Mount Vesuvius from Naples

In 79 A.D., a great eruption of the Vesuvius volcano buried two of Italy's most famous cities: Pompeii and Herculaneum. Although its last eruption was in 1944, this volcano is still active and is one of the best excursions from Naples.

If you are planning what to see and do in Naples, visiting Vesuvius will allow you to enjoy incomparable views of the entire Amalfi Coast from the top of its 1200-meter peak and the entire beautiful bay of the city of Naples. Read on if you want to know all about the options you have not to miss this wonderful visit.

With stop in Pompeii

Pompeii and Vesuvius Day Trip from Naples

Forget about planning how to get to Vesuvius and book the most complete tour.

With this tour of Vesuvius and Pompeii you can choose the pick-up point in Naples and you will have transportation, guide, entrance fees and even lunch included.

From $122 at Hellotickets

Visit Mount Vesuvius with no logistical worries. Join the excursion to Pompeii and Vesuvius from Naples with which you will visit both the National Park of the volcano and the archaeological site of Pompeii, thanks to the tickets included in the activity. You will also be provided with transfers from the city of Naples and you can choose when booking if you prefer to be picked up at the hotel, the port or the train station.

On the other hand, in this excursion of about 7 hours you will have at your disposal an expert guide who will tell you the details of the eruption of the volcano and the life of the citizens of Pompeii. It also includes pizza and drinks to make the experience even more complete.

Recommended if... You want to know Pompeii and the volcano that buried it thousands of years ago in a guided tour that will save you headaches in planning.

With stop at Herculaneum

Herculaneum and Vesuvius Day Trip from Naples

Visit another of the cities buried after the eruption of Vesuvius.

Tour the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum and the Vesuvius National Park with this excursion with transportation included from Naples.

From $106 at Hellotickets

Among the organized excursions to Vesuvius, another very popular one is the one that stops at Herculaneum, a city that was also overwhelmed in 79 A.D. by the virulence of the volcano. This place also has an Archaeological Park where you can visit thermal baths, slave houses and even an inn that strangely survived the ashes of Vesuvius.

With this excursion to Herculaneum and Vesuvius from Naples you will have the entrance tickets included to all the archaeological sites you will visit and also the bus transfers. However, there is no guide as in the previous excursion.

Recommended if... You want to discover the city of Herculaneum at your own pace and climb Vesuvius without having to organize the transfers or look for the tickets on your own.

The most convenient way to get from Naples to Vesuvius is to hire a guided tour. Organizing transportation when you are on vacation in a new country can sometimes be a bit of a hassle.

But a guided tour includes transportation by air-conditioned bus to the entrance of the Vesuvius National Park. This is something to keep in mind when deciding what to do in Naples in the summer as temperatures are usually quite high.

The maximum group size is 18 to 25 people, and you will be accompanied by a professional English-speaking guide. The price of the tour starts at 74€ and includes the entrance fee to the National Park.

The favorable point of this type of 4-hour tour is that, if you are cruising along the coast of Naples, you can choose the option of being picked up from the Port of Naples and make the most of your stay.

On the other hand, if you have more time, you can combine your visit with an excursion to the ancient Roman city and archaeological site of Pompeii, another of the things to see near Naples.

Many tourists usually visit these two attractions in the same day due to the proximity of both points. You will also have transportation and guide service included, and all entrance fees in the tour price, which starts at 88 €.

Details of interest

• Price: from 74€.
• Duration: 4 hours
• Advantages of this option: the comfort and the professional guide.
• Disadvantages of this option: it is not the cheapest option for this excursion.

If you are traveling by car in Naples you can easily reach Mount Vesuvius. To do so, take the A3 highway to the Torre del Greco or Herculaneum exit.

The toll is 2€ and in less than an hour you will be at your destination. The price of the parking service of the Vesuvius National Park is 6€ and it is one kilometer away from the crater.

In the same parking there is a visitor center where you can buy the entrance ticket, which costs 10€ per person.

If you do not have your own car, doing this route by rental car is a fairly common plan among tourists who want to visit Mount Vesuvius from Naples. Car rentals are around 70 € per day, but keep in mind that to this price you must add the cost of gasoline and tolls.

Traveling by car gives you flexibility in time and itinerary, and in the case of several people, it can even be more economical. Another advantage is that you can book them directly online and pick up the car both in the city center and at the airport.

Interesting details

• Price: from 70€.
• Duration: 45 minutes each way
• Advantages of this option: flexibility in the itinerary.
• Disadvantages of this option: you have to adapt to the way of driving in this part of Italy, famous for being somewhat chaotic and disorderly.

Getting by bus to Vesuvius National Park is very easy. From the end of Piazza Piedigrotta, you can take the bus EAV Naples-Vesuvius.

This service makes the direct route from the square to the Gran Cono trail, at an altitude of 1000 meters. The line runs every day, except in January and February.

I recommend you to check the timetables on the official website. The price of the trip is 10€ per section and it takes about 50 minutes.

Details of interest

• Price: from 10€.
• Duration: 50 minutes
• Advantages of this option: comfort and price.
• Disadvantages of this option: you have fixed schedules of daily services, but often they are not respected.

Another very convenient way to get to Vesuvius National Park is to take the train from Naples. The line called Circumvesuviana runs from the famous Piazza Garibaldi station, the Central Station.

To get to the Garibaldi station where you can catch the trains, you can take the metro service. Line 1 and Line 2 are the ones with which you can combine with the trains.

You should choose the service that goes to Sorrento station, more precisely line 1, and get off at Ercolano Scavi or Pompeii Villa of the Mysteries station. I recommend you to check the timetables on the official website.

The train ride takes about 40 minutes and the single ticket costs 2,80€.

From Pompeii station, you can take the EAV tourist bus service, blue in color, right in the square in front of the train station. The trip takes another 50 minutes and the price is about €4.

From the Ercolano stop, you can simply take a private shuttle to your destination.

Interesting details

• Price: about 7€ each way
• Duration: 2 hours
• Advantages of this option: the price
• Disadvantages of this option: you must combine transports that do not always respect their schedule, and the duration of the trip is much longer.

You already know that Vesuvius is one of the most visited sites in Italy, so there are a variety of possibilities to get to Vesuvius from the popular Naples. I summarize all the options in the following table:

• Be aware that the climb to the crater of Mount Vesuvius is a demanding activity. Although the distance you have to walk is not that long, the terrain is really steep.
• I recommend you to wear comfortable shoes and clothes according to the situation.
• Remember to bring water, although once you get to the top you will have different tents.
• Do not underestimate the hot weather and bring some warm clothes. At the top of the volcano the weather changes rapidly, and is not always similar to the weather at the base.
• If you want to eat around the volcano, near the Pompei Scavi station there are several restaurants with inexpensive menus so you can recharge your batteries.
• If you are planning to visit Pompeii, I recommend that you plan your visits so that you can visit both Mount Vesuvius and the archaeological site of Pompeii on the same day. This way, you will save time and money on your vacation.

If you still have time, or are still curious and want to explore more of this amazing area of Italy, here are two archaeological sites you can visit, even in the same day.

Pompeii

Pompeii is an ancient Roman city that was buried under the lava from an eruption of the Vesuvius volcano, just 25 kilometers from the city of Naples. Many years have already passed since that tragic day in 79 AD, but it was not until 1500 that it was rediscovered and archaeological expeditions began with incredible findings.

Today, Pompeii is an archaeological site that you can visit on your vacations in Naples, where you can relive this history and discover those perfectly preserved buildings and frescoes. In fact, it is one of the main tourist attractions in all of Italy.

There is a lot to see and do in Pompeii but I assure you that walking through its cobblestone streets, you will feel like a trip back in time to 2000 years ago.

You can read my article on how to buy tickets to Pompeii with everything you need to know before visiting this unique destination. Generally, many tourists combine in one excursion the visit to Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii to be done on the same day and optimize their stay in Naples to the maximum.

Herculaneum

As I mentioned, the Vesuvius volcano erupted in 79 B.C. But what I have not told you is that it not only destroyed the ancient city of Pompeii, but also many other small cities, among them Herculaneum or Ercolano.

This Roman city is another of the attractions to see near Naples, and it is said that it corresponded to a higher social class than Pompeii, formed by the educated and intellectuals.

Herculaneum is a great archaeological treasure of the Roman civilization located only 13 kilometers from Naples, as well as another must-see if you are passing through the city, where you will learn how the people who inhabited the area lived so many years ago.

Because it is located closer to Vesuvius, the layer of ashes was greater so it has a better state of preservation, so do not miss it.

Many travelers combine their excursion to Pompeii and Herculaneum in the same day, and even with Mount Vesuvius. But you can choose what you prefer according to the time you want to spend on each of them.