Private tour Full day Herculaneum & Pompeii

DEPARTURE: 09:00AM
RETURN: 05:00PM

TIMING
TOTAL DURATION: APPROX. 8H
30 min Departure from your location in Naples to Herculaneum
120 min Arrival in Herculaneum and time at your disposal to visit the archaeological excavations
30 min Departure to Pompeii
90 min Arrival in Pompeii and free time for independent lunch
120 min Time at your disposal to visit the archaeological excavations
30 min Visit to a cameo and coral factory
60 min At the end, return to Naples
END OF SERVICES

DESCRIPTION
Departure to Herculaneum after about 30 minutes.
We recommend to book the professional guide. Unlike Pompeii, the Herculaneum Excavations tour can be concentrated in a few hours and is ideal for those who have little time available but do not want to give up and miss the unique experience of finding themselves walking through the streets of an ancient Roman city! Herculaneum has undergone a unique conservation phenomenon that has no comparison with its neighbor Pompeii. The 16-meter blanket of pyroclastic materials and mud submerged the city allowing the preservation of two-floors Domus, within which architectural elements in wood and marble, jewelry and furnishings, as well as many organic finds were found, the findings allowed the reconstruction of the ancient Herculaneum’s lifestyle.The city of Herculaneum takes its name after the mythical Greek hero Hercules who, according to the legend narrated by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, discovered it in 1243 B.C. More reliable studies believe, however, that the city has been found by the Osci in the twelfth century B.C. or by the Etruscans and then conquered in the fifth century. B.C. by the Samnites. Only after many years the city was conquered by the Romans and transformed into a Municipium in 90 B.C. During last Roman Republic, Herculaneum experienced a period of great splendor: thanks to its position on the sea, the healthiness of the air and the mild climate it became a holiday destination for many patrician families. It was therefore a very lively and populous city until the earthquake of 62 A.C. damaged the city considerably. The reconstruction works were not finished yet when the tragic eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred in 79 A.C.The toxic cloud of the eruption annihilated the population, while the whole city was literally sealed under the pyroclastic flows that solidified for a height of about 16 meters, giving us many organic finds, including fabrics, vegetables, foods and wooden structures in almost an integral way.
Excavation began in the 18th century, when all memory of the existence of Herculaneum had been lost for centuries and the only available reports of it were those that had come down through the authors of antiquity, without any information as to the exact position of the ancient city. Quite by accident, in 1709, during the digging of a well, by order of Emanuele Maurizio of Lorraine Prince of Elboeuf, a wall was discovered that was later found to be a part of the stage of the Herculaneum theatre. Tunnels were soon dug at the site by treasure hunters, and many of the theatre area’s artifacts were removed. Regular excavations were started in 1738 under the patronage of the king of Naples, and from 1750 to 1764 the military engineer Karl Weber served as director of excavations. Under Weber, diagrams and plans of the ruins were produced, and numerous artifacts were uncovered and documented. Magnificent paintings and a group of portrait statues were excavated from a building thought to be the ancient basilica of Herculaneum, and a large number of bronze and marble works of art were recovered from a suburban villa, called the Villa of the Papyri because of its having contributed a whole library of ancient papyri in Greek. These papyri, on philosophical subjects of Epicurean inspiration, are preserved in the National Library of Naples.
We recommend visiting the Thermopolium (the thermal baths), the Seat of the Augustali (magnificent building), the Sannitica House (Hellenistic atrium, cacciopesto floor, marble impluvium), the House of the wooden Partition, the Arches (warehouses and boat shelter).
Then we proceed to Pompeii. The vehicle will leave you precisely in front of the Hotel Vittoria (Porta Marina Inferiore), partner of drowssap, therefore a reference point also for you and your needs. Immediately next to the Hotel Vittoria there is the Cellini historic coral factory, enter to take a peek you will not regret it. So you have two hours to visit the archaeological excavations independently. Given the vastness of the archaeological area and its uniqueness from the historical, cultural and naturalistic point of view, we recommend adding the tourist guide service (it is really worth it) otherwise, do not forget to take the excavation map and the paper guide at the ticket office. Pompei excavations are a walk in history. The Via dell’Abbondanza, the Theater, the Forum, the Gladiator Gym, the Therme, and the numerous “Domus” are something that you will see and touch with your hand. They will leave you speechless. The ancient city of Pompei is a World Heritage Site and represents like no other site in the world a glimpse of the life of imperial Pompei and the magnificent and flourishing civilization that was the victim of the eruption of Vesuvio that will deliver it to atrocious death and eternal history. The vineyards are still arranged in the wine bar counter; the stepping stones are still there to help you cross the road in the rainy season, and the cobbled streets themselves.
The mosaic floors and the brilliant frescoes, which have delighted the Pompeian, shine in all their unchanged glory. The theaters and luxurious villas with their gardens, even the plaster casts of the premises at the time of the asphyxiation, are there for our inspection.
We recommend wearing comfortable walking shoes, wearing protective sunscreen, maybe a straw hat, a couple of bottles of water. Do not miss the House of the Fauno, the House of Sallustio, the Garden of the Fuggiaschi, the Villa of the Mysteries, the House of the Tragic Poet, the Lupanare, the House of the Wild Boar. At the end, return to Naples.

THE PRICE INCLUDES:
– Private minivan – all recently registered deluxe vehicles with A/C, WI-FI and bottle of water
– Professional driver
– Motorway tolls, fuel, parking
– Professional Spanish speaking guide Full Day (8H)
– Actual entrance fee for Herculaneum archaeological excavations with booking fee
– Actual entrance fee for Pompeii archaeological excavations with booking fee
– Visit to a cameo and coral factory
– Booking assistance H24 (whatsapp +39 333 4085225)
– Travel insurance
– Actual VAT

THE PRICE DOESN’T INCLUDE:
– Lunch
– Everything not included in “THE PRICE INCLUDES”