Published on Jan, 2025

Highly recommended. We booked the small group tour and were the only ones on it (we were a family of 5). Vincenzo was extremely knowledgeable, very personable and had perfect command of English (he lived for a while in San Diego). Would have missed so much if we'd just tried to do it ourselves with the audio guides.

Published on Dec, 2024

This is a very positive review. We were lucky enough to get Francesco Pagano as our guide. As part of a “40th birthday” present for my girlfriend, I had booked small group tours of Pompeii for Oct. 18th and of Herculaneum for Oct. 19th through Viatour. Francesco contacted us a few days before the tours saying that the minimum number of participants for the Herculaneum tour had not been booked, so he offered us some options. We opted to have a private tour of Herculaneum on Oct. 19th for an small upcharge. Then things got a little complicated (stick with me; like I said, this is a very positive review). The Italian rail workers were supposed to strike on Oct. 19th, the day of our Herculaneum tour. I reached out to Francesco asking how we were supposed to get to Herculaneum if the trains were not running. After some exchange on WhatsApp, Francesco arranged it so that we would have both tours on the same day; he would meet us after our tour of Pompeii and drive us in his car to Herculaneum, where we would join another couple for the tour, and NOT be charged extra (very generous). When we met him at Pompeii, he waited for us to eat a quick lunch (and have a beer), and he declined letting us buy him anything. Unfortunately for the other couple, they could not get to Herculaneum because of train problems in Naples. Francesco decided to give us a private tour anyway, and again, with no extra charge. About 10 minutes into the tour, Francesco realized he lost his backpack, which had his wallet and all his identification. Instead of stopping the tour right there, he called a few of his friends at Pompeii to see if they could find his backpack, and continued our tour. He was VERY professional, and although definitely stressed about his backpack, still had a smile on his face. Fortunately, about a half hour later, someone called him and told him they found his backpack. Francesco, now in an ever better mood, finished our tour, which was EXCELLENT. Then, he actually drove the two of us to the train station. Unfortunately, another monkey wrench: that train was not running! That was a serious problem for us get back to Naples, so 5 minutes after he dropped us off, I called Francesco and told him what was going on. He immediately turned around, came back, picked us up, and drove us about 10 minutes to the “government run” train station. Amazingy, as he drove, we gave us MORE info like we were still on tour! After he dropped us off at the “government run” station, we got train tickets (thanks to another helpful soul), ran across the tracks, and got on the train in the nick of time and headed back to Naples. Francesco saved us so much time and money by driving us from Pompeii to Herculaneum, not charging extra for a private tour when the other couple couldn’t make it, driving us to the first train station, and then the second train station. We would have been stuck for hours and probably would have had to pay 100+ euros for a cab to Naples. And all of this was on the day his younger son’s birthday! He actually gave up family time to take care of his clients, which is above and beyond. Francesco is a great guy and a great guide. My girlfriend and I cannot recommend and thank him enough.

Published on Dec, 2024

Ask for Francesco as your guide! We toured Pompeii in the morning and had an afternoon tour with Francesco at Herculaneum. We all enjoyed it more than Pompeii. A more intimate experience and our guide was fabulous. He has a command of the subject and his passion for the place comes through. He made us care about the people of Herculaneum and imagine the lives of the people who lived there in the first century AD before the tragedy struck. We hope to book a tour of Pompeii with Francesco the next time we come to Italy. We would love to see that place through his eyes and brain! Grazie to you Francesco!

Published on Nov, 2024

We had the most incredible tour with Francesco today at Herculaneum. We had visited Pompeii in the morning and we did enjoy it. But all 4 in my group agreed that Herculaneum was more inviting and interesting. This was because our guide Francesco was so engaging and passionate about what he was teaching us about the site. He made Herculaneum come to life again after 2000 years. My husband and I are tour guides at the MET museum in NYC and we to tours to Israel and Italy so we are quite particular when we are the ones in a tour. We would love to have seen Pompeii with Francesco as our guide. We won’t forget the story about the wooden press and its possible uses and the fresco sign of the cost of wine in 1st century AD. If we come again or refer our friends we will absolutely recommend Francesco as the guide.

Published on Nov, 2024

Francesco was incredibly knowledgable, professional, flexible to our requests and really an amazing guide for me, my husband and my daughter at Hurculaneum. He answered all of our questions, shared with us interesting historical information that transformed our visit. He also was helpful shedding light on how to get back to the local metro which we greatly appreciated. Highly recommend Francesco!