ItaliaTours — Local services in Rome

The Pompeii ViaTour was excellent. My son and I took it on June 8th from Rome.

We met our tour guide in the Rome Termini train station by the location they mentioned.

The tour guide in the station was excellent. He got us onto the train to Naples successfully.

Once we arrived in Naples, we were greated by a local guide (Antonio) who guided us through Pompeii. He was outstanding.

Recommendations:

The tour is over 9 hours long so it is challenging for younger children. My 13 year old son and I did the tour. It was extremely long given the 2 hour lunch at the winery near Pompeii. The lunch was good but average given our experience dining out in Rome. This would apply to older visitors also. I would recommend booking the transportation on your own and booking a tour for Pompeii. There was a cafe within Pompeii. I would recommend taking a short break for the tour group to get drinks and a break from the sun. This comment is unrelated to the tour but I feel it is worth mentioning. My 16 year old son could not attend due to a bad cold. My wife stayed in the hotel room with him since he was under 18. The total value for these two tickets was approximately $400. I contacted ViaTour the day before to apprise them and inquire if there is a possibility of a partial refund or a credit. They responded professionally next day that they could not offer any type of credit. I fully understand since they probably purchased the train tickets. I am not upset or disappointed. I have a background in customer service and it would been a nice gesture is to offer a small discount on future tours (maybe $10). My former boss would always say - it is always easier to keep a customer than acquire a new one. We have taken close to 10 ViaTours and will consider them in tbe...

Did the Pompeii and Naples by High Speed Train Tour. When booking we felt that it was pretty pricy but having done the tour we believe it is worth the price. We were met at the train station by a company rep and escorted to our carriage. The train journey was very comfortable and only took an hour. At the train station in Naples, we were met by our Tour Guide, Rosarie, who was an excellent guide. She was friendly, courteous and kind and spoke in a clear voice that was very easy to understand. When we arrived in Pompeii, we were given a radio set with an ear piece which made it possible to distinctly hear Rosarie's commentary. The excavated site at Pompeii is fascinating and huge. It is unbelievable what was uncovered there and in how preserved some of the art work is. Rosarie gave us such detailed insights into life there at the time of the eruption. It was fascinating. After our tour here we were brought to a local restaurant for a delicious lunch. This consisted of starters, a selection of Neapolitan Pizzas( baked on site) for the main course and a desert desert. It also included either wine or a soft drink. The restaurant even offered gluten-free options for those who required them. We then had some free time before hopping back on our very comfortable bus back to Naples where we were given an opportunity to take photos of the lovely Naples Harbour. Following this a short but lovely walking tour in the city. After some free time we again boarded the bus for our trip back to our train. After Rosarie informed us of our platform, we said our good byes and boarded our train back to Rome. It was a fascinating and extremely...

Great tour by Nadya from Italia Tours. We chose Italia Tours because they were advertising/or affiliated on Italia Rail's website, so we felt safer than going with the million other companies. The price was good, similar to what was offered on the street in front of the Colosseum. Nadya was very friendly and thourough. She was so passionate that when she talked you could see the sparkle in her eyes! Her great enthousiasm was contagious! It could have been helpful to have less general information and going more in depth on less topics. The amount of information felt sometimes overwhelming. We had a smaller group, some other groups were much larger. The time on the floor of the Colosseum was enough, but we would have liked to explore the different parts, but as this tours states, it is the gladiator's gate and the floor. The rest was going through the many artifacts of the Forum, outside the Colosseum, and finally the gardens up the hill (nice view). We walked a lot. Up and down. There were some places to sit, but mostly standing. Nadya was a living encyclopedia, much much better than listening to an audio guide. She took all our questions. I noticed that she walked a little slower than the rest of the groups. This made it a little more enjoyable. She also encouraged us to keep going. Again, keep in mind that there is a lot of walking :-) I would recommend this tour from...