Day 3: Day trip to Pompeii
Pompeii is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. I’d learned about Pompeii when I was at school, so it was amazing to finally get the chance to see it in person.
You can get the train to Pompeii from Naples. It takes about 45 minutes, although the train times can vary. Some trains have more stops so take a bit longer. But it doesn’t really matter which train you take – none of them take too long and they all get you to Pompeii. Remember to get off at the stop ‘Pompeii – Scavi’ for the archaeological site.
Even in mid October, Pompeii was still very busy. The train and train station were really busy, and there was a queue to get tickets. But once you get inside, the area is so huge that it doesn’t feel too crowded. But Pompeii really is huge – so you’ll definitely need good walking shoes. And also be prepared for the weather, as there’s very little shelter.
Exploring the ruins of Pompeii
I really enjoyed exploring the ruins of Pompeii at my own pace. There were a lot of companies offering guided tours of Pompeii. But I preferred to explore on my own. The only downside of exploring on my own was that there were limited information signs around the site. So sometimes, I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at. And the map was fairly hard to follow. But I definitely felt like I got enough information, even without a guided tour – there’s a limit to how much information you can take in during a day anyway.
The forum was one of my favourite parts of Pompeii. It really gave you a sense of the scale of this town. And the Basilica was really interesting too. So much of it was so well preserved.
A lot of Pompeii is streets of the ancient city, which you can walk down. And on either side, there are some houses that you can enter. Some of these houses have surviving frescos and mosaics, which really gives you an insight into what life would have been like nearly 2000 years ago.
Pompeii’s Villa of Mysteries
As well as the main area of Pompeii, you also also pay a little extra to visit the Villa of Mysteries. I thought this was definitely worth doing. This villa is on the edge of Pompeii, and it’s more green and peaceful here. The grand villa gives you an insight into what life would have been like for the wealthiest residents of Pompeii. It feels a long way from the streets of houses cramped together in the centre of Pompeii.
There are also two plaster casts here, of two people who were found in the villa during the excavation. It was the first plaster casts I saw in Pompeii. And it was really moving – it really brought the whole villa and the tragedy of the eruption to life. I looked at the plaster casts of the bodies and could feel a lot closer to the real people who lived in this city, before it met such a tragic end.
The real highlight of the Villa of Mysteries is the frescoes. Some of these are so well preserved, with vibrant red and yellow colours. It’s just amazing how well preserved the artistry is.
Pompeii’s plaster casts
Back in the main area of Pompeii, there are more plaster casts. There are a collection behind glass near the amphitheatre part of Pompeii. I found it fascinating to look at the plaster casts and learn more about how they were made. When the volcanic heat and gases hit Pompeii after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the people living here were killed. And then the ash from the volcano settled over the bodies. Over time, the bodies within the rocks decayed, leaving gaps where the people were. When archaeologists discovered Pompeii, these gaps were filled with plaster, which gives us the exact outline of the person’s body within. Sometimes, you can even see details such as that person’s clothes.
It was sad to see the plaster casts, as they represented the body of someone who had died in painful, tragic circumstances. But it was also fascinating as well. It made you feel close to the people who lived there. It meant that Pompeii wasn’t just ruins of buildings – the people who lived here were part of the place as well.
Roman amphitheatre
The amphitheatre is also another part of Pompeii that is worth exploring. It’s an area that is about the furthest from the entrance, but it’s worth walking to. I was quite tired by this stage of the day, but I’m really glad I pushed myself to walk here!
There’s a huge amphitheatre, which you can walk into the centre of. And there were other buildings and statues around the theatre. I took so many photos in Pompeii. It was an exhausting day, but so worth it.
Day 4: Day trip to Herculaneum and transfer to Sorrento
While Pompeii is the most famous of the excavated Roman ruins near Mount Vesuvius, there are other equally fascinating places. Herculaneum, near the town of Ercolano, is another excavated Roman settlement that was also destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2000 years ago. It’s smaller than Pompeii, and less busy, making it a much more manageable day out.
You can get the train from Naples to Ercolano, which only takes about 20 minutes. From the train station at Ercolano, you can walk to the archaeological site of Herculaneum. It takes about 10 minutes to walk from Ercolano train station to the archaeological site of Herculaneum.
Herculaneum archaeological site
The views from the top over the whole archaeological site are impressive. You instantly get a really clear picture of how this Roman settlement was buried after the volcanic eruption. The whole area is below the ‘ground’ level – the new ground level, after the eruption. You can see how the Roman settlement was dug out of the ground. And you also get the sense of how close the modern town is. There are modern buildings looking directly over the whole archaeological site.
Like Pompeii, Herculaneum doesn’t have a huge number of signs and signposts. So you can walk around and get a general sense of the area. But it’s difficult to learn too much detail about the area and how it was used in Roman times.
The streets and houses
There are multiple streets with houses on either side in Herculaneaum, like in Pompeii.
There are also some excavated statues and frescoes as well. I thought that these were definitely as good as, if not better than, those in Pompeii.
The Judge’s house was also impressive. This was one of the buildings in Herculaneaum that had some information, so you could read about the judge who lived here, and get a sense of their importance in Roman times.
There’s also a villa area, with more impressive statues. It’s amazing how intact these statues are after all this time. And there’s also some wall art as well.
Herculaneaum boathouses
One of the main differences between Herculaneum and Pompeii is the bodies of the people that were found during the excavation. In Pompeii, there are plaster casts of the space where people’s bodies were found – where the people had died from the volcano’s heat and gases, and then their bodies were covered with the ash from the volcano.
However, in Herculaneum, it’s different. Herculaneum is closer to Mount Vesuvius than Pompeii. Which means that the people in Herculaneum got hit by a much hotter, more intense pyroclastic flow from the erupting volcano. The higher temperatures means that the people in Herculaneum were killed instantly, and their clothes and flesh were burnt away. This left only their skeletons – not the whole body with clothes like was found in Pompeii.
The skeletons in Herculaneaum
Archaeologists found a collection of skeletons in the city’s old boathouses. It’s thought that the people of Herculaneum fled to the boathouses when they saw the volcano was erupting – perhaps thinking it was an earthquake. So they tried to take shelter in the boathouses. But then they were hit with the pyroclastic flow, and killed instantly as they sheltered in the boathouses. So Herculaneum’s boathouses are filled with the skeletons of the people who were sheltering there.
It’s so moving to see the skeletons of the people who died in such horrific circumstances. The one that moved me the most was the skeleton of the person who looked like they were laying down, raised up on one arm, and looking directly out of the boathouse gates. I could just imagine them seeing the pyroclastic flow cloud for a split second, before it hit them. I can’t even imagine the terror they might have felt if they saw that coming towards them, knowing they were completely helpless.
Even though Herculaneum is smaller than Pompeii, you can still easily spend quite a few hours here. I got to Herculaneaum late morning and stayed until the mid afternoon. So it’s a shorter day trip than Pompeii, but still fascinating with lots to see. There are several cafes and restaurants on the walk back to the train station where you can stop for some food after exploring the area.
Train to Sorrento
When you get back to Naples after visiting Herculaneum, you’ll have plenty of time to collect your luggage and get the train to Sorrento. The train from Naples to Sorrento takes about 1.5 hours and is cheap and comfortable. Sorrento is a great place to stay for a few days to do some more day trips around the area. Sorrento is a lot calmer and more peaceful than Naples as well, making it a more relaxing base for the second half of your holiday.
Keep reading for the next days of you one week in Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast – with trips to the Amalfi Coast and Capri.