The Pompeii archaeological excavations, Southern Italy, are of such dimensions that when visiting them you have to schedule a tour tailored to you.
And to do this you have to take into account the actual time that you are going to spend on the visit.
If you would like to visit Pompeii in depth, it can take you of 6 to 8 hours, that is, a full day, which will allow you to explore the archaeological remains in their entirety.
That is, from the Amphitheater located to the east of them, next to the entrance from the current town of Pompeii, even the highly recommended visit of the Villa of the Mysteries, to the northwest, already outside the precinct of the ancient roman city.
In the face of power plan your trip, the important thing is that before it you decide what the places and areas of Pompeii which you don't want to stop visiting.
Map of Pompeii in pdf
This will determine the route to be taken and the time you will need for the Pompeii visit.
In order to get an idea of the dimensions of the excavations, the Pompeii map which you can download in pdf version from Pompeii official website.
Recommended itineraries to visit Pompeii
In this Pompeii map you can see the location of the main corners to visit and they are proposed recommended itineraries to do, in 2, 3, 5 and 7 hours.
At the bottom left you have the Marine Gate, which is the main access, and on the contrary, from the southeast you have access from the current town of Pompeya, where the Amphitheater.
I advise you to take into account what, from your point of view, are essential visits in Pompeii.
To do this, it will help you to consult all the information published about Pompeii in Guides Travel to Italy.
The links do not work:
the map with recommended routes to visit Pompeii offered by the official Pompeya Viva website.
On this map you have up to eight recommended routes, with different durations.
Indeed, the Pompeya Viva website has disappeared (due to the crisis?). Thanks for letting me know.
I have located a map that, without offering the information of the previous ones (a shame...), can serve as guidance for the visit