Loved both the ruins and the volcano, could have done with a bit longer in herculanium, but fantastic. The walk, and or climb, to the top of the volcano could floor some people, as some older people were attempting to do it, this might need to be made a bit clearer as it would catch people out and did I think for some, the walk being long and quite steep too. Well worth it when you get to the top though, and the views are to die for... A bit worrying when you think about it afterwards that this volcano is very active and could blow again at any time, that wouldn't stop me going up though... The history behind this sleeping giant is too rich to want to miss out on. The only downside was the lack of toilets on the whole site of the volcano, this could be catered for better, with the amount of people going, and the exercise they do to get to the top, does fill your bladder somewhat, and with no where to go, makes the trip back to Naples a bit uncomfortable. A toilet block please.

Herculaneum is well worth a visit, the site is much smaller than Pompeii and although the allocated time is 2 hours, to do it justice 3 hours would be better. We didn't get 2 hours, because the bus was late and the skip the line queue was long! Suggest you hire an audio guide or buy a guidebook. There were no free 'English' leaflets on the day we visited which was a bit disappointing. Vesuvius is also well worth a visit, you need to be fit and able to walk uphill for about 30 minutes on loose volcanic stone, and you need good sturdy walking shoes. It provides for a good workout though, I certainly ached after the climb! Note this is not an organised tour. This tour uses the services of a local hop on bus service. The bus transfer from Herculaneum to Vesuvius was packed and people had to stand. The bus was changed enroute, at the wine tasting stop, this was supposed to have been a 30 minute stop, but they only stopped for 15 minutes. No time to buy lunch.

The tour was very slow to begin the outward journey; it was unfortunately extremely hot and Pompeii was crowded with visitors, mostly in big groups. The guide was very good & gave a radio commentary throughout this part of the tour. The site of the ruins is worth a visit, but you must expect huge crowds. Lunch was OK, but too far away from the site so more coach time. Also the menu was unclear for showing spaghetti with tomato sauce, which was a meat sauce and not suitable for a vegetarian or a catholic Friday. The second part of the day to Herculaneum was much much better - less crowds and the site very much better preserved. Would recommend this part of the tour rather than Pompeii. The guides were both very good. BUT the organisation of the initial picking up must be improved because that was very poor.

Excellent tour from an archaeologist who worked on the site, lots of information, facts on how the excavations were done and the content and background to what we were actually seeing. It's incredible that this place is so intact after over 2000 years. Guide had brilliant knowledge of the different sites that were along the coast. I must say she was very attentive to us as visitors during what was a very hot spell at 40 deg C making sure during the tour that we had lots of water and broke up the tour by getting us into the shade to cool of. Me and my daughter thought the tour was worth every penny and would do it again when we bring the rest of the family there.

Our guide Luciano Leone fulfilled our expectations completely. As empassionated archeologist working in Herculaneum he knew all about this site from his profession. Very polite to seniors, friendly to children and adults showing us additional illustrations and photographs! Luciano gave easy to understand explanations to all relevant topics like the eruption of the Vulkano Vesuv, the life of the ancient inhabitants of Herculaneum, former buiding architecture, paintings and many more. We were totally confinced having choosen the right provider and had a great day at Herculaneum.