Herculaneum or Pompeii

They're quite different. Herculaneum is compact, tight, bunched up against the side of the excavation. Pompeii is gigantic, expansive, spread out across the land. The sheer magnitude of Pompeii is what sticks in my mind most of all. Incredibly impressive. If you must choose one, I say definitely Pompeii, but if you can swing both sites, I would say you will not be disappointed.

You could do both in one day. Herculaneum is less touristy, for obvious reasons. You may want to do the hike up Vesuvius with the boys. You can see lava from the most recent eruption. 8 Euro for your teens and you (each). You can get an art card that may cover both Herculaneum and Pompeii - can be bought there.

Hi Brian, we just spent last week in this area & traveled with 2 little boys(5yo/2yo)! I posted this question 2 wks ago on the helpline as we also didn't know what to choose & I am happy we chose Pompei. However we did hear great things on Ercolano (more intact, smaller, more shade) & traveling with our little ones this was highly recommended. Still, we wanted to see a bigger site & weren't disappointed with pompei. Hopefully we get to see Ercolano next time around :) I think u mentioned 1 day in Naples/Sorrento...from naples to Sorrento it'll take you 70 mins by circumvesuviana. From Naples to Pompei I think its 40 mins, again circumvesuviana. I think its a lot to do both ercolano and pompei in 1 day. I would highly recommend visiting the naples national archelogical museum as it provides the amazing artworks that went into the homes & settings of pompei. Its a lot to do in 1 day though. The artecampania card could be helpful, you'll probably need to do some math though as you decide on the plan. With public transportaion (bus/circumvesuviana & entrance fees) it may be worth it. Hope this helps and have fun planning an amazing trip! BTW, I am originally from Fresno :)

Both, don't miss Herculaneum.

We did both in one dayspent more time in PompeiI would reverse the order and spend more time in Herc.
Sammie

I spent one day at each in February. There is less to see in Ercolano but you get a better sense of an entire (albeit small) town. It was raining, so I think I probably spent more time there just staying out of the rain. So I vote for Pompeii. There is enough for a whole day, including the public baths and toilets and the house of ill-repute, all of which are likely to amuse teen boys. Do walk out to the Casa dei Misteri, it's a bit outside the walled town, but one of the best parts of Pompeii. I don't recommend trying to see both in one day. Of course it depends on how early you can get off the ship (with teen boys???) and what kind of transportation you are using. If you are taking the local train from Naples, the Circumvesuviani, it's a good 10-15 minutes' walk downhill from the train to Ercolano (and a bit more uphill on the way back). The entrance to Pompeii is just a few yards from the train station. In the middle of the day, there may only be one train an hour and the trains are not always on schedule. If you miss a train, you will waste much precious time. If you hire a car and driver and get an early start, you could probably see both, but I'm not sure you get that much more out of Ercolano.

Agree with Matt. We toured both extensively on our own over two days and Pompeii was, on the whole, just so much more impressive if only perhaps for the scale. A day in port is not always a long as it seems. I would opt for one site--Pompeii--and see it in greater depth and maybe at a bit more relaxed pace than trying for both.