Best excursion day of the vacation! A hike up to the crater of Mount Vesuvius.
I am not sure if HIKE is exactly the right word – it was a somewhat uneven 900m uphill walk on pebbles and dirt… is that hike?
We were not convinced that it was going to happen at all since my husband’s cold put a caveat on everything! The weather forecast was for isolated showers, and I wondered if that would mean the admission to the crater would be closed. As we left in the morning, there were huge dark clouds looming menacingly over us but we only got a little sprinkle on us – Thank God!
To get to the crater, we had to take the train to Pompeii (about 40 mins) and then from there take a bus that drives you up to the car park at the Vesuvius National Park (about an hour), and that’s where you start the hike up (a good 30 minutes).
According to my guide book and everything I read on line, the bus would pick us up at “Pizza Amphitheatro”… we found it but it did not fill us with much confidence!!! No time table, a little too simple… plus there was NO ONE else around… were we in the right place??
But the bus did show up (after a 45 minute wait), picked us up and we were on our way. Turns out there was a stop right next to the train station! figures! and it was a lot more obvious too compared to the one we found. Sometimes advanced internet research complicates things more than anything else.
The hike up was not too strenuous, but like with all things in life – the fitter you are the easier it is. These shots can give you an idea of what the hike was like (about 900m long / 200m up)
The views over the Bay of Naples however makes stopping along the way up irresistible!
And check out this mountain range that looks like a profile… neat!
But of course the most amazing views are the ones down into the crater. They were awesome! Well worth the effort, I would recommend this excursion to anyone!
Totally worth it!
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