We advise you to prepare your visit well in advance. We are used to organizing our excursions by ourselves, for Mount Vesuvius we had difficulties finding useful and latest travel tips.
We give you all our advices in this article (buying a ticket, parking, hiking trails on a map…) and we explain you what to do in advance in order to avoid mistakes during your visit.
To save time, you can book a day trip from Naples. You can even combine a visit to Mt. Vesuvius and the archaeological site of Pompeii in the same day.
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How to get to Mount Vesuvius?
From Naples
- Car: if you rented a car, from Naples you can reach the Vesuvius parking lot in about 40 minutes. As already mentioned in our previous articles about Naples and its region, we advise you to be vigilant, because driving in this city is sporty and the traffic rules are not always respected.
To compare rental prices we recommend the RentalCars site which compares the price of hundreds of car rental companies to find the best price. To give you an idea of the price, we found a car for 50€ per day, at Naples airport.
- Bus: departure from Piazza Piedigrotta (EAC company), count about 20€ round trip with 1h45 on site
- Excursion: to visit Mt. Vesuvius in complete serenity, we advise you to book an all-inclusive excursion (tickets, parking, shuttle and guide on site) with a driver from your Naples, in short you will not have to take care of anything.
Pompeii + Vesuvius excursion: in order to save time, you can combine a visit to the archaeological site of Pompeii and Vesuvius on the same day. Pick up is possible from your hotel, train station or port.
In the morning you will walk around the incredible site of Pompeii with your guide, in English, who will give you explanations and anecdotes, then after your meal (included), you will have 1h30 to go up, around the crater and back down.
Your ticket for this tour includes transportation, entrance tickets, guides and lunch for a very attractive price.
From Pompeii
- Car: if you have rented a car, from Pompeii you can reach the Mount Vesuvius parking lot in about 40 minutes (the same distance as from Naples).
- Bus: departure from the Pompei Scavi station, located next to the archaeological park, the trip lasts about 1 hour with the company EAV, count about 20€ round trip per person. Once there, you will have 1h30 to go up to the crater.
From Herculaneum
- Car: Vesuvius is located only 12km from the archaeological site of Herculaneum, if you rented a car you will reach the parking lot in 25 minutes.
- Bus: with Vesuvio Express the bus located in front of the station, which connects to Mount Vesuvius in 30 minutes for 10€ round trip per person. Once there, you will have 1h30 to go up to the crater.
Where to park (parking info)?
Mount Vesuvius site has a parking lot, places along the road, to be reserved in advance on the official website (price 6€). Then a shuttle will take you up to the beginning of the hiking trails (3€).
Don’t make these mistakes (our tips):
We were quite surprised by the lack of information on the official website andlatest travel tips about the organization on site.
As we are nice, if you organize this excursion by yourself, we give you according to us the mistakes to avoid:
- Before arriving at the site, you must absolutely book your tickets on the official website and your time slot or book your tickets for an all-inclusive tour. As you can read on many comments on the internet, if you arrive without a reservation you will not be able to access the site even if you have already paid for the parking and the shuttle…
- Download your tickets before arriving on the site because the connection is very very bad at the ticket office.
- Bring good shoes because the climb to the crater is steep and slippery. Also bring water and snacks as there are no restaurants at the summit.
- Remember to take warm clothes because at altitude the wind can be cool
Where to buy your tickets?
We advise you to buy your tickets with timed entrance ticket on the official website (in English or Italian).
In order to save preparation time, you can also book your tickets with driver from Naples (+ guide on site).
What can we do at Mount Vesuvius?
Hiking up Mt. Vesuvius is one of the most popular activities, don’t worry it’s very easy and you will have nice view on bay of Naples, we explain you everything you have to know bellow !
Climbing Vesuvius : our hiking trail tips
When to visit Mount Vesuvius?
As is often the case, we recommend that you get up early and be at the entrance before 9:00 a.m., so you can avoid groups and crowds. You can take a nap once you get back to your hotel!
How and how long to climb Mount Vesuvius ? (map)
From the parking lot, a shuttle (3€ round trip) will take you up to the beginning of the hiking trail (at the ticket office) which will lead you to the crater. You can also walk these 2km, the path is easy but without much interest.
Then after 30 minutes of ascent, on a wide and marked path , you will reach the top of Vesuvius which culminates at about 1200m of altitude, you will have an unforgettable view on the bay of Naples and on the interior of the crater.
At the top, the first part of the visit (about 20 minutes) will be in group with a guide (Itaian or English) who will give you explanations about the volcano and then you can explore the contours of the crater by yourself.
Then count about 40 minutes at the top to fully enjoy the view and remember to take warm clothes because the wind often blows.
Where to sleep near Mt. Vesuvius?
After your excursion to Mount Vesuvius, you have several options: either book a hotel near Mount Vesuvius, or stay at one of the other points of interest in the area: in Naples, Pompeii or Herculaneum.
➡️A Pompeii : After our climb to the volcano, we stayed at Il Vecchio Fauno, great location, located 5 minutes walk from the town centre, the Pompei archaeological site and the train station. Our room was spacious, clean and equipped with air conditioning. The breakfast is very good, homemade cake, blinis, eggs, ham, fruit etc…
Staff is very very helpful. If you come by car the parking is free, which allows you to save about ten euros and stress less! It’s a good value for money !
➡️A Naples: we recommend the hotel Garibaldi Rooms, the location is ideal just next to the central station, and therefore the stop of the airport shuttle in the historic center so you can do everything on foot. We slept there for 3 nights in a quiet place.
Small tip to find your happiness, we advise you to use the search engine Booking to select your accommodation, by filtering the notes above 8/10 we are rarely disappointed. We advise you to book as soon as possible, as Naples is one of the most touristic cities in Italy.
Is it worth going up Vesuvius?
Yes, yes, yes ! Vesuvius is one of the most surprising places we have ever visited. We loved writing this article, which allowed us to immerse ourselves in this extraordinary day. The views of the Bay of Naples and its islands, including Capri, will remain in our memories for a long time.
We thank you for having read all the way to the end, don’t hesitate to leave us a note below to tell us if you are planning this trip, or to ask any questions you may have, we will answer you with great pleasure!
