Half Day Trip in Pompeii, Italy


The city of Pompeii is a tourist attraction you must visit if you are in the area of Naples and/or Sorrento. The main place to visit is the ruins of Pompeii. If you do not know the historical significance, go watch the movie called Pompeii with Kit Harington and Emily Browning. The movie did not get the best ratings but you can watch it to give you an idea of what happened or just ogle at Kit Harington. The movie is about the natural disaster that left Pompeii in the ruins it is today. It is a tragic story but you can not beat mother nature.

Pompeii Ruins

Best Ways to Get There As a Tourist:
There are three entrances but I would recommend the Porta Marina entrance by the Circumvesuviana train station, which you can get to by train or bus.

A. By Train: It may get a bit crowded but I find it convenient because it is easy to get to and leave from. Right when you arrive at the Pompeii train station called Pompeii Scavi - Villa dei Misteri, you will conveniently arrive at the building to obtain your tickets. This train station is easily accessible from Naples or Sorrento. There is a train roughly every half hour to and from Pompeii Scavi and takes approximately 35-40 minutes either way because it is in between the Naples and Sorrento stops. The train ticket is $3,20/person one way, but depending on the time there is sometimes an express train available which is slightly more expensive. The station is small but you can't miss it because everyone who comes through to see the ruins passes by it.

Train to Sorrento

B. By Bus: Depending on where you are coming from, your hotel may provide you a brochure of bus tours that will take you to the ruins. If you are coming from Naples, there may be a bus stop near your stay but the main meeting point where they take you is the port. That is where you might switch buses to get to your final destination. There are a couple of packages you can choose from; one way, round trip, stopping at just Pompeii, or stopping at Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. We actually took a bus going to Pompeii (one way because we were headed to Sorrento after) because there was not a direct train to take from where out hotel was. I believe our ticket was €8 each. It was a comfortable ride with air conditioning and when you arrive, you will see this Hortus Pompei restaurant and bar as you head toward the train station where they drop you off.


Where to Keep Your Luggage: If you plan to make Pompeii a day trip like how Dillon and I did, you can leave your luggage downstairs from the waiting area where you can purchase metro tickets. We were a little skeptical but they kept our luggage safe for €3 and when we got our bags back, all our belongings were still safely inside and nothing was lost or stolen.

Entrance Fee:
If you head upstairs from the waiting area of the train station, you can purchase tickets to enter the ruins and decide if you want a tour guide or not for an additional fee. The cost was €15/person for adults when Dillon and I went in September. For the walking tour guide, it was €12/person an additional (optional not mandatory). After purchasing your tickets, you just have to walk down the street toward the Porta Marina entrance. Porta Marina is the entrance most tourists use. I do not know if the other entrances offer tour guides.

Walking Tour:
Dillon and I purchased the walking tour but in the end we realized the tour could have been done on our own. I did happen to download a free audio tour of Pompeii onto my phone but was swept into purchasing the guide. Do not be easily persuaded like me if you prefer doing things on your own or want to stay on a budget. The audio tour would have easily brought us to the same places and learned the history too without having to strain to hear the tour guide. We still did like our tour as they took us to the important areas of the ruins to visit because it is big.

What to Bring: The Pompeii ruins is entirely outdoors except for a few small indoor attractions so make sure to bring a hat, water bottle, sunblock, umbrella if it is raining, and good walking shoes especially during peak season (June to September).

What to See: You will see the ruins of what is leftover of the entire town so be aware that the attraction site is very big. You do not need to spend an entire day there because what you see can start to become repetitive so I say expect half the day there unless you are a big history buff. I won’t give away any other details because it is best to see it for yourself. Enjoy!

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