Depending on your sense of adventure (and your wallet), there are two ways to make the three and a half hour trip to the more than 2,000 year old ruins or Ufficio Scavi di Pompeii.
Quick and painless are organized shuttle tours available April through October like those offered by Enjoy Rome (www.enjoyrome.com) which cost roughly €50 or $78 (under 26 years old) and €60 or $94 (over 26 years old). These prices do not include admission to the ruins, self-guided or guided tours.
The other alternative is to hop aboard TrenItalia (http://www.trenitalia.com) at Termini Station to Napoli Centrale where you disembark and transfer to the Circumvesuviana for Pompeii Scavi. Adult Rome-Napoli round trip tickets are roughly €39 per person or $61. Costs for Circumvesuviana are €2.40 one-way or $3.75.
Once the playground of over 25,000 rich Romans, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24 in A.D. 79 buried this bustling city in Campania under some 20 feet of volcanic ash and pumice stone. Charles of Bourbon began excavations of the ruins around 1750 and the mystery of the final day of Pompeii has captured the imagination of the world ever since.
The ancient ruins are open daily from 8:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. April to October and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. November to March. Costs are €11 or $17 for adults and €6 or $9 for children ages 17 and under. There are additional fees for self-guided audio-tours.
While the ruins themselves are fascinating maze of cobble stone streets and dirt paths dotted with the shells of former public and private spaces, the vast treasures of Pompeii reside in museums worldwide. The Museo Archeologico Nazionale houses a fine collection of mosaics and
sculptures excavated from Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum.
Allow a minimum of four hours to visit the site and grab a bite to eat before you begin. There are snack stands and a trattoria just outside the gates to the scavi or ruins.
Highlights of the Ruins
- The Temples of Apollo and Jupiter afford a stunning view of Vesuvius.
- The House of Vettii, a wealthy merchant’s home, features a courtyard, statuary such as Janus, and gorgeous frescoes in a black and red Pompeiian dining room.
- The House of the Tragic Poet with the replica of its famous mosaic Cave Canem (Beware of the Dog).
- The Lupanare (or Brothel) features erotic paintings depicting a variety of sexual positions
- The House of the Mysteries with its remarkable frescoes of the sect of Dionysus
For the independent traveler, a day trip from Rome to Pompeii is a definite must.
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