Wednesday 8th May 2019
Today we were heading out by car to visit the famous Mount Vesuvius, mainly known for destroying the town of Pompeii in AD 79 but also the eruption of this volcano buried and destroyed the lesser towns of Herculaneum, Opiontis and Stabiae, to name a few. The volcano is carefully monitored and although the most recent eruption was in 1944 we were definitely hoping that the gods would be kind today 😉
Although it is possible to climb Mount Vesuvius, only an advanced climber would even consider it! Access to the Mount Vesuvius, which is in Vesuvius National Park, is nearly always by car or private bus companies or tours.
If you drive, be cautious, as there are several hairpin bends on the journey up to the park and trust me, the opposing buses really don’t care about anyone else on the road except themselves and there is more walking involved as you have to leave your car at the paid parking spot and either continue to the park entrance and ticket booth uphill on foot or pay extra to get the shuttle bus, which still leaves you with a further walk to the entrance and the beginning of the trail to the top.
Using private bus companies is a little more expensive, as you still have to pay for the entry ticket separately but they will drop you off just near the entrance and pick you up later from the same spot and back to your original destination.
After navigating the trip up to the parking area, which is basically just a long road we parted with €2 each for the shuttle there and back, which is just a free for all. One big disappoint in particular, was the amount of discarded rubbish which littered nearly the entire 7 kms drive up to our destination. Certainly no match for Norway and a ‘Could do better’ for a better impression.
On reaching the building to purchase our tickets, we managed to pay €10 each by credit card, as did several other people, despite the dodgy internet connection on the terminal and the reluctance of the attendant.
Tickets purchased we made our way through the myriad of parked buses and busy parking area up the hill to the main entrance and the beginning of our trek to the summit.
Tips – make sure you have sturdy closed-in shoes fit for purpose, some bottled water and a light weight waterproof coat, just in case. The coat really only comes into play when you reach the top, as the wind can be blustery and quite cool.
The terrain was quite slippery with loose dust and stones of various sizes littering the path and was more treacherous, especially on the downhill journey.
There were plenty of opportunities to pause and take in the views but beware the groups of school children who are obviously unaware of anyone else along the route.
That said we managed to make it to the rim.
There were the few obligatory shops where you could purchase an overpriced coffee, postcards or other volcano or not related paraphernalia but there were also fantastic views of the crater with pockets of rising fumes, the rock formations and the sprawling urbanisation of Naples and the surrounding area, as well as the beautiful Bay and several islands in the distance.
We can now tick this one off our bucket list 😉