We wanted to visit Pompeii and Herculaneum over a weekend in March. We wanted a private tour for the two of us. This company organised an itinerary with us and found us the most engaging and knowledgeable guide Lello, an archaeologist himself. Transport was arranged too. Instructions and directions were spot on. Everything worked like clockwork and I cannot think of anything negative. All superb and my only regret was that I should have made it a longer weekend!

The walking tour was amazing and insightful. Guide is very helpful in getting our fast access. He is very knowledgeable and brings the place to live with his narration

Excellent private tour of Pompeii. If you are looking for a professional tour guide for your family, look no further. My daughters will remember their Pompeii adventure for the rest of their lives Thank you

We had such a wonderful tour and learned so much. I 100% believe you need a guide to fully appreciate what you are seeing in Pompeii.

Herculaneum then Pompeii or Pompeii then Herculaneum? Full day or half day? On your own or with a guide? If with a guide, how big a group? And what about throwing Vesuvius in as well? Having just returned from doing all of these, here are my suggestions on what to do: 1. Book a guide, no matter how small your group. In fact the smaller the group, the better the experience as you have a much more direct and personal conversation with the guide. For two people, the total price for two 1/2 day tours on different days, including direct access tickets, was EUR660/GBP550/USD735. For what you got, this was an absolute bargain. My partner and I had as good as a 1:1 relationship with our guide (the legendary Lello, more on him later) and throughout were able to talk in detail about the topics we wanted to know more about and to ask whatever questions we wanted of Lello's encyclopedic brain. 2. No matter how much you think you know about AD79, you will very quickly discover that you know very little. Here, a guide provides you with a truly fascinating insight into Roman life and Roman history, pointing out so many aspects of individual and city life that have influenced subsequent civilisations and still influence our daily lives today. Lello was exceptional at pointing out little things that made you wonder 'how did they work that out over 2,000 years ago?'. The tour is part archaeology, part history, part anthropology and part engineering. 3. Do Herculaneum first and Pompeii second. Herculaneum is much smaller but is much better-preserved. It allows you to step into and walk around inside the houses and shops. Lello used this as the introduction to Roman life at the individual level, e.g. the design of a house, the layout and purpose of each room. Gaining this understanding of one house or one shop was then amplified a hundred-fold when you see Pompeii, which is not as well-preserved but is way, way bigger. At Pompeii you get to see how the individual was applied in a scalable and repeatable manner at city level. The uniformity and consistency of the houses, shops and what would now be called 'mixed use developments' is breathtaking. Herculaneum gives you a basic understanding that you can then put to work as you wander around Pompeii. 4. A 1/2 day tour is sufficient to see Herculaneum but sufficient only as an introduction to Pompeii. If you have time, do a 1/2 day tour at Pompeii in the morning and then spend the rest of the day there on your own, exploring the rest of the city and finding places that you didn't have time to see. The amphitheatre is particularly worth seeing and if you've had the benefit of a guide, you will know how the name came into being and its relevance. 5. We climbed Vesuvius in the morning and then did the 1/2 day tour of Herculaneum in the afternoon. It's a bit of a long and strenuous day but is certainly worth it, especially as having climbed to the crater and seen the volcano itself close-up, you have a better grasp of the sheer scale of the eruption and also the allure as to why people have been living in its shadow - and continue to do so - for thousands of years. 6. If you are booking far enough ahead, request Lello. When researching potential guides, I looked at various companies and related reviews on here and Private Tours of Pompeii in general and Lello in particular kept coming up as highly recommended. Based on theirTripadvisor reviews we booked with them and I am so pleased that we did. Lello is (my partner's description here) like a cross between Stanley Tucci and a Duracell bunny. He is a qualified archaeologist and has a voluminous knowledge of pretty much everything you would ever want or need to know about Herculaneum and Pompeii. Where he absolutely excels is the manner in which he communicates his knowledge: he is overflowing with passion, enthusiasm and wit. Granted, he does the same tour often several times a day and some of what he says is pure theatre, except that's exactly what you want. He brings history to life and while it was just the two of us, I would imagine if you have children, they would be utterly captivated by the way in which he can make a carbonised door frame interesting. Having a guide of his wisdom meant not just that we learnt so much more than is written in text or guide books but also that he engaged our brains in thought-provoking dialogue. As mentioned earlier, he is a local legend it seems, as he was always being acknowledged by other guides as well as the site staff, often in very animated banter in Italian. It genuinely felt like we were in the company of royalty as we walked around with him. In terms of visiting, we had a car and used the underground car park at Herculaneum (in Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi, about a 5 minute walk and EUR10 for 4 hours) and Maxi Parking at Pompeii (a very reasonable EUR5 all day because we bought a ticket online in advance). There are toilets and a cafe at Herculaneum, in the south west corner, and at Pompeii there are toilets and a larger cafe just to the north of the Forum. As you would expect, both Herculaneum and Pompeii are truly mind-blowing. We have all seen movies set in Roman times and it is easy to think that you are on a film set or that it is all CGI and it can take a while for it to sink in that this the real deal: these are the original Roman ruins, uncovered and preserved in levels of detail that are a wonder to behold. Using Private Tours of Pompeii made the visits to Herculaneum and Pompeii memorable and magical and with Lello, highly entertaining and enjoyable.

A truly memorable day with Lello as our guide for Pompeii and Herculaneum. Two families with 4 boys aged 9-12 and Lello kept the attention of all 8 of us. Plus Marco our driver who was also terrific!

What an excellent day. Very interesting and well informed. He adapted to the crowds and the inaccessible areas and showed us a wide range of different features and fascinating snippets. Really enjoyed it. Very professional.

It's worth the price. My guide Italo was extremely knowledgeable and explained how they were able to learn about civil society by the archeological evidence that survived since all historical records were destroyed by the eruption. Also, there was no wasted time waiting in lines, and he guided me around the crowds to see as much as possible in the time allowed.

Very hot! Saw pompei which was amazing, and a world wonder. Accommodation was fantastic. On the downside, very dirty, and overcrowded city.

Lello was a truly fantastic guide - so knowledgeable and so entertaining - we thoroughly enjoyed our trip. Would highly recommend this as he took us to places somewhat off the beaten track and with real inside information. Thank you!

While the tour was good I felt our guide didn't share much information with us. She showed us around Pompeii and we did indeed get to see the most important parts of it which was good as it is very big and we might have missed them had we not had a guide but she didn't talk much at all about any history or the day to day lives of how people lived. I was hoping for some more history! Not just to be shown around with things pointed out. I might not have been as disappointed if the cost wasn't so much. Personally the small group tours we have done in the past have been much better so will be sticking to those in the future!

Having Italo as a private tour guide made the whole experience better. Then we had some control over what to see and when to stop for a rest, as opposed to the group tours we saw, many of which were packed into dense crowds. I found that Italo gave just the right amount of information, and kept us engaged. We toured both Pompeii (morning) and Herculaneum (afternoon). Of the two, I preferred Herculaneum, because it was not as hot, due to sea breezes, and the fact that the buildings were taller, affording more shade. The artwork and overall structure are better preserved in Herculaneum, because it was buried in mud, whereas Pompeii was incinerated, so that much of that site was destroyed. Note that Pompeii had very few places to sit for a rest, and water was not available once inside the park. Bring a hat.

Outstanding! The best tour of our entire trip! Best Tour Guide EVER. He made us feel like we had stepped into the actual time period. Amazing!

Flawless and friendly pickup from Naples in a very nice Mercedes driven by Francesco. Whisked across to Pompeii where we spent four fabulous hours with Italo. Italo (in perfect English ) have us a fascinating insight to various aspects of life, history and the structures of Pompeii. It was educational but fascinating, and he knew all the great spots to visit if you don't have days to be there. Pompeii is so extensive it would be easy enough to spend a couple of days looking around and not see all that was been excavated. A reminder it is often hot and thirsty viewing, and there are no supplies on offer inside the town walls, so take a day pack with water and snacks, sunscreen and a hat. We enjoyed spending the time with Italo (highly recommended) and on the way home Francesco detoured through some fascinating streets in Naples to show is some sights on the way home to the hotel Simply couldn't have been better! Mille Grazie!

Our guide Cleilia was AMAZING! So knowledgeable and enthusiastic! We learned sooo much, and she was very care taking, asking us if we needed anything