Pompeii is one the most popular places to visit in Italy and, for any history buff, it is one of the reasons to put up with Naples. We’ve visited both Pompeii and Herculaneum (Ercolano) in a single day. It was cruel and I have come to dislike my decision to do this, but at that time it was perfect.

Getting to Pompeii

You can travel to Pompeii from Rome as part of a day trip. The train is your best bet and the options are for all budgets. If you don’t mine paying more (about 45 EUR/50 USD for a single ticket) then you can take the high-speed train (Freciarossa or Freciargento) and get to Naples from Rome in about an hour. For the more budget conscious travelers, the Regionale train option costs about 12 EUR/13.40 USD and gets you from Rome to Naples in about 2 ½ hours.

Now that you are in Naples, you need to take another train ride. Circumvesiuviana, which links Naples to the Amalfi Coast passing right by Pompeii, is your best option.

A one-way single ticket costs 4.20 EUR and is valid for 140 minutes (plenty of time to get there but won’t be valid for your return trip).

You’ll reach Naples at Centrale (main station). To get on Circumvesuviana line, you need to get to Naples Garibaldi, which is located literally under Centrale. Just follow the signs and you will be fine. The ticket booth is easy to find and you can also get on the train if you validate your ticket.

Now look for “Binario Sorrento” (Platform / Line Sorrento). You need to stop at Pompeii Scavi Villa dei Misteri . The travel time is about 45min. Of course, we boarded the other train which also went to Pompeii but stopped at the main station so we had to walk for another 45 min to get to the site.

Tips:

1. Circumvesuviana also runs a bus line, which mimics the train stops. Pick according to your favorite means of transportation.
2. If you are traveling to Pompeii from Sorrento, you’ll take the same Circumvesuviana line, but of course, you need to look for “Binario Napoli”.
3. If you are traveling to Pompeii from Positano, you first need to take a bus or ferry to Sorrento and then the Circumvesuviana line to Pompeii.

Another option is to rent a car and drive either from Rome or from Naples to Pompeii.

The estimated drive time from Rome is 2 ½ h , while from Naples is ½ h.

Entrance fee and visiting hours

Pompeii is not the only site to visit in this area. There are a total of 5 sites, with Pompeii and Herculaneum being the most well known. The other three are: Oplonti, Stabia and Boscoreale.

The busiest one of all is Pompeii and the queues to enter the site are always long. We visited in early September – which is the start of the shoulder season – and got pretty bored waiting for the tickets.

The ticket to visit Pompeii costs 16 EUR for an adult and is valid for an entire day.

(2021 update) You can purchase tickets via this link (official site) as they aren’t available at the ticket booths.

The sites are open daily except on Jan 1, May 1 and Dec 25.

Opening hours:
April to October: 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
November to March: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m

Ticket booth closes 90 min before the site closes for the day.

You can pick up a free map at the entrance. It is a comprehensive booklet but unfortunately English ones tend to vanish the fastest so it’s a matter of luck and number of tourists if you can get your hands on one. Other languages are available, as well.

Audio guides are available for a fee and you need to leave your ID to get one.

Booking.com

General information on visiting

1. wear good walking shoes, ideally lightweight hiking type for uneven surfaces
2. wear comfortable clothes from natural materials, ideally in earth colors. You’ll end up having to rest on different surfaces
3. don’t forget your bandana (or whatever you use to cover your head) and your water bottle. Fountains are available in the site to refill
4. your sun glasses will also come in handy during summer months
5. choose a waterproof jacket rather than an umbrella and pay attention to cover your DSLR as well (we used a plastic bag and it worked)
6. get that free map and booklet at the entrance as you want to know what you are looking at. You can also search for free resources online (maps can be found here , Italian only)
7. you either want to bring some snacks with you or eat before (or after) you enter the site; there are options to eat within the site but they are pricey and not exactly what you’d call good food

What to see

Pompeii is huge. After all, it is an entire city you will be waling through. You can easily spend an entire day here, but most visitors will stay 2-3 hours.

Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Being closer to the mountain than Herculaneum, it suffered more, so the buildings collapsed under the ash’s weight.

If you plan to stick around only for couple of hours, then you need to decide exactly what you want to see. Below is a list of the most important places to see within Pompeii:

The Amphitheater : it was completed in 80 AD and could hold up to 20,000 people. It is the earliest surviving permanent amphitheater in Italy and is located towards the Sarno Gate to the site.

The Gymnasium (Great Palaestra): it is located opposite the Amphitheater and was used for sporting activities.

Forum: it was the center of the politic life and was surrounded by many important business, religious and government buildings

Temple of Apollo: is the oldest part of the city discovered and has some Etruscan items dating back to 575 BC. It is located to the west of the Forum.

The theater: could site 5,000

Lupanar: the ancient brothel with porno frescos. This is for adult-only eyes to see, of course.

The Basilica: was the most important public building , located also to the west of Forum.

Baths: there are several baths to visit throughout the site . Out of them , the Forum Baths are the best well preserved.

House of the Faun: this was a large villa with rooms used for various activities.

Villa dei Misteri : located outside of the city walls, it has curious frescos and interesting graffiti.

Our experience

We set out to visit Pompeii for couple of hours and then head out to Herculaneum and left our hostel in Naples to catch a train which departed at around 8 a.m. As it usually happens, We met fellow travelers (from Peru) on the platform as we were waiting for the train and all five of us ended up on a train which didn’t stop at Villa dei Misteri, but did stop in modern Pompeii.

A hike of about 45 min was followed by another half hour or so waiting in line to get the tickets. It started to rain a bit so it was a game of putting on / taking off the plastic bag from our DSLR (which is not “water friendly”, nor were any of our phones at that time).

Map in hand, we made our way from place to place without a set plan, to be honest. I knew I wanted to see as much as I could. The “couple of hours” planned turned into about 4 hours. And we were already super tired.

We did see all of the places I’ve highlighted above and many more. Unfortunately some parts of the site were closed for renovation, but that only means we want to go back for more. And to hike that temperamental Vesuvius, which looms quite dramatically over the city.

Read more about Italy:
>>Train Travel in Italy
>>Circumvesuviana
>>Peschici
>>Alberobello
>>Visiting Herculaneum
>>FREE things to in Rome

Note: the article was originally written in 2016 and updated in Jan 2021.
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