Herculaneum - Small Group Tour
Description
Pompeii was not the only city buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius back in 79 A.D.. A few miles away, right on the coastline, there was another city: Herculaneum. That one town, just like Pompeii, was at the same time both destroyed and preserved by the disaster. Pyroclastic flows covered Herculaneum with a literal mountain of scalding ashes, burying the remains of the ancient city under 80 feet of volcanic materials. Today, almost 2000 years later, the charm Herculaneum had is still intact. The town was a residential area for the upper class: smaller but richer than Pompeii was. Traces of the affluence of the ancient Herculaneum are still visibile in the original style and in the elegant decorations of the private houses. Herculaneum differentiates itself from Pompeii also when it comes to the state of the preservation: the two cities were destroyed by the same eruption but the effects on them were not alike.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will visit the most prominent private houses, such as the House of the Deer, the House of the Wooden Partition, the House of Neptune and Amphitrite and the House of the Bicentenary. We will also see some of the typical Roman shops and obviously, the public baths and the main street along with the most significant public buildings of the city. And of course we won’t miss the ancient beach with the skeletons of the people taking shelter in some of the buildings on the seafront and the wooden boat - still perfectly preserved - found on the beach itself.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(162)
Very good guide. Personable and knowledgeable. Enthusiastic about the area which encoraged interaction within the small group.
We took the train to the Ercolano stop and walked down to the ticket office. It’s a 10-15 minute walk. Pasquale, our guide, clearly explained everything that happened at Herculaneum. He curated the best sites to showcase how the people lived and, tragically, how they died. There is also an on-site museum that is included. Food and drinks are available at a ‘food court’. We enjoyed the experience very much.
Pasquale was an excellent guide! He was able to answer all of our questions regarding Herculaneum as well as other contextual questions regarding Italian and Roman history. The site itself is a can’t miss tour for any history buffs.
Fantastic! Our family of four absolutely loved our tour of Herculaneum with Pasquale! He was so kind and knowledgeable and he patiently answered every question. We were blown away by the state of preservation here. The artwork, the courtyards, and the detailed stories about the residents of Herculaneum will stay with us forever! My favorite features were the locker rooms near the baths and the soup restaurant. Nothing has changed. They were just like us! Walking on their detailed mosaic floors, I thought “a real artist created this so long ago, and it’s still so beautiful!” It’s some of the most enduring art work in the world. The scorched and preserved wood is incredible. I felt a little conflicted about the fiberglass skeletons in the boat houses. It’s very moving but I also wish each one of them privacy and rest. These are real people. They carried their favorite things with them there, many of which are displayed in the museum. The jewelry was beautiful then, and now. I would wear those rings and bracelets. They hoped to be rescued and help never came. Even if they had waded into the sea, they still would have perished. It’s very sad. But like our family, they thought the bay of Naples was beautiful so I felt connected to them. Tip: Give yourself extra time if you take the circumvesuviana because while the journey itself is quite quick from Napoli, you have to stand in line to get the train tickets or get to a kiosk at Garibaldi and it was very backed up on a Saturday morning which made us a few minutes late. Pompeiify has a great website and app which allows you to effortlessly purchase tickets and tours combined. Thank you again Pasquale!
Highly recommend using this company, its an easy website to navigate, tickets are sent both through the app and email. Our guide Giovanni was excellent, he was very knowledgeable, nothing was rushed, great value for money.
We ended up having a private tour with Francesco, as there were no other bookings for the time we chose. He was very pleasant and enthusiastic - sharing stories and details that really brought the social history, archaeological significance, and the tragedy of Herculaneum alive. He was very patient and flexible - he met us when we arrived a bit early and also shortened the tour to accommodate our 2 kids (10 & 13) who were tired from an early hike up Mt Vesuvius. Grazie mille !
We ended up having a private tour for the 2 of us as there weren’t enough people for the small group tour. It cost an additional €60 for the 2 of us but we felt that it was worth having a guide for Herculanium. Pasquale was excellent and took us to the main points of interest and answered all of our questions.
We did the English tour of the site of Herculaneum with guide Roberta . She was a very knowledgeable guide, spoke fluent English and told us many facts about the inhabitants of Herculaneum and about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. To every question we asked her, she took the time to answer us at length. Roberta was a spontaneous and very friendly guide, we are therefore very satisfied with the tour. Highly recommended!
Fantastic tour - Francesco really brought Herculaneum to life and explained the differences between how the eruption affected Pompei and Herculaneum differently. Highly recommended!
Excellent I would thoroughly recommend this tour. Francesco was a brilliant guide. So knowledgeable. Thank-you for all your insight. Absolutely fascinating
