They're definitely worth a visit! There are loads of organised tours, and lots of guides hang round at the entrance trying to sell their services, but they all just whizz around the main sights, and ignore most of the site. They're also of questionable veracity. I read a book on Pompeii by Mary Beard, where the main gist is "tour guides and guide books claim X. X is completely untrue (or, at best, a wild, unproved theory.)" We kept overhearing guides saying things that we knew, from our reading, were completely untrue.
Personally, I found that being armed with detailed maps and floor plans made the most difference. We had these for our second visit to Pompeii, but not for our first visit there or for Herculaneum, and it added hugely to my understanding and appeciation of what I saw that day.
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Date: 2014-05-20 11:11 am (UTC)Personally, I found that being armed with detailed maps and floor plans made the most difference. We had these for our second visit to Pompeii, but not for our first visit there or for Herculaneum, and it added hugely to my understanding and appeciation of what I saw that day.