Pompeii Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Pompeii is truly impressive. We had booked a tour. The organization at the start was chaotic, but the tour guide was very good. The dining options aren't equipped for such a large crowd of visitors. Long lines, no seating, and the restroom situation for women was catastrophic. The site closes at 5:00 PM. By 4:40 PM, all restrooms were already closed (despite long lines). Apparently, the staff wanted to finish early before 5:00 PM.

I have the priveledge of having been a close relative and friend to many Oxford and Cambridge - associated historians and archaeologists over the years. If our guide was an expert on Pompeii, then he clearly had contempt for the people he was guiding through the site, of which I happen to know a reasonable amount and was expecting far more from. To confirm a few of the obvious howlers - the Greeks did not abandon Pompeii because of Vesuvius and their knowledge of volcanology: the city was shaped by a succession of cultures. Founded by the Oscans, it came under strong Greek/Magna Graecia influence in the 6th century BC, passed through Samnite control, and was eventually conquered and integrated by the Romans in the 1st century BC. Also, from the Forum, you can see the head of Jupiter, not Augustus. Next up, prostitutes were likely not associated with the word 'lupanare' because they 'howled' at sailors and traders for business. Also, there is no evidence that 17,000 people died at Pompeii, nor that sexually transmitted diseases were completley absent, or that growth of residents was stunted purely due to lead poisoning... or, indeed, that the Forum's marble was stolen by Napoleon (noting that new, engineered marble slabs were clearly not from the first century AD). At the same time, the statue of Artemis in the Temple of Apollo is not the original (this is held in a Naples museum); nor is it likely that its base was made of wood... the temple is also of Roman construction, not Greek, built in approx. 120BC in the Doric style. The guide also spent quite a bit of time focused on sex, in a graphic way. That was just about bearable to our family, as my son is almost 13; but there was at least one very young child on the tour aged no older than 10 (my wife is a seniour paediatrician and stated - had this been in the UK - she would this have raised it a safeguarding concern and had the guide / service investigated, assuming you also have child protection rules in Italy?). The list goes on, noting that I kept quiet on the tour, though came very close to challenging the guide and starting an argument just before departure when he suggested that residents were of the habit of using large amphorae as toilets. This is all quite frankly completely unacceptable and no guide has any business working on tours speaking such nonsense... some of which was actually quite offensive. Needless to say, the best part of our time at Pompeii was the 4.5 hours we spent at the venue after the tour (the latter also neglecting most key sites) had concluded. Finally, I'm curious as to how the coastline moved 20km further out from Pompeii after the eruption, as it is now approx 1-2 km away... and how an excavated skeleton could still be in a state of early - mid decomposition on site after 2,000 years in the ground? Just total nonsense. Did you think we were all American?

The tour includes only a small section of Pompeii, chosen by the guide in coordination with other groups so they can avoid crossing paths and seeing the same things. Very little of the site is covered, and although it feels like a long walk, you’re actually going around the same 500 metres. A visit to the amphitheatre isn’t included at all. The listing says it’s a guided tour with an archaeologist, but in reality, it’s just a standard tour of the ruins.

We had an amazing tour of Pompeii with Antonio, our archaeologist, who was absolutely brilliant! He shared a wealth of fascinating information about daily life in ancient Pompeii, the city’s excavations, and the historical context in which the city developed and ultimately met its fate. What made the tour truly special was his ability to bring history to life, explain the significance of what we were seeing, and answer all our questions with great knowledge and enthusiasm. His explanations went far beyond the usual facts and gave us a much deeper understanding of what life was really like in Pompeii. Antonio’s passion, expertise, and engaging storytelling made this an unforgettable experience. We couldn’t recommend this tour highly enough!