It is possible to hike to the summit of Mount Vesuvius. For a modest fee you can put on your best walking of hiking shoes and climb to the summit from within a few hundred meters in elevation. On a clear day, it is totally worth it, not only for the views of Naples but also for that curious look at what might be going on inside the crater. Our guide Federica, from MindTheNap Tours, along with Pasquale our driver took us there for the day. She has excellent knowledge of the volcano, its history and all its eruptions, as well as other off beat information regarding the consecration of the volcano by the church.
The Climb
The ascent is not very rigorous, there are plenty of old people walking up and they do hand out walking sticks, if you are so inclined. Now, on to the slide show for which I have not captioned anything, since most should be self explanatory.
A few short videos while we were on the way up and at the summit. The audio is probably terrible, it was very windy and cold that day.
The trip up, around the crater wall and back down took us a little over an hour. But it can be completed faster, we just happened to take our time. The drive there on the other hand depends on traffic, which as you can imagine can be problematic in Naples.
Wineries
At the foot of Mount Vesuvius are many wineries, which grew certain types of varietals, aglianico, caprettone and piedrosso, that work well with the volcanic soils.
Cantina Del Mount Vesuvio Winery Russo Family
After our ascent up the mountain we spent a few hours in the afternoon having a tour, wine tasting and lunch at the Cantina Del Mount Vesuvio Winery of the Russo Family. We tasted the following before and during our lunch.