Mount Vesuvius

The park releases 50 tickets for every 10-minute slot, on sale 30 days ahead. When those are gone, a "last minute" event releases 10 more per slot 30 minutes before it starts, but you can only buy them on the wifi network at the entrance, maximum five per email address. Since April 11, 2026, last-minute tickets carry the buyer's name.

• Your slot has a window. The gate lets you in from 40 minutes before the time on your ticket to 100 minutes after it, as long as you can finish before closing.
• Card only. Payment is by credit card and the buyer registers with personal details.
• Resellers. The park warns against unauthorised sellers. A tour that includes "crater entry" is buying this same ticket.
• Refunds. If the trail closes for weather during your slot, the refund is automatic. For slots next to a closure, email the park within 30 days.

There is no parking at Quota 1000 and, the park notes, no public toilets there at the moment. Your options:

• EAV bus 808 from Pompei. Public, daily, on the timetable in force since May 1, 2026. It leaves Piazza Anfiteatro at 8:30, 9:50, 10:30 and 11:15 a.m., 12:15, 1, 1:30, 2, 2:45, 3:30 and 4:30 p.m., stops five minutes later outside Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri station, and reaches Quota 1000 about 55 minutes after leaving the piazza. It comes down at 9:35 and 11 a.m., noon, 12:30, 1:30, 2:05, 2:50, 3:30, 4, 5 and 6:15 p.m. On the way down it does not call at Villa dei Misteri: it stops on Via Plinio about 40 minutes after leaving Quota 1000 and ends at Piazza Anfiteatro after about 55. In October, with last entry at 4 p.m., the 2:45 p.m. bus is the last useful one; from November, the 1:30 p.m. (the 2 p.m. bus arrives only minutes before the 3 p.m. last entry).
• From Ercolano. Taxis and private shuttle companies wait outside Ercolano Scavi station. One operator advertises departures every 40 minutes from 9:30 a.m. with crater entry included; we could not confirm current prices, so compare what they charge with €11.68 plus a return bus.
• By car. Leave the motorway at Torre del Greco, follow signs to Vesuvio and park in the Ercolano municipal lots around Quota 800. From there, walk 1.8 km (1.1 miles), about 30 minutes, or take the municipal shuttle for €1 each way, about 4 minutes. The park suggests buying parking only after you have a crater ticket.

By road it is about 22 km (14 miles) from central Naples to Quota 1000. The Herculaneum station is on the Poggiomarino line; the Pompei station is on the Sorrento line. See our Circumvesuviana guide.

The path is a broad track of loose volcanic gravel with a steady gradient and hairpins. It is not technical, but it is steep enough that trainers with grip matter more than fitness. Groups keep to the right, uphill walkers have priority at narrow points, and guides stop at wider places to talk about the geology.

At the rim you look into a wide, steep-sided crater of gray and reddish rock. Do not expect lava or glow: this is a quiet volcano, watched closely. The payoff on a clear day is the view: the whole Bay of Naples, the city, Capri and the Sorrento peninsula. On a hazy day, which is common in summer, you may see very little beyond the rim. Look at a webcam or at the sky above the volcano before you commit.

Two limits to know. The standard out-and-back route is capped at two hours, and the northern and eastern rim is closed to visitors. Since June 27, 2026, the stretch from Rifugio Imbò down to the Quota 1050 gate on the Ottaviano side is closed after landslips from the June 23 storms, so the through-walk to Ottaviano is off until the park reopens it.

Book the earliest slot you can reach. Mornings are more often clear, cooler and less windy. In October the last entry is 4 p.m.; from November 1 to the end of February, 3 p.m. There is no weekly closing day, but wind and rain close the trail more often in winter, and an orange Civil Protection weather alert closes it automatically for the whole day.

Bring a layer. At over 1,000 m it is noticeably colder and windier than in Naples, and there is little shelter on the cone. Carry water; facilities at the top are limited.

From Pompeii, the 808 bus makes a clean half-day: crater in the morning, then the ruins until the 3:30 p.m. last entry in winter. From Herculaneum, do the site first at 8:30 a.m. and head up by taxi or shuttle for an early afternoon slot. Our two-day plan puts it together, and our is Vesuvius worth it page weighs the time against the view.

The slopes are also wine country: Lacryma Christi comes from here. See wine tasting on Vesuvius if you have a car or a driver. Coach tours that combine Pompeii and the crater are covered on the Pompeii and Vesuvius day tour page.

From Naples: Pompeii and Vesuvius Day Trip with Pizza Lunch

Meets at Starhotels Terminus, Piazza Garibaldi; bring a passport. Vesuvius, its €11.68 crater ticket and the lunch come only with the Full Day option, and the €49 from-price may be the shorter Pompeii-only option.

3.5 to 8 hours

4.8★★★★★★★★★★(9,547 reviews)

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Rating as shown on GetYourGuide

Pompeii & Mt. Vesuvius Elite Tour & Lunch From Naples

The live Pompeii guide needs 6 people per language; smaller groups get an audio guide at the same price. In bad weather or heat the listing may swap Vesuvius for its 'Valley of Hell' stop. Crater ticket included.

8 hours

4.7★★★★★★★★★★(3,447 reviews)

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Rating as shown on Viator

From Ercolano: Vesuvio Park Entry Ticket and Roundtrip Bus

Leaves from Via Vittorio Veneto 8, Ercolano. You get about 2 hours to walk up and back before the return bus. Miss your timed slot and the crater ticket is void, with no refund. The ticket alone is €11.68 online from the park's only authorized seller.

3 hours

4.2★★★★★★★★★★(1,300 reviews)

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Rating as shown on GetYourGuide

Booking through these links supports this site at no cost to you. Prices move by date, so we do not print them here; the official prices we checked are in the page above.