Pompeii Tour Guide / Antonio Somma / Cost

200 euro for a private, 2-hour tour for 4 people is very reasonable, IMHO. The only tour I've seen that costs less (and which forum posters have largely reviewed positively) is the Rick-endorsed Mondo shared tour ("Pompeii Walk") and it's not a private tour, although group size can vary from 8 or less. Cost is 20 euros (cash) plus the €19 entrance ticket pp.

https://www.sharedtours.com

200 Euros for a 2 hour tour for 4 people sounds pretty reasonable. That is in line with what we paid for different private guides in 2022. Are you making your own way from Rome to the Pompeii entrance? It might be less stressful, if not less expensive, to find a tour that takes you from Rome to Pompeii and back.

I wouldn't take my chances with a guide outside the gate.

We had a 4+ hour tour of Pompeii and Herculaneum with Askos Tours, which uses only degreed archeologists as its guides. It was superb; cost was about 100 euros apiece. But for a family of 4 including your kiddos, 4 hours is too long, and Herculaneum is IMO a place more suitable for adults. I'd encourage you to listen to Rick Steves on this one (and it's seldom bad advice to do so).

By the way, the restaurant just outside the main gate, Il Posticino, isn't bad. It looks like a tourist trap, but the food is pretty good and at a reasonable price.

The reason I wouldn't personally book a tour from Rome is that the lion's share of those are via bus/vehicle and take longer to get there and back to Rome. A for-instance example is this one: they note that it takes 3.5 hours one-way just to get to the scavi. High-speed train to Naples trims that time (you would take the bare-bones local Circumsuviana train from there) and you can get up and move around a little if desired, use the facilities, bring your breakfast along, etc.

https://www.walksofitaly.com/pompeii-tours/pompeii-tours-from-rome/

Figure 3.5 hours back plus it includes a coastal drive to Amalfi or Sorrento (lunch and shopping) so more vehicle time, and only a couple of hours at Pompeii itself. So, of the estimated 13 hours, you spend over half of that sitting in a vehicle. Not enough time at the scavi is a frequent complaint about these tours; if you take the train(s) and meet a guide at Pompeii, you are not tied to a departure schedule and can explore on your own after the tour is over. The excavation is HUGE.

Any chance you're there on Sunday, Feb. 16th? If so, there's a high-speed train + very short bus ride option that can get you there in 2 hours, 2 minutes: 8:53 - 10:55. A similar option is available to return to Rome but doesn't depart until 6:15 at night so it would make for a really long day at the scavi so I might go the more usual Circumvesuviana to Naples + high speed to Rome method.

Added comment: it's not necessary to take the Circumvesuviana. Trenitalia's regular service also goes to Pompei. The Trenitalia station is, however, farther from the park entrance. But IMO the added walk is worth it; the CV trains are dreadful.

Just got back from Pompei. We stayed there, so no issue getting to the ruins, but we took the Trenitalia train from the Pompei station to go to Naples for a day trip. The Pompei Scavia station is a lot closer to the ruins so if distance walking could be an issue I recommend taking the CV train to that station. I don’t know how bad the CV trains are, but I doubt you’ll be assaulted or robbed at weapon-point during the day. Just leave everything except some cash for the day and one credit card back in Rome and put it in a money belt or underwear waistband to foil pickpockets. For the trip to Naples I put mine in a front pants pocket underneath a coat and had no problems.

Thanks to all for the feedback, especially regarding the rate for the tour guide. If 200 euro is reasonable and in line with that most others are paying, then that works for me.

We will take Trenitalia from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale and then the plan is to transfer to the Circumvesiviana line for the final leg. It sounds like that line is pretty terrible, but if our lives are not in danger, then I would take the convenience of being right at the entry gates to Pompeii on arrival. My rough Google map search shows an approx 30 min walk from the other Pompeii station, and although we are fine with a lot of walking, I would prefer not to add that to the overall travel time for this specific day trip.

I mentioned in an earlier post, but my tentative plan would be to book train tickets departing Roma Termini around 7am mid week. This would put us at the gates to Pompeii around 915am after the walk to and transfer to the Circumvesuviana train in Naples.

Figure 2 hours with the guide from about 930-1130, then we will give ourselves at least another hour to wander on our own.

We would like to get back to Naples in order to have enough time to eat at Pizzeria Trianon which is one of the 2 that Rick recommends, and which looks very good based on google photos and reviews. It closes at 330pm, so we need to ensure we get there in time to account for any waiting in line and eating. Thus I am thinking of a 1pm or 130pm latest train back to Naples from Pompeii.

After pizza we would head back to Rome, relax in our AirBnb and look for dinner somewhere and have a passeggiata.

Although I had no problem with the Circumvesuviana, folks have said its doesn't necessarily run to schedule. If I were paying for a private guide, I'd want to allow extra time to get to Pompeii.

OK, good to know. The train I am looking at would arrive Pompeii around 9:13 assuming it's on time.
If I book the guide for 9:30, that should be enough buffer.