Pompeii town and local area

[Misanthroper]

Heading to Rome next year, with a day trip out to Pompeii to see the archaeological site. We're going to have a few hours after the tour before our train back to Rome, so I wanted to find out if Pompeii itself (outside of the archaeological bit) is nice for having a wander and exploring the town a bit?

Thinking of walking about 30/40 mins from Pompeii station if there's anywhere we should be thinking about taking a look at? (or anywhere grotty we should definitively be avoiding!!).

Doing a hike up Vesuvius is an option but my feeling is a three hour window to get from Pompeii station, up Vesuvius, and back to the station, plus making sure we have a leisurely lunch somewhere just isnt enough time (plus Id cr@p myself looking down a 300 meter drop!!).

Be good to get some suggestions from those who have been.

[resolve10]

Went in September with my partner. We had a pretty intense itinerary, managed to go up Vesuvius and into Pompeii in a day (arrived around 10am, left at 5pm). We then took a 6am train from Naples to Rome the next day and did all the sights before flying home at 7pm.

On reflection, we both wished we'd had more time in Pompeii, there's a lot to take in and if you're a geek like us you'll spend ages looking at each bit. Having said that, I really enjoyed Vesusius and wouldn't have wanted to miss that, although we had a glorious day and it might not be quite so spectacular on a cold, cloudy day which you may get at this time of year.

To answer your original question, there are plenty of nice food stalls and restaurants around Pompeii village itself (the main bit, not the historical site), so a pleasant place to spend time. You have to use your instinct to tell which places are the touristy ones and which ones aren't, we managed to get a deep fried pizza fritta (Neapolitan speciality, try it if you get chance...) and an arancini ball for 3 Euros from a street food vendor, but there were some pretty expensive looking restaurants too. Also avoid freshly squeezed orange juice, 8 euros!

Couple of snaps

[Misanthroper]

Thanks for that, and nice pics!! sounds like we'll be okay eating and drinking and spending a bit of time in Pompeii itself before travelling back.

Vesuvius is still an option, there's a bus that goes from Pompeii we could take and then walk an hour or so up the volcano. Could probably just about squeeze it into 3 hours but I might play it by ear and decide on the day depending on weather etc. We're going in May so it should be quite nice (though Im going to take an umbrella anyway, just in case it erupts again while we're there...)

Edited to ask, are there any sheer drops while ascending Vesuvius, or just a steep slope all the way to where the crater is?

Edited by Misanthroper on Tuesday 12th December 14:48

[Wacky Racer]

Been to Pompeii three times and to the top of Vesuvius once, you really need five or six hours to do Pompeii justice, but a couple of hours is better than nothing.

[Misanthroper]

Did you do it as part of a package guided tour or make your way to Vesuvius yourself? Wondering how easy the bus is and where it drops to in relation to the entrance for Vesuvius.

[resolve10]

Misanthroper said:

Edited to ask, are there any sheer drops while ascending Vesuvius, or just a steep slope all the way to where the crater is?

Edited by Misanthroper on Tuesday 12th December 14:48

It's a pretty easy walk, unless you have any leg ailments or are very old you'll be fine. 171m though, so you'll feel like you've achieved something at the top!

We got up and down in 90 minutes, but spent a good bit of time looking at the view and drinking Limoncello at the top. According to Strava my moving time was only 35 minutes so an hour will be fine with a quick stop at the summit.

Also make sure you go to the loo at the cafe before you set off walking, no toilets beyond that!

[Misanthroper]

resolve10 said:

It's a pretty easy walk, unless you have any leg ailments or are very old you'll be fine. 171m though, so you'll feel like you've achieved something at the top!

We got up and down in 90 minutes, but spent a good bit of time looking at the view and drinking Limoncello at the top. According to Strava my moving time was only 35 minutes so an hour will be fine with a quick stop at the summit.

Also make sure you go to the loo at the cafe before you set off walking, no toilets beyond that!

Great info, thanks

[nvubu]

In 2015 we were staying close to Amelia, north of Rome, and drove down to the Amalfi coast and stayed overnight just outside Salerno (the hotel had a private lift down to the beach, which we all thought was very cool) before visiting Pompeii the next morning, followed by Vesuvius, and the drove back up to Amelia.

2 kids were 11 and 8. They said they wanted to visit Vesuvius, so it was all a bit ad-hoc as we had a villa rental for the two weeks, thought that it was a bit too far to do it justice in a day so booked an overnight stay during the first week.

So I'd recommend train down, stay overnight, train back the next day.

[Bobtherallyfan]

I’d spend the time going to see Herculaneum….in many ways it’s better preserved than Pompeii.

[Regbuser]

Bobtherallyfan said:

I’d spend the time going to see Herculaneum….in many ways it’s better preserved than Pompeii.

Except it's located in the equivalent of thamesmead..

[apotek]

Bobtherallyfan said:

I’d spend the time going to see Herculaneum….in many ways it’s better preserved than Pompeii.

I`d say it is better than Pompey, much more compact and preserved better by the mud than the ash at Pompey.

[smifffymoto]

We went in September 2020 and it was ferociously hot,skin tingling hot.
It was miserable.

[Lotusgone]

There are regular trains to and from Sorrento which you might enjoy.

[Mr Penguin]

smifffymoto said:

We went in September 2020 and it was ferociously hot,skin tingling hot.
It was miserable.

We had the same, also in September. You are outside in the sun for many hours with no shade for almost the whole time and the ground is difficult to walk on even with good shoes. It's the size of a small town so there is a lot of walking.
The train from the city centre is miserable too. There is no air con and it's crammed.

It is interesting but Hercalaneum is better preserved and quieter. If we ever go back to Naples then we will go there instead.

[Sebastian Tombs]

I've just come back from an Italian road trip, and really enjoyed Pompeii.

I would recommend reserving an entire day for going round. It's fascinating and huge. We had 3 hours there and I could easily have spent many more.
The town itself isn't all that but is OK.

I went to Herculaneum a few years ago, and it is a different proposition, and excellent. Smaller, better preserved in many ways (although Pompeii isn't exactly a building site), but Ercolano, the modern town, is a total sthole, and the Circumvesuviana train that serves it is full of pickpockets.

Naples I wouldn't care if I never saw again. We actively avoided it on this trip. Sorrento, Capri and Positano are lovely. Also, Caiazzo is home to the official best pizza in the world (Pepe in Grani - book ahead and dine at 7, not 9) so is worth a visit.

[HalfManHalfJaffaCake]

Went there with my wife one September about five years ago - we made an early start but still baked in the heat. Nevertheless after a bite to eat and a cold drink we found ourselves booked on a trip up Vesuvius the same afternoon, making it quite a tough day but well worth it.

As others have said, we found Herculaneum more interesting and manageable but both are good.

The Circumvesuviana train is indeed a festering pit of pickpockets and I had my wallet nicked by a group who’d been watching at Ercolano station, it only contained 40 Euros and a credit card, but by the time I got back to the hotel an hour later there was nearly two grand charged to it, all in Naples. Barclaycard were pretty good and it didn’t cost me a penny, but it was a sobering experience.