Pompeii Ruins and Mt. Vesuvius

Port of Calls: Naples, Sorrento, Capri

Leaving the port, you will drive south via the motorway towards Mount Vesuvius, Europe’s only still-active volcano that is located on the west coast of Naples. At approximately 3,000 feet, begin your trek on foot over narrow paths that zigzag up the mountain another 1,000 feet. Once on the rim of the crater walls, you will skirt the edge with an official alpine guide while enjoying this natural phenomenon and the panoramic views that includes Naples and its bay. Take along some scrape paper for a quick experiment. As you walk, look for hot spots where you can scrape a small hole in the ground, push the paper in, and watch it light automatically. After visiting this unusual phenomenon, you will descend along the narrow paths to the parking lot and proceed to Pompeii.

Pompeii is possibly the most famous excavation in the world. There a flourishing civilization, buried for 1,700 years, has been brought to life again and where you can see how the citizens of the greatest empire the world has ever known lived and loved, worked and played, ate and drank and died. Entering Pompeii by the Sea Gate you are soon in the Agora, surrounded by temples, porticoes and law courts. 20,000 people lived in this provincial town, of which 2,000 perished in the horrifying eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.C.. Twenty feet of volcanic ash and pumice stone covered Pompeii. Much of this has been removed over the last 200 years to reveal the details of everyday life in Pompeii. Back to the ship.