Pompeii & Herculaneum

Spend a day exploring the famous archaeological sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, ancient Roman cities buried in the volcanic ash of Mount Vesuvius. This tour through the remarkably preserved streets and homes, left forgotten for more than a millennium, is a unique look back at 1st-century life.

After the ride out from Sorrento, your guide takes you on a walk through the ancient streets of Pompeii, which have been painstakingly excavated to reveal the buildings and columns that stood 2,000 years ago. You can see baths, forums, and villas, built by prosperous Romans dating back to 80 BC, and marvel at the fabulously preserved frescos that adorned their walls and floors.

Next, circle around to the west of Vesuvius for a visit to the remains of Herculaneum. Located in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Herculaneum (Ercolano) was an ancient Roman town destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in 79 AD. Its ruins are located in thecomune of Ercolano Campania Italy.

Pompeii and Herculaneum are the largest towns of the five buried by the Vesuvian eruption of 79 AD, and they are also the most fully excavated, although they were buried by the same eruption, Pompeii was covered mainly by ash, and Herculaneum by mud and lava, it is interesting to compare building techniques and life style walking round the sites, as Pompeii lived off commerce. Whereas Herculaneum was a fishing community, but by the first century it was becoming a fashionable holiday resort both towns were discovered and excavated mid 18th century.
There is a optional lunch between the two visits, and return to Sorrento is in the late afternoon.