Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius with 11 yr old!

[Realist2022]

Looking for some advice m on how best to do this. DS (11) and I are off to Sorrento in two weeks for 4 nights. He wants to do a pizza making course, see the Roman ruins and the volcano. I LOVE a ruin so super excited but don’t want it to be too dry for DS. Any thoughts or suggestions? Guided tour? Archaeologist guided tour? Audio guide? What do you think? Pls help!

Herculaneum is much more manageable than Pompeii, smaller but still has houses surviving to upper storey level. Pompeii is huge and exhausting, so unless your 11 Yr old is mad keen, it might be too much. The audio guides are a good idea, also a bit of research in advance so you can seek out the highlights.

When I first read your thread title I thought it was going to be a 'help me chose a name' thread.

Watching for my 12 year old, who is keen as is learning Latin.

Book a tour for pompeii. It's brilliant and so worth the extra money.

I thought I was going to die on the slopes of Vesuvius. All to peer into a crater. Just saying……………🥵😂. Underwhelmed.

Definitely get a guide for Pompeii and Herculaneum. They're both fab, but you only really need to see the highlights.

Vesuvius is quite self-explanatory, walk up and look in. Like pp, I also found it very underwhelming tbh.

Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius veteran here.

Vesuvius is not that steep but conditions can vary so check the forecast and bring waterproofs/sunscreen as appropriate. The city bus from outside Pompeii Scavi will take you most of the way and back for less than 5 euros. The craters are ok but the views across the Amalfi coast are stunning. Bring your binoc's. The highlight for my teen DDs was we could see Vesuvius from our hotel so going there completed the circle.

The historic, ancient city of Pompeii is vast. It is a full sized city, similar in size to Winchester in Hants. But, for me, that is part of what makes it amazing. From the entrance at the old Porta Marina to the amphitheatre is just over 1K. The famous Villa of the Mysteries is 1.2km N of the entrance.

If you're doing Pompeii properly, it will take all day. Bring a picnic/lots of snacks and refillable waterbottles so you can use the original fountains. I enjoy Pompeii because if you relax your mind a little you can really feel what it was like to live there.
You can hire a guide but ...
If your DC is doing Latin (or not), find an old copy of Cambridge Latin Course and read Book 1. It's quick and easy, mostly cartoons with captions and will give them (and you) a great background. I read this with my DD2 by the pool in Seiano a day or two before we went to Pompeii. Caecilius was a real person and you can see the outside of his house ...

Herculaneum is indeed much smaller. I find it's better as a second trip after Pompeii. It's not as well documented so reading CLC book 1 or other info will help more than the tiny plaques at each property. That said, because of the conditions, different things were preserved at Herculaneum which has really enhanced what historians and archeologists think about Pompeii.

Thanks all, I love history and he is used to me so he is good at putting up with me. Do you think a guide in Pompeii is a good idea to see the highlights or an audio guide? The weather will be about 20-25 degrees which feels pleasant to me and v manageable so hopefully DS will agree! Will remember binoculars and @tarheelbabydo you mean this: https://amzn.eu/d/j4iEeIO ? He is doing Latin so don’t mind buying it but defo don’t want to buy the wrong thing!
@SeaAndStars - that would just be cruel wouldn’t it!?

By ‘guide’ I mean guided tour with an archaeologist rather than audio guide!

I think that one's an answer key. This one is the Caecilius/Pompei one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cambridge-Course-Student-Digital-Access/dp/1009162640/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?crid=2EFIZEAJ0LBA9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.faMik1JQ3otDXLdX7ioP_cbr19VO33tjOdSv4rZWgkXcnzXWQhGy3VO7bGh4Wd8g30WEReTDKD1xA3XI46qet0WgPkaaK63X4EUrrcuf0nvSWXgWKZYznbFn7w6JhrYXj8de9Km7ELNlMszytYJq3GfhekpO2a9oDAcWiCdPURwApwt-9vWBsmtcPQ8gGCyO7e0V9bzAsbG7Z0kbfbiaog.hzndwqxu1C43lN1reBLtHn1jfcHeycCC4tBRyYzaLLo&dib_tag=se&keywords=cambridge+Latin+course+1&qid=1760217421&s=books&sprefix=cambridge+Latin+course+1%2Cbooks%2C82&sr=1-5

I did Herculaneum and Pompeii with (in person) guides and having one was brilliant. Hoping to take my DC there and will book one if I do.

Brilliant. Thank you!

And thank you @Handeyethingyowl- do you have one you would recommend? Looking at get my guide at the moment 🤔

Just place marking as we will be visiting early next year.

@Realist2022 hope you and DS enjoy yourselves!

I did Pompeii earlier this year as a day trip from Rome with DS13 and DS12 at the time. We didn’t use a guide as I wanted to be able to move at our own pace and don’t like being talked at! Found it super easy to wander around the whole site just using info found online and it was easily doable in a day. Kids loved it. So whatever you decide you will have a great time!

Actual tour not audio guide. When are uoy going? I'd be surprised if it was 25 at October 1/2 term.

Up to 21! Not 25! Cool enough! Shall discuss with DS sounds like actual or audio guide should work!

My DC loved Vesuvius, which probably meant more to them, because they had already seen what it could do at Pompeii and Herculaneum!

We were there this time last year (wish I was back) we visited Naples and Rome.

We had the funniest tour guide for Pompeii dare I say he made it, very knowledgeable but very funny too. The DC still talk about him now. We did a whole day trip with Tripadvisor think including lunch which was good value.

Just back from Sorrento and took the train to Pompeii, it’s very easy.
Book official tickets online the day before. It’s a bit convoluted but persevere. Choose the ‘plus’ ticket not ‘express’ as it includes the Villa of Mystery.
We asked for a guide in the information booth just inside, and were introduced to an English speaking guide who then made up a small group. Cost was €150 for 2-3 hours., split between 5 of us and worth every penny. He took us to all the highlights. We then did the Villa of Mystery and museum by ourselves. Ran out of energy so skipped the amphitheatre sadly.
There were big groups (20-30+) with headsets being led by a guide and I assume this is what you get if you book via Viator or whatever. So glad we didn’t do this. Our guide tailored the tour to our interests and we were conversing with him all the time.

Vesuvius is visible from Sorrento, the airport, the train, and we didn’t go up it so can’t help with that.

Take layers - it was warm during the day but freezing once the sun dropped.

Definitely get a guided tour and book in advance. I think I used Get your guide. It was about £40 pp which included the entrance fee. Worth every penny. The tour was just brilliant. The name of the tour company was Askos.

Take plenty of water for Vesuvius too. When we went there was just one massively overpriced cafe/shop.

Rick Steves has a load of audio walking tours and we love them. Can’t remember if he’s done them for anywhere you’ve mentioned but he’s done Rome so quite possibly!

My kids were a bit younger but we bought them a little Pompeii book that had clear pages overlaid on photos of the ruins and it showed what the buildings would have looked like before the eruption. It helped them understand what they were looking at and kept them interested. All the tat vendors outside the entrance were selling them.

We took our kids when they were 8 and 11. We did the trips on 3 separate days. Spent about 4 hours at Herculaneum with an audio guide and felt like we'd covered everything, arrived by train it was simple. The only not simple thing was closure of the entry path down into the site, once inside the complex, you had enter via the exit path and then navigate yourself to where stop number 1 on the audio guide was, entry/exit paths were in different directions and no signage. Spent at least 6 hours at Pompeii in pouring rain (at times) and felt we'd missed loads. I enjoyed Vesuvius, took the public bus from Pompeii. It was cold and windy up the top (April time) but the steaming crater was mesmerising. It is a steep walk-up from the car park to the crater but unless you are totally unfit it's fine. Road up to the crater on the bus is twisty and travel sickness inducing. Pre-booked tickets to enter the crater essential unless you take a tour. There is an official national parks website, book a fortnight or so in advance.