Y
Yaron
Founder of PONTUS.life

Yes, it is. But please, be mindful of a couple of things.

My cousin and I got an Airbnb to the south of Naples, in the small town of Torre Annunziata. The town is right on the doorstep of the ancient city of Pompeii. The walk from our Airbnb to Pompeii was about 15 minutes — so one morning we decided to visit the whole thing. We set off early and walked to the archaeological park.

Mount Vesuvius looming over a street in Torre Annunziata — fifteen minutes from Pompeii
The view from the walk to Pompeii. That's Vesuvius — the same volcano that buried this city in 79 AD — casually visible above a green truck and some streetlights. A surreal way to start a morning.

The way it works there is that you are given a cell phone which serves as your own digital guide. It shows you where the various checkpoints are in the old city, and for each of those checkpoints you can click on them when you're there and read up on the history. This way, you can take as much time as you want and explore Pompeii at your own pace.

Before my little dive into what I loved about it — here's what you should be mindful of when visiting Pompeii.

Before You Go — Read This First

The ancient stone tunnel entrance to Pompeii — cobblestone road worn smooth over two thousand years, visitors passing through
Through the tunnel and into the ancient city. Those stones were walked on by Roman citizens two millennia ago. The groove worn down the centre was left by chariot wheels.
An honest warning before you book

Going in the summer is rough. Summers in Italy are hot — I mean very hot. My cousin and I were there in late July and even as two fit men, after 6 hours of walking in the ancient city, we were absolutely destroyed.

Which ties into the next point. You are visiting the ruins of Pompeii. Ruins. As in, most of it is collapsed — roofless. When you are under blazing sun and intense heat, your instinct is to find shade and recover some energy. That's the problem with visiting ruins — there's no real shade.

Most of the blame is on my cousin and I. We decided to go to Pompeii in late July. We decided to see all of it. We decided to maybe not wear the best hats during our visit.

If you go to the ruins of Pompeii in the summer with no sunscreen, you will be as ruined as the city is. The sun is unforgiving. The heat will be too much — and it will take away from your experience.

Also — you don't need to look nice for anybody. You're walking among the ruins of an ancient city, not at a gala. Dress for rough terrain. You won't be walking on straight, level roads. I have seen people get intense cramps to their legs and feet because they dressed for looks rather than for comfort or sport.

Open roofless ruins at Pompeii — the atrium of an ancient Roman house with an impluvium pool at the centre, Vesuvius visible beyond the walls
This is what "roofless" means in practice. Every wall, every room — open to the sky. Beautiful in October. Punishing in July. The impluvium in the centre was a rain-collecting pool. In ancient times it would have had a roof above it.

Now — What Really Matters

It's absolutely incredible.

There's a reason my cousin and I spent 6 hours of continuous walking through intense sun and heat — and that's because it's absolutely breathtaking to walk among that ancient city.

The Centaur statue at Pompeii's Forum silhouetted against the blazing midday sun — all four legs raised, spear pointing skyward
The Centaur statue in the Forum. This is what midday in Pompeii looks like in late July. No shade. Just the ancient city, the sculpture, and a sun that has absolutely no mercy.

As you walk through its ruins, you see — at all times — the very same volcano, Mount Vesuvius, that caused the destruction almost 2,000 years ago. The volcano is still active, though very much monitored. You walk through those old roads and think to yourself how bustling life was here before it all went wrong. You look at Vesuvius, and you look all around you, and you think — where would I even go if it erupted right now? Where would I even run to?

An ancient Pompeii cobblestone street — two thousand year old stones stretching into the distance with Mount Vesuvius perfectly framed at the far end
This is the photograph I came back to most. A Roman street, unchanged for two millennia — and Vesuvius, the cause of it all, framed perfectly at the end of it. You don't need to read a history book when you're standing here.

"You're not just an observer when you're there — you're in it. You are part of the history. You are walking through thousands of years."

It's one of those places where wherever you look, you are brought to absolute wonder. It's hard to stop taking pictures of Pompeii. Every corner we turned we stood there awestruck.

A shaded colonnade courtyard in Pompeii — stone columns framing a garden of green shrubs, the only shade in the ancient city An active Pompeii excavation site viewed from above — archaeologists and workers still uncovering the ancient city in 2024
Left: one of the shaded courtyards — the closest thing to relief from the heat in the whole site. Right: Pompeii is still being excavated today. Those are archaeologists actively working. New discoveries are still being made nearly two thousand years after the eruption.

The Preserved Interiors — What Survived

Parts of Pompeii are not ruins in the way you imagine. Some interiors survived the eruption with their original painted walls intact — the colours still vivid after two millennia under ash. Walking into one of these rooms is a genuinely disorienting experience. The city was buried so quickly that parts of it were sealed rather than destroyed.

A preserved painted room in Pompeii — ornate yellow, red and black frescoes covering the walls of an ancient Roman chamber The long colonnade of the Pompeii Palestra — the ancient gymnasium, with fluted columns stretching into the distance under a wooden roof
Left: inside a preserved room — those painted walls are from the 1st century AD. Right: the Palestra, Pompeii's gymnasium, stretching further than you can see. Most people don't make it to the Palestra. Most people miss the best shade in the park.
The famous Villa of the Mysteries frescoes at Pompeii — the continuous red wall painting depicting Dionysian ritual scenes, extraordinarily preserved
The Villa of the Mysteries. The most famous frescoes in Pompeii — a continuous narrative painting covering three walls of a single room, depicting a Dionysian initiation ritual. This is on the western edge of the park and most people don't reach it. This is also the reason to go early and walk further than the tour groups do.

The Museum — The Difficult Part

The city itself is a museum, but there are also indoor areas where certain things found during the excavations had to be moved in order to best preserve them and protect them from vandals. The recreated plaster casts of the ancient Pompeii citizens are such an example.

It's difficult to write about. It was heavy. It was sad. But it was also important to see. You've heard about Pompeii before — school, shows, movies, the internet. You know what happened there. But when you're standing there, walking those streets, seeing the volcano not far off, and then you see those plaster casts — it puts things into perspective. It places you in the moment. It makes you understand Pompeii in the way that shows, pictures, or anything on the internet could never — including this article.

The plaster cast victims of Pompeii in the museum — two figures preserved in their final moments, surrounded by ash and pumice
I debated whether to include this photograph. I decided to. Not for shock. For the same reason Yaron said it was important to see in person — because a photograph of this, even a good one, still cannot prepare you for standing in that room. Go see it.

So yes — when you're in Pompeii, absolutely visit the indoor museum areas. They are part of the site, they are included in your entry, and they are the part of the visit that stays with you longest.

The Ideal Pompeii Visit — How to Actually Do It

PONTUS Itinerary
A Complete Pompeii Day
Before 9:00 AM
Arrive at opening
The gates open at 9. Arrive at opening or before. The first hour before the tour groups arrive is a completely different experience — quieter streets, better photographs, and 38 fewer degrees of perceived temperature. This single adjustment changes the visit.
9:00–12:00
The Forum, the houses, the Villa of the Mysteries
Start at the Forum — the civic heart of the city, gives you the layout before anything else. Then the Lupanare (the ancient brothel — preserved frescoes, extraordinary). Then walk to the Villa of the Mysteries on the western edge. Most visitors never reach it because it's a 20-minute walk from the Forum. Do not skip it. The frescoes inside are the finest thing in Pompeii.
12:00–13:00
Leave the ruins. Eat outside.
Leave the archaeological park completely and eat lunch outside the main gate — there are cafés on Via Plinio. Sit in the shade. Drink water. This is not optional — it is how you survive the afternoon, especially in summer. My cousin and I did not do this. We paid for it.
13:00–15:30
The House of the Faun, the Palestra, the museum
The House of the Faun is the largest private residence in Pompeii. Then the Palestra — the ancient gymnasium and the best shade in the park. Then the indoor museum areas where the plaster casts are kept. This is the emotional core of the visit. Take your time here.
By 16:00
Leave
The heat is worst between 13:00 and 16:00. If you are in Pompeii in summer, your afternoon session should be shorter than your morning one. The site closes at 19:00 but the last meaningful energy leaves most visitors well before that.
What to bring

Sunscreen: SPF 50 minimum. Apply before entering. Reapply at lunch. The ruins are enormous and completely exposed.

Water: At least 2 litres per person. There are drinking fountains inside the park but you do not want to depend on finding them.

Shoes: Comfortable, broken-in walking shoes. The basalt paving stones are uneven, rounded, and surprisingly hard on your feet over 6 hours. Do not wear sandals. Do not wear new trainers.

Hat: One that covers your face, not just your head. A cap is not enough in July.

Time: 4 hours minimum. 6 hours to do it properly. A full day if you want to read every information panel on the digital guide.

The Verdict — Go

Yes, go to Pompeii. Walk those streets. Stop and stare at every old ruined building. Read the history of the city. Take your pictures. Take your time there.

But please — try to avoid going on a cloudless, 38-degree day. If you do, dress appropriately. Bring lots of sunscreen. Bring lots of water. Pace yourself.

The Centaur statue at Pompeii seen from below against a brilliant blue sky — spear raised, the ancient Forum stretching out below
The Forum Centaur, seen from below. This is a modern sculpture placed in the Forum in 2019 — deliberately contemporary among two-thousand-year-old ruins. Pompeii has been doing this since the 18th century: layering new things on old ones and asking you to think about what time actually means.
The verdict
Yes. Without question.

Six hours in brutal July heat, and my cousin and I would do it again immediately. There is nowhere else on earth quite like it. Walk those streets. Stand in front of Vesuvius. Visit the museum. Let it sit with you.

But most of all — enjoy it. Live it. Experience it.

Travel like this, consistently

This is what PONTUS
is built for.

Waking up 15 minutes from Pompeii. Spending 6 hours walking through history. Coming back for pasta that costs €9. This is the kind of trip that should be normal — not a once-a-decade event you spend months recovering from financially. PONTUS exists to make this kind of travel a way of life.

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