Pompeii Ruins & Volcano Vesuvius Tour with Private Guide & Skip-the-line Tickets

Pliny the Young, a survivor of the Vesuvius eruption, writes a letter to Tacitus to describe the dreadful event that has involved one of his closest friends and mentor – his uncle Pliny the Elder. From Misenum he had a full view across the Bay of Naples, and he depicts the series of earthquakes, the stone pine tree shaped cloud of gases erasing from the crater and, in the end, the violent eruption that led to the destruction of one of the main cities settled around the Vesuvius slopes.

The city of Pompeii, buried for centuries under layers of lava, ashes and stones, has then been rediscovered during the excavations of the mid XVIII century, commissioned by the Spanish Governors that ruled Naples at the time. Little by little the city ruins have come back to light, and the discovery has had a worldwide resonance that even the Russian painter Karl Bryullov has eternalized the eruption moment in his painting The Last Day of Pompeii.

With your guide you will enter the archaeological site, walking around the ruins of one of the most developed cities of the 1st century, and you will be provided a depiction of the Roman life at the time. Your guide will show you the highlight of the Ancient city: from the gymnasium to the small theatres, from the shops to the bakeries and the small restaurants. Follow their lead to the magnificent House of Menander - example of the aristocracy domus – and to the Baths, whose decorations and frescoes will leave you amazed. Continue your journey to the Forum passing by the commercial roads that once linked Pompeii to Cumae, Nola and Stabiae, and stop into the Lupanariae, the red-light district.

After the Pompeii tour enjoy a quick break to have some rest and lunch and get ready to enjoy the walk up on the volcano slopes. You will be driven half way to the top – only walking you can reach the crater. Once into the National park of the Vesuvius, you will join a group and be assigned a geology expert guide. Do not miss to reach the top - the spectacular view over Naples and the Gulf will leave you breathless.

The Pompeii tour lasts 2.5 hours and the Vesuvius tour lasts 1.5 hours.

Important: in case of heavy rain the National Park of the Vesuvius gates might be closed. In that case our drivers and guides will be happy to suggest alternative sites to visit.

Wear your comfortable shoes and get ready!