Private Mount Vesuvius Hike and Pompeii

After meeting your professionally-trained guide, on the tender pier in Sorrento, if you are in a group of 7 or less, you will board your transportation and drive up the narrow road from the pier up to the town of Sorrento, perched on the cliffs above. Groups of 8 or more will board a minibus to reach your larger vehicle parked above in Sorrento. From Sorrento, you will drive along the the coast of the Bay of Naples towards Mount Vesuvius, mainland Europe's only still-active volcano, located on the east coast of the Bay of Naples. At approximately 3,000 feet, begin your trek on foot over narrow paths that zigzag up the mountain another 1,000 feet. Once on the rim of the crater walls, you will skirt the edge with an official alpine guide while enjoying this natural phenomenon and the panoramic views that include Naples and its bay.

After visiting this unusual phenomenon, you will descend along the narrow paths to the parking lot and proceed to Pompeii, possibly the most famous excavation in the world. There, a flourishing civilization buried for 1,700 years, has been brought to life again. You will see how the citizens lived and loved, worked and played, ate and drank and then suddenly died.

After lunch near Pompeii, you will enter the site by the Sea Gate, which is now miles from water. You are soon in the Agora which is surrounded by temples, porticoes and law courts. 20,000 people lived in this provincial town, of which 2,000 perished in the horrifying eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Twenty feet of volcanic ash and pumice stone covered Pompeii. Much of this has been removed over the last 200 years to reveal the details of everyday life in the city. After your time at Pompeii, return to Sorrento.

On your return to Sorrento, those guests wishing to end their tour above in the town of Sorrento may do so. They will then be responsible for getting down to the tender pier via either a taxi or walking.