Walks of Italy: Pompeii Tour
When my husband and I began planning our trip to Italy, we had different priorities. Isn't that how it works when traveling with anyone? He was most interested in visiting museums and historic sites, I of course was more focused on the romantic outings and settings. We each named the one "must-do" absolutely non-negotiable for our trip. He chose Pompeii, I chose a gondola in Italy. So these were the two items we could spend however much was necessary (within reason) to do.
So, I searched and searched for a tour to Pompeii from Rome. These are not easy to come by! I was pleased to find that Walks of Italy offered such a tour and that it had good reviews. So, I booked it.
We arrived at a tad bit before 7 a.m. at caffe Piccarozzi in Piazza della Repubblica to meet our tour group. How this worked was those who arrived first got to leave in the first van with all the other early arrivals, and those who arrived closer to the meeting time had to wait for those who were late. So, if being early or on time is important to you, arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time.
We got in the tour van with about eight other people. Our tour guide Pavel invited everyone to introduce themselves and then he gave a much too lengthy introduction of himself. As we were the late arrivals van, we were the group that would rather sleep on the way to our destination. But, our tour guide basically talked the entire trip. Some of this was helpful as he told us about interesting historic and cultural sites we passed. He also gave tips as to what to do in our first destination of Positano. We did appreciate how much pride our tour guide had in his country and the places we were to visit.
Our trip was dramatically delayed as the majority of bridges were "under construction" and "unusable" due to the collapse of the highway bridge in Genoa a month prior. We suspect this will be an ongoing issue for some time. This cut our time in Pompeii a bit short. I would have preferred cutting our time in Positano shorter.
Positano was okay. You have about two hours there. The restaurant we went to took the full two hours. Remember: meals in Italy typically take time. One of the single women on the trip was able to shop, swim, and eat, but her waiter and the cook were super attentive to her - even making her a heart shaped pizza. If you take this trip and plan to stop in Positano, we recommend finding street pizza to eat so that you can enjoy wandering the town and the beach. Bring a swimsuit, sandals, and very large towel. Be prepared to change on the beach in front of everyone.
We then headed to Pompeii. Pompeii was amazing! It is incredible to think that such a large city has been preserved for us to see today. An actual archeologist who we met at the site gave us the tour. We used headsets of course so that we could hear, although often it was unnecessary because the group was so small. Walks of Italy in partnership with the road construction delay got us there late in the evening when there weren't as many tourists - which was wonderful! The archeologist taught us how to identify a store front in comparison to the doorway to a home. We got to visit the famous home of prostitution. And we did get to see one of the cast bodies. Unfortunately, most of the artifacts have been moved to a museum in Naples. I will write another blog post specifically about Pompeii.
This was a good tour, but I highly recommend that Walks of Italy re-organize it so that it goes first to Pompeii and then to the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (or the other way around). If possible add a third stop at Herculaneum, which is supposed to be even better preserved then Pompeii. Skip the Amalfi coast - they are trying to cater to two different audiences in too little of time. It appears City Wonders offers a trip that is just focused on Pompeii and either Mt. Vesuvius or the National Archaeological Museum.
Tour cost for two: $426.88. City Wonders tour is much less. Another option is hiring a private driver who does similar tours. Explore tripadvisor.com using the search option to learn of additional options.
So, I searched and searched for a tour to Pompeii from Rome. These are not easy to come by! I was pleased to find that Walks of Italy offered such a tour and that it had good reviews. So, I booked it.
We arrived at a tad bit before 7 a.m. at caffe Piccarozzi in Piazza della Repubblica to meet our tour group. How this worked was those who arrived first got to leave in the first van with all the other early arrivals, and those who arrived closer to the meeting time had to wait for those who were late. So, if being early or on time is important to you, arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time.
We got in the tour van with about eight other people. Our tour guide Pavel invited everyone to introduce themselves and then he gave a much too lengthy introduction of himself. As we were the late arrivals van, we were the group that would rather sleep on the way to our destination. But, our tour guide basically talked the entire trip. Some of this was helpful as he told us about interesting historic and cultural sites we passed. He also gave tips as to what to do in our first destination of Positano. We did appreciate how much pride our tour guide had in his country and the places we were to visit.
Our trip was dramatically delayed as the majority of bridges were "under construction" and "unusable" due to the collapse of the highway bridge in Genoa a month prior. We suspect this will be an ongoing issue for some time. This cut our time in Pompeii a bit short. I would have preferred cutting our time in Positano shorter.
Positano was okay. You have about two hours there. The restaurant we went to took the full two hours. Remember: meals in Italy typically take time. One of the single women on the trip was able to shop, swim, and eat, but her waiter and the cook were super attentive to her - even making her a heart shaped pizza. If you take this trip and plan to stop in Positano, we recommend finding street pizza to eat so that you can enjoy wandering the town and the beach. Bring a swimsuit, sandals, and very large towel. Be prepared to change on the beach in front of everyone.
We then headed to Pompeii. Pompeii was amazing! It is incredible to think that such a large city has been preserved for us to see today. An actual archeologist who we met at the site gave us the tour. We used headsets of course so that we could hear, although often it was unnecessary because the group was so small. Walks of Italy in partnership with the road construction delay got us there late in the evening when there weren't as many tourists - which was wonderful! The archeologist taught us how to identify a store front in comparison to the doorway to a home. We got to visit the famous home of prostitution. And we did get to see one of the cast bodies. Unfortunately, most of the artifacts have been moved to a museum in Naples. I will write another blog post specifically about Pompeii.
This was a good tour, but I highly recommend that Walks of Italy re-organize it so that it goes first to Pompeii and then to the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (or the other way around). If possible add a third stop at Herculaneum, which is supposed to be even better preserved then Pompeii. Skip the Amalfi coast - they are trying to cater to two different audiences in too little of time. It appears City Wonders offers a trip that is just focused on Pompeii and either Mt. Vesuvius or the National Archaeological Museum.
Tour cost for two: $426.88. City Wonders tour is much less. Another option is hiring a private driver who does similar tours. Explore tripadvisor.com using the search option to learn of additional options.
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