Naples, Pompeii and the Islands

Overview

Naples (Napoli) is the loudest, most alive big city in Italy, and the base for the richest cluster of sights in the south: Pompeii and Herculaneum, the crater of Vesuvius, the national archaeological museum that holds what was carried out of both, and the islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida a ferry ride away. It is also the gateway to the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento.

Many Americans skip the city itself and treat it as a train platform on the way to Pompeii. That is a mistake if you have the time. Two or three nights in Naples gives you the pizza, the street life of the old center, the Veiled Christ and the museum, and an easy day at the ruins without the 2.5-hour round trip from Rome.

How long to give it: one full day for Pompeii (or Pompeii plus Herculaneum if you start early), half a day for Vesuvius, one or two days for Naples, and a day per island. Four nights is a comfortable minimum for the city and the ruins; add three or four on the Amalfi Coast and you have the classic southern week.

Getting there and around

By train from Rome

Frecciarossa (Trenitalia) and Italo high-speed trains run from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale in about 1 hour 10 minutes, many times a day. Book a few weeks out for the lowest fares; walk-up prices are much higher. Some trains also stop at Napoli Afragola, which is outside the city and inconvenient for most visitors, so check your arrival station. See Getting around Italy for booking and validation.

By air: the November 2026 closure

Naples Capodichino airport has announced a closure for runway rebuilding in November 2026, with flights moved to other airports. Salerno Costa d'Amalfi airport (reopened to passenger flights in 2024) and Rome are the likely alternatives, and new bus links between Naples and Salerno airport have been announced. If you fly into the region in November, check your airline and the airport's news page well before you travel, and allow extra hours. Normally the Alibus runs from Capodichino to the central station and the port in about 20 to 30 minutes. More on transatlantic routes in Flights.

The Circumvesuviana and the Campania Express

The EAV Circumvesuviana is the commuter railway that runs from Naples (Porta Nolana and Piazza Garibaldi, under the main station) around the bay to Sorrento. It is cheap, slow, crowded and notorious for pickpockets. The stops you want are Ercolano Scavi for Herculaneum (about 20 minutes) and Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri for Pompeii (about 35–40 minutes). Trains are old, delays and cancellations are common, and air conditioning is not guaranteed.

In season EAV also runs the Campania Express, a tourist train on the same line with reserved seats and fewer stops. It costs more and runs only a few times a day; check the current timetable at eavsrl.it.

In Naples itself

The center is walkable but hilly and chaotic. Metro Line 1 has some of the most striking stations in Europe (Toledo is the famous one), and three funiculars climb to Vomero. Taxis use fixed fares on standard routes, such as the station or port to the historic center; ask for the tariffa predeterminata (set fare) before you get in. Do not drive in Naples. The center is a ZTL (limited traffic zone) and the traffic is ferocious; see Driving in Italy.

Naples: what to see

The old center (centro storico) is a UNESCO site laid out on the Greek and Roman street grid. Spend a morning walking Spaccanapoli and Via dei Tribunali, then the afternoon at the archaeological museum.

Churches worth stepping into: the Duomo with the chapel of San Gennaro (the city's patron, whose blood is said to liquefy three times a year), Santa Chiara's majolica-tiled cloister (ticketed), and the Gesù Nuovo. Dress codes apply: covered shoulders and knees. See Etiquette.

Eating in Naples

Neapolitan pizza is soft, blistered and eaten with a knife and fork, one per person. The classic pizzerias around Via dei Tribunali and the station (L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele, Sorbillo, Starita in Materdei among the best known) have lines out the door; put your name on the list and wait. A margherita in a traditional pizzeria is usually well under €10 (about $11), which makes it the best-value meal in Italy. $

Also try pizza fritta (fried, stuffed pizza), cuoppo (a paper cone of fried seafood or vegetables), the shell-shaped pastry sfogliatella, the rum-soaked babà, and espresso, which Neapolitans take short, strong and often pre-sweetened. Pay at the register first, then hand your receipt to the barista. More in Food.

Pompeii: tickets and rules for 2026

Pompeii is a full Roman town of roughly 165 acres (66 hectares) buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD. You walk real streets, into houses, bakeries, baths, brothels and two theaters, and the excavations keep turning up new rooms and frescoes. It is enormous, hot and short on shade, so plan your route.

Ticket types and prices

Prices rose on January 12, 2026. Since November 2024 every ticket carries the visitor's name, and since spring 2026 the park sells through Vivaticket only; tickets from older resellers are no longer accepted at the gates.

Under-18s of any nationality enter Italian state sites free; bring a passport for them. The first Sunday of each month is free for everyone, and the free quota goes fast. If you buy Express and change your mind, you can add the villa route for €8 (about $9), card only, at the Herculaneum Gate.

The daily cap and time slots

Pompeii admits a maximum of 20,000 people a day. From mid-March to mid-October entry is split into two windows: up to 15,000 people between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., and up to 5,000 between 1 and 5:30 p.m. That afternoon window is the one that sells out first on summer weekends and cruise days.

1. Buy at ticket.pompeiisites.org, the official Vivaticket portal. You need an account. Enter each visitor's name exactly as on their passport.
2. For summer weekends book a month or more ahead; for spring and fall weekdays a week or two is usually enough.
3. Arrive about 15 minutes before your slot with your passport. Bags larger than about 12 x 12 x 6 inches (30 x 30 x 15 cm) are not allowed inside; there is left-luggage at the entrances.
4. Use the free official app, My Pompeii, for maps and audio, or hire a licensed guide.

Hours and how long to stay

From October 15 to March 15 Pompeii opens at 9 a.m., takes last entry at 3:30 p.m. and closes at 5 p.m. In the summer season it closes at 7 p.m., last entry 5:30 p.m. It closes on December 25 and January 1. Some houses (domus) open on rotation, so check the open-buildings list on pompeiisites.org the night before.

Give it four to five hours. A sensible route: enter at Porta Marina, walk the Forum, the Stabian Baths, the House of the Faun, the Lupanar, the bakeries and Via dell'Abbondanza, the theaters, then the Amphitheater and the Garden of the Fugitives. With a Plus ticket, finish at the Villa of the Mysteries outside the walls. Bring a hat, a refillable bottle (there are fountains), and sneakers; the Roman paving is brutal on ankles.

Herculaneum

Herculaneum (Ercolano) is smaller than Pompeii and, for many visitors, better. It was buried deeper, under hot volcanic flows, so upper floors, wooden beams, furniture and colored marble survive. You can see the whole site in two to three hours, and it is easy to combine with Vesuvius on the same day.

• Ticket: €16 (about $18), €2 for EU citizens 18–24, free under 18. Buy through the CoopCulture link on ercolano.cultura.gov.it.
• Hours: daily from 8:30 a.m. From October 15 to March 15, last entry 3:30 p.m.; in summer, last entry 6 p.m. Closed December 25.
• Free days: the first Sunday of the month plus a few national holidays; tickets only at the office on the day.
• Closed areas: the Villa dei Papiri and the ancient theater remain closed with no reopening date.
• Getting there: Circumvesuviana to Ercolano Scavi, then a 10-minute downhill walk.

Vesuvius: the crater walk

Vesuvius rises 4,203 feet (1,281 m) over the bay and is still active; it last erupted in 1944. The national park's trail 5, the Gran Cono, climbs from a parking area at about 3,280 feet (1,000 m) to the rim of the crater. The walk is roughly 2.5 miles (4 km) round trip with about 650 feet (200 m) of climbing on loose volcanic gravel. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours. On a clear day you see the whole bay, Capri and the Sorrento peninsula.

Booking

• Tickets are sold online only at vesuviopark.vivaticket.it; there is no ticket office at the top. The full price is about €12 (about $13) with fees.
• The park releases 50 tickets per 10-minute slot, bookable up to 30 days ahead. A handful of last-minute tickets per slot go on sale about 30 minutes before, via the Wi-Fi near the entrance, and these are now named too.
• Your ticket has a two-hour window either side of the booked time.
• Opening starts at 9 a.m.; last entry is 3 p.m. from November to February, 4 p.m. in March and October, 5 p.m. April–June and September, and 6 p.m. in July and August.
• The park closes the trail during orange weather alerts, high winds, snow or fire risk, and refunds documented weather closures.

Getting up

You cannot park at the top. Private buses such as the Vesuvio Express run from Ercolano Scavi station and some from Naples and Pompeii, and several bundle the crater ticket. Drivers must book municipal parking lower down and take a shuttle. Organized tours from Naples, Sorrento and Pompeii include transport and entry at a higher price. Wear closed shoes and a layer: it is windy and often 10–15°F cooler at the rim than at sea level.

Capri

Capri is gorgeous, expensive and, from June to September, swamped by day-trippers between about 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. If you can, stay a night: the island empties in the evening and the Piazzetta becomes a pleasant place again.

Ferries and the landing tax

Fast ferries and hydrofoils run from Naples (Molo Beverello and Calata Porta di Massa) in about 50 minutes, and from Sorrento in about 25 minutes. In season there are also boats from Positano and Amalfi; most coast lines stop around the end of October, though the Positano–Capri route was scheduled into early November in 2026. Operators include SNAV, NLG, Alilauro and Caremar. Compare times on a booking site and buy a day or two ahead in summer.

Capri charges a landing tax (contributo di sbarco) on nearly every non-resident arrival. It is already included in your ferry ticket, so you will not pay it separately. It has been €5 (about $5.60) from April to October in recent seasons and lower in winter; check your ticket breakdown for the current amount. Hotels charge their own overnight tourist tax on top.

What to do

From Marina Grande, the funicular climbs to the Piazzetta in a few minutes, with long lines at midday. Small buses connect Capri town, Anacapri and Marina Piccola. Taxis are open convertibles and expensive. Cars rented on the mainland cannot be brought over in season.

Ischia and Procida

Ischia is the larger, greener, more Italian alternative to Capri: thermal spas, beaches, and towns like Ischia Porto, Forio and Sant'Angelo. The thermal parks (Negombo, Poseidon) are a day in themselves. Ferries take about 1 hour by hydrofoil from Naples, longer by car ferry. Ischia was hit by an earthquake in 2017 and a deadly landslide at Casamicciola in 2022; the island is open and busy, but heavy rain can still close roads.

Procida is the smallest and closest, about 40 minutes by fast ferry, with the pastel harbor of Marina Corricella. It was Italy's Capital of Culture in 2022. It makes an easy half-day or a quiet overnight. All three islands are covered on the Naples port boards; buy tickets for the outbound and return separately so you can change your plans.

Campi Flegrei and the volcano risk

West of Naples lies the Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields), a caldera with steaming craters, the Roman amphitheater at Pozzuoli and the ruins of Baia and Cuma. Since 2024 the area has seen frequent small earthquakes from ground uplift (bradisismo), some strong enough to damage buildings and close roads or sites briefly. Authorities monitor it closely and set alert levels. Check the news before you visit Pozzuoli and follow local instructions.

Vesuvius is also monitored constantly, with an evacuation plan for the towns around it. There is no reason to avoid the area, and the risk to a visitor on any given day is very low. Know that 112 is the emergency number and read Safety for more on earthquakes and volcanoes.

Staying safe in Naples

The US State Department rates Italy at Level 2, exercise increased caution, mainly for terrorism risk, and Naples is no exception. The realistic problems are petty crime: pickpockets on the Circumvesuviana, the metro and around the station, bag and phone snatching from scooters, and car break-ins. Wear a crossbody bag on the side away from the street, do not leave anything in a parked car, and keep a nice watch out of sight.

• Piazza Garibaldi around the central station is gritty and busy; it is fine to pass through, but you may prefer to stay elsewhere.
• Use licensed white taxis from official ranks and confirm the fixed fare.
• Ignore anyone offering help with luggage on platforms or selling ferry tickets on the dock away from the official windows.
• Traffic will not stop for you; cross with locals and look both ways on one-way streets, where scooters go the wrong way.

A four-day plan

1. Day 1

   Old Naples

   Arrive by train from Rome. Walk Spaccanapoli and Via dei Tribunali, see the Veiled Christ (booked), and line up for pizza on Via dei Tribunali. Sunset on the waterfront.

2. Day 2

   Pompeii

   Early Circumvesuviana or Campania Express to Pompei Scavi for a 9 a.m. slot. Five hours on site with a Plus ticket, ending at the Villa of the Mysteries. Back in Naples by late afternoon; rest, then a late dinner.

3. Day 3

   Herculaneum and Vesuvius

   Herculaneum at 8:30 a.m. opening, then a bus from Ercolano Scavi to the crater for a booked midday slot. Evening at the archaeological museum if it has late hours, or Vomero by funicular.

4. Day 4

   Procida or Capri

   An early hydrofoil to Procida for a slow lunch at Corricella, or to Capri for the boat tour and Monte Solaro. Continue to Sorrento or the Amalfi Coast instead of returning to Naples.

Short on time? Pompeii works as a day trip from Rome by fast train to Naples and the Circumvesuviana, but it makes a 12-hour day. See Day trips from Rome and Planning.

Where to stay

Naples charges a nightly tourist tax per person, paid at the hotel, often in cash. See Where to stay and Money.