Get picked up at the meeting point in central Sorrento and travel by comfortable coach to nearby Herculaneum, about 45 minutes away.

Herculaneum, is always a fixed destination for thousands of tourists every year. The excavations of Herculaneum, Pompeii together with those of Oplontis, are included since 1997 in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The excavations of Herculaneum give us an ancient and beautiful city founded by the Greeks on the shores of the sea, then falling under the rule of the Sanniti, and finally, in the Roman town of Herculaneum. Already seriously damaged by the earthquake in 62 AD, the city was later destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (79 AD), which covered it with substantial mass of mud, ash and other materials, penetrating into every opening, solidifying into a hard, compact layer of 15-20 meters.

The city has come down to us 'frozen' by the eruption in 79 AD which allowed the conservation of wooden structures and small objectsin greater detail than what has been conserved in Pompeii. Access to the excavations is through an avenue that is currently in the final section, along the former Marine. Recently the mystery of why no bodies were found in that area has now been solved, except for a small number of people, who were in their homes. The majority took refuge in the arches along the marina, where, while waiting for salvation from the sea, instead they were covered by the lava coming from the slopes of the volcano.

Return to Sorrento, late morning.