Pompeii and Herculaneum Small Group Tour with an Archaeologist

About this experience

This experience combines the two archaeological sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, famous for the eruption of Mount Vesuvius happened in 79 AD. Join the guide at the entrance of Pompeii ruins called Porta Marina Inferiore, where the tour starts. Discover the site and its best highlights with the assistance of an expert Archaeologist. You will see the Forum – the main square – the most important houses and buildings and the famous plaster casts. After the tour take a quick break, then reach the site of Herculaneum by the local metro line called Circumvesuviana at a few steps from Pompeii entrance. End your tour with the site of Herculaneum, smaller than Pompeii but better preserved: visit the beach where more than 300 skeletons were found.

What to expect

1. Stop 1 · 15min

   Basilica was an open portico that gave shelter to merchants and other activities.

2. Stop 2 · 10min

   Have a look of the ancient main square of Pompeii.

3. Stop 3

   Walk through the main street of Pompeii.

4. Stop 4 · 15min

   The house of Menander is one of the richest and most magnificent houses in ancient Pompeii in terms of architecture, decoration and contents.

5. Stop 5 · 15min

   In the granary you will see marble tables and baths for fountains that adorned the entrances of houses and some casts of victims of the eruption as well as that of a dog and a tree.

6. Stop 6 · 15min

   These occupy a vast area between the Brothel lane, the Holconius crossroads and the Via Stabiana. They represent the oldest thermal complex in the city.

7. Stop 7 · 15min

   Visit the most famous brothel in the ruined Roman city of Pompeii.

8. Stop 8 · 15min

   The house of Faun was one of the largest and most impressive private residences in Pompeii.

9. Stop 9 · 15min

   Have a look of the so called Teatro Piccolo of Pompeii.

10. Stop 10 · 15min

    Visit the most important Theater in Pompeii

11. Stop 11 · 1h

    After the visit of Pompeii, continue to Herculaneum together with your archaeologist guide, following the transportation method included in your selected option: From Naples, Sorrento, or Rome: travel with the guide by modern minibus directly to the Herculaneum archaeological site. From Pompeii: reach Herculaneum with your guide using the included Circumvesuviana train ticket (about 30 minutes + 10-minute walk). A quick lunch break is available before the transfer (own expense). Arrival in Herculaneum: Upon arrival, the guide leads the group directly to the Ticket Office of the Herculaneum ruins. You may access it as follows: By minibus (Naples, Sorrento, Rome options): direct drop-off near the entrance. By train (Pompeii option): a short 10-minute walk from Ercolano Scavi station.

12. Stop 12 · 10min

    The house receives its name from marble statues of stags/deer found in the peristyle.

13. Stop 13 · 10min

    M. Nonius Balbus was the city's major benefactor restoring and building many public buildings. On his death he was made patron and feted with many honours, detailed in the long inscription on his funeral altar.

14. Stop 14 · 10min

    It is thought that the building was a centre of the cult of the Emperor Augustus and the headquarters of the Collegium Augustalium (or possibly even the local curia).

15. Stop 15 · 10min

    The house possibly belonged to one of the town's leading benefactors, Marcus Nonius Balbus and is somewhat unusual in that it has its own private access to the adjoining Suburban Thermae to the south.

16. Stop 16 · 10min

    It is very important house for the elegant wooden partition remained.

17. Stop 17 · 15min

    The House of the Skeleton probably the aggregation of three smaller buildings, derives its name from the discovery of human remains in a second floor room in 1831.

18. Stop 18 · 10min

    The Central Thermae were built around the beginning of the 1st century AD and were divided, as was then the common practice, into men's and women's baths, each with their own separate entrances.

19. Stop 19 · 15min

    The House of the Black Hall is one of Herculaneum's more luxurious mansions. The house has a monumental entrance which still retains the carbonised remains of the doorposts and lintel.

20. Stop 20 · 15min

    The house has an arrangement that was typical of the Samnites (an ancient people of the Sabine race who occupied this mountainous part of central Italy). The splendid atrium is skirted by a gallery with Ionic columns. The rooms are decorated with frescoes.

21. Stop 21 · 10min

    This is one of the most original houses in Herculaneum. It has a courtyard with a stairway and a stone balcony instead of an atrium.

22. Stop 22 · 10min

    Beautiful domus in the Centre of the archaeological area, with various environments, collonnati, frescos e-com everywhere at Herculaneum-charred remains of wooden parts.

Tour & ticket options

Options may have different inclusions and meeting points. Choose your option when booking on Viator.

Meeting & pickup

• For POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM ENGLISH TOUR FROM ROME participants This option includes round trip train tickets from Rome to Naples. Once in Naples, the meeting point is across the street from the Naples central station, at Starhotels Terminus. Your tour guide will hold an Askos Tours sign.
• For POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM ENGLISH TOUR FROM SORRENTO participants This option includes transportation from Sorrento. The meeting point is near the fountain of Piazza Angelina Lauro Square in Sorrento. Your representative will hold an Askos Tours sign for easy identification.
• For POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM ENGLISH TOUR FROM NAPLES participants This option includes transportation from Naples. The meeting point is outside Starhotels Terminus, opposite Naples Central Station. Your tour guide will hold an Askos Tours sign for easy identification.
• For POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM WALKING TOUR participants This option excludes transportation. The meeting point is at the Pompeii Ruins entrance, PORTA MARINA INFERIORE, in Piazza Esedra Square. Look for our staff holding an Askos Tours sign for easy identification.

End point

• If you book POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM OPTION FROM ROME, the tour ends at the Rome Termini station. The Pompeii and Herculaneum walking tour ends inside Herculaneum Ruins
• If you book POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM OPTION FROM NAPLES OR SORRENTO, the tour ends back to the meeting point. The Pompeii and Herculaneum walking tour ends inside Herculaneum Ruins
• If you book POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM OPTION FROM NAPLES OR SORRENTO, the tour ends back to the meeting point. The Pompeii and Herculaneum walking tour ends inside Herculaneum Ruins
• If you book POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM WALKING OPTION, the tour ends indide Herculaneum Ruins. The Naples and Sorrento options, which include transportation, end back to the meeting point

Please follow the meeting instruction depending the chosen tour option. POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM WALKING TOUR FROM POMPEII Entrance of Pompeii Ruins PORTA MARINA INFERIORE in Piazza Esedra POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM WITH TRANSPORTATION FROM NAPLES Outside Starhotels Terminus, opposite Naples Central Station POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM WITH TRANSPORTATION FROM SORRENTO Near the fountain of PIAZZA ANGELINA LAURO, Sorrento

Before you go

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Herculaneum ruins' entry tickets: 16 euros (adult) 2 euros (EU citizens 18-25 y.o.); Pompeii ruins' entry tickets: 20 euros (adult)
• Not recommended for visitors in wheelchairs
• Not recommended for visually impaired guests unless accompanied by a dedicated personal assistant

Cancellation policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.