as we headed back into italy and to naples, we knew that pompeii & mt. vesuvius
were on our list to experience. but after a long and hot summer touring a lot
of sights, we had hopes of seeing it in a different way. i think we succeeded!
instead of walking with a tour guide through crowded pompeii,
we opted to see mount vesuvius on horseback at sunset. much better
for what we were going for this time! although we hope to return and
tour through pompeii (or lesser-known town herculaneum) in the future,
this gave us a much more unique and personal experience on the volcano.
i couldn’t believe it was possible to horseback ride on, and it was quite
the adventure galloping up steep volcanic trenches and back down in the dark!
i’m just glad it didn’t decide to have another eruption while we were on it 🙂
we went with horse riding tour, naples and loved every second.
first, we recommend the sunset tour for sure. it’s less hot & more scenic.
arriving to the top and looking over the bay of naples at sunset was nothing
short of magical. the only thing to be aware of with this tour is that you will
descend the mountain in almost complete darkness – which is fun, but scary!
we were picked up at our hotel in naples, then driven all the way
up to the vesevo stables up on the side of the volcano.
i loved seeing italians in cowboy boots walking around…
such a great combination that i never expected to experience!
we got to know some of the horses, then saddled up!
a shadow on a horse is the best kind of shadow ^^
a bit blurry, but our guide offered to take it as we started
the ride …so i couldn’t say no! he also held my camera
for me when we started galloping – such a nice guy!
the best part was when our guide started to gallop,
and our horses followed suit! chase was thrilled because a
lot of horse tours are very slow, but this one is not boring! ^^
the dusk set in as we trotted along the ridge, and we were
both so happy and giddy at what we were experiencing.
this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime bucket list items!
^^ the entire way up was so beautiful, lava rocks and all.
and, the golden views begin ^^
^^ i could only take selfies of us on the horse, sorry not sorry!
it was amazing (and a little bit scary) to think that we were right on vesuvius itself.
since the historic & destructive explosion in AD 79, this volcano has blown over
30 times (!!!) with the next big one pending for this active volcano.
we took some pictures near the top, and it was hard to get
the camera setting just right with the sunset light…so, we
did one of each! the left shows the sunset, the right shows us! 🙂
that sunset, i tell you, was one of my favorites i’ve ever experienced.
^^ the focus is on the sunset here, as it should be 🙂
also, can you spot the gopro mounted on the rock? ^^
once every ounce of the sunset had been enjoyed, we headed
down the mountain which was the most adventurous part of all.
we took the horses down a narrow ravine covered by trees, so it
was PITCH dark. i’ve never experienced anything like it, and i felt
like we were true italian cowboys & girls … haha! such an adventure.
i even got hit in the face and lost my sunglasses on the trail, oops!
these horses were so sweet & honestly so impressive powering
up those hills. the stable owner told us they limit their daily
rides so they aren’t over-riden, which was nice to hear.
all in all this was one of our favorite things we’ve done,
and such a major highlight of our summer travels.
*you can find more info and book HERE!
we got back to naples late at night, and walked to get dinner in the happiest mood.
this is adding to the top of our europe bucket list, which i am working on writing
and will post soon! i can’t wait to share more from naples next!