Pompeii Travel Forum

Hello All,
I have been to Pompeii before and am knowledgable about the eruption of Vesuvio, but I am bringing 2 friends to the site for their first visit in May and I really want them to get a good tour. Can anyone recommend a good tour guide who knows the history of the place, speaks English well, and would be a good guide for a few hours visit to the site. I'd be equally interested in someone for Herculaneum as well.

We will be staying in Sorrento and have transportation, so we're just looking for a reputable guide we can meet at the sites. Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Matt

disastermatt1958@yahoo.com

I don't know of any specific guide but there were a lot of official English speaking guides available where you buy the tickets at Pompeii. We didn't get one (you can also get audio tours) so I don't know how much they cost.

I echo the previous poster. I would go with the audio guide. Also, at the time of buying the ticket you will be given a paper guide to Pompeii which amongst other things, also gives 2, 4 or 6 hour guides to the site. I personally would not bother with a human guide. Ditto for Herculaneum. Your two friends should do a certain amount of research before they visit either site, so that they have the basics and then just do a DIY tour.

Regarding the licensed guides...they can be found outside the gates, speak English well enough, and they charge one price per group. If I recall correctly, with a group of 10 or so, we paid around 10 euros each. The tour lasts 2 hours...not a great tour, but for 10 euros (plus the price of a ticket) I thought it was ok. If you haven't done any homework and only have a few hours, they would be fine for the price.

For this 10 euro price, you have to wait until the group fills up (sometimes 20+ minutes in the winter)...or you can pay the full price (maybe a total of 80-90 euros, not sure?) and have the guide to yourself.

Owing to the nature of a group, a two hour limit, and the huge size of Pompei, you'll miss a number of things if you only do this tour. For example, they won't take you to the amphitheater (too far away), or the nearby necropolis, or to the Garden of the Fugitives (which has a number of casts of victims found together, including many small children), etc.

But you won't know what you're missing without buying a guidebook ahead of time. You could always do a tour, and then visit on your own afterward.