In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Vesuvius crater walk is a guided hike from the car park at 1,000 m, about 2 hours return on the shortest route. Tickets are online only at vesuviopark.vivaticket.it: 50 are released every 10 minutes from 30 days ahead, at €10 on the park’s price list plus a booking fee. The path closes automatically on orange weather alerts. From Naples, take the Circumvesuviana to Ercolano Scavi (15 minutes, €2.60) and the Vesuvio Express shuttle (€10 return, about 30 minutes each way). Crater access in October is 9:00 to 16:00 and from November 9:00 to 15:00. Or book a tour: the transfer and entry ticket from Pompeii or Naplesad is from €39 (GetYourGuide).
Tickets and prices
| Ticket | Price | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Full price | €10 | Everyone else |
| Reduced | €8 | Under 25 with ID, and residents of the park’s 13 towns |
| Free | €0 | Children under 6 with ID, accompanied by an adult |
The park’s price list says €10 and €8. The booking platform adds a fee: it prints €11.68 and €9.55 (parconazionaledelvesuvio.it).
- Online only. The path is open only to visitors with a pre-bought ticket, paid by credit card on vesuviopark.vivaticket.it, the park’s only authorised seller. Searches for Vesuvius tickets return resellers.
- Release: 50 tickets every 10 minutes for each day, from 30 days ahead.
- Last-minute tickets: if a day is sold out, 10 more are released per time slot, 30 minutes before it. They can be bought only on the Wi-Fi near the entrance, up to 5 per email address, and carry a name that is checked against ID at the gate. This has applied since 11 April 2026.
- Entry window: you may go through the gate from 120 minutes before to 120 minutes after the time on your ticket. A last-minute ticket allows 30 minutes before to 15 minutes after.
- Capacity: 60 people every 10 minutes, in three groups of 20, with a daily cap of 2,520 in March and October and 2,160 from November to February.
Where to buy
Prices are the adult rate. GetYourGuide’s price is its lowest “from” price.
| What | Official | GetYourGuide | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park ticket only | €10 plus the booking fee | €16ad with a digital guide (4.2 stars from 3,798 reviews) | Official |
| Transfer and ticket from Naples | Shuttle €10 return plus €10 and the fee | From €39 | The tour, if you want the booking and the transport arranged |
The park’s ticket is timed, so “skip the line” adds nothing. The €16 product is the park ticket with a digital guide, about €6 above the park’s price.
Tours worth paying for
A tour takes the booking and the transport off your hands: the park releases only 50 tickets every 10 minutes, and a tour arranges one with the ride. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices.
Transport and ticket from Naples
From €41 · 4.5 stars from 661 reviews · 4 hours · entry included
From Naples: Mount Vesuvius Summit Tour with Entry Ticketad is run by Trip Italia. A bus takes you from Naples to the park with the entry ticket and an audio guide, and you spend about two hours at Vesuvius. The pick-up time is confirmed the day before, because the entry time depends on the tickets the tour is granted.
Transfer and ticket from Pompeii or Naples
From €39 · 4.3 stars from 1,137 reviews · 3 hours · entry included
From Pompeii/Naples: Vesuvius Easy Transfer and Entry Ticketad is run by Around Vesuvio. The bus drives 40 minutes each way to the park, and the park ticket is included. There are two starting points; check which one you pick. A similar product from Pompeii, Bus Transfer to Vesuvius with Park Entry Feead (from €39, 4.3 stars from 1,967 reviews), runs from the Pompeii side.
Half-day tour from Naples
From €64 · 4.4 stars from 904 reviews · 3½ to 4 hours · entry included
From Naples All-Inclusive Mount Vesuvius Half-Day Tourad is run by Project Napoli Service. A minibus collects you at your hotel, the station or the cruise port, and the ticket and transport are included.
Vesuvius with Pompeii
If you want both in one day, the Pompeii and Vesuvius day trip with pizza lunchad (from €53.25, 4.8 stars from 10,029 reviews) walks up Vesuvius first and visits Pompeii after lunch. The Pompeii from Naples guide has the full list.
What to see
The Gran Cono trail starts at the square at 1,000 m, at the end of the Ercolano–Vesuvio road. From the square you look north to Mount Somma, the rim of the older volcano, whose highest point, Punta Nasone, is 1,132 m, and up at the path to the crater’s lower rim.
The crater of Vesuvius. Photo: Ingo Mehling, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- The walk up. Groups of 20 are led by the park’s guides, and walkers keep to the right-hand side of the path. The shortest route is out and back from the car park, about 2 hours in all.
- The crater. The ascent leads to the crater’s lower rim. The highest rim path, on the north and east side, is closed to visitors.
- The long loop. Route C is a circuit on trail No. 5 to the Rifugio Imbò and takes up to 3 hours.
The walking path up Vesuvius. Photo: MEausK, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Allow the whole morning or afternoon, with the shuttle. The order that works: an early slot, because the park’s last access in November is 15:00 and the walk must finish within an hour of it. What to skip: the long loop, unless you have three hours. Vesuvio Express says the trip is not suitable for pregnant women, pushchairs, people with mobility problems or people with heart problems.
Getting there
- Vesuvio Express is a cooperative shuttle from outside Ercolano Scavi station (Piazzale Stazione 8). It costs €10 return and takes about 30 minutes uphill; buses leave about every 30 to 40 minutes from 9:00 or 9:30, and you spend about 2 hours at the top. It keeps a luggage deposit at its office (vesuvioexpress.it).
- By train to Ercolano Scavi: the Circumvesuviana from Napoli Garibaldi takes about 15 minutes and costs €2.60. Trains leave at :03 and :33. Herculaneum is a 6-minute walk from the same station.
- By car: the Quota 1000 square has no parking. Paid parking along the road belongs to the Comune di Ercolano; buy parking only after the ticket. The public toilets at the square are temporarily unavailable.
- By taxi: the Comune di Napoli’s fixed fare from Naples to the Vesuvius National Park is €65 per car, one way.
- The Campania Express tourist train has been suspended since 1 October 2026.
Hours and closures
Crater access hours by month. The visit must be completed no later than one hour after the last access time.
| Months | Access |
|---|---|
| January, February, November, December | 9:00 to 15:00 |
| March, October | 9:00 to 16:00 |
| April, May, June, September | 9:00 to 17:00 |
| July, August | 9:00 to 18:00 |
- The path closes on orange weather alerts. On days when the regional civil protection authority issues an orange or higher alert, ticket sales and the path close automatically (parconazionaledelvesuvio.it).
- The one thing that ruins a visit: arriving without a ticket. Sales are online only; book first.
Vesuvius pairs with Pompeii and Herculaneum on the same railway line. Day trips from Naples compares every trip, and Naples public transport has the Circumvesuviana fares. Hotels near Napoli Centrale are beside the trains to Ercolano, and what to book before you go to Naples lists the closed days for the city’s sights.
Common questions
How do I buy tickets for Vesuvius?
Online only, at vesuviopark.vivaticket.it, the park's only authorised seller. For each day 50 tickets are released every 10 minutes from 30 days ahead. If a day is sold out, 10 more last-minute tickets are released per time slot 30 minutes before it, bought on the Wi-Fi near the entrance, up to 5 per email address.
How much does it cost to climb Vesuvius?
€10 full price and €8 reduced (under 25 with ID, and residents of the park's 13 towns) on the park's price list, with a booking fee added online. Children under 6 enter free with ID. The Vesuvio Express shuttle from Ercolano Scavi station is €10 return on top.
How long does the Vesuvius walk take?
The park caps the excursion at 2 hours return on the shortest route and 3 hours on the longest, which loops to the Rifugio Imbò. The shuttle from Ercolano takes about 30 minutes each way.
Can you walk round the crater rim?
No. The highest path on the crater's rim is closed to visitors for safety and to protect the environment. Groups of 20 are led by the guides of the Presidio Permanente Vulcano Vesuvio along the Gran Cono trail.
When is Vesuvius closed?
On days when the regional civil protection authority issues an orange or higher weather alert, ticket sales and the path close automatically. Crater access hours also change by month: 9:00 to 16:00 in October and 9:00 to 15:00 from November to February.
