Intro:
Spend a day visiting one of the most well preserved ancient Roman cities, Herculaneum, and climb the famous volcano that decimated it in 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius.

Your driver will pick you up at your hotel at 8 AM, and bring you back approximately 5 PM. You will enjoy a leisurely drive towards Naples and enjoy the sights of the Italian countryside around you.

Herculaneum is rightfully considered better preserved that its bigger and more famous sister city, Pompeii. While roofs collapsed under the weight of volcanic ash in Pompeii, many remained intact in Herculaneum due to the super hot pyroclastic flow that instantly entombed and solidified the city from bottom up. As a result more frescoes and mosaics can be seen in these well preserved buildings. Here you can visit luxurious baths, the stunning Villa of Papyri that contained a library of scrolls, House of the Beautiful Courtyard,  the impressive mosaics inside the House of Neputine and Amphitrite and more.  

Since Herculaneum draws less visitors that its more famous sibling due to traffic conditions surrounding the site which discourages large tour buses, you don’t have to fight your way through large crowds. And Herculaneum being much smaller than Pompeii, you can actually explore the entire site which is virtually impossible to do in Pompeii on limited time.

After lunch, your driver will take you up Mount Vesuvius, the feared pride of Naples and the only active volcano in Europe. At a height of approximately 1,280 meters (4202 ft) this is also the smallest active volcano in the world, but among the most dangerous of them all. Once you reach near the summit you can purchase a ticket that allows you to enter the last segment of the volcano and hike the last 500 meters to the crater. A local official guide will accompany visitors as you near the massive crater left behind after the infamous eruption of 79 AD.  You will see lush dense vegetation that thrives on rich volcanic soil, a variety of lava rocks of different colors, and fumes rising out of the crater itself. From the top of Mount Vesuvius on clear days you get a most spectacular view of the Bay of Naples, Pompeii, Capri, and more.

Please note that the hike to the crater of Mount Vesuvius requires visitors to be fit enough for the activity and wear closed flat comfortable shoes (shoes will get dirty with dust and ash, so try not to wear your favorite clean shoes on this visit). Weather tends to be much cooler on top of the volcano than below, so be prepared by bringing extra clothing. In case of bad weather or strong winds, Mount Vesuvius may close to the public.

From here, your driver will bring you back to your hotel. Thank you for booking RomeCabs for your transfers and tours. We look forward to seeing you soon in Italy!

The price of the tour does not include entrance fees, lunch, or gratuities.