Naples to Pompeii: train or tour?

How do the train and a tour compare?

The train is far cheaper and more flexible; a tour is far simpler, and it is the only easy way to add the crater the same day.

How do you get from Naples to Pompeii by train?

Take the Circumvesuviana from Napoli Garibaldi to Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri: about 35 minutes, a few euros, every 20 to 30 minutes.

Get off at Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri, beside the Porta Marina entrance. The trains are crowded in summer and have no air conditioning. A tourist train, the Campania Express, runs on the same route with air conditioning but only a few times a day.

How do you get up Vesuvius without a tour?

By bus or private shuttle from Pompei or Ercolano to the Quota 1000 car park, with a crater ticket booked online for a time slot that matches your bus.

Public EAV buses and private shuttles make the climb. The crater ticket is only sold online and the path closes in the afternoon (from 3 PM in winter to 6 PM in July and August), so work back from your slot. See the crater walk guide for the hours.

Can you do Pompeii and Vesuvius in one day by public transport?

Yes, but it is tight: two parks with separate tickets, a train, a bus up and down the volcano, and fixed closing times.

Start early with Vesuvius while the path is open and the air is cooler, then come down for Pompeii in the afternoon (in summer last entry is 5:30 PM, in winter 3:30 PM). A delayed bus or a closed crater can unpick the plan. If you have two days, do one site each day.

Same order, no logistics: the minibus tour does the volcano in the morning and Pompeii with an archaeologist after.

★ 4.5 · 7 hours · from $97

Explore the minibus tour, volcano first → Tour details

When is the train the better choice?

When Pompeii is the priority: on your own you can stay four or five hours instead of the two you get on a tour.

Pompeii covers about 66 hectares, and guests on combined tours say two hours shows a quarter to a third of it. Buy the EUR 20 named ticket online, go early (more entries are allowed before 1 PM in summer), and add the Vesuvius crater another day.

Is there something between the train and a tour?

Yes: the round-trip shuttle from central Naples costs $31, gives you up to seven hours in Pompeii and leaves the ticket to you.

It picks up at 8 AM and the ride takes about 40 minutes. One guest worked out it cost only a few euros more than the train. It does not go to Vesuvius.

When is a tour the better choice?

When you want both sites in one day, are travelling in summer heat, or have limited time in Naples.

One pickup, both tickets, a guide who explains what you are looking at, and an air-conditioned ride up the hairpins to the crater. You trade time in Pompeii for an easy day. Compare every option in the best Pompeii and Vesuvius tours.

What about cruise passengers?

Take a tour with a port pickup: the timing risk of trains and buses is not worth missing the ship.

The shore excursion picks up at Stazione Marittima or Molo Pisacane, starts at 9:45 AM, and comes with a guarantee to get you back to the ship or to the next port. The Elite and wine tours also pick up at the cruise terminal.

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