How tours are compared
A listed tour needs at least 4.5 stars and 30 reviews; the one exception is the Mount Vesuvius selection, where the bar is 10 reviews because no crater trip without Pompeii has more, and the count is printed in every row. The totals combine Viator and Tripadvisor, and they belong to the product with all its options, not only the option we compare. Within a selection, the order comes from a published method, and a commission never changes it.
The bar
Viator lists hundreds of Pompeii tours. We keep the ones rated 4.5 or higher by at least 30 travelers, and read those. A tour rated below 4.5 by five or more Viator travelers on Viator alone stays out, whatever the combined score says.
The order
Inside a selection, tours are ranked by rating weighted by review count: (rating × reviews + 4.6 × 50) ÷ (reviews + 50), ties broken by the number of reviews. So a 4.8 from 7,000 reviews sits above a 5.0 from 40. We then compare the product records we hold, option by option: inclusions, exclusions, itinerary, meeting point, conditions. Where a listing contradicts itself or leaves the meeting point or ticket unstated, we say so on the page instead of guessing. The sets we read for these selections were 15 records from Rome, 21 from Naples, 37 guided walks, 20 from Sorrento, 24 with Vesuvius, 17 with Herculaneum, 36 private tours, 33 small-group walks and 15 tours built for children: the ones above the bar, not the full marketplace listing. We leave out a tour when a contradiction makes the purchase unclear. We also remove duplicates and tours that don't fit the selection. Smaller conflicts are named on the tour's page.
What the comparison looks at
Which entry ticket is in the price, and whether it is the €20 city ticket or the €25 one with the Villa of the Mysteries. Where you meet. How many hours you get inside Pompeii, as opposed to the length of the whole day. What else the day includes. The group limit. The lowest listed price of the named option on the day we read it, per adult or per group as the listing sets it.
What does not count
Commission rates, operator requests, and how a product is promoted on the marketplace. We do not accept payment for placement.
What we do not know
We have the marketplace's figures, not the reviews themselves, and we have not taken every tour. Prices change by date; the booking page shows the price for yours.
Booking
Booking buttons open the tour on Viator in a new tab. If you book through one, this site may earn a commission from Viator; the price is set by Viator and the operator.