Pompei
I woke bright and early for Day 12 of my trip. I had an absolutely huge day planned for today, and would be visiting one of my absolute highlights, the site of ancient Pompeii. Unfortunately, I’d taken so long to decide which tour I’d wanted to take, by the time I booked I’d almost run out of options, and a visit to Herculaneum looked unlikely. Luckily, I found a fabulous tour of the Archaeological Park with a fantastic guide who was one of the archaeologists working on the site. I would 100% recommend finding one with an archaeologist to get the most from your visit.
If you are thinking of visiting Pompeii with an organised tour, be sure to book very early!
As it happened, the provider of my Pompei tour had contacted me the day before to say that part of the tour had to be cancelled. We’d no longer be visiting the Villa dei Misteri, but I was happy just to be going to the Archaeological Park.
Pompeii
First thing to note about Pompeii is the spelling. You’ll find that the modern town is spelled with just one ‘i’ and the ancient city with two. The ancient city of Pompeii is within the Parco Archeologico di Pompei and it is possible to book tickets direct via the official site. However, as I’d had a great tip from a colleague (thank you Mollie!) I’d booked a guided tour by an archaeologist via Get Your Guide. This proved to be a really good decision, as our guide Anna was absolutely incredible!
Anna explained that due to the number of archaeologists who want to work on the ancient site, many are restricted to just 3 months of the year actively digging. The rest of their time they supplement their income by lecturing, or becoming tour guides. This is really great for tourists, who get in depth insight into the history of the site, from people who have a genuine passion for it!
The meeting point for our tour was just across the road from the Pompei Scavi (this translates to Pompei Excavations) train station. It was easy enough to find our guide and there were around 10 of us in our group for the ‘small group tour’. Having been introduced to our lovely guide Anna, we made our way into the site through the Porta Marina.
I was immediately overwhelmed by what lay before me, the site was absolutely huge. It was a stark reminder of the sheer scale of the devastation that had befallen the city. And of course, wherever you went, Vesuvius was always there in the background, almost menacing.
I was so glad I’d opted for the archaeologist guided tour, as Anna navigated us expertly through the maze of ruins, picking out the key locations. Many of the small but hugely important details she picked out might have passed unnoticed in the expansive park otherwise.
If you do opt to do the tour by yourself, I’d recommend having the audio guide at the very least. And make sure you have a copy of the site map open at all times. Some of the super interesting places are hidden away, so allow yourself plenty of time to explore properly.
There are lots of gems to find. Due to repeated looting, most of the relics are now kept in the archaeological museum in Napoli. But there are very many mosaics and paintings suprprisingly well preserved.
I would recommend spending some time checking the current dig. This is inside a huge covered area with walkways so that you can see everything that has been discovered. And the indoor exhibition area gives a great insight into what life would have been like for the citizens of Pompeii. The ampitheatre is also worth a visit, and if you are lucky you might catch one of the regular enactments.
By now we were really warm as it was approaching the middle of the day and was in the mid 30’s. Luckily there is a lovely woody shaded area at the top of the theatre, so if you find yourself melting in the heat, that is definitely the best place to head for.
Then, having conveyed our huge thanks to Anna for sharing her fabulous knowledge, it was time to say goodbye. As a final challenge, Anna suggested a few places to seek out for ourselves, the very last one, the Garden of the Fugitives, being quite spectacular but incredibly sad …
I was glad this was the very last thing I was going to see, in a very reflective mood I headed out of the Park to find some shade before heading off to my next adventure.
Vesuvius
By this point of the day, I was definitely feeling the heat and my energy had dipped considerably. But I had another huge trip coming up today, and figured I would definitely need some energy for this one. So I decided to stop for some food and a cold beer in the shaded tree lined street outside the park. To be fair, it was quite reasonable, coming in at only 11€ and although it wasn’t a patch on the Tuscan pasta, it hit the spot. And the shade was very welcome too!
Having spent the morning in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, my afternoon would be spent hiking to the summit. To get to the Vesuvius National Park, I had booked the Vesuvius transfer via Get Your Guide. It was great letting someone else do the driving, especially as the views of the coastline were breathtaking.
As the road wound it’s way up the side of the volcano, I was stunned at how many houses, hotels and restaurants there were. Having seen the devastation it could cause I couldn’t imagine wanting to live on it’s doorstep!
The driver did not hang about, and it wasn’t long before we reached the entrance to the Park.
Although the entrance to the park is a fair way up the side of the volcano, you still have to walk over 2km to reach the top. I was very glad I had bought myself a hat while I was in Pompei as the sun was relentless.
The hike up the mountain does require some fitness. The ground is made up of loose volcanic gravel and it’s a bit like walking on sand. And although the incline is a hike rather than a climb, it’s still relatively steep. I was glad to see that most people were stopping quite frequently to take a breath or a sip of water. And to be fair, the views out towards Pompei, Naples and Capri are absolutely stunning, and deserve to be admired.
If you don’t think you can make the hike and have the funds, there is a jeep service that gets you almost to the top.
But I felt a real sense of achievement when I did finally get to the summit and was able to walk around the crater. There are several craters in the national park, but the tours tend to focus on the biggest.
It was quite sobering looking out from the top of the volcano to the towns and villages below. It really brought home how fragile we are in the face of natures forces. But it also reaffirmed what an absolutely beautiful world we live in.
Having had my fill of wonder, I returned to Villa Julia expecting to get an early night. But the super hospitable host Pasquale had other plans, and invited me to join him and his friend on the lovely cool terrace for the evening. With the help of Google translate and my beginners Italian, we chatted for several happy hours drinking homemade lemon soda (delicious!) and watching fireworks.
Before I knew it, it was time for bed. Raincovers on, I settled down for what was to be a very stormy night. But as always, cosy and dry inside my TentBox home, perched among the citrus trees, I slept like a baby.
The next day I would say goodbye to Pompei and the wonderful Villa Julia and take a very long drive to the south. It would be day 13, and true to form possibly the unluckiest day of my trip!
