Pompeii and Vesuvius Tour with Lunch from Ercolano

A full day, not a half-day tour

People searching for a Pompeii half day tour often end up here, so it is worth saying at once: this is the full day, volcano and ruins, eight hours with lunch in the middle. If you only have a morning, our two-hour guided visit of Pompeii covers the site alone, from € 49.50. If you are staying between Ercolano and Torre del Greco, this tour saves you the trip into Naples first.

Up Vesuvius with an alpine guide

The minibus climbs into the National Park to the point where the road ends, at about 1,000 metres. The last stretch to the rim is on foot, on a gravel path, at your own pace. At the crater the alpine guide explains how the volcano works, the eruptions of the past and what you are looking at: on a clear day the whole Gulf of Naples, from the city to the Sorrento Peninsula and Capri. The entrance ticket to the park is included.

Lunch

Between the volcano and the ruins there is a real break, not a sandwich standing up: a margherita or marinara pizza and a soft drink, included in the price. You will want it before the two to three hours of walking in Pompeii.

Pompeii with a licensed guide

With the tickets already in hand you skip the line at the entrance. The guide chooses the route through the city buried in 79 AD: houses with their frescoes and mosaics, the baths, the bakeries, the theatres, the forum. Pompeii is large, and without someone who knows it you walk past the best things without seeing them. At the end the minibus takes you back to the meeting point.

What to bring and what to know

Comfortable shoes: the crater path is gravel and the streets of Pompeii are uneven stone. In summer, water and a hat, because there is little shade in either place. Children aged 3 to 17 pay € 85, infants up to 3 travel free. From Naples the same tour meets at Starhotels Terminus: see the Pompeii and Vesuvius tour from Naples. For a day just for your family there is the private Pompeii and Vesuvius tour by minivan. Everything is on the Pompeii and Vesuvius tours page.