A day trip to Pompeii from Naples: what you need to know
The ancient city of Pompeii is probably one of Italy’s most famous attractions. But is it worth visiting? How do you get to Pompeii? And should you stay in Pompei or somewhere else? We took a day trip from Naples to Pompeii and loved it… In this blog, I’ll explain everything you need to know about planning your own visit, different ways to get there, and what to expect.
How to get to Pompeii
There are plenty of guided tours that will take you from your chosen city to Pompeii. But the most popular base for a trip to the ancient ruins is Naples. A train takes just 30 minutes, making it an easy trip to organise for yourself without the need for a guide.
We took the 13 train from Naples Centrale to Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri railway station, simply tapping in on our cards to pay. 30 minutes later, we were arriving at the station just 5 minutes walk from the site entrance.
Which tickets to buy for Pompeii
There are a range of different tickets you can buy to access the archaeological park at Pompeii which can make it a bit confusing. There are also lots of third-party companies that buy up tickets and sell them on at a mark-up (very common in Italy!) so make sure you purchase directly from the official site. You can also buy on the day at the entrance, but this is likely to have a long queue.
We paid €25 for the Pompeii Plus ticket to see the park and two villas (Villa dei Misteri y Villa di Diomede). You can buy cheaper tickets just to see the park/city itself but we thought the well-preserved ancient villas were worth visiting, and we weren’t disappointed. There is also an advanced ticket with access to more sites.
Note: Theprint at home ticket does not need to be printed, despite saying so on the PDF. You can show it on your phone at the entrance.
What is there to do in Pompeii?
The ancient city of Pompeii is much larger than I was expecting. We spent 3-4 hours wandering the grounds of the park. It’s best if you rent an audioguide or download the app to follow the routes around, as it’s confusing and there is very little signage.
Really, the main thing to do is just walk around. But that doesn’t do it justice. You’ll see the sites of old bakeries where archaeologists found ancient grains still in the pots. The famous Cave Canem dog mosaic is in the entry to a home, there’s a brothel with paintings on the walls, and incredibly well-preserved mural in one of the villas, an old theatre, amphitheatre, market place, and so much more.
There is also a small museum building with the encased bodies of victims that were found in the ruins, still covered in the mix of ash and stone that destroyed Pompeii when nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. In fact as you walk around it’s hard to ignore the volcano looming in the background, and think about how scary it must have been for the people of Pompeii to watch it erupt.
What to pack for a day in Pompeii
You don’t really need to bring anything for a day trip to Pompeii, except comfy clothing and footwear and sun protection if you’re visiting in hot weather. This is what I wore/packed for our day in Pompeii:
A t-shirt
A pair of jeans
A light shirt
A pair of Converse
A cap
Sunglasses
A shoulder bag
A bottle of water (can be refilled for free throughout the site)
Phone charger
Headphones for the app audioguide
Book for the train
Find out more about how we spent three days in Naples here.