Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius Guided Tour from Positano

Pompeii, a city stopped in time

When Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, Pompeii was a prosperous port town of perhaps eleven thousand people, with temples, theatres, markets and villas decorated by skilled painters. A column of ash and pumice rose many kilometres into the sky, and over the next day the town was buried completely, preserving a snapshot of Roman life that no other site can match. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This Pompeii and Vesuvius day trip from Positano starts at the archaeological park, so you see the ruins first and then stand on the volcano that created them, which makes the story easy to understand for adults and children alike. Your English-speaking guide meets you at the entrance and you skip the ticket queue thanks to the fast-track entry.

Inside Pompeii: Forum, amphitheatre and streets

The guided visit covers the heart of the city. In the Forum you see the temples and the Basilica framed by Vesuvius, then walk down the Via dell'Abbondanza, the main street lined with shops, eateries, workshops and political slogans painted on the walls. The Large Theatre and the smaller covered theatre show how Pompeians spent their free time.

At the eastern edge stands the amphitheatre, built around 70 BC and the oldest surviving stone amphitheatre of the Roman world, able to seat most of the town's population. Nearby, the Garden of the Fugitives holds plaster casts of people who tried to escape the eruption. The visit inside Pompeii lasts about two hours and involves walking on uneven paving stones.

Mount Vesuvius, the volcano of Naples

Mount Vesuvius rises about twelve hundred and eighty metres above the Bay of Naples and is the only active volcano on mainland Europe. Its last eruption was in 1944, and it remains one of the most closely monitored volcanoes in the world. The cone you climb today sits inside the remains of an older, larger volcano called Monte Somma, whose ridge forms a half-circle to the north.

Since 1995 the area has been a national park, with lava fields, pine woods and broom bushes covering the lower slopes. Is Vesuvius worth visiting? Seeing the crater with your own eyes, after walking through the city it buried, is the most powerful way to understand the day of the eruption. On clear days the summit is one of the best viewpoints in southern Italy.

The crater trail to the rim

After Pompeii we drive up the winding road to the car park at around one thousand metres. From there the crater trail climbs on a wide gravel path, with about one hundred and forty metres of ascent, to the rim of the Great Cone. Most people take thirty to forty minutes going up at a steady pace, and a little less coming down; your ticket for the trail is included.

At the top the crater opens below you, a huge bowl several hundred metres wide with steep reddish walls, and you may notice small wisps of steam from fumaroles along its sides. Volcano guides at the rim explain its activity. Looking outwards, the whole Bay of Naples spreads out with Capri, the Sorrento peninsula and the city of Naples below.

Practical tips: getting there and the best time

How do you get to Vesuvius from the Amalfi Coast? Without a tour it means a bus to Sorrento, a train to Pompeii or Ercolano and a separate shuttle up the mountain, which rarely fits in one day. Here we handle all transport from your hotel in Positano, about an hour and a quarter each way.

Mount Vesuvius opening hours generally start at 9:00, with the last ascent from mid-afternoon in winter to late afternoon in summer, and the trail closes in strong wind, heavy rain or poor visibility. The best time to visit Pompeii and the volcano is spring or autumn; in summer the early start helps, but bring plenty of water as both sites have little shade.