Private Mount Vesuvius Hike and Pompeii

Go Hiking at Mount Vesuvius and Visit PompeiiLeaving the port for this Naples cruise trip with your professionally-trained guide, you will drive south via the motorway towards Mount Vesuvius, mainland Europe's only still-active volcano, located on the east coast of the Bay 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 include Naples and its bay.After visiting this unusual phenomenon, you will descend along the narrow paths to the parking lot and proceed to Pompeii, possibly the most famous excavation in the world. There, a flourishing civilization buried for 1,700 years, has been brought to life again. You will see how the citizens lived and loved, worked and played, ate and drank and then suddenly died.After lunch near Pompeii, you will enter the site by the Sea Gate, which is now miles from water. You are soon in the Agora which is 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.D. 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 the city. After your time at Pompeii, return to Naples.