Pompeii Small Group or Private Tour, 2 or 3 Hours

What sets this one apart is the choice: a Pompeii small group tour shared with other visitors, or a private walk for just your own party, led either way by an archaeologist. You also pick the length, two hours or three, the longer one adding the Villa of the Mysteries. Languages are not always the same for the shared and the private version, so check yours before booking.

You enter by the Porta Marina Superiore, one of the seven gates of the ancient town, and walk its main streets to the Forum, the old centre of public life, with Mount Vesuvius looming above it. Along the route you meet:

• the Basilica, once the business and legal heart of the city
• baths, temples and a bakery
• the Great Theatre
• the House of the Vettii and the Lupanar, with its stone beds and frescoes

The guide tells stories about the people who lived here. You also see plaster casts of those caught by the eruption of 79 AD, plus mosaics and frescoes in good condition.

At the end, the guide suggests how to spend the rest of the day, and you may remain inside the site to explore alone. The ticket and headsets (for groups of 16 or more) are included. The itinerary can shift when areas are crowded or closed, and the steps and ramps make it unsuitable for wheelchair users.