Pompeii from Rome with Optional Mt. Vesuvius & Pizza Lunch
Recommended by 91% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Rome, Italy
- 12 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Dive into the history of UNESCO-listed Pompeii, and learn more about the historic site than you would on your own, with this day trip from Rome. Explore the ruins in a group setting, led by your guide. Customize your trip by adding a steady-paced crater hike at the volcano, choosing a relaxed scenic walk with a local geologist, or adding on a 3-course Neapolitan lunch with views of the Bay of Naples.
- Avoid ticket anxiety with prearranged entry to Pompeii
- Beat the crowds with skip-the-line entry to the ruins
- Skip the hassle of train transfers and taxi rides with round-trip transfers
- Catch up with messages en route with onboard WiFi
What's Included
- Skip-the-line entrance ticket to the Pompeii Archaeological Site
- Official licensed English-speaking guide for a 2-hour tour in Pompeii
- Round-trip transport from Rome in a private, air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi
- Vesuvius National Park entry-valued at 10€ pp; 1.68€ reservation fee (if Vesuvius option selected)
- Crater Hike with an English-speaking tour leader (if Hike option selected)
- Scenic geologist-guided walk in the Vesuvius area (if Geologist option selected)
- 3-course lunch at an authentic neapolitan restaurant (if option with lunch is selected)
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup/drop-off not included, unless booking the private tour
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Piazza del Popolo, Roma RM, Italy
At the center of Piazza del Popolo, by the large fountain with the lions and the obelisk. The nearest metro stop is Flaminio (Line A). Our City Wonders coordinators will be wearing blue City Wonders polo shirts or jackets to be easily recognizable at the meeting point.
End point
- Viale Giorgio Washington, Roma RM, Italy
Viale Washington, next to Piazza del Popolo
Itinerary
Meet your guide and group in central Rome, and travel south together by air-conditioned coach. After a relaxing journey, arrive in Pompeii to meet an official guide for your tour of the UNESCO-listed Pompeii Archaeological Site. The site is large, and excavations are still ongoing, but you’ll go straight to the highlights to maximize your time. Check out the homes and shops of ancient Pompeii that lay buried for centuries beneath the volcanic ash of Mt. Vesuvius, and learn about the eruption of AD 79.
If you upgrade, continue to Ercolano, a town on the Bay of Naples, and relax over a pizza lunch with views that sweep along the coast. Three courses are included, leaving you recharged for your afternoon at Mt. Vesuvius.
Depending on the option you booked, either hike up to Vesuvius’ crater, or enjoy a more leisurely stroll along the slopes with a geologist guide. After, regroup for the coach journey back to central Rome.
If you upgrade, continue to Ercolano, a town on the Bay of Naples, and relax over a pizza lunch with views that sweep along the coast. Three courses are included, leaving you recharged for your afternoon at Mt. Vesuvius.
Depending on the option you booked, either hike up to Vesuvius’ crater, or enjoy a more leisurely stroll along the slopes with a geologist guide. After, regroup for the coach journey back to central Rome.
City Wonders (Pass By)
1
Archaeological Park of Pompeii
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
2
Ercolano
1 hour 45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Vesuvius National Park
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- IMPORTANT INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM ALL PASSENGERS: You MUST provide all passenger names at the time of booking in order to visit Mount Vesuvius or you may be refused entry.
- Please be advised that in the case of events beyond our control, we may need to adjust our itinerary to ensure the safety, quality, and satisfaction of your travel experience.
- While our day trips are typically of a fixed duration, external factors may occasionally extend tour times slightly. We appreciate your understanding and planning as we strive to provide you with the best possible experience.
- If you have any dietary restrictions, please inform us at the time of booking and remind your guide on the day of your tour.
- Children under the age of 18 might be requested to show their ID card at the entrance of the site, so please bring it with you on the tour
- If you select the Private Tour option, please ensure to add your accommodation details in the "Special Requirements" field on the check-out page
- The hike up to the crater of Vesuvius requires a good level of general fitness. The walk is uphill at a 14 degree angle and takes roughly 20 minutes.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 42 travelers
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Frequently Asked Question (1)
Q:Are restrooms available onboard the bus?
A:Restrooms are not available on the bus, however, your driver will make stops to allow for restroom breaks.
Jun 2023
The answers provided are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Kristin_E
This was a great family trip! I highly recommend it. The restaurant was had a spectacular view of the water and Naples. The tour in Pompeii was informative and interesting. Loved seeing the ancient ruins. The bus driver navigated the twisted roads that took us to Mt Vesuvius like a pro.
Reviews
4.6
based on 6,272 reviews
Cheryl_T, May 2026
Great trip! The meeting place was easy to find! Our tour guide was great! She was very organized and gave us interesting and informative narratives! The Pompeii section was awesome! I loved it. the guide was so knowledgeable and passionate about the subject! I loved having pizza on the way to Vesuvius! It was so good! I love the climb up to Vesuvius! It was so cool to see the crater!
Janet_B, May 2026
Very good on the way there and back as well as at Pompeii and Vesuvius. The narration on the trip by Anna was especially good. It was very crowded at Vesuvius so the tour was a bit rushed. Would have been nice to see more there but the crowd was overwhelming.
Suzie_K, May 2026
Our guide was awesome! He was very knowledgeable and gave great details about the exhibits. He was very friendly and knew all the answers to our questions. Everyone at the site knew him and he was very friendly.
Catherine_G, May 2026
Amazing day that included 2 hours touring Pompeii with an archeologist guide who provided incredible insights, time to climb Mt Vesuvius and enjoy the views across the Bay of Naples and along the Amalfi coast, as well as lunch and a few snack breaks. Our guide, Kler, was incredibly knowledgeable and professional and managed to balance insightful information about our tour without overloading us with information. Paolo, our bus driver, was also fabulous.
Mark_W, May 2026
Pompeii and Vesuvius all in one. What a great day! It is 12 hours but jam packed with information, vistas, and awe inspiring memories you have to see to believe. The views from the crater at top of Vesuvius of the Bay of Naples, Capri, and the Amalfi coast are memorable. The lunch (Authentic Naples Margherita Pizza) was served from a halfway point on Vesuvius with a wall to wall glass view of the bay of Naples. Wow!
And a great shout out to Kler and Paulo! Our guide and driver. They were so attentive, informative, joyful, professional. You cannot ask for more.
Katayoun_B, May 2026
The experience was wonderful. Our tour guides ( on the bus and at Pompeii) was very personable and knowledgeable. The driver was amazing and skillful. We had a great time.
Michela_B, Apr 2026
Our guide to Pompeii, Francesco, was excellent. He filled two hours with the sights and history you go to Pompeii for and answered every question I had before I had a chance to ask them.
Alex_M, Apr 2026
What a day chocked full of activities. Antonino, our guide, was very informative on the trip and really set the scene for Pompeii, pizza, and Vesuvius. Vesuvius is quite the hike, but what a view!
Ryan_A, Apr 2026
For the price, we were underwhelmed with the experience and felt like time was not very well spent. 2.5 stars.
To start, you gather in a very large group at Piazza del Popolo. This large group includes many different other tour options and the workers at this point did not seem interested in helping anyone to know if they were in the correct spot or not, or which sub-group was meeting where. This was made even worse by the fact that the Piazza was having construction done for an event, and the place where they said to meet was not exactly correct. Eventually as it got closer to starting time, they lined everyone up and started splitting them out based on your ticket. We actually ended up loading onto the bus promptly at 7:32AM vs the listed start time of 7:30AM, so that was good. The bus itself was rather nice, but the ride was a bit longer than you would expect - with traffic, it ended up being around a 3.5hr trip on the way to Pompeii, which included a stop at a cafe for a bathroom and snack break (clean bathrooms and pretty good food/coffee). By the time we got handed off to the Pompeii tour guide and entered (you do get skip the line tickets, so it wasn't as bad as it could've been), it was close to 11:30AM. Our Pompeii guided tour was barely over an hour after you factor in bathroom breaks inside Pompeii as well. We were under instructions to meet back outside the park by 12:45PM. We covered some of the highlights of Pompeii including the Theatre, multiple houses/shops, and ending at the Forum, before going to the inside Museum area where you can see many artifacts and the Plaster Casts. Overall, we probably saw about 10% of Pompeii, which the guide was very open about this - "2 hours" (we did not quite even have that) is not nearly enough time to fully experience Pompeii. You get a small sense of what it was like and get to see a few highlights and take a few pictures and get to say that you were at Pompeii.
Finishing up at Pompeii, you get back on the bus for a ~30 minute drive to lunch, which is part of the way up Mt. Vesuvius. I did not see this mentioned anywhere in the booking, and my wife does not handle winding car rides the best, so this was a surprise to us as we started going up the mountain. Maybe that is considered common sense, but if it isn't listed, I think we were expecting less riding and way more walking/hiking when it came to the mountain.
When you arrive at the restaurant for lunch, the view is fantastic, as you can oversee the entire "bay". Lunch itself, however, was mixed. The pizza was pretty good, but the restaurant staff was quite horrible when it came to keeping up with the group, taking orders, explaining anything, and just overall manners. For example, please note that any drink outside of water is not included and you will be charged extra for. The way lunch was discussed by the tour guides and with the wine bottles being out at lunch, one may assume it would be included, until near the end of the meal when the waiter brings the card reader to your table (this was about the only time he actually talked to us!). The dessert was lemon cake which seemed to get a mixed reception from most attendees. One entire table with roughly 10 people from our tour did not get their pizza for at least an hour, which I think set us back even further on time overall.
Following lunch, you get back on the bus for another 15ish minute drive further up the mountain to the tourist area for the hike. For the hike bookings - it was not guided for the general hike, and for our group, there was a subgroup that apparently had booked the geologist-guided walk that did not get that and were instead lumped into the general hike. With the time restraint, I do not know if the geologist-guided walk would be beneficial either way, it would probably be very rushed. We were given a little over an hour to go up and back. There are multiple gift shops on the way to stop and browse at, and portapotties at the beginning of the area. The hike itself was not hard, but it is decently steep and the soft/rocky ground can make it hard to keep your balance/not slip, especially coming down. We saw many people slide when they did not mean to, and even fall over. The view from the top was really nice, both looking into the volcano and out at the surrounding area. If you are lucky, you will be able to see some smoldering/smoking from the volcano.
After you finish the hike and get back on the bus, you are taken about halfway back down the mountain, where the group makes 1 more stop at a limoncello store. The owner is entertaining, but overall we felt like that time could've been better spent in Pompeii or on the actual volcano - especially with it not being included in the itinerary and since we had time cut from the other activities, it didn't sit very well with us. There were portapotties here as well.
Finally back on the bus, you finish going down the mountain and retrace all the way back to the same cafe for one final break. This one seemed a bit unnecessary, even moreso than some of the other bathroom stops/breaks, but everyone is different, so I imagine it is necessary for some people. On the way to Pompeii, there is no guaranteed bathroom prior to boarding the bus. But there were bathrooms at Pompeii (multiple locations), at the restaurant, at the hiking area, and at the limoncello store - is another stop for a bathroom break really needed at that point when we just want to be finished with the day?
We ended up back in Rome around 7:30PM. Overall, I would not recommend this experience, and if I were to visit Rome again and looking to go to Pompeii, I would look into taking the train and getting tickets and an audio guide or map guide for Pompeii, or look into booking a smaller guided tour of Pompeii by itself. This tour felt very much like checking the box for being able to say you visited Pompeii, ate Neapolitan pizza, and visited the active volcano of Mt Vesuvius. The guides were okay and the bus driver did a great job navigating some very tight turns on the mountain especially.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for your detailed feedback.
We’re sorry the experience felt rushed and didn’t meet your expectations, particularly the limited time in Pompeii and the organization at the meeting point.
This tour is designed to cover multiple highlights in one day, which can mean less time at each stop.
We appreciate your comments on the transport, driver, and views, and we’ll review your feedback regarding communication, lunch service, and itinerary clarity to help improve the experience.
Samantha_F, Apr 2026
Antonino was an excellent guide for our Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii day trip. He was engaging from start to finish and shared an incredible amount of information, not only about Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius, but also about Rome and Ancient Rome, which made the experience even more interesting and meaningful.
He was very helpful and happy to answer any questions we had throughout the day. Antonino also added a few extra touches and stops along the way, which made the trip even more enjoyable and memorable. I would highly recommend him to anyone considering this tour.
Courtney_N, Apr 2026
The guide (Antonito) and the driver (cannot remember name) was excellent and so knowledgeable. It was so personal and the guide made sure everyone was comfortable and made clear instructions to navigate a busy day.
The only criticism we can think of is that the day went too fast!!! It was an amazing trip and wish we could experience it again ☺️ thank you so much for making a trip so memorable and special.
Robert_S, Apr 2026
Flavio our guide and Antonio our driver were the best! They took care of us from start to end. Making sure we enjoyed every stop. Flavio for his young age is VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE. He cares and gives you very valuable tips of Rome. He keeps it real and will let you know things as they are. He also shared where to eat in Rome. Best locations. Do's and Dont's. We traveled with my partner, We both had a great time. Highly recommend this trip you whoever is interested in Pompeii and Mount Vesuvious. The day was very enjoyable 😉 thank you Flavio & Antonio you made our visit to Rome memorable.
Renae_L, Apr 2026
The hike up was more strenuous than I anticipated but doable. Pompeii is amazing. The pizza was huge. Each person had their own pizza.
Jasmine_M, Apr 2026
My family and I have a great time, this tour is worth it. Loved everything single second of it! We definitely recommend.
krista_t, Apr 2026
Wonderful day trip to Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius. Rob was our guide and he is amazing! Smart, funny, thoughtful, and kept us entertained all day. Bus was very nice, long drive but we stopped to break it up. Pompeii guided tour, then a fantastic pizza lunch at a local restaurant halfway up Mt Vesuvius with an amazing view of the bay. Hiked up Mt Vesuvius to see the crater and views. Lemoncello stop and then back to Rome. Long day but definitely worth it!
Ursula_A, Apr 2026
It was an unforgettable experience. The rich history and continued excavation is overwhelming. The guide was excellent and the lunch option was delicious. The extended day was unexpected due to the traffic congestion on the return trip. I would recommend this tour to family and friends.
Madison_M, Apr 2026
Incredible tour of Pompeii, guide was very knowledgeable and showed as all of the highlight spots and then some.
Megan_P, Apr 2026
It was a great trip - a long day but to get to both locations from Rome, it needed to be.
The lunch inclusion was great
Diondra_L, Apr 2026
What an amazing experience! City Wonders provided a great round trip tour guide with Rob, an excellent driver with Dan, and a wonderful Pompeii tour guide with Roberto!
Rob provided great details on the drive there and back about Pompeii, Italian history, and Rome. He was so excited the whole trip which makes a long drive a little better!
Roberto gave us a walk through of Pompeii with a range of information regarding the eruption, city life, and current excavations. We saw the highlight, but Pompeii is HUGE! It would take days to explore all the city in detail!
Lunch was also a delicious stop at Kona. The pizza was so fresh and it was a nice break between Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius.
Mt Vesuvius was such a cool hike! About 20 minutes to the top and such beautiful views of the Bay of Naples from there. It is definitely a good little hike too! Just be prepared for a gravelly incline!
Great day trip from Rome and would highly recommend it to all!
Helen_P, Apr 2026
We had a wonderful tour with Chiara and M. Very knowledgeable and informative. Included everyone in the group. Thank you.
Amy_S, Apr 2026
We had a wonderful day visiting Pompeii. Maxi was our bus driver and got us to and from smoothly. Even sitting in the back of the bus we didn’t feel sick which is a credit to him! Our tour guide was Carlos and my husband and I agreed that we wouldn’t have enjoyed the site half as much without all of the information he provided. I don’t know what the maps/information look like at the site since we didn’t need them, but at other major historical sites in Rome we found that more information would have been nice. We left Pompeii feeling like we got a really good breakdown of the most significant parts. Of course the 3 hours each way does limit the time you have at the site and there was much, much more to see- a tour guide is definitely recommended. There is the option to add a hike Vesuvius and one mother/daughter pair had booked it but decided they’d rather stay and learn about Pompeii. Carlos reassured them that there are other volcanoes but only one Pompeii. Overall it was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone interested!
Rebecca_H, Apr 2026
The hike was steep but beautiful it was a very long day but completely worth it- the food was delicious ( pizza lunch) and the limoncello tasting was entertaining due to the personality of the owner.
Yelena_B, Apr 2026
We spent a beautiful day in Pompeii and climbing mt. Vesuvius. We had to stay on schedule so our time was structured. We like structured tours, so this worked well for us.
Giovanni_L, Apr 2026
It was a nice sunny day, so don’t forget the sunscreen. Trip from Rome is about 2 hours and 45 min each way. 3 hours wasn’t really enough time to tour and grab a late lunch.
The guide was great and got a chance to see new areas of excavation.
Cynthia_D, Apr 2026
Great tour and suggest asking for Rob! He gets 5 stars! One issue: lunch was terrible - the worst Margherita pizza we’ve ever had (and we’re American!). French fries, no veggies. Thumbs down! Staff appeared so unhappy. Atop that, there was a random guy who sang 2 or 3 songs walking the aisles and then literally standing at every single table with his tambourine for tips. So off-putting.
Chantelle_S, Apr 2026
This experience was fantastic, our local Laura made sure everyone was together and shared a lot of information while on the bus to pompeii & Mount Vesuvius. We then got our guide Will in pompeii he was great he shared a lot of information. Afterwards we went for lunch and then climbed Mount Vesuvius. I will be honest climbing Mount Vesuvius was hard the slopes are so steep and your legs will burn so you will need to be somewhat fit to do this. Once at the top the view is incredible and its so interesting to see the crater. HIGHLY recommend this tour.
Stephen_B, Apr 2026
Laura M was great. She was entertaining and very knowledgeable. Our tour was modified a bit due to weather and the headsets for Pompeii were not the greatest so a bit hard to hear. Otherwise a great tour !!
Debby_W, Apr 2026
Our guide was a magnificent story teller. He kept us engaged with legends and history. I would have liked more time at Pompeii, but the day was already long 13.5 hours . The pizza lunch was superb. And we enjoyed the hike at Mt Vesuvius.
Pamela_J, Mar 2026
This is a really nice day trip. The guides - Viviana (day coordinator) and Giancarla (Pompeii), and the driver Gianni (truly masterful at parking) were all amazing. The hike to the crater at Mount Vesuvius is worth it, but not an easy climb, especially after a full pizza lunch. I should have skipped dessert (nah, it was too delicious). The day went from 7:15 a.m. checkin to 8:30-9 p.m return to Piazza del Popolo. The coach bus is comfortable and easy to nap on. Prepare for all types of weather. We had sun, rain, hail, and wind on the mountain. I'm sure this wasn't normal, but better to be prepared. It's definitely colder and windier on top. This is an adventure I highly recommend.
laura_a, Mar 2026
Amazing experience! Tour guide was exceptionally good. Our favorite thing we did in Italy. Such a memorable trip.
From $89.70
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