A Traveler’s Guide to Visiting Pompeii, Italy 🌋

Italy has so many unique, historical attractions, including the excavations of Pompeii, a city from 79 AD that has essentially been frozen in time. It is a surreal place to visit because you will be transported right back to what life in an old, Roman city looked like. Words cannot describe how it felt to be brought back 2,000 years and walk streets that were once so different than those we see today. It can be an overwhelming and emotional city to walk through, but boy is it worth it.

To Tour Guide or Not To Tour Guide?
There are options when it comes to walking around the site, whether you want to learn about everything, just go along by yourself, or something in between.

• Audio Tour: This is what I did when I was there and I thought it was perfect! You can choose what language you need the device in. You can wear the device around your neck, so it doesn’t get in your way too much. It costs about €7 per person for the whole time you are there.
• Group Tour: You can pay a tour guide to take you in a group, usually of around 10-30 people. This is cheaper than a private tour, but you may not get to see the ruins at the speed you want and may miss out of seeing some places that you want to see that are not part of that tour.
• Private Tour: These can get pricey, but also give you a more detailed and personalized tour of the grounds with a professional that knows a lot of information about the history of this site. So if you want to learn a lot about Pompeii, I suggest trying out a private tour. There are several people on site that you can hire for a private tour the day of when you visit.
• No Tour: This option is completely fine if you enjoy going at your own pace and like seeing what you want when you want. However, the downside to having no tour/guide is that you will miss out on a lot of the history & explanations to go along with everything you are taking in. The plus side is that you won’t spend any money!

What should you bring with when visiting Pompeii?

• Backpack to carry items in
• Snacks
• Water Bottle(s) – You can drink the water at Pompeii if you want, but I was not 100% sure how clean it was so I brought 2 water bottles with. They have fountains around the city for you to fill up your bottle as well. *There is also a restaurant in the middle of the city where you can buy food, coffee & water.
• Sunscreen & Sunglasses
• Wear Gym Shoes or Hiking Boots. There is lots of ground to cover and you will be able to stay longer if you wear the right kind of shoes!
• Camera (w/ charged batteries)
• Light Jacket
  Leave everything else at your hotel (except for the essentials of course: wallet, passports, car/hotel keys & phone). You do not want to have more than you need with you while visiting Pompeii.

The average person will spend around 4 hours at Pompeii, so make sure you come prepared & are ready to see a lot of things in a short amount of time. This ancient city will leave you speechless!