Pompeii is a wonderful place to visit, a kind of dream trip especially when combined with other destinations in Italy. The key is to spend at least one full day at Pompeii, which means that you should plan on spending the night in the vicinity.

Where to stay in modern Pompeii: If you wish to stay in modern Pompeii, there is only one hotel to consider: Hotel Amleto (on a side street near the Porta di Nocera entrance). Typically Italian with its tiled rooms and wonderful breakfast (would you believe Nutella-filled croissants?) and a small roof-top terrace, this is no cookie-cutter Holiday Inn. It also has a private garage (parking is included in the room rate). And the staff, including Marika and Antonio, is first-rate. I highly recommend it, having stayed there some five times myself. 

Staying in Naples or Sorrento: You also stay in Naples or Sorrento (both are appealing bases). Sorrento is somewhat quieter and more sedate; Naples is bustling and lively. 

• How to arrive by car: If you drive to Pompeii, there are many parking lots across from the main entrance (Porta Marina) that charge about 5 euros a day. You cannot miss these small, private lots, since lot employees standing near the street will wave you in. 

• How to arrive by train: It is very easy to hop on the Circumvesuviana train to get there. There are two Circumvesuviana stations in Pompeii, each serving a different line of the train: 

If you come to Pompeii from Sorrento (or if you take the Sorrento line from Naples), your stop will be the Villa of the Mysteries station (Pompeii Scavi), which is directly across the street from Porta Marina, the main tourist entrance to the archaeological site. 

If you come from Naples on the Poggiomarino line, your stop will be the Pompeii City station, which is located more in the center of the town (and much closer to the Hotel Amleto). In this case, you will walk straight out of the train station until you reach the cathedral square (you can't miss the imposing spire). Then turn right and walk along the main street until you reach the Piazza Anfiteatro, a much quieter entrance to the ruins (my preference). If you are at this entrance when the ruins open, you can avoid the crowds for an hour or so as you explore the eastern ruins. 

Train fares are low and very reasonable (for example a daily ticket from Naples to Pompeii costs about €4.50 and includes unlimited metro rides as well).

A Special Ticket: If you wish to visit both Pompeii and Herculaneum, you can buy one ticket (valid for three days) that allows entry to these two sites as well as Oplontis, Stabiae, and Boscoreale (the adult price of  €20.00 is a slight bargain if you plan to visit two sites, but a huge value if you will visit all five; note you can only visit each site once during the three days).

 

It is a good idea to read up on Pompeii before visiting the ruins for one simple reason: there are no signs or placards to provide information as you tour the site. You can hire a guide or buy a cheap guidebook at the entrance, but you won't be making the most of your visit this way. For a good background on Pompeii, you might want to read: The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found explores what kind of town Pompeii was and what it tells us about “ordinary” life there on 24 August 79.   The Complete Pompeii is an excellent resource guide to the ancient town. 360 illustrations (320 in color), this volume is thorough and very impressive.   Pompeii Awakened fills in many obscure details about Pompeii's rediscovery, including what happened to Pompeii during Mussolini's rise and fall from power.   If you are taking children to the ruins, you might want to consider this book:    Bodies from the Ash tells the story of the victims of Pompeii. When diggers uncovered the ruins of Pompeii in the mid-1700s, they also found many skeletons of people who could not escape. Under the direction of Giuseppe Fiorelli, the hollow space around some skeletons was used as a mold. Workers poured plaster of  Paris into the cavity; when the outer shell of the mold was chipped away, the plaster body of a person remained—an imprint of that person’s last moment alive. Named an Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children K-12 (comes complete with a map of Pompeii for children who want to explore the ruins).   As a guidebook for adults, I recommend:  Pompeii  Written by the superintendent of the ruins (with others), this excellent guidebook is the perfect reference for anyone who wants more information about the buildings and discoveries at Pompeii while wandering through the site.

Where to eat: 

• At the archaeological site: There is only one place to eat in ancient Pompeii. Fortunately, the tired, old cafeteria has been replaced by a fresh new Autogrill (the same chain you will see on the autostradas). The food may be ordinary, but it is a cut above the former fare (and thank you, Rick Bauer, for the following photos). 

• In modern Pompeii: If you like seafood, do not miss the family-run President Ristorante on the Piazza Schettini (a block from the Hotel Amleto). It's not only the best restaurant in Pompeii (which isn't saying much, I'm afraid), it's one of the country's best (which is). It is an expensive restaurant (closed on Sundays and Mondays in the summer) but well worth one visit, if your budget allows. 

As for more reasonable fare, Pompeii is filled with tourist restaurants and one McDonalds (between the cathedral and the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance); I recommend that you avoid these. One moderately priced restaurant is Carlo Alberti restaurant on a street of the same name, just off the cathedral square. The pizza and pasta dishes are excellent. If you are on a budget, there is an adjoining storefront where you can order pizza to go; almost all pizzas were under €5. 

 

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