Travel Guide: Pomepii And Mount Vesuvius

 Our fourth day in Positano, we decided to check out Pompeii and Vesuvius. This was the first time for the majority of us and I was extremely anxious to see the famously ruined city when Mount Vesuvius blew it's top back in 79 A.D. There are a few tip and tricks we found along the way!
How To Get To Vesuvius
There are a few ways to get this to this famous location either by train, bus or a hike journey! You can ride a rickety but reliable commuter train from Napes to Sorrento. From the Pomepii stop, a shuttle van then takes you up the volcano to the end of the road and from there it's a steep 30 minute hike to the summit. You can go up to the crater's edge where steam vents slowly creep up. The last eruption was in 1944 so it's only a matter of when it will erupt again. 
It was almost eerie imagining a scene nearly 2,000 years ago when Vesuvius sent a mushroom cloud of dust, ash and rocks 12 feet into the sky and then for 18 hours straight it spewed it's ash onto Pompeii. The 2,000 unlucky souls who had stayed behind and buried leaving their bodies encases in the debris is chilling to witness up close.  What To Do: 
The best way to understand Pompeii is to walk around the site. There is an entry fee of $15. The city is well organized with walls helping to steer you around a grid street path. Your ticket includes a map and small pocket guide to the site, which is excellent and leads you number by number through the not-to miss sights. You can also download da great guide on your iPhone with the Pompeii app. ( I love this virtual Google Map too ) I would recommend entering from the Porta Marina entrance. You don't want to miss the FOrum, which was Pomepii's commercial, political and religious center. Alongside the Forum, you can visit the Grain Stores where you view many of the plaster casts of Vesuvius's victims. 
We ended up option to pay for a private tour ( about $120 euro ) and it was amazing. She was extremely knowledgable and brought us to so many different locations I would have never thought about including a small amphitheater where if you stood in the small center of the theatre, your voice was amplified because of the incredible acoustics. We all practiced saying something and all had the same reaction when we heard our voices bounce off and vibrate off the walls thinking we were talking into a microphone. It truly was incredible!  

What To Wear/Bring:It goes without saying that you want comfortable shoes with all the uneven streets you'll be walking in. My opinion would be to wear flats because of the uneven areas. If you're traveling with little ones, you'll want to bring a carrier as opposed to a stroller which I'd imagine would be extremely hard to push over all of the stepping stones. I'd also suggest bringing water. It's perfectly fine to bring it in yourself and you'll be happy you did with the sun blazing down on you!

Have you visited Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius?