Pompeii: Tour or DIY?
DIY is cheaper and more flexible. The train route is: Rome Termini → Naples Centrale (1 hour, high-speed), then Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Pompeii Scavi (35 minutes). The site entrance is a 5-minute walk from the Pompeii Scavi station. A guide is strongly recommended — the site is too large to understand without one. You can buy a guide at the entrance or book one through the tour.
| Option | Transport | Site access | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY by train | Rome → Naples → Circumvesuviana | Standard entry, audio guide extra | ~€60–80 total | Independent travellers comfortable with Italian trains |
| Archaeologist-guided tour from Rome | Coach from Rome | Priority entry + archaeologist guide | €120–160 | First-time visitors, history enthusiasts, anyone who wants to understand what they're seeing |
| Pompeii + Vesuvius combo | Coach, two sites | Both sites, guide at Pompeii | €150–200 | Travellers who want both the destroyed city and the volcano that destroyed it |
Best Pompeii Tours from Rome
What You'll Actually See
Pompeii is not a museum. It's a frozen city. The Forum, the baths, the houses with their frescoes still intact, the street of bars — all of it preserved under the volcanic ash that buried it in 79 AD. The plaster casts of the people who died are the most emotionally affecting thing — positioned where they fell, curled in foetal positions. They're on display near the Marina gate.