Pompeii & Herculaneum Guided Tour - High Speed Train From Rome

We went with the tour (I apologize for forgetting the guides name) and wwee completly WOWed. It was the most fascinating trip. Don't know how we could have.managed without her. She pointed out all the highlights

Great experience, well planned out, and paced. This was the absolute best experience during my 2 week trip to Italy!

Raphael was a great guide and very knowledgeable! He kept us together and guided us on two wonderful tours! I gave it 4 stars because I did not like eating in a shopping mall. This had nothing to do with the guide, but I think having lunch in cafe in Naples would have made the tour perfect.

Guide was interesting and kept us informed. Amadeo was pleasant and helped us stay in the shade whenever possible (it was a touch warm). We had not seen ercolineum previously and were pleasantly surprised.

This was a good introduction to both sites. Worth doing if they are on your bucket list. Be aware that this trip will give you a good taster of both Herculaneum and Pompeii. Due to the sheer scale of both sites, much more time would be needed if you want to get a deep familiarity with the sites. Our guide, Amedeo knew the sites well, having worked on excavations at Pompeii. Return travel from Rome makes for a long day, but if all goes well you have plenty of time to go to the loo before meeting up - please don't be that person who delays the whole group by going just before the bus is due to leave. The lunch stop at shopping centre was for food, and not aimed at souvenir buying, like some trips. The loos there were very good too, so don't be that person who delays the group by waiting to go when you actually get to Pompeii. Contingency time on the drop off in Naples allowed us to have a couple of relaxed glasses of wine at a pavement cafe before the train home. Communications from Askos were very good - though the description of the morning meeting point in Naples was slightly off - I would say it was outside the named hotel and opposite the station, rather than opposite the hotel. Otherwise, all good.

What an amazing experience visiting the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. Our tour guide is an archeologist and had lots of knowledge and was a true historian of the events that occurred in Herculaneum and Pompeii. If you have trouble walking on uneven ground or up steps, this is not the tour for you. Lots and lots of uneven roads and sidewalks take you around the cities, The lunch spot at the mall was great, but an hour to walk to the mall, use the restroom, and eat made us feel very rushed. The tour company books your trains-we were disappointed we were not sitting together on the first train and our return train was an almost 2 hour wait before it would leave to take us back to Rome. We ended up going to the Italo office and rebooking our tickets for a train that left in 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the change cost each of us $22, for a total of $88. Overall, a long but vey interesting day!!

The tour was informative and educational about these historic sites. The guide was passionate about the history of the sites. Her background information was insightful and helped to understand the ancient society. Only letdown was the lunch stop, I would have enjoyed some local cuisine, but we were taken to a local mall with a food court, not very exciting food options.

There is so much history being taught by Michele that you really need to pay attention. Very informative. His knowledge together with the ruins made for a great day. If you are not used to hot weather, come prepared and stay hydrated.

Executive Summary: We did not receive our train tickets and went to great expense to join the tour at the halfway point because a customer service agent was not able to communicate in English. We did not receive the train tickets to get to the tour. We were sent QR codes for the tour via email (that we thought would be for the train but were not). We had to buy our own tickets (122 euro) to get to Naples and then a local train to Pompeii. Then we had to walk a mile in the heat to join our tour in progress. This was all due to a miscommunication by the tour operator. They called the day before to confirm that we received the train tickets, but they did not speak English very well. We understood that there was a time change for the train, but they could not tell us what train or what our seats were (we asked the agent 4 times and did not get an answer). The "get your giude" email said that the tickets would be sent by email or "whats app", while the tour operator said they had sent the tickets through the "get your guide" messaging feature (they did NOT). This operator seems to have plenty of communication issues. It was all a big mess with no admission off fault by the tour operator. This all could have been avoided if the customer service representative could communicate in English. The 1/2 of the tour we attended was fine.

Excellent day well organised but watch out that your reading your train instructions correctly keep your eye on the train information boards the number they give you is a coach number and not platform number. Very interesting and informative and the day flowed. Would have liked the guide to slow down a bit.

Very detailed, interesting, with sn entertaining guide who knows his subject. Fascinating and amazing to see.

Fantastic small group tour of both Herculaneum and Pompeii with lunch in Naples in between. A true archaeologist (I think Vincente) gave informative descriptions and made it a fun day, even though it was a long and very hot day in the heart of summer. FYI an umbrella is much better than a hat.

Michele was an amazing guide. Very attentive, knowledgeable and patient. It was extremely hot and seeing both sites the same day was a lot-he stuck to the highlights and made sure we saw the most famous points of each place. Highly recommend!

This was a great step back in time. Our tour guide Vincenzo clearly knew what he was doing and did a great job explaining the details of what we saw. I would recommend this tour to anyone. He gave our group plenty of time to take pictures, use the facilities, refill water, and ask questions. A few things to note: it is impossible to see every room, road, building, fresco, etc… at either location in just one day let alone seeing both sites in one day (we had no complaints, just clarifying). Lunch- we were dropped off at a shopping center and food court very similar to a typical mall in the US with a good range of options. Train- our morning train was very light and we had most of the car to ourselves. For the trip back to Rome we were back with plenty of time to walk the station and grab a bite if we wanted; it was very packed so keep an eye out for your track number and head down early.

I highly recommend this tour if you’re looking for ease of travel and planning. The tour takes care of the fast train tickets to Naples, a van pick up in Naples, travel to and from Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the train tickets home!! Both sites absolutely blew my mind!! I honestly had no idea how well preserved the buildings are!! Our tour guide was excellent- incredibly knowledgeable and funny. He had a way of keep us on time that made us feel like we weren’t being too rushed. My only suggestion for travelers and the company is to make it clear that the tour ends 3 hours before the train back to Rome. (At least, ours did.) The train station where we were dropped off didn’t look very enticing to explore, especially after hours in the heat at the 2 sites. We spent a little more to change our tickets to an hour earlier. Bring water, portable fans, hat, and/or umbrella if you go when it’s hot!

This tour was amazing! Our tour guide was so knowledgeable of Pompeii and Herculea, and was so incredibly considerate. That particular day, it was hotter than usual and our guide provided an umbrella to me so I wouldn't burn. That was so kind of him. The history we were shown, the ancient ruins, the stories and grounds was just amazing! I know I'll remember this for the rest of my life. One thing, and I think it's mentioned on many of the tour package details: These ancient ruins are not easy to navigate with small children, strollers (in the hot Italian sun), or for elderly who have a hard time breathing. I did see some people with their little kids and some elderly with walkers attempting this and they looked absolutely exhausted (desperately seeking shade). Wait til the kids are older so they'll really soak history up! It's worth it.

It was a wonderful experience! The side, Daniel, really knew his topic! It was a long day, but worth the time! I think the tour company should provide water. It is quite hot during the summer season.

Michael was outstanding, and Bruno, our driver, was great. Michael was extremely knowledgeable and provided insight into what it was like to live in the two cities before the event of August 24th, 79 AD. He was an EXCELLENT guide.

The whole day was fascinating. We loved learning and took a million photos. The two ancient cities together was a LONG day. I would have rather had more time to relax with the world’s most delicious Napoli pizza, explore Naples, and just do Pompei. That said, Herculaneum first was cool because our guide explained things that we then knew what we were seeing later in Pompei. Guide was v knowledgeable. I didn’t get the sense he loved questions but was definitely an expert. The high speed train down and back was easy and pleasant. If you love lots of history do it. It’s just a LOT and for us we probably would have rather had more time to explore Naples (our 50 minutes lunch in Pompei town between events felt frantic; we asked guide for recommendations and he made a sarcastic remark about lack of likeable food options aka no help. We found a place and tho rushed, had the most delicious pizza ever)

Really thorough tour of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The train info that was sent to me had clear instructions. The QR code in these instructions was the actual ticket and the train’s ticket-taker just scanned it from my phone no problem.

The trip was great, Raphael was a fantastic tour guide and we enjoyed the day. Only downside was we were dropped back of to Naples train station 2 hours before our scheduled train journey, the train was delayed which made for a very long day.

Raphael was an excellent guide with great knowledge of all the aspects of the archeology. He made the tour fun as well as informative so that we all had a brilliant experience. Thank you.

Amazing the guide was incredible. He was so knowledgeable. He had actually worked at the site. It was run by Asko tours. You need to be in fairly good shape. We had a 9 year old with us -he did great.

Wonderful! On time and great in depth info from Paulo. He was very informative, spoke excellent English, kind, courteous, and answered our questions.

It was extremely educational and to see both sites together offered an interesting contrast to life during that time. However, although our guide was very knowledgeable, he had a heavy accent and was hard to understand at times.

If I could rate this experience higher, I would! This was absolutely incredible and we LOVED our guide, Michael. He was so very knowledgeable and was clearly so passionate about sharing what he knew with us, and it made the experience so much more enjoyable! We appreciated having a guide who could help give context to what we were seeing, and shared his knowledge with passion and love, because it made the time more educational and meaningful. This is an experience we will never forget and highly recommend it to anyone who is considering it! Additionally, the company was very communicative about scheduling details (train time change, etc.) and responsive when we had any questions.

This tour was fantastic! We took the high speed train from Rome and arrived in Naples fairly quickly. From there we had about an hour to grab a coffee in the station and then meet our shuttle across the street. It is very convenient. From there we took the shuttle to Pompeii and met our guide, Paolo. He was incredible Very knowledgeable and engaging. We spent a considerable amount of time here and then took the shuttle to a mall for lunch for about an hour and a half. I was skeptical about this portion of the trip but it was actually great to have a break and be able to get some good food. After this we went to Herculaneum which was fantastic and again, Paolo was very knowledgeable and a lot of fun. My only critique is we did not go into the gift shop in Pompeii. Once we arrived in Herculaneum while the guide was greeting new guests on our tourney visited that shop briefly. Definitely book this tour

Paolo was fantastic! We had an amazing day at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Definitely worth seeing both.

To hear the history of Pompeii and Herculaneum, how the people lived and where they lived around 2000 years ago, as well as a real feel for the tragedy that occurred was incredible. As a trained archeologist our guide Michele’s passion for the sites is evident. Herculaneum in particular is amazing in that real mosaics and frescos still exist. We travelled from Rome to Naples on high speed train to join this tour, the travel there and then finding our tour group was easy as!! Additionally the idea of more to be discovered at this site will definitely bring us back in the future.

Absolutely brilliant experience, tour operators very professional! Excellent communication throughout, train tickets and full instructions received the day before. We were met across from Napoli station by our guide Michaela, and Sal drove our coach. Both gentlemen were fantastic, Michaela's knowledge of both sites was extraordinary, learned so much not only about the events surrounding the eruption but also the ongoing excavation, he really made the sites come alive for us. Dreadful tragedy in its day and good to see the sites and remains are being dealt with sympathetically. Thank you gentlemen!

Our tour of Pompeii and Herculaneum was an incredible experience. Our guide, Michele, was extremely knowledgeable and shared fascinating insights that truly brought each site to life. Walking the ancient streets while hearing the stories behind the buildings, daily life and history made the experience unforgettable. If you’re interested in ancient Roman history and want a deeper understanding of these remarkably preserved cities, this tour is an absolute must.

We had a great day with our guide Alfredo. He was knowledgeable and informative. We especially liked his approach to highlighting different aspects of Herculaneum and Pompeii so that we could have unique experiences at each site rather than it feeling like one being a repeat of the other. You can’t see everything at both sites in a day, but I feel like Alfredo gave us the highlights and matched the tour to the time and endurance constraints of the group. He was also patient in answering all our questions. I would highly recommend Alfredo and this tour to anyone interested is making the most of a day exploring the archeological sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii. Well worth the price!

Just unbelievable, fantastic experience, would have preferred a few less people in the group on the Pompeii part, nevertheless it was amazing. Michele as our Archaeologist guide was fabulous and our driver Gusieppe looked after us well. Thanks so much

The whole experience was well organised from booking, getting our train tickets delivered by what’s app the day before to being greeted and boarding the coach. The Pompeii tour was amazing and our guide made it fun and was very knowledgeable, we really enjoyed our day and highly recommend

We don't normally go for tours, preferring to look around on our own. We decided that as this tour was led by an archaeologist it would be worth doing and it really was! Raphael was informative and chose a great selection of properties to show us, telling us more detail on each one. I think without this we would have wandered around each site and not gained as much insight as we did. Thank you!

Raphael was amazing! Informative and entertaining! He shared so much about the sites and took time to help us understand their way of life.

This was a great day. The guide was brilliant and very knowledgeable whilst taking care of all our needs. Well worth a visit.

It was a wonderful experience getting the tour with professor Michael; extremely knowledgeable and courteous with the group Small group and we had an experience I had never had on other visits; he took us on a much thorough visit of the city of Pompeii. My grandson, a student doing his masters in Roman history., was delighted! Loved it!

Unfortunately, this wasn’t worth the amount we paid for this experience. We were expecting an archaeological guide, however we barely heard about any of the excavation it was mostly about the lives of the people who lived in the sites originally. Our guide was hard to understand, and when he walked too fast ahead of the group the head sets would cut out. He never really gave us the chance to ask questions, and even shut down someone who asked to see a specific site. There was an extremely disrespectful family part of our tour as well, which the guide never did anything about. The only thing worth the tour was the travel to and from Rome, but I think the group size and guides needs some work.

Roberta was wonderful. Had a great experience. Highly recommended. She was very knowledgeable and great paced.

Our tour of Pompeii and Herculaneum was one of the best experiences of our trip! The entire day was well organized, and our guide was excellent — knowledgeable, engaging, and full of interesting stories that really brought the ancient cities to life. Pompeii was fascinating to walk through, seeing the streets, villas, and preserved mosaics. Herculaneum was equally impressive, smaller but even better preserved, giving a real sense of what life was like nearly 2,000 years ago. The transportation was comfortable, and the timing was perfect — we never felt rushed. It was a memorable and educational day that I would highly recommend to anyone visiting Italy. A truly unforgettable glimpse into history!

We had a wonderful experience on our tour of Herculaneum and Pompeii! Our tour guide was archeologist Diego Michelle. He gave us a rounded understanding of the history, geology,and importance of these amazing sites. To say he is passionate about them would be an understatement. We also appreciated the level of care and detail that allowed our (included) high speed rail trip, and connecting with our tour group when we arrived in Naples, to be stress-free. Overall a great experience!

A very informative guide! I highly recommend booking this tour as we learnt so much with an experienced guide. No long lines to deal with. Lots of fun. Guide had a great disposition.

Pompeii has very little shade, and you need to be good on your feet, both sites stunning, excellent guide

Excellent tour of both. Guide explained things well and with humor. Bus intercom system a little hard to hear otherwise things were great!

Quite strenuous on the feet with the roads; but well worth it. Our tour guide Raphael was great. Very informative. I expected to learn about the event but he brought the people to life for me and that made it extra special. If you have leg or knee issues I wouldn’t recommend doing both in the same day.

This was an excellent excursion that let us do a lot of things in a short amount of time. I would have enjoyed more time at the sites, vs getting to the train station 2 hours early but I can understand their focus on making sure we don't miss our train. Pompeii and Herculaneum were incredible. The lunch stop was quick but needed. Rafael was an excellent, informed, and funny tour guide.

The tour was excellent! We enjoyed all the information the tour guide shared. He was very interesting.

Although it’s a long day, totally worth the time. Train tickets for Rome to Naples arrived the day prior and the train trip itself was excellent on a high speed train. Meeting point was easy to find and it was great to be in a small group. The guide Alfredo was an experienced archaeologist who had worked on the excavations in both Herculaneum and Pompeii. He was very knowledgeable and could easily answer questions asked. Our driver Massimo had us back to Naples Central in good time.