Tours in Pompeii guided by a professional Archeologist

My husband and I did a 6 hour tour yesterday with Ivan. He guided us for 3 hours thru Herculaneum and also 3 hours thru Pompeii. Ivan is a wealth of knowledge and was an amazing guide for the day.

Ivan is a great tour guide. He’s been an archaeologist for 30 years and guide for 13- nice he’s Italian with fluent English- We enjoyed spending time with him in Pompeii. He brought the city alive with his commentary and insights. He answered all our questions and displayed great knowledge about the workings of the city back in Roman times. Great expertise presented in an engaging manner. Quality over quantity- Pompeii is immense- he hit highlights thoroughly without overwhelming us and then after gave recommendations where to wander after tour ended. We did three hours with him but went by quickly. Highly recommend!

Ivan proved an excellent tour guide. From his extensive knowledge of Pompeii and working experience at the site he provided great insights into the life and times of the city. He tailored the experience to our interests and was happy answering our many questions. All with professionalism and at times with good humour. Highly recommended. Geoff and Kate

Ivan was recommended by friends and he made our entire trip! Not only was he kind, patient and knowledgeable, but he was like a Rockstar of the Archeology sites! There were 6 couples on our tour. He helped us with buying the correct tickets, catching the correct train and making sure we had the best timing to avoid crowded areas. Pompeii is a site that having a private guide is important. You will be very happy you found him!

This was such a great experience, perhaps the best tour-guide experience I've ever had, and I've had many! HIGHLY recommended! My husband, two teenagers, and I toured Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Oplontis with Ivan over two days. He is an incredibly experienced archaeologist who has manged excavations at both Pompeii and Herculaneum, and has lectured at universities. He has in-depth knowledge of ancient history, art history, architecture, and excavation techniques, and he explained everything in a way that was understandable and relevant to what we were seeing. After two days, I know not only more about these sites, but also how to view ancient ruins, and understand what I'm seeing, which I can use at other sites too. He's a great communicator, very flexible and accommodating, both relaxed and attentive--a great person to learn from. He had lots of time for our questions and answered every one with details and evidence--this led to some really interesting conversations. And he was great with both adults and teens, engaging each of us at different moments. He knew his way around the sites, so it was easy to get to the best parts and avoid the crowds. I recommend him highly--you'll learn so much and have so many good memories.

Ivan is fantastic and extremely knowledgeable. Definitely worth it to fully experience the history.

Dr Ivan was amazing, and a wonderful man. Far better than just a regular guide. I highly recommend him!

Ivan was excellent! He seamlessly and almost unnoticeably tailored why he showed and how he explained to our tastes and interests. We visited a lot and learned a lot. In a place as special as Pompei, a tour like this really adds value, it was more than worth it - thanks Ivan!

We spent two days in Naples and booked a two-hour guided tour of the Archaeological Museum as well as a four-hour guided tour of Pompeii the next day.Mr Varriale is an archaeologist and as such naturally has a wealth of knowledge, which he was also able to convey very well to the layman. You can feel his passion for his speciality. We had a lot of fun and learnt a lot. Thank you very much!

Ivan is an archaeologist through and through and a true professional. He made us feel as though we had traveled back in time, as if we were spending a few hours in the year 79 AD. Calm and knowledgeable, there isn’t a question he can’t answer. We highly recommend him—thank you for the wonderful time.