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Pompeii or Pompeii Express tickets & Mondo Shared Tour of Pompeii

Posted by (VA) on

Hi all! In the 27th Edition of Italy, Rick doesn't specifically note these two options: Pompeii or Pompeii Express tickets. He does mention one that includes special exhibits, however. I did a search on this topic and the most recent info that popped up was from 2021, so I wanted to see if there was any newer info available and personal recommendations.

All that to ask: Which ticket would you recommend? I see the map online and what they both include, but it doesn't really mean much to me yet as I don't have much knowledge of the site.

Second, has anyone taken the Mondo Shared Pompeii tour that RS mentions in his book? I'm debating whether to do this or just use the RS audio (38 min). Note that my 18-year-old is quite interested in this site, but neither of us has any in-depth knowledge of it.

Thanks!

Posted by
8010 posts

We did the Mondo Pompeii tour in 2019. The guide was excellent. Tour lasted just over 2 hours then we stayed on longer to explore more.
Having a guide brought the site to life and the guide will know which areas are currently open/closed, etc. I don't think we would have gotten as much out of the visit just using a dated audioguide

Posted by
233 posts

Yes, I've done the Mondo shared guide and it was great. It's also very inexpensive. Pompeii is huge and you will benefit from having a person guide you, not just an audio guide.

Posted by
1316 posts

I agree with Christine above; a guide is much better! We visited Pompeii years ago on our own and recently went back using Mondo Tours and the experience was 10x better. Our guide was enthusiastic and an expert on the ruins.

Posted by
47 posts

Thank you ChristineH, annemargaret, and John!! My inclination was to do the shared tour, but having personal feedback helps to cement the decision. I just booked the Mondo Shared tour of Pompeii for my son and me! Looking forward to it! Thanks again!

Posted by
17203 posts

Rick doesn't specifically note these two options: Pompeii or Pompeii
Express tickets. He does mention one that includes special exhibits,
however. I did a search on this topic and the most recent info that
popped up was from 2021, so I wanted to see if there was any newer
info available and personal recommendations.

The scavi's official website explains the difference; the Pompeii Express ticket is only for the excavation of the main city - which is what most visitors come to see. The Pompeii ticket also includes entrance to a couple of additional suburban villas.

https://pompeiisites.org/en/visiting-info/timetables-and-tickets/

The Mondo tour might be well worth booking if your son is intensely interested; it has seen a lot of positive reviews on these forums.

I don't have much knowledge of the site.

Well here ya go: some reading for the both of you before your trip. Yes, it's a LOT of information (!) but settle in and give it a browse for tidbits that are most interesting to you? :O)
https://pompeiisites.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Guide-to-the-Pompeii-Excavations-2.pdf

Posted by
8317 posts

Month of year? Heat and sun are big factors at Pompeii. It could be stifling by May.

I'm not big on guides, but (of course, a long past edition of the RS Italy guide) we had difficulty following the self-guided route because of barriers installed to manage the long lines to enter the Brothel. We probably walked an extra half-mile, which is a lot on ancient stone streets. Obviously, a live guide would know exactly how to walk. We spent almost 8 hours, including lunch at the glorified cafeteria inside. (You can't exit and re-enter the site with a same-day ticket.)

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