Mount Vesuvius is pretty bare and dusty; nothing polished about it. You feel where you are the…read moreentire time. It's not long, but it's enough to slow you down. At the top, you're right at the crater. Just you, the edge, and a very real reminder of what it is. A beautiful view of the Bay of Naples behind you but at the same time knowing it's that same volcano.... The one that buried Pompeii changes the tone a bit. It's not dramatic; just heavy. Worth doing the hike but just don't expect it to feel super touristy.

A hike up Mount Vesuvius is the perfect way to get panoramic views of the Naples area, and wow, are…read morethey stunning! The hike itself is straight up and not paved for one mile there and back. I would not advise you to try and make it to the top if you aren't athletic. Just go up a little ways and get some photos. If you do make it to the top, you can enjoy a nice gift shop with souvenirs and even a glass of wine. They do provide bathrooms at the entrance but they were disgusting.

One of the best experiences I've ever had. We had an archaeologist-led private tour and couldn't…read morehave asked for more. Amazing history, absolutely huge - I didn't understand the scale of Pompeii until we were there. Worth the trip to Napoli to visit Pompeii alone! Spectacular 10/10 highly recommend!!

The Scavi di Pompei is the English name for the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, which is an ancient…read morecity once buried by ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. It's one of the most remarkable sites in Italy for visiting, and I would suggest at least make it a half day trip or a minimum three hours visit here.

Visiting Pompeii Archaeological Park was like stepping back in time. I loved wandering the ancient…read morestreets and learning about the history of this incredible place. It was both fascinating and emotional. Walking the same paths people traveled nearly 2,000 years ago was surreal, but seeing the casts of the victims who were preserved by the eruption brought tears to my eyes. It was a powerful reminder of the human tragedy that occurred there. Be prepared for a lot of walking, and some of the cobblestone paths can be rough and uneven in spots, so comfortable shoes are a must. Despite that, it was a truly amazing and unique experience that I'll never forget. If you love history, this is one of those places that leaves a lasting impression.

Beautiful historical site dating back to the time before Christ. The last time I was here was in…read more1985 and was so long ago that I really forgot most of what I had seen. It was like I was seeing it for the first time. This is an archaeological site with a story to tell and one where I highly recommend that you get a guided tour as the story they have to tell is super interesting, very educational and entertaining. Doing it yourself, which I usually am a big fan of, is something you should avoid in this case. The guides are the storyteller's here and do an excellent job of weaving in key events and dates and the lifestyle of the Roman people that lived here at the time of the second eruption. They also go into great detail on the type of construction they had at that time and how they rebuilt the structures after the major earthquakes that occurred in front of the major eruption that happened in 79 AD. Added details, which I was not even aware of was their was a first major eruption that occurred with Mount Vesuvius in 2000 years BC! Who knew? This is just an example of the type of details they go into which makes this guided tour so fascinating. If you are a fan of history as I am and love seeing ruins and how people live thousands of years ago, then this is an absolute must visit. It's one of the best archaeological sites I've ever visited in my 69 years of being on this earth and being a seasoned traveler on top of that.

Excellent place to walk and take a guided tour. I used a separate tour company that provided a 10…read moreperson tour with an actual archeologist. This site is in much better condition than Pompei so you get a better feeling for daily life and the layout of an ancient city. You can also take a self guided tour with a headset or just walk around by yourself. Prices are very reasonable. Parking is a breeze and cost 6€. Entrance ticket was €11 per person. The gift shop is excellent. Bathrooms near the gift shop and at the beginning do the tour. There are gift shops in the parking lot but they are very much tourist in nature. Save your parking ticket and take it with you. You pay when you leave BEFORE you get to your car.

Ercolano was the other city disseminated by the unforgiving lava of Mount Vesuvius. Archaeological…read moreexcavations are still underway. Neighboring this historical city is the modern city, literally across the street. A self-guided walking tour takes you down through layers of the ancient city. You can only imagine what was considered their sophisticated lifestyle in their time. The swampy waterways are open and visible; currently occupied by ribbiting frogs. There are hundreds of 'houses' where observers can mentally picture where one would place furniture if it were their place today. Unfortunately, these aren't habitable. Some homes restrict the number of entrants. Ancient art is everywhere: in the tiles, on the walls, along and within the building structures, and on some artifacts. All of these unintentionally left-behind... including their own remains of human bones.

While visiting Napoli during our Mediterranean cruise we made sure to visit Pompeii…read more U enter the park with your group & then u processed to walk around the entire area, this place is unreal to think this area was once inhabited by people seems so crazy. As u walk through the streets & ruins it feels almost unreal seeing how well preserved a lot of the structures & streets are is pretty cool. Seeing so much of this ancient city is fascinating, not a lot of the preserved bodies on display as I recall I think those are elsewhere, we saw 1-2 such an odd thing to see. The park is very well kept u can see Mount Vesuvius in the distance, this adds such an unreal factor, overall this was a very humbling & educational experience.

Since this is essentially a secondary listing for "Pompeii Ruins" on Yelp, just adding a few more…read morenotes here that I didn't include in my main review. Highlights for me were: 1) the Forum: on the south western side of the park, past the Temple of Venus which is fairly close to the entrance by Porta Marina. This was the main public square and socio-economic center for the city with many different government, religious and commercial buildings set around it. Some of the important ruins include the Basilica, the court of law and business center, and the Macellum, a covered food market and marketplace. Temples of Jupiter and Apollo served religious functions. 2) the bath houses: there are a few different locations Terme Stabiane, Terme del Foro, Terme Suburbane--though I went to the Forum location, was really impressed by how well laid out and preserved this building was. 3) thermopoliums: plural because around 80 different locations were found within Pompeii. These are the equivalent of street food vendors where the working class would procure hot food to go, since the majority of Pompeii's 10-35K residents at the time of its destruction in 79 AD didn't live in villas, rather in multistory buildings without kitchens, hence depended on these for sustenance. These L-shaped marble counters held terracotta jars of hot and cold food, such as stews, meats, and spiced wine. 4) "suburban" Villa di Diomede and Villa dei Misteri which require a separate fee of €8 payable in cash or card at the gate to that section of the park, if it's not already included in your particular combo ticket. These two villas underwent multiple restorations and haven't always been open to the public. Both are examples of larger, grand residences with more complex layouts, the latter housing famous colorful frescos depicting rituals related to an esoteric cult of Dionysus. 5) necropolises: a few different locations around the outskirts of the town, it was fascinating to see how ancient traditions of mausoleums carry into current conventions. 6) interesting signage: while I don't read Latin, from the translations I read about pertaining to some of the sites, they certainly got their point across. I chuckled at the mosaic with Latin phrase "Cave Canem" literally "beware of the dog" showing a snarling black dog, placed at the entrance of one of the domiciles. Side note there is restoration and excavation work ongoing at different sites within the park, so not every building is open to the public. Even some structures that were open within the past several months like the House of Menander and Lupanare di Pompei (Pompeii's brothel) were not open.

If you have a short amount of time when visiting Napoli (Naples) and want to see ancient Romans,…read morethen Herculaneum is a great option. Highlights/Tips: + Can be reached by public transportation; however, there is a bit of a walk from the stop + Extremely well preserved + While smaller than Pompeii, there are less crowds and you can easily see all structures and key sites with a 2.5 hour visit depending upon how long you stand and look. + If you really want a more in depth understanding of the site, I'd go with a guide. While you can do a self guided tour, I feel that a guide can provide much more context and clue you in on additional things + Accessibility- some may find the experience a bit strenuous; however, the roads/ paths into the structures are much easier to navigate than Pompeii. They seem to be much flatter and not as steep. If you are a wheelchair user, I would highly recommend seeking recommendations from other individuals as I can't speak to this. +Shade- This is especially important during the summer months. There are more shady spots to be found in the Herculaneum. I would recommend going in the Gymnasium cave like area if you really need to cool down. ***Watch your step, especially if it has rained and/or just in general. Some of the areas for walking are uneven stones and I saw quite a few older individuals slip and cause themselves potentially ending vacation injuries on the day I went.

We wanted to tour some Vesuvius ruins, and like most people assumed Pompeii was the place to go…read more But luckily while researching I found Herculaneum...the much smaller and closer option for our brief stay in Naples. The train station was a short walk away. They provide (and require) free lockers for large backpacks. The grounds are fairly small and therefore quite manageable to wander in a couple hours. Everything was neat and clean, signed well, and easy to tour on your own...although there are guided tours of course.

Sort of a miniature Pompeii. Two large villas that had been covered with 10 feet of ash. Remarkably…read morewell preserved. FREE admission. A good 1/2 hour walk from town, and not well signed, but you knew that -- it's Italy! You can bring a picnic.

This place is really cool and we stumbled onto it thinking it was something completely different…read more You can also check it out for free which was a nice change of pace. They even had a tour guide if you liked and they charged nothing to tell you about this beautiful place.

Villa Poppea is a minor archeological site belonging to the major Pompeii's one…read more It is worth the visit if you have time to spare during your travel, but it is not well kept as the others. Although they give free guides to read during your visit that I must say are quite explicative. It is just an hour visit and you can reach it easily with the circumvesuviana train.

Well preserved ruins right in the middle of Pompeii. It is amazing to see how well preserved it is…read more they have done a marvelous job of preserving everything for future generations to see. The acoustics were incredible. Our guide clapped his hands and you could hear the echo so clear. A must see.