Full-Day Sorrento Positano Pompeii Tour

Full-Day Sorrento Positano Pompeii Tour

Explore the Campania coast during your shore excursion with this 9-hour trip to Sorrento, Positano, and Pompeii from the ports of either Naples or Salerno. Depart the port at 8:00am and return to the ship by 5:00pm, with all transportation taken care of.

Meet your driver/guide at the port after your ship docks and climb into your comfortable vehicle for the day trip.

Travel first to Sorrento, one of the most important resorts in southern Italy. Spend an hour walking through streets with fine old shops selling ceramics, lacework and intarsio (marquetry items), and many other unique items famously produced in this area.

After the visit in Sorrento, drive along the Amalfi Coast to Positano, stopping many times for to admire the views and take photos. Positano is known as the vertical city and it's one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy. It is the coast’s most picturesque and photogenic town, with houses tumbling down to the sea in a cascade of sun-bleached peach, pink, and terracotta colors. No less colorful are its steep streets and steps lined with wisteria-draped hotels, smart restaurants, and fashionable boutiques. Enjoy one hour to discover the beauty of the city. 

After Positano, drive to Pompeii with a lunch stop along the way. Getting in Pompeii, (around 2:30pm) your driver will introduce you to a local guide who will take you for a 2-hour tour of the archaeological site.

Pompeii was founded in the 7th century B.C. by the Oscans who settled on the slopes of Vesuvius and in an area not far from the river Sarno. In that period Pompeii was an important trade center, so it became an object of Greek, Etruscan, and Samnites expansionist aims. In the third century B.C. Pompeii was conquered by the Romans and in a short time it became the most important port on the bay of Naples. It was very important for the Roman trade exchanges as it began to export wine and olive oil to Provence and Spain.

In 62 A.D. when the city had about 2,000 inhabitants and was economically very important, it suffered heavy damage from an earthquake and the Roman senate ordered immediately the reconstruction of the town. Only 17 years later while many works were under construction, on August 24th 79 A.D. a tremendous eruption of the volcano Vesuvius completely submerged the city under 6-7 meters of lava and volcanic ash which destroyed the city and everyone in it.

A few hundred years after the disaster, the name and also the location of Pompeii was forgotten. The town was accidentally discovered in the 1600s and excavated in the 19th and 20th centuries. Due to its excellent state of preservation it has given an invaluable insight into the Roman world and may lay claim to being the richest archaeological site in the world.

Return to the car by 4:45pm and drive back to your ship.