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Sorrento-Pompeii?-Herculaneam?-Vesuvius?-Naples

First time in Italy. Our thought is to leave Sorrento on the train some AM, visit some combination of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and peak of Vesuvius and end up in Naples in the PM, next day see the archeoligical museum and maybe 1-2 other sights in Naples, then move along with our vacation to Rome.
We have a bunch of questions:
1) Is this doable (reasonably), or should we eliminate 1 stop?
2) How much time is required to make each place a worthwhile stop?
3) Should we forego Pompeii, as many of the artifacts are in Naples museum, for Herculanem only, and do Vesuvius peak?
4) Is there storage for baggage at these places?
5) Is it worthwhile to hire a guide?
6) What's the best way to get as far up Vesuvius before finishing the hike to the peak?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and response.

Posted by
606 posts

It would be helpful to know when you are going to Italy and how long you will be in the Sorrento area. Generally speaking, I think doing Pompeii and Herculeaneum in the same day could be too much, depending on when you are there. Even though the museum in Naples has great artifacts from Pompeii, seeing the actual ruins is a worthwhile experience. Pompeii is a huge sight and can take up two or three hours, depending on your level of interest and stamina. Herculaneum is well worth a visit of at least two hours by itself, in my opinion. We did not use a guide in Pompeii, but I know others have found having a guide useful. Again, it can depend on when you will be visiting due to the number of other tourists and the weather (both sights are brutally hot on a hot, sunny day). Hope you have a great trip.

Posted by
8256 posts

Eliminate Herculaneum. To do all 3 is too much. I did Pompeii and Vesuvius together and that was exhausting. You can hire a guide at the entrance of Pompeii by the ticket office. There is baggage storage at Pompeii.

Right at the Ercolano stop on the Circumvesuviana train line that stops at Pompeii and Ercolano there is office selling tickets to the bus that take up the hill to Vesuvius it comes with an entrance to the hike to the crater.

Posted by
67 posts

To answer sempreitalia, this will be early October, we will be 3 nights/2.5 days in Sorrento prior, planning Amalfi coast and Capri tours. This is our first vacation stop. We will arrive in Rome in AM and take trains to Sorrento.

Posted by
1084 posts

You can do Pompeii and Herculaneum in the same day if you manage it right. Get to Pompeii when it opens, take a nice break for lunch and rest, then see Herculaneum later in the afternoon. Depending on time of year, Herculaneum may be open until sundown (early evening, check hours.) I found both sites to be extremely fascinating and different from each other. Vesuvius in the same day as these is simply not possible.

I think your dedicating that day to Naples itself is wise. So, something needs to get the axe and I’d vote Vesuvius just because it sounds like a time consuming hassle. However, you sound quite keen on it so you’ve got a decision.

Posted by
4105 posts

Do either Pompeii or Herculaneum not both with the tour to Vesuvius, with thus bus. Note you hav to travel back to Herculaneum to pick up this bus.

http://www.vesuvioexpress.info

For a visit to the Archeological Museum, this can be combined with whichever site you did not see the day before.

Posted by
11752 posts

Do Pompeii by itself or yourvbrain will turn to mush. It is a lot to take in. Very, very worthwhile.

Posted by
12180 posts

Should we forego Pompeii, as many of the artifacts are in Naples museum, for Herculanem only, and do Vesuvius peak?

No. Do not omit Pompeii. Seeing the reproductions, in situ, was for me something not to pass up.

Perhaps our geographical differences account for you penchant for wanting to go up Vesuvius. I had no inclination to do so, and think your limited time is better spent on other activity.

RS has a free audio guide for Pompeii and we found it quite satisfactory. Saw groups of people on 'tours' and it seems we all ended up going to the same places.
I think we spent close to 6 hours at Pompeii before we felt we had 'done a good job' of really seeing it. I would allocate at least 3-4 hours.

You could leave Sorrento early AM, do Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius, but your lasting memory may be of exhaustion rather than what you saw.

My $0.02

Posted by
5697 posts

We have done Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Naples Archaeological Museum on different days ...in fact, on different trips. Vesuvius sounded too hot and strenuous (but I have seen a volcano in Hawaii) Based in Sorrento, took the Circumvesuviana to the sites. Saw the museum as a stop in the way to Rome AFTER seeing the sites. But we are go-slow travelers.

Posted by
943 posts

We saw each attraction on a different day. We spent around 5 hours in Pompeii--we stayed there the night before so we could enter when it opened. We saw a lot using the RS audioguide, but we did not see everything. I would not skip it. We saw Herculaneum next, 2-3 hours in the morning, and had lunch and walked around Naples in the afternoon. The next day we spent a few hours at the museum. Keeping them separate worked best for us: after 4-5 hours in one site, I lose focus and my feet get tired and I need to rest! However, I do think Herculaneum and the museum could be combined in one day. We did not do Vesuvius.