Cities
Pompeii without the coach tours
What time the buses arrive, which gate to enter from in May, and the one fresco the guides skip.
The timing
The site opens at 09:00. The coach tours from Rome arrive at 10:30, having left the capital at 06:30. If you're staying anywhere in Campania, you can sleep in to 07:00 and still be at the gate before they are.
Enter from Porta Marina, not Piazza Anfiteatro — the western entrance puts you straight at the Villa dei Misteri, which is the single most fragile and crowded site once the tours arrive. See it first.
The one fresco
Most guided groups walk past Casa del Menandro — they're on a tight schedule and it's slightly off the main loop. Inside is one of the best-preserved Roman mosaic floors anywhere, and a fresco of Helen abducted by Paris in colours that have somehow survived two millennia. Ten minutes, no queue.
Where to stay
Our homes in Pompeii
The Roman city frozen by Vesuvius in 79 AD — and a working modern town that makes a serious base for the volcano, Herculaneum, and Naples day trips.
Keep reading
More guides from our team
Cities7 min readCapri — the version most visitors miss
Day-trip Capri is the famous awful experience. Overnight Capri is what people who fall in love with the island actually visit.
Cities4 min readAtrani — Amalfi's quieter neighbour
Atrani is the smallest comune on the coast. Same beach, same cliffs, one tenth of the people. Stay for dinner.