Naples Herculaneum Excursion Reviews

First, the city of Naples is beautiful from the port. Only Piraeus (Athens) was unpleasant and that because of diesel fumes from other vessels. I would love to go back and do a city tour of Naples instead of Herculaneum as Herculaneum seemed lackluster after Ephesus and the Acropolis. Our guide Fabio did a great job providing knowledge of the history of Herculaneum, but it was a bit rushed and there were more uneven and slippery surfaces. Overall, I would say Herculaneum is not visually impressive compared to Ephesus, but entertaining if viewed as a puzzle being unraveled that continues to teach us about life (especially that of the wealthy) of Ancient Rome. The tour also stopped at a cameo factory - nothing special, but a pretty store and interesting (if environmentally disappointing) that they make high end cameos from seashell there instead of onyx or carnelian. Overall, I liked this tour, but unless you're a history buff, I might recommend something else.

Provider: Celebrity Cruises

Great guide. Much better preserved than Pompeii. Need to do both to get an understanding of Roman life.

Provider: Princess Cruises

Herculaneum is amazing, a pompeii on a more manageable scale. Truly, Naples is a dump. It's just a port to go somewhere else- except I have never had a better pizza/meal anywhere.ever.

Provider: Holland America Line

We skipped Naples city and went directly to Pempeii, then Ravello (Amalfi Coast), and Herculaneum (Ercolano). Busy day, but well worth it. Not many tourists go to Herculaneum, but the houses and other buildings are much better preserved than Pompeii.

Provider: Independent Operator

Naples; here we did a private tour with APT tours, it was very good we went to Herculeum, Positano and Sorrento the guide was very good and I would have no problems working with this company again. A couple of negative points traffic but no one can control that and we were unable to catch the ferry back so that meant we had only a short time in Sorrento. We all had lunch there and maybe that was a mistake because we could have just bought a sandwich and saw more of Sorrento but no one was to blame for that it was our choice.

Provider: Independent Operator

Been to Pompeii so chose Herculaneum. Fascinating place. Really wished we could have stayed longer and explored more on our own.

Provider: Celebrity Cruises

We had visited Pompei on a previous cruise and I thought that this would be much the same. Pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed visiting this site. The tour guide was very good and funny. He showed us lots of interesting parts that we would not have seen on our own. We managed to go into Naples and found a lovely restaurant, were we had a fantastic lunch of pizza.

Provider: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

Was excellent and informative. Good value for money

Provider: Thomson Cruises

A great alternative to Pompeii The houses are must more intact. There are some steep slopes to get up, so not recommended if you have trouble walking

Provider: Norwegian Cruise Line

Excellent. Though very hot, our guide kept us in as much shade as possible and explained the ancient lifestyle and ongoing explorations.

Provider: Carnival Cruise Lines

Herculaneum was a 5, but the tour guide a 2--we couldn't hear him, the crowd was too big, and his English was difficult to understand. It was also VERY hot. We've done Pompeii and Amalfi Coast before--both outstanding trips.

Provider: Celebrity Cruises

We hired a car to take us to Pompeii and then to Herculaneum because we did not see a tour offered through the cruise that went to both places. It cost about $400 for the whole day - split four ways, so not too bad. The driver navigated traffic and was attentive to our questions. He did take us to a hugely expensive restaurant (at our request), and joined us for lunch with out an invitation. The bill for five of us was $300! We were never advised of the cost in advance, but assumed it would be somewhat less. In hindsight, I think we should have been more clear as to what we were willing to pay - however the view was spectacular and the restaurant was opened exclusively for us (something that we were unaware of until we arrived) and enjoyed wine and local fish. Be careful if money is an issue, try to get costs up front.

Provider: Celebrity Cruises

An excellent guide, interesting ruins. Different than Pompeii, as our guide told us, we've never been.

Provider: Norwegian Cruise Line

Excellent tour. Great driver, superb guide in Herculaneum. Probably took on too much to see with the time we had, but no one to blame but ourselves for that. Had lunch at an amazing restaurant above Positano. Dropped us in Sorrento to take the ferry back to the Naples port. Really, this tour was one of the real highlights of our entire vacation.

Provider: Independent Operator

AMAZING

Provider: MSC Cruises