Herculaneum - Small Group Tour

We booked a ticket via the trip advisor website, which said included the entry ticket to the herculaneum site as well as the tour. When I received the paperwork it then said that the entry ticket was extra, which I was obviously very annoyed about. Emailed/chat to trip advisor several times and got zero response, so absolutely fuming. Went to the meeting point and confirmed that we had to pay extra for the entry tickets. They know there is nothing you can do about it at that point. Either pay, or waste the tour money. The tour guide Marzia was exceptional, very knowledgable, and very friendly, and the site was interesting and well preserved, but the ticketing experience ruined it for me!

Had a fantastic tour with our very friendly guide Ilaria. She showed us the most important sites at Herculaneum and helped us understand things in their context. The advantage of being in a smaller group was that we were often allowed in to see things ahead of larger groups and we had opportunities to ask questions.

Francesco was a very knowledgeable and personable guide through the ruins of Herculaneum. Answered all questions, gave in-depth information with a little fun. Highly recommend.

Francesco gave us a brilliantly detailed tour full of insights and humour. He's very easy to talk to and understand and is very passionate about history which is infectious. 100% recommend. No chaos of travel agency crowds, he contacted us on WhatsApp and met us easily as soon as we arrived. Fantastic

It was an interestingng tour with a charming guide Gabriella showing us the most interesting parts of Herculaneum.

An excellent experience. Francesco brings these sites to life with his tour.

We went here before we visited Pompeii which made Pompeii feel like ruins compared to this. It is different in many ways but well worth seeing in conjunction with Pompeii. I am not sure why it is not mentioned more. It gave us a much better picture of what is may have looked like and how people lived in the area. Our guide, Vincenzo, was very passionate about the history and although we asked lots of questions he did not fail to have answers. There is a museum on the grounds which is worth having a look at too.

A good tour, different from Pompeii and much less crowded. It was worth the time and effort to get there

Our tour guide, Roberta, was informative and enthusiastic! We would highly recommend her as a tour guide for Herculaneum.

Our tour of Herculaneum with Francesco was the absolute highlight of our time in Naples. His knowledge of the site and its history was exceptional, and he explained everything in a way that kept all of us fully engaged, including my 10‑year‑old. She especially loved how he connected ancient life to modern day, making the experience fun as well as educational. Francesco answered every question with patience and insight, guided us around the site at the perfect pace, and gave us all the time we wanted to explore. He truly brought Herculaneum to life for our family. Worth every penny, highly recommended.

Our tour guide Francesco was very knowledgeable and detailed. He was also very professional and kind. I would recommend him as a tour guide.

Personable, knowledgeable and fun best describes our guide. Our visit lasted only a couple hours but we experienced everything we wanted and learned a lot more than expected.

Having a guide is the only way to see the ruins properly. Francesco was very informative and told us a lot of stories and information. Herculaneum is a smaller, well preserved city like Pompeii.

Vincenzo was an incredible guide. We have been on many, many tours and he was one of the best. His English is incredible, he doesn’t overwhelm with superfluous details. We highly recommend this tour and Vincenzo.

We took the train to Ercolano Scavi and walked down a ‘main’ street with shops and restaurants to get to the site. Once at the gate, we followed signs to the ticket office. It turns out, the tour we booked was just for a guide, tickets to the site were not included. We were a bit confused but Pasquale, our guide, helped us figure out what the issue was and we purchased tickets and moved on. Pasquale was an excellent guide. He curated the best sites and shared information that brought the experience to life.

Very good guide. Personable and knowledgeable. Enthusiastic about the area which encoraged interaction within the small group.

We took the train to the Ercolano stop and walked down to the ticket office. It’s a 10-15 minute walk. Pasquale, our guide, clearly explained everything that happened at Herculaneum. He curated the best sites to showcase how the people lived and, tragically, how they died. There is also an on-site museum that is included. Food and drinks are available at a ‘food court’. We enjoyed the experience very much.

Pasquale was an excellent guide! He was able to answer all of our questions regarding Herculaneum as well as other contextual questions regarding Italian and Roman history. The site itself is a can’t miss tour for any history buffs.

Fantastic! Our family of four absolutely loved our tour of Herculaneum with Pasquale! He was so kind and knowledgeable and he patiently answered every question. We were blown away by the state of preservation here. The artwork, the courtyards, and the detailed stories about the residents of Herculaneum will stay with us forever! My favorite features were the locker rooms near the baths and the soup restaurant. Nothing has changed. They were just like us! Walking on their detailed mosaic floors, I thought “a real artist created this so long ago, and it’s still so beautiful!” It’s some of the most enduring art work in the world. The scorched and preserved wood is incredible. I felt a little conflicted about the fiberglass skeletons in the boat houses. It’s very moving but I also wish each one of them privacy and rest. These are real people. They carried their favorite things with them there, many of which are displayed in the museum. The jewelry was beautiful then, and now. I would wear those rings and bracelets. They hoped to be rescued and help never came. Even if they had waded into the sea, they still would have perished. It’s very sad. But like our family, they thought the bay of Naples was beautiful so I felt connected to them. Tip: Give yourself extra time if you take the circumvesuviana because while the journey itself is quite quick from Napoli, you have to stand in line to get the train tickets or get to a kiosk at Garibaldi and it was very backed up on a Saturday morning which made us a few minutes late. Pompeiify has a great website and app which allows you to effortlessly purchase tickets and tours combined. Thank you again Pasquale!

Highly recommend using this company, its an easy website to navigate, tickets are sent both through the app and email. Our guide Giovanni was excellent, he was very knowledgeable, nothing was rushed, great value for money.

We ended up having a private tour with Francesco, as there were no other bookings for the time we chose. He was very pleasant and enthusiastic - sharing stories and details that really brought the social history, archaeological significance, and the tragedy of Herculaneum alive. He was very patient and flexible - he met us when we arrived a bit early and also shortened the tour to accommodate our 2 kids (10 & 13) who were tired from an early hike up Mt Vesuvius. Grazie mille !

We ended up having a private tour for the 2 of us as there weren’t enough people for the small group tour. It cost an additional €60 for the 2 of us but we felt that it was worth having a guide for Herculanium. Pasquale was excellent and took us to the main points of interest and answered all of our questions.

Fantastic tour - Francesco really brought Herculaneum to life and explained the differences between how the eruption affected Pompei and Herculaneum differently. Highly recommended!

Excellent I would thoroughly recommend this tour. Francesco was a brilliant guide. So knowledgeable. Thank-you for all your insight. Absolutely fascinating

Francesco was awesome! Very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. Amazing how his voice held out after two hours of talking. He made sure everybody could hear. Knows Pompeii Herculaneum, and the Naples Museum very well.

Herculaneum was so fun and very different from Pompeii! It was fun to learn how the locals were affected by the eruption of Mount. Vesuvius and the comparison. Between the villages of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Amazing! Luciano was an entertaining and knowledgable guide. He fit everything he could in 2 hours and gave us a good understanding to enjoy the rest of the park after the tour finished

Herculaneum a fantastic ancient site to explore. Pasquale our guide was super knowledgeable and friendly, gave plenty of history and archaeology details. Special place to visit.

Francesco was fabulous! Great communication in advance of the tour, met us promptly with a smile, and kept us informed and entertained for hours! Last minute trip interruptions meant we went to Herculaneum before Pompeii which was the opposite of what I had planned, but I think that ended up being ideal. Thanks to Francesco we knew what we were looking at and for in Pompeii which is otherwise much more overwhelming. So it felt like we got two tour guides in one as he gave us loads of tips and info to make both visits fascinating. Thank you!! <3

A great experience - glad we chose Herculaneum as there was more than enough to see and take in to get the feel for ancient Roman life. Importantly it was not too busy - and the guide was excellent - really knew how to communicate and make a wonderful experience - recommend him. This was the highlight of our holiday. Colosseum might have been but it was vastly too crowded to really appreciate it - or even hear the guide properly despite head phones.

Fracesco was very knowledge , friendly, and answered all our questions so glad we booked and got him as our guide

I can't imagine what we would have missed without our guide Francesco. His deep knowledge, gained from 20 years of experience guiding visitors to Herculaneum and Pompeii allowed us to have a very satisfying and educational experience. his English is excellent and his manner is very pleasant. We can't recommend him highly enough.

Herculaneum is well worth seeing. The guide did a good job showing us around. Would recommend the tour

Our guide Francesco was extremely knowledgeable. He not only had deep knowledge of Herculaneum, but his knowledge of Pompeii and the state of the Roman Empire of the time offered useful and interesting context. Highly recommended.

We took the small group tour with Francesco. Our family of 5 ended up being the only ones on the tour, so it really was a private tour! Francesco was both knowledgeable and fun. We all found the tour to be educational and very interesting. Overall it was a great day!

Francesco was an excellent guide. He took really good care of my adult kids and definitely left there educated. He was very accommodating and informative. Thank you Francesco for a wonderful experience.

We had an excellent guide in Marzia who could not have been more knowledgeable or helpful. Herculaneum is well worth a visit and equally as interesting as Pompeii.

Herculaneum was absolutely worth it, mostly because our guide, Francesco, went out of his way to make the experience instructive and personalized. It's an incredible archaeological site and Francesco conveyed deep knowledge of its history and even recent discoveries with passion and professionalism. As amazing as the site itself is, I can't imagine doing it without a knowledgeable guide. Francesco went above and beyond, meeting us early to ensure that we had plenty of time despite poor weather (heavy rain), and he was enthusiastic about answering all our nerdy questions. This turned what might have been a wash-out into a memorable and immersive tour where we basically had the park to ourselves.

Do to a misunderstanding we missed the small group, but fortunate that he was available for a private tour. He was excellent and we feel we learned so much more being able to go slow and point out the little things that probably wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. Compared to Pompeii, this was a better preserved site.

We really enjoyed our visit of Herculaneum with our guide Marzia. This site is even more impressive than Pompeii — so many fascinating remains of beds, decorations, ceilings, and more. Just wow! Marzia was extremely knowledgeable, and we loved learning from her. The sunny weather and the exceptional snow on top of Vesuvius made the views even better.

The small group became a private tour for two (for a modest extra charge), due to the insufficient numbers being reached. We caught the local train from Naples to the nearby town of Ercolano. It is an easy 10 minute walk downhill to the archeological park of Herculanium. Francesco was a great guide. Enthusiastic, knowledge and eager to answer our questions. It was predicting raining on the morning of our tour, and when I contacted the tour operator, they arranged for Francisco to bring me an umbrella - he kindly bought his wife’s bright pink one for me to use. He gave us great ideas for other activities in Naples. We would highly recommend this company for its professionalism, clear communication and kindness.

Francesco’s tour of Herculean was informative, engaging and entertaining. It is easy to see that he loves his work! We would absolutely attend another tour with him and are in fact hoping to do so when visiting Capri later this month.

Francesco was great! Lots of information that was relevant and fun at all times during the tour. Francesco has a very engaging way of communicating and answers every question along the way impeccably!

Francesco was the most advanced and informative guide one could have . His incredible knowledge of Herculean was amazing - could not fault his dialogue, well spoken , no microphone, perfect !

We were fortunate to discover Pompeiify, a local tour company with extremely knowledgeable guides. Francesca led our tour of Herculaneum and Francesco took us around Pompeii. Both tours were exceptional with in-depth knowledge from university graduates. We were able to imagine AD79 from this. Both sites are breathtaking in the excavations and restoration that has taken place over many years. We highly recommend both.

Alessia was knowledgeable, personable and competent. A really good overview of Herculaneum. She showed us the most significant spots at the site.

Our experience with Francesca was first rate. We saw all the major sites in Herculaneum, and learned so much about how life was lived before the eruption of Vesuvius. The entirety of the site is amazing, and worth visiting along with Pompeii. It’s not an either/or thing (unless you really have no time) Visiting both places gives you a much richer understanding of ancient life in the is part of the world.

This was an amazing experience that my mum and I had been looking forward to and it was made even more greater by our very knowledgeable and informative guide Pasquale who we would highly recommend

An excellent and personal tour around one of the most beautiful and amazing archaeological sites in the world! Francesco was very nice, helpful, and full of great information. An amazing tour, hugely recommended!