Best time to visit Naples

Rainy days count days with at least 1 mm. The pattern is simple: a dry, hot summer, a warm but increasingly wet autumn, and mild, damp winters. October has more rain than April on slightly fewer wet days, so autumn rain tends to come in heavier falls. The sea lags behind the air: seatemperature.org puts the average at about 25°C (77°F) in September and 21.5°C (71°F) in October, against 19°C (66°F) in May.

March and April are mild, green and changeable, with about nine wet days a month. Museums and sites are uncrowded until Easter. Easter 2027 is Sunday, March 28: Good Friday on Procida (March 26) has the island's procession of the Misteri at dawn, and Naples fills with Italian visitors over the long weekend. See Easter in Naples.

May is one of the best months. Highs reach 24°C (74°F), the sea begins to warm, and the city runs Maggio dei Monumenti, a month of free openings of usually closed buildings (May 2 to June 2 in 2026; the 2027 dates had not been announced). The first San Gennaro celebration of 2027 falls on May 1. In 2027 the Louis Vuitton Cup starts on the bay on May 22, which will push up prices from late May.

June is warm and dry, with long evenings: the sun set at 8:37 p.m. on June 21 by our calculation. The Gaiola underwater park takes online bookings for swimmers from May to September, and the Campania Teatro Festival runs in late June and early July (June 12 to July 12 in 2026).

July and August are hot, with average highs of 30–31°C (87–88°F) and record highs of 39–40°C. Do the old town and the ruins early, spend the middle of the day in museums or on a boat, and eat late like everyone else.

August has its own rules. Ferragosto, August 15, is Italy's midsummer holiday. Many family trattorie and some pizzerias close for part of the month; George, the city's two-star restaurant, closed from August 9 to September 3 in 2026. The state museums mostly stay open: on Ferragosto 2026 Palazzo Reale, Capodimonte, the Certosa di San Martino and Herculaneum all opened at normal prices. Check a restaurant's own page or phone before crossing town in August.

The second half of September is the best time of year for many visitors: 27°C (80°F) highs, a sea still warm from summer, full ferry timetables and thinner crowds. September 19 is the feast of San Gennaro, when the Duomo is packed.

October is still warm, 23°C (73°F), but it is the start of the wet season, with 136 mm of rain on average, and mid-October hotel prices can be surprisingly high: one old-town hotel we priced cost €455 on October 14, 2026 and €140 on November 11. The day shortens fast: sunset moves from 6:46 p.m. on October 1 to 6:24 p.m. on October 15, and to 5:08 p.m. on October 26, the day after the clocks go back. From October 15, Pompeii and Herculaneum switch to winter hours with last entry at 3:30 p.m.

November is the wettest month (152 mm) and the cheapest for hotels. In 2026 only, it is also the month Capodichino is closed, so read getting to Naples before you book.

• Ferries: NLG's Naples–Capri timetable and Alilauro's Ischia and Sorrento fares run to November 3, 2026; Alilauro's Sorrento–Positano boats stop on October 31 and Sorrento–Amalfi on November 3. Caremar, the public operator, sails all year; winter timetables had not been published on September 30.
• Capri: the landing levy drops from €5 to €2.50 on November 1. The Blue Grotto opens only 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. from October 16 to March 31, sea permitting, and Villa San Michele closes in February.
• Ischia: Giardini Poseidon's thermal park closes for the season on October 31, 2026; the Castello Aragonese closes from January 7 to early March.

For a Capri day trip, October is the sweet spot: crowds thin and boats still run often. From mid-November to March the islands are quiet, some hotels and restaurants shut, and a rough sea can cancel fast boats.

Winter is mild, 13–14°C (56–58°F) by day, and it is when Naples is most itself. From mid-November (November 14 in 2025), Via San Gregorio Armeno becomes the city's Christmas market of hand-made crib figures, and the city eats fish for two days over Christmas; see Christmas in Naples. December 16 is the third San Gennaro date. New Year's Eve is a huge free party with a risky side: private fireworks injured at least 57 people in Naples and its province on the night into 2026.

January and February are the quietest and cheapest months. Museums keep normal hours (most close one day a week), sunset is at about 4:36 p.m. on December 15, and an umbrella earns its place. For how long to stay in any season, see how many days in Naples.