Pompeii Tourist Traps

There are official licensed guides at the entrance to the site. Since I had been there on a prior visit (I don't remember whether I had a guide at that time or not), and knew the history of the site and had an idea of what I wanted to see. Plus my grandson had studied about the site and already had some knowledge of it.

Unique Suggestions: So I didn't hire a guide.

Fun Alternatives: I just got the map of the site and the audio guide.

Obviously this only affects those travellers who have rented a car, and are planning on driving into the Pompeii Scavi area. When we arrived in the area, we were directed into a car park at the bottom of the hill by a guy who looked official. After we'd pulled into the area my husband asked him how much it was to park there, and he said €10 for the whole day (approx. £8), but he tried to get us to eat in the restaurant too. We figured that it'd just be cheaper to pay the €10, and not get stung for anymore, so we did just that.

Just beware when entering the area, as it's quite busy and it's very easy to get carried away with people directing you. There is an official car park at the top of the hill, which I think is free, but check first. It wasn't that much on hindsight to park where we parked, but do your homework first, and enjoy your day!

Unique Suggestions: Just pay the €10 for parking, and don't bother to eat in the restaurant, as it seemed pretty expensive!

If you really want to explore Pompeii, try to go on your own so you can walk it and visit it as much as you like at your own rythm. I was taken to Pompeii by our tour company but I couldn't see a lot of places I wanted to see :( so bad..

When your ship is docked in Naples and you want to go to Pompeii and your taxi driver is trying to convince you that he'll drive you to Pompeii and back for 100 euros. He'll try to tell you how the train leaves later in the day and you won't have enough time to get back to your ship and it's going to cost you 25 euros for the two of you, don't believe it! It cost my wife and I 6.80 euros to go and 4.80 euros to come back and the ten euros we paid for the cab to the station Garibaldi and to the Circumvesuviana line. So it ended up costing me 21.60 euros for the trip. I also toured Pompeii for 5 hrs and we were docked from 8am to 5pm.

On the street leading up to the entrance, there will be a number of vendors trying to sell you maps and guide books to Pompeii. If you are not taking a guided tour, you will definitely want both. Make sure that the books that they are trying to sell you have a map.

Unique Suggestions: Watch the prices they offer you. One guy tried to sell me a book for 5 Euros, and when I came by a minute later, tried to get my to pay 8. Don't get hustled.

Fun Alternatives: You can always try and buy a guidebook in the bookstore at Pompeii. Check that out first, if you are wary of the vendors.

The entire entry to Pompeii is wall-to-wall vendors.

Unique Suggestions: When you get to the entrance, it would be easy to become discouraged. You do need a guide to get the most from this, but there is a reputable artisans shop within an enclosed courtyard, so if you have questions, you can go there. One thing you have to remember about Italy is that ONLY licensed guides can tell you the history of the places you visit. If you ask anyone questions, you actually put them at risk of being fined if they answer you. Don't know if this happens, but it's much better to arrange your guide in advance, then you'll have help going through the vendors, you will get the most from your experience, and you won't get into trouble by trying to attach to a paid tour, or be unable to get information about what you are seeing.

A tour that I took from Rome for a day in Pompeii included a brief stop at the Cameo Factory. It wasn't the factory, but a store front. I am not familiar with Cameo prices, but this seemed pricey to me. It also had other wood inlay products that also seemed much more pricey that what I had seen in Sorrento.

If Mt. Vesuvius starts suddenly to glow dark purple and begins spouting out a torrent of toxic gases and molten lava, tourists could easily be trapped here, just as the inhabitants were 1900 years ago.