Visiting Rome in early December and my 15 year old grandson would like to visit Pompeii. I have been before, as has my adult daughter, but he has a real interest and we really want to see the museum too. Any suggestions of tours that include both or of reasonable private guides who would do it? Thanks in advance.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23642 posts
This is very easy to do on your own. Take an early train from Rome and try to be at Pompeii within an hour of opening. There will be guides available at the entrance and you can hire for two or three tour. Wrap up around noon, 1 pm and headed back to Naples. Take a taxi to the museum from the train station. Spend as much time as you can in the museum. Seeing the museum in the afternoon avoids the heat that you will have at Pompeii in the afternoon. After the museum find somewhere for a quick pizza and taxi back to the train station and an evening train back to Rome. That will be a very full day and far better than any tour.
Part of the problem is that Pompeii and the museum can each take more than half a day so you don't have much time than a quick overview. By the time you toss in a couple of bathroom breaks, and a meal somewhere, you are out of time. Personally I would do just Pompeii and save the museum for the next trip. We didn't go the museum until our second trip to Naples.
Posted by
11 posts
Look at Trip Advisor or Viator, we hired a private guide and had a great time to Pompeii and back to Rome, it's a long day!
Posted by
Massachusetts
1102 posts
Reach out to Gaetano Manfredi. He was our tour guide in Pomepeii on a Rick Steves tour and is excellent. On his website, he mentions day tours from Rome to Pompeii and Amalfi Coast. He may be able to arrange a day tour for your from Rome to Pompeii and Naples.
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Thanks for the suggestions! The private tour really costs more than I really want to spend for the 3 of us to do Pompeii and the museum (which I do think is amazing). As much as I did not want to do on our own, it seems I do it that way or sacrifice the museum. Need to think about it and also consider what tours we may want to spend money for while in Rome.
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Decided to do an overnight in Naples to give us more time. My grandson would really like to see both the museum and Pompeii. The museum is closed Tuesdays and Pompeii is free on the Sunday we would be there so trying to work all that out. Maybe go to Pompeii that Sunday afternoon making sure to have guide and tickets in place. The price from Gaetano to do both from Naples was still very high, 880€ (1200€ from Rome).
It may make sense to hire him to meet us in Naples and just do Pompeii with him thendo the museum on our own on Monday. Are there other guides from Naples that people recommend? Thoughts?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23642 posts
Be careful of free days. We have found free days to be an absolute zoo. The free days are for the locals and not for the tourists and the locals will be there. After a couple of free days when it was shoulder to shoulder and almost impossible to see anything. We now avoid the free days.
Staying overnight is a good idea. Use the guides at the entrance. Talk to them, check their English, and discuss what you want to see inside. They will give you a price for your group. We had uses those local guides at a number of different sites and never been disappointed.
Posted by
OP
5 posts
The free day concerned me too. Ideally would do Monday/Tuesday but with closures Tuesday, May do museum first on Sunday then Pompeii on Monday. Figuring out hotel in Naples now as well as logistics.