompeii and the other archaeological sites in Campania, and has taken part in recent projects forming part of such studies. He is an archaeologist and a historian who loves his work. Throughout my nearly six hours with Dario at Pompeii he was always considerate of my slower pace, despite his unflagging energy. Dario is consistently courteous, and delightfully personable. Spending time with him at one of the most important archaeological sites in the world was enjoyable as well as educational. True experiential learning! As a retired history teacher and former historic home tour guide, I wanted my exploration of Pompeii to be in the moment, not lost in a crowded tour group or seen haphazardly while snapping photos with my mobile. Dario was my lens, so that I was free to observe and partake in an extraordinary afternoon. I strongly recommend that you make him your lens as well.
Posted by
203 posts
I believe Pompeii museum itself offers guided tour. Why not just joint the one they provided.
Posted by
Walnut Creek, CA
548 posts
I believe Pompeii museum itself offers guided tour. Why not just joint
the one they provided.
Where are you getting this information? We were just there a few weeks ago.
Your admission ticket to the Pompeii excavation does NOT provide a guided tour.
You have to hire a guide, buy a guide book or audio guide.
Most of the Pompeii treasures are located at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
They have an audio tour to rent, but no actual guided tours that are included with your admission.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15810 posts
Info on guided tours of the scavi which are offered at the site:
http://pompeiisites.org/en/visiting-info/guided-tours/
"Guided tours can be requested at the entrances to the site of Pompeii at Piazza Esedra and Porta Marina between 9.00 am and 3.00 pm. Through its concessionary, the Archaeological Park is exclusively responsible for dealing with requests for guided tours. The service is provided by qualified freelance guides who can be recognised by their badges. The prices, routes and durations of visits are agreed directly with the guide."
So the price of a tour is in addition to the entry ticket, and up to the individual guide.
Posted by
203 posts
I didn't notice those sentences
"The service is provided by qualified freelance guides who can be recognised by their badges. The prices, routes and durations of visits are agreed directly with the guide"
It seems to me that the guides at Pompeii are not like the guides in Secret Itineraries Tour at Doge's Palace which are arranged by the museum and included in ticket. It seems to me that I need bargain with the guides at the entrance of Pompeii. That is hardly a good deal. Should I make guide before go to Pompeii instead?
Posted by
OP
Nordland
40 posts
Delineated I think we paid 260 euros for the guided tour. It was around 3 hours. Go to manfredi gaetano’s website to schedule the tour. You won’t be sorry
Posted by
20 posts
We did an Askos private tour. 2.5-3hrs. We enjoyed it.
Posted by
43 posts
The Mondo-Rick Steves shared guide tour is a fantastic and affordable alternative! Our Mondo guide was so knowledgeable about Pompeii he is being featured on the National Geographic channel this month (November 2023). He knows Pompeii like the back of his hand and was able to guide us past big groups with skilled-like precision. I think it was only 20 euros ppn and he was so good we tipped him extra extra.
Posted by
3245 posts
It's curious to me that the "one and done" Gaetano fans never include a link to his website, or an email.
We enjoyed three fabulous tours with Askos in 2022, and I highly recommend them. Here is a link to their website.
Posted by
2 posts
@christman.diane --- do you think the Mondo Tours option would work for kids ages 8 & 11?