I had been advised that I could do this one on our own with a guide book, as opposed to Pompei. It is true that the Herculaneum had numbers and names on some houses, but the streets were difficult to navigate. If you can, get a guide. However, it was still a great park to visit. We could locate some houses in our guidebook. ;-) It was impressive to see how things have been preserved compared to Pompei. The streets can be walked, the neighborhoods understood, paintings remain on the walls and mosaics on the floors. You can see rooms in houses, and fire ovens and water fountains. Its a smaller site too, so more manageable in a day or afternoon. I liked to understand with the historical panels installed that was used for what; and mostly, that the site was by the beach at the time, making it very rich. A must on your list!

We visited here straight after Pompeii. Pompeii is grand and you get the wealthy town feel, Herculaneum (Ercolano) feels more intimate, village like. We loved it. Its manageable to walk around (sensible shoes still needed) and has the usual facilities. If you do one, do the other. They aren't that far apart and Ercolano is definitely worth a visit.

We took a day trip ourselves from Rome, taking the fast train to Naples and then the local train. We didn’t get to Naples until 11:30 so if you do this, you need to start earlier as traveling takes up a major part of the day. There aren’t any signs as how to get there, but you just walk straight down about 5 blocks from the train station. There are maps they sell at the visitor center to help you. It was raining when we were there, which made things more difficult for us. There were still murals on the walls and tiled floors from 79AD. I missed the bones which I would’ve liked to have seen. The streets are laid out in a grid pattern. There is much work still going on. I have been to Pompeii which is much larger but this is worthwhile as well.

This site is much smaller that Pompeii as only a small part of the original town has been excavated. We learned that further excavations are on hold in order to preserve the things already there. So you are only seeing a small area of the town consisting mainly of quite lavish houses and also shops. It’s quite amazing to see houses with upper floors, roofs as in the baths and mosaic floors some of which you actually walk on! Have comfy shoes and plenty of water. As in Pompeii the objects have mostly been removed to the Naples museum and I believe some wall paintings too There are plenty still in situ. Unfortunately in the past they have been badly cared for and been rubbed away by back packs etc. and there is loads of modern graffiti on the Roman walls. Gives a great window into Roman life in the past. I think it would be good to have one house furnished and with objects to show life in those days as interpretation is extremely limited. There isn’t a cafe just some vending machines. We were unable to get close to the Fornici, the people who waited on the shore for boats and were incinerated as this was closed off for works. They have provided a beautiful garden to rest with deck chairs under pines and pomegranate trees. Enjoyed sitting in a Roman garden

A dream come true! I always wanted to see Pompeii ruins and so my childhood dream came true! Our guide Mimma is fantastic. And gave us info I didn’t know. The private tour took 3 hours. And I loved every minute, even walking the ancient roads snd drinking from an actual fountain! It was a thrill to see Mt Vesuvius behaving itself that day! Rest in Peace Romans!! It was fantastic but heart breaking to see your plaster remains!

The ruins of Herculaneum are certainly interesting, but if you go after Pompeii, you'll be disappointed, as this is a mere fraction of what you'll see there. To its credit, Herculaneum seems to be a much more active archaological site than Pompeii, which in itself is interesting, but I'm simply basing that on a couple of hours there. In short, go if you have the time, but I would not consider it a "must see" in Naples.

This is such an amazing little Roman town - it may be a fifth the size of its more famous cousin Pompeii but I definitely preferred it! The preservation of many of the buildings is absolutely unbelievable; I have never seen upper storeys or wood in a Roman site before. I lost count of my “oh wow” comments as I entered yet another high ceilinged building, was confronted by a large amount of intact painting or peeked into a little room to see a beautiful detail pretty much as it would have been all those centuries ago. Make sure your phone/camera has a full battery as you will need it! I had a map but didn’t really use it; the site is small enough that you can make your own way around pretty easily. Taking my time, I spent around 2 1/2 hours in total but you could probably take a little more and I suspect that 2 hours is a realistic minimum time to allow yourself. Having looked at the guidebook later, I’m glad to say that just wandering around, I did see pretty much everything you can see! My last point of call was the boathouses, so poignant even when seen at a slight distance, and then made my way out to the entrance via the tunnel at the end of the walkway by the boathouses.

Very different from Pompeii and much less visited. Different types of things are preserved (wood, glass). Best seen with a guide. There is free luggage storage in the same building with the ticket office. The storage is only available during the time you are visiting the site, but can accommodate any size bag.

Went here while on a cruise. We've been to Napolis a couple times, but not here. It was an interesting site and worth the visit. Like any archeological site, just be careful if you have mobility issues. It is not wheelchair accessible and you'll hate this site if you are not steady on your feet or need a walker. Otherwise, it's not Pompeii, but it's worth a visit.

More compact than her sister town of Pompeii, Herculaneum is an extremely accessible, fascinating, and moving walk directly into history. Cannot recommend it enough. Alongside the impressive ruins are two exhibition halls, a restaurant, and toilets. The car park is a short walk 3-minute walk away and has a lovely practical square lines with tourist shops and take-aways and ice creams with a big communal seating area in the middle. Very good indeed.