Pompeii and Vesuvius tour prices

How much does a Pompeii and Vesuvius tour from Sorrento cost?

From $133 per person for a group tour, up to $195 for a small group with hotel pickup.

All of these include both entry tickets and transport from Sorrento, and all cancel free up to 24 hours before.

What does it cost to do it yourself?

About €30 per adult in entry tickets (€20 for Pompeii, €10 for the crater plus online booking fees), plus a few euros for each train and bus ride.

The Circumvesuviana train takes you from Sorrento to Pompeii, and an EAV bus from Pompei climbs to the Vesuvius car park. Fares are low, but the day is fiddly: the crater ticket is timed, buses are infrequent, and missing one can cost you the volcano. See the train guide for how to plan it.

What is included in the tour price?

Transport from Sorrento and back, a guide, skip-the-line entry to Pompeii and the Vesuvius crater ticket.

On the Gray Line tour that means an air-conditioned vehicle, an official guide all day, the €20 Pompeii ticket, the €11.68 crater ticket and headsets in Pompeii for groups of 10 or more. What is not included: lunch, drinks and anything you buy on the way.

Is the tour worth the premium over DIY?

Yes if you want both sites in one day without planning buses around a timed ticket; no if you only want Pompeii.

For Pompeii alone the train is cheap and simple, and the Pompeii-only tour at $87 adds a guide and transport for half a day. It is the volcano that makes the full tour good value: the drive up and back is the hard part to do yourself. The trade-off is the group size and a fixed 2 hours in Pompeii.

Only want the Roman city? The half-day tour gives you about 2.5 guided hours inside and you are back in Sorrento after lunch.

★ 4.6 902 reviews · 5 hours · from $87

Explore the Pompeii-only tour →

Do kids pay less?

Yes, but less than you might think, because children's entry tickets are free or cheap anyway.

Under-18s enter Pompeii free, EU citizens aged 18 to 24 pay €2, and under-6s go up Vesuvius free, with a reduced €8 crater ticket for under-25s with ID. Gray Line charges adults from 13 and gives children about 23% off. So on a family booking most of what you pay for a child is the transport and the guide, not the tickets.

How much is a private Pompeii and Vesuvius tour?

From $611 per group, not per person, with pickup at your Sorrento hotel.

For a family of four that works out at about $153 each, not far above the small-group tours. You get your own driver, a guide in Pompeii and the crater ticket, and you set the pace. The private tour is rated 4.9 from 19 reviews.

What extra costs should you budget for?

Lunch, water and snacks; on most tours that is all.

Gray Line offers an optional set lunch at about €18 (pizza, a soft drink and an ice cream); elsewhere, budget for a restaurant near the ruins. On Buyourtour, lunch is an optional extra on some days. If you do the day yourself, add the €1 shuttle on Vesuvius if you are dropped at the lower car park.

How do you avoid paying for things you do not get?

Avoid the first Sunday of the month, watch the weather forecast, and use the free cancellation.

On the first Sunday Pompeii is free for everyone and skip-the-line entry does not apply, so a tour loses much of its advantage. If an orange weather alert closes the crater, Gray Line substitutes Herculaneum when it knows in advance and Buyourtour refunds part of the price. Every tour here cancels for a full refund up to 24 hours before.

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