Tickets to Pompeii or is there a Tour?

No, a ticket does not included a free guide. You need to buy a guidebook or audioguide or hire a guide.
Back in the day we just used the RS guidebook.

No free guides.
You probably don't need to worry about purchasing tickets in advance.
There are guides to be hired outside the gates.

We booked a shared tour with Mondo Guides and were very happy with that. Tour was about 2.5 hours then we explored more on our own. Our guide was excellent.
www.sharedtours.com

To be even more specific, on this very website under Watch, Read, Listen, look for the Rick Steves audiotours, and then under Italy and then Rome, you will find an audiotour of Pompeii. I plan to use that later this summer, as I find his free audioguides to be quite good. (They work with the audio app. Do heed the advice to download the audiotour at home with good wifi before you go; these audiotours are robust enough I've never had any success downloading them in Europe even in places where I readily downloaded other files.) Of course, if you want a human guide, go for it.

Most of your questions have already been answered, just note that if you do go with a pre-booked tour, those meet at the main entrance to the ruins outside Porta Marina. This entrance is about a 10-15 minute walk from the Hotel Forum. The Anfiteatro entrance (quieter, near the amphitheater, good for direct access to eastern part of scavi, much shorter lines & only a 5 minute walk to Hotel Forum) is where we entered & exited on multiple days. I did see tour guides available outside the smaller entrance as well.

We used Askos tours, the archeologist was EXCELLENT. https://askostours.com/pompeii/pompeii-3-hour-small-group-tour-with-villa-of-the-mysteries

And Hotel Forum was delightful, we will definitely stay there again! Here's my Dec 2025 Trip Report - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/great-trip-to-pompeii-naples-over-new-years-december-26-january-2nd-2026

There are many guides and guided tours.

There is a forum search feature and you can search for Pompeii tour guide and find both companies and individuals. You can also search on Trip Advisor for Pompeii Activities or Pompeii Tour Guides or Guided Tours and find more.

Some are group tours, some are small group and some are individual. Your choice and your budget. Prices vary widely.

We used Gaetano Manfredi in 2025. We found him to be worth the price … pretty expensive, so he may be beyond your budget; we just had a “half day” or 2-1/2hour tour with him. But my goodness, how he brought Pompeii to life. And amazingly, other guides had their groups step aside while Gaetano led us past them to whatever corner of a room or whatever fresco that he wanted to show us closely. It was remarkable how the other guides and groups melted away in his presence.

BTW, he got the tix for us, so we stepped off the train and walked toward the gate. We found each other immediately because we had exchanged pictures via What’s App, so no wasted time.

If you search the forum and the net, you will find others. Askos, Mondo Tour Guides and Pina Esposito are names that come up. I don’t know any of them, but this should give you some leads.

I am very glad that we went to the National Archaeology Museum (MANN) in Naples the day before our tour to get acquainted with Pompeii, many artifacts, tile work and sculpture. Unfortunately, it sounds like you may not have the time to do that.

Wow!

Thank you ALL so much!!

I love this forum. You are all so well traveled and knowledgeable.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and giving me so many choices so I can tailor the visit to just what will work for me.

Have a great day!

Hilary

One more note - if your guide does not take you through the exhibit PomeiViva on Via dell’Abbondanza in the center of Pompeii be sure to go on your own. It is a exhibit where you can walk on a scaffold structure above a major continuing excavation and watch real restorers at work - unless it's Sunday when it is quiet.

I'd also recommend watching the recent PBS documentaries about the on-going excavations since they give good context for Pompeii life and history as well as the continuing discoveries.

Enjoy,
=Tod

Hi Tod!

Thank you so much. I have written that down and will make sure to see it. Sounds awesome!

Also, I have found that Campolattaro will be the perfect place to stay while in Pontelandolfo, so your suggestion for that town has worked out nicely for me. Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your expertise and helpfulness!

Hilary

Before I forget;

I understand that tipping isn’t a thing in Italy like here in the states. But if you get really good tour guide, do you tip?

Thank you.

do you tip?

I don't, but all of the Americans on our tour did. We also did a tour of Naples with the same company and the Americans tried to tip the guide but he insisted it wasn't necessary. They persisted until he finally took it but told them he was going to donate it to a nearby church.

On the subject of Pompeii, most tours are about 2 hours which may be enough to satisfy your interest, however it wasn't enough for us and after our tour through Mondo we spent another 10 hours over 2 days. Plus a visit to Oplontis fir a couple of hours. It's a villa that was also buried and is one train station north off Pompeii in the Circumvesuviana line. It's outstanding and I highly recommend it if you have time.

In general people in Europe are compensated better and jobs like waiting tables in Italy is a serious profession and not just something for struggling actors. If you tip then tip much less than you are used to - a couple of euros for a good dinner or change rounded up tip for a simple meal at the bar.

We took a tour through a company in Modena and the guide was really good, but I felt bad because we were the only ones on the tour in March. When I tried to tip her she refused it and remarked that it "an American thing". On the few occasions when I got really personal service - like a barber shave - I did tip a little but that is the American in me I can't stamp out yet.

Also note that credit cards in Italy have no tip line so if you charge a meal there is no mechanism to tip unless you have and choose to leave some cash. That's a sign of how much it is not an Italian thing - there isn't even a way to make it happen with a credit card at a restaurant.

Hope that helps,
=Tod

On the subject of Pompeii, most tours are about 2 hours which may be
enough to satisfy your interest, however it wasn't enough for us and
after our tour through Mondo we spent another 10 hours over 2 days.
Plus a visit to Oplontis fir a couple of hours.

The advantage of a tour guide is to be able to see some of the more important spots near the main entrance in a timely manner, but there's still a LOT to see beyond that - 2 theaters and then working your way down to the Amphitheater (near your hotel entrance). Plus the amazing overhead walkway PomeiViva on Via dell’Abbondanza.

And a visit to Herculaneum & Oplontis for half a day would also be fun. Lots to see! Hope you have an amazing trip.

Tod, Sandancisco, and Allan and Everyone:

Thank you ALL SO Much!

I got booked with Gaetano Manfredi in the morning and then I have the rest of the day and most of the 6th to explore!

I will be definitely looking at many of the places you all have mentioned and fit in as much as I can.

I am so excited and I think it's going to be amazing.

Cheers to all and thank you for the extra information about tipping!

Hilary