Day trips from Naples: train, ferry or tour, what each costs and how long it takes

💡 The Short Version: Herculaneum is 15 minutes from Napoli Garibaldi on the Circumvesuviana and Pompeii is 36, so do both on your own: the trains run every 30 minutes and cost €2.60 and €3.30, and the tickets are €16 and €20 (Pompeii’s carry your name). Vesuvius is a guided walk to the crater on an online-only ticket, and the path closes on orange weather alerts. Sorrento is a 1 hour 12 minute train and the start of the Amalfi Coast bus; the Amalfi Coast in one day is easier by tour. Capri, Procida and Ischia are ferries from the port. The Campania Express tourist train has been suspended since 1 October 2026. Or book a tour: a tour from Naples puts the transport, the ticket and a guide in one booking, from €49 for Pompeii and €45.90 for the Amalfi Coast (GetYourGuide).

The day trips compared

Fares are the operators’ own, for one adult each way. A tour’s price is GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price. The DIY cost is the return travel plus the entry ticket.

When a tour is worth it

A tour earns its price in two places. The Amalfi Coast: the coast road has no railway, the buses are slow, and the Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi premium tourad (from €54.45, 4.8 stars from 18,929 reviews, 8½ hours) covers it in a day from Naples. Pompeii with Vesuvius: the Pompeii and Vesuvius day trip with pizza lunchad (from €53.25, 4.8 stars from 10,029 reviews) takes the booking and the bus to the volcano off your hands.

For Pompeii on its own, a tour pays for the guide and the entry: the Pompeii guided tour with fast-track entryad (from €49, 3½ hours) costs about €22 more than doing it yourself. For Herculaneum, Capri and Caserta the train or ferry is simple and a tour sells a guide.

The trips

Pompeii

Circumvesuviana 36 minutes, €3.30 · Pompeii Express €20 · tour from €49

The Roman town buried by Vesuvius in AD 79. The €20 Pompeii Express ticket covers the ancient city; Pompei+ at €25 adds the Villa of the Mysteries, the Villa of Diomedes, Villa Regina at Boscoreale and a shuttle. Tickets carry your name, allow one entry and are capped at 20,000 a day, except on the free first Sunday of the month, when there is no booking and no named ticket. Last entry is 15:30 from 15 October to 15 March, and the site closes at 17:00 (pompeiisites.org). The Circumvesuviana’s Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri stop is at the Porta Marina entrance. The Pompeii from Naples guide has the trains, the tickets, the tours and what is open.

Herculaneum

Circumvesuviana 15 minutes, €2.60 · ticket €16 · tour from €44.55

A smaller Roman town buried by the same eruption. The ticket is €16, and from 15 October the site opens 8:30 to 17:00 with last entry at 15:30; it is free on the first Sunday of the month and on 4 November. The stop is Ercolano Scavi. The Herculaneum guide has the hours, the closed areas and the tours.

Vesuvius

Circumvesuviana to Ercolano 15 minutes, then the Vesuvio Express shuttle €10 return · park ticket €10 plus a booking fee · tour from €39

A guided walk up the Gran Cono from the car park at 1,000 m, about two hours return on the shortest route. The highest rim path is closed to visitors. Tickets are online only at vesuviopark.vivaticket.it: 50 are released every 10 minutes from 30 days ahead, and the path closes on days of orange or higher weather alerts. The Vesuvius guide has the shuttle, the hours and the closures.

Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast

Circumvesuviana to Sorrento 1 hour 12 minutes, €4.60 · SITA bus to Positano €2.50, to Amalfi €3.60 · tour from €45.90

Sorrento is the end of the Circumvesuviana’s Naples line: trains leave Garibaldi at :03 and :33 and Porta Nolana at :00 and :30, and the last train back leaves Sorrento at 22:00. From Sorrento the SITA Sud bus runs along the coast to Positano and Amalfi, and Alilauro’s boat from Molo Beverello to Sorrento is €19. Beyond Sorrento the coast has no railway, so Positano, Amalfi and Ravello are a bus, a ferry from Salerno or a tour. The Amalfi Coast guide has the buses, the Salerno ferries and every tour.

The harbour and cliffs at Sorrento. Photo: Pierre Andre Leclercq, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Capri

Caremar ferry €14.80, fast boats from €21.50 · plus Capri’s €5 landing contribution · tour from €84

Boats leave from Molo Beverello and Calata Porta di Massa. On top of the fare, the island charges a landing contribution of €5 per person, or €2.50 from 1 November to 31 March, which the ferry companies add to the ticket. The Blue Grotto needs a €6 state ticket and a separate fee for the boatmen, and it is open only from 9:00 to 14:00 between 16 October and 31 March, and shut in rough sea. The Capri guide has the ferries, the Blue Grotto and the chairlift.

Procida and Ischia

Caremar to Procida: ferry €12.70, hydrofoil €17.40 · to Ischia: ferry €14.80, hydrofoil €21.60 · tour from €85

Both islands are reached from Molo Beverello or Calata Porta di Massa. Procida charges a €3.50 landing ticket. The Procida and Ischia guide has the fares and the boats.

The Royal Palace of Caserta

Regional train 40 to 49 minutes, from €4.20 · ticket €18 · closed Tuesdays

The Bourbon kings’ palace, facing the station. The €18 ticket covers the Royal Apartments, the park and the English Garden; the palace takes about two hours and the park four. Trains leave Napoli Centrale from 7:04, and the palace is shut on Tuesdays, 1 January and 25 December. The Caserta guide has the hours and the tickets.

Paestum

Regional train 1 hour 17 minutes to 1 hour 21, from €8 · ticket €15 · tour from €39.60

Paestum has three Greek temples standing in open ground south of Salerno. One ticket covers the archaeological area, the museum and Velia for three days: €15 from March to November and €10 from December to February, free on the first Sunday of the month and on 4 November (parchipaestumvelia.cultura.gov.it). Direct regional trains leave Napoli Centrale at 7:35, 7:50 and 8:45, and an Intercity at 11:40 takes 1 hour 6 minutes; trains back run until 21:32. The sites open 8:30 to 19:30 until 28 March 2027, but the main archaeological area closes earlier, at 16:30 from 25 October to 13 November and at 16:00 from 14 November to 1 January, so take an early train. The Paestum small-group tour with an archaeologistad is €39.60 with the tickets included (4.9 stars from 597 reviews).

The temple of Poseidon at Paestum. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

The Campi Flegrei

The Cumana line from Montesanto, €2.60 to Pozzuoli · Circuito Flegreo ticket €10 for four sites

West of the city, the Campi Flegrei (“burning fields”) are a volcanic area with Roman and Greek sites. A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck the area on 31 July 2026 at 19:46, about 3 km deep, between Pozzuoli and Quarto (INGV). The national civil protection department reported ten people slightly injured and some uninhabited buildings collapsed (protezionecivile.gov.it). The area has regular tremors, and the UK government’s advice for Italy points to national emergency planning for it and to what to do in an earthquake (gov.uk). The four park sites below are open. The Parco Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei sells a €10 Circuito Flegreo ticket, valid three days with one entry to each of four sites: the Flavian Amphitheatre in Pozzuoli, the Baia thermal baths, the Archaeological Museum in Baia’s castle and the Cuma archaeological park, where the Sibyl’s cave is. One site alone is €5. Tickets are bought through the Musei Italiani app or website, or at the machines at each entrance, and the park limits entry to 50 people every 30 minutes at most sites. The castle museum and the Baia baths are closed on Mondays; Cuma and the amphitheatre on Tuesdays. The amphitheatre’s underground rooms and the Macellum in Pozzuoli are closed (pafleg.cultura.gov.it). The sites are on the Campania Artecard’s free list. The Cumana, EAV’s line from Montesanto, stops at Pozzuoli, Baia and Fusaro and takes a contactless card at the turnstiles; the fare to Pozzuoli is €2.60 on EAV.

Lake Avernus, a crater lake in the Campi Flegrei. Photo: Mentnafunangann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Before you go

The Circumvesuviana has two Naples stations: Napoli Garibaldi, underground beneath Piazza Garibaldi next to Napoli Centrale, and Napoli Porta Nolana, the terminus a few minutes away. A contactless card or phone works at the turnstiles: tap in and out with the same card, or you are charged the maximum fare (eavsrl.it). The Campania Express, the reserved-seat tourist train, has been suspended since 1 October 2026.

A pass covers some of these trips: the Campania Artecard has Pompeii, Herculaneum, Caserta, Paestum and the Campi Flegrei sites among its free entries, and the 3-day version also covers the regional trains. Naples public transport has the fares and the fines. Check what to book and which day is closed in Naples before you choose a date: Pompeii and Herculaneum are open when the MANN (Tuesday) or Capodimonte (Wednesday) is shut, and Caserta is shut on Tuesdays. Hotels near Napoli Centrale are beside the Circumvesuviana, the Alibus and the trains to Caserta and Paestum, and 3 days in Naples fits a day trip into the plan.

Rome is 1 hour 13 minutes from Naples by Frecciarossa, so a Naples trip works from Rome as well: the Pompeii day trip from Rome, Amalfi Coast day trip from Rome and day trips from Rome cover the journey from the other end.