Pompeii and Vesuvius

We used a guided tour. It was wonderful. Our guide had a system where we each had our own headsets, so we could wander away from her an still hear everything she was saying. it was so helpful to maximize our time at Pomepii. The trip included Vesuvio and we had the opportunity to walk to the top and see the view of the volcano and Naples, etc. We saw other tours where the guide was "yelling" to be heard, it was delightful to have the earpieces and walk a block away to keep exploring, but hear and understand everything being said. Our tour was from Sorrento. We just walked into a tourist agency and booked a trip. Note, we DID tip our tour guide at the end of the tour, about 10%.

Just a tip from someone who has studied (and taught) Ancient Roman art history... Take much of what comes out of you're tour guide's mouth with a healthy grain of salt. Whenever I'm in Pompeii, I inevitably end up overhearing a lot of the English-speaking tour guides, and more often than not they are spouting some of the most outrageous misinformation/half-truths I've ever heard. Lots of outdated, disproved and just plain crazy factoids and interpretations. It's often titillating, scandalous tidbits that are more fact than fiction. For example, the numerous instances of phallic imagery on the streets and buildings are often spun to tourists as directions to the brothel. They're not; the symbols are generally regarded as apotropaic, or references to fertility/fecundity/abundance. I hear tour guides telling their groups about how Pompeii notoriously had 35+ brothels. The town had one brothel, and about 34 buildings of undetermined function that some earlier scholars misattributed as brothels. The bodies found in the gladiators' barracks were not those of a noblewoman having a forbidden romp with a pack of gladiators; they were people seeking shelter in the ludus from the pyroclastic flow. Most "sensible" people would have gotten out of town when Vesuvius started rumbling... they wouldn't have hosted an orgy. But I'm rambling. These are only a few examples, and the misinformation is rather fun, I suppose. And I guess the tour guide's primary job is to entertain, and they're clearly doing that, based on all the smiling faces I see. So, if you like stories, then it's worth your money. If you're a "Just the facts, ma'am" type, you might want to look into a tour with a more archaeological bent. And don't overlook the house of Loreius Tibertinus! The garden is lovely.

Kat is right about the exagerations made while on the Pompei visits. Having taken this tour from a cruise ship the commentary was a bit more serious and possibly more genuine. I would suggest a tour guide and one with headphones would be best. There is a tremendous amount of walking, so be aware of this and few places to sit and relax in the heat of May. It is a great experience, but even more fun is getting to the top of Vesuvius, by chair life. We are heading there this fall, the group will be going to Pompei, while I will ride the chair lift, to the top, if it is still there. You will love the whole area.