Where We Take Our First Non-NCL Excursion To Pompeii And Amalfi

Trigger warning, in case you’d rather avoid photos of dead bodies!

We booked a private tour for Pompei, Amalfi, and Ravello, because none of the NCL excursions were viable – all were too difficult in a group setting.

We booked the tour through Viator, something we’ve done many times. The driver, Lucca, arrived at 8:00 a.m. – a half hour earlier than what was on our ticket. But he was patient. He said he was right outside the gate.

We walked off the ship and walked out the gate. No Lucca. As a matter of fact, there were no drivers at all.

Turns out we hadn’t even begun the journey to find Lucca. The ship terminal in Naples is HUGE. Walk down here, turn left there, into the terminal, down another hall past shops, down the elevator and out the door.

Nope, not far enough yet.

Walk through the parking lot through a gate. Nope, not that gate.

Walked through the final gate, and there was Lucca holding up a sign with my name. I guess there’s “gate” and then there’s “gate”.

I had sent info to Viator pertaining to our trip (e.g. we needed a step stool to get in and out of the van), but Lucca had been told nothing. But he went with the flow. He recommended that we skip Ravello, because Ravello is perched at the top of a very high and steep hill. Fine with us!

He drove up a mountain road in the pouring rain on the way to Amalfi. At one point, we hit a goat traffic jam

A rather beleaguered mountain shepherd dog popped out behind them, looking a bit exasperated as the goats went every which way. That dog has a tough job.

As we descended on the other side of the mountain and we approached Amalfi, the rain cleared up and the sun came out.

Amalfi is a beautiful!

We had lunch in a cafe in the main square. We had a great view of this interesting fountain.

After lunch, we were on our way to Pompeii.

We had our own private tour guide in Pompeii. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch his name. He was marvelous – obviously very knowledgable. He easily adapted his itinerary to accommodate us slow walkers.

We first went through the museum.

Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 CE is the first historically documented volcanic eruption. The people of Pompeii were buried under volcanic ash, not lava. Most people died breathing Vesuvius’ toxic fumes as it erupted.

Next stop was the large amphitheater. The acoustics are perfect. When you stand in the exact center of the ring, your voice can be heard everywhere.

Then we made our way to Pompeii’s streets.

Most of Pompeii’s sidewalks are flat. You can see the huge cobblestones in the middle of the street that were typically covered with water, garbage, and sewage. People crossed streets hopping on stepping stones that you can see in this photo. To make it easier for people to walk along the streets, most of the crossings going north/south now have metal grating connecting the stones making a flat surface.

As we headed to the exit, we stopped at the smaller amphitheater

There was a bit of traffic on our way back to the port, but we still made it in plenty of time for all-aboard. Of course, we had to re-trace our steps through the gates, parking lots, elevators, hallways, and finally, the terminal.

What a fantastic day!

Tomorrow: A marathon day in Rome, seeing all the things…