Ruins of Pompeii & Mt Vesuvius Day Trip from Rome
Overview
- Day trip to Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii from Rome with an expert guide
- Hike up the side of the volcano and walk along its ridge, gazing into the crater
- Drink in dramatic views over the Bay of Naples
- Experience the world-famous Neapolitan pizza
- In the winter season (late November to March), enjoy a visit to the City of Naples, with its regal architecture and timeless traditions, all set against the backdrop of Mt. Vesuvius
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
After the volcano’s infamous AD 79 eruption, lava and volcanic ash destroyed the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. Evidence of those ancient streams of lava is still evident in the area, and your guide will show them as you travel.
Step out of your coach for a steady-paced, 20-minute walk to Mt Vesuvius’ summit, from where the most breathtaking views await. Make your way over trails covered in pumice rock and ash, before some free time to gaze down into the caldera and across the Bay of Naples.
Walk back down with your guide, and then head into Naples for a lunch of traditional pizza. From Naples, journey further south to complete your day trip from Rome to Pompeii. Once a thriving Roman city; today the town is best known for its UNESCO-listed archaeological digs, which are home to a wealth of relics. See incredibly preserved fossils and other ruins, plus plaster imprints of the town’s victims who were buried for years.
See the remains of the Forum and Teatro Grande, were some 5,000 people could once be seated. From your Pompeii tour guide, hear about day-to-day life for the Pompeii locals as you wander streets where ancient shops, cafes and even brothels could be found.
Finally, head back to Rome by coach and finish with a drop-off at the start point.
Please note: Mt Vesuvius is inaccessible from November 20 to March 31. During this time, the hike is replaced with a visit to the iconic City of Naples. We’ll take a panoramic bus tour and have some free time to walk around the city centre.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
Viator Traveler's Reviews
Loved Pompeii and would have preferred to spend more time there as the tour only covers a small amount of the city. More free time to explore the rest of the city would have been great, instead of going to Naples which we felt was a total waste of time and would have been better spent in Pompeii. However, the tour guides Robert and Andrea were amazing!
We were a bit worried about the early morning start with such a long day ahead of us but it was definitely worth it! (and we could sleep on the bus)! We went in winter so we went to Naples and spent a little while there wandering the streets before lunch and then went to Pompeii. The ruins were simply amazing and our guide was fantastic! Our guides (Rob) were very informative and enthusiastic which made the day much more exciting as well. Would definitely recommend this tour.
Because the tour leaves from Rome you're going to spend about 5 hours of the day on a bus and burn another half hour at a pair of bathroom stops on the way. Add in another hour+ for lunch and you're down to about 5 hours of a 12 hour day. Subtract some more time for herding cats (you and the other 47 tourists) and explanations of what is happening and that leaves roughly 4 hours to see Pompeii and either Naples (November through March) or Mt Vesuvius (rest of the year), which isn't nearly enough time. The 2 guides ferrying our group down from Rome weren't the ones doing the tour at Pompeii and instead a guide with extensive knowledge of the history and the ins/outs of seeing the ruins handled everything inside of the site. We walked past a lot of things I would have liked to have spent time on....but with only 2 hours in Pompeii it isn't possible to see it all. We got a good overview with some small details because that is what the tour is. If you want to spend more time in the fascinating ruins, you'll need to spend the night in Naples and start first thing in the morning. If you're in Rome and want to go to Pompeii, this type of tour is pretty much your only option. If you do decide to go to Naples be aware that you'll need to do more than just catch the train at Termini to reach the ruins. If you instead do the bus tour I'd suggest bringing some headphones and listening to some music so you have options beyond listening to the guides telling you how to avoid tourist traps in Rome.
Very informative and insightful tour of Pompeii. Mt Vesuvius is not available during the winter, but took a stroll through Naples instead. Tour guides were very knowledgeable and provided a lot of fun facts during the bus ride to and from Rome. Tour guide at Pompeii was equally informative and answered all of our questions and inquiries. I would highly recommend this tour.
The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. The whole day was well organized and Chiara and Anze, our guides, were very accommodating and funny, we learned a lot about the history of Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. All in all, I could say we got our money's worth. I highly recommend this excursion.
The two main things were visited were great. It was a good climb up to the rim of the volcano. The views of Naples and Capri alone made it worth it. The ruins ar Pompeii were amazing and the local guide really gave you feel of what Roman life was like. Only things I’d criticize were the lunch meal and the main guide’s insistence on only scheduled bathroom breaks. The “Napoli” pizza was probably the worst I’ve ever had in Italy. There are numerous free bathrooms within Pompeii but the guide told people to wait until we left where it was a pay bathroom. That also meant it was - 2.5 hours between bathroom breaks.
What a great tour!! It is a long bus ride to and from Pompeii, but they do a comfort stop about halfway which was very nice. Pompeii was absolutely amazing!! We had Mikala as our main tour guide and Anna as our tour guide of Pompeii itself. Anna was very knowledgeable and passionate and showed us so many amazing things! Lots of walking on stones and such. Important to wear shoes good for this. We were not able to go to Mount Vesuvius because of a landslide. They took us to a museum instead and we saw artifacts from everyday life. It was a great experience and we highly recommend it!