In this guide
💡 The Short Version: On your own it is the Frecciarossa from Termini to Naples (1 hour 13 minutes, from €18.90 each way) and the local Circumvesuviana to Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri, beside the entrance. Book the €20 Pompeii Express ticket at pompeii.vivaticket.it: it carries your name, so bring matching ID, and allows one entry only. Catch an early train: last entry is 17:30 until 14 October and 15:30 from 15 October. Or book a tour: the coach day trip with a guided tour of the ruinsad (from £59.14) costs about the same as the trains and ticket, and saves the changes in Naples.
Getting there on your own
Trenitalia’s times and fares, searched on 29 September 2026 for a Tuesday in October. Fast-train fares are the lowest “from” price for one adult and rise as seats sell.
The Forum at Pompeii, with Vesuvius behind. Photo: Commonists, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Leg | Train | Time | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale | Frecciarossa, non-stop | 1h13 to 1h23 | From €18.90 |
| Roma Termini to Pompei main-line station | Frecciarossa and a regional train, changing in Naples | 2h13 to 2h56 | From about €23 |
- Morning trains to Naples: 8:05 (arrives 9:28), 8:53 (10:08), 9:15 (10:33) and 9:25 (10:38).
- Evening trains back: 18:00, 18:25 and 18:35 from Napoli Centrale, from €18.90.
- The Circumvesuviana is the local line run by EAV. Its stop, Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri, is at the Porta Marina and Piazza Esedra entrances (pompeiisites.org, 29 September 2026). At stations with contactless gates you can tap a bank card in and out instead of buying a ticket; tap out at the end, or you are charged the highest fare (eavsrl.it, 30 September 2026).
- The Campania Express, the Circumvesuviana’s reserved-seat tourist train, is suspended from 1 October 2026 until further notice. The ordinary trains still run.
- From Pompei main-line station, the Pompei Link bus reaches the site in about 15 minutes.
Tours from Rome
A tour from Rome adds the transport both ways and a guide. On your own, the cheapest fast-train fares and the €20 ticket come to €57.80, about £50 at the ECB rate of 29 September 2026, before the Circumvesuviana. Tour prices are GetYourGuide’s on 30 September 2026.
The coach day trip
From £59.14 · 4.6 stars from 5,898 reviews · 9 to 12 hours · guided tour of the ruins
From Rome: Pompeii Day Trip with Optional Vesuvius and Lunchad goes by coach, with skip-the-queue entry and an extended guided tour of the ruins. Options add lunch and Vesuvius, either a hike to the crater or a tour with a geologist; those make it the 12-hour version.
Pompeii with the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento
From £72.00 · 4.6 stars from 10,779 reviews · 12 to 13 hours
From Rome: Pompeii, Amalfi Coast and Sorrento Day Tripad is a guided tour of Pompeii, then a drive along the Amalfi Coast and a limoncello tasting in Sorrento. With 10,779 reviews it is the most reviewed day trip on this page.
By fast train, exploring on your own
From £112.61 · 4.8 stars from 400 reviews · 9 hours
Pompeii Express: High-Speed Train from Romead books the fast train and the tickets and leaves you to explore Pompeii at your own pace.
By fast train, with wine and lunch
From £135.47 · 4.8 stars from 795 reviews · 9 hours
Rome: Pompeii Tour with Wine and Lunch by High-Speed Trainad goes by fast train, with a tour of the ruins, a light lunch and a wine tasting.
A guide at the site, if you go by train
From £25.29 · 4.8 stars from 24,264 reviews · 2 hours · entry included
If you take the train but want a guide inside, Pompeii: Entry Ticket and Guided Tour with an Archaeologistad is a guided tour with entry that takes in the House of the Faun, the Temple of Jupiter and the House of Menander. Against the €20 official ticket (about £17), you pay about £8 for the guide.
The tickets
From the official seller, pompeii.vivaticket.it, at the prices set from 12 January 2026 (pompeiisites.org, 29 September 2026).
| Ticket | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Pompeii Express | €20 | The ancient city only |
| Pompei+ | €25 | The ancient city, the Villa of the Mysteries, the Villa of Diomedes, Villa Regina and the Antiquarium at Boscoreale, and the shuttle bus |
| 3 days | €30 | Pompei+ plus Oplontis and the villas and museum at Stabiae, one entry to each over three days |
| Villas add-on | €8 | Turns an Express ticket into Pompei+, bought at the start of the villas route by the Herculaneum Gate, card only |
- Named tickets. Every ticket carries the holder’s name; bring ID or a passport that matches it.
- One entry. You cannot leave and come back in on the same ticket.
- A daily cap of 20,000. From 16 March to 14 October, 15,000 people may enter between 9:00 and 13:00 and 5,000 between 13:00 and 17:30.
- €2 for EU citizens aged 18 to 24. Free on the first Sunday of every month.
- Bags: nothing bigger than 30 × 30 × 15 cm goes in. Larger bags go to the left-luggage office.
A day, hour by hour
Pompeii opens at 9:00. Take the 8:05 or 8:53 Frecciarossa and you are through the gate by late morning.
A paved street in Pompeii, with stepping stones across the road. Photo: Argo Navis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Time | What |
|---|---|
| 8:05 | Frecciarossa from Roma Termini, arriving at Napoli Centrale at 9:28 |
| Late morning | Circumvesuviana to Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri; enter at Porta Marina |
| Afternoon | The ancient city, then the Villa of the Mysteries beyond the Herculaneum Gate with a Pompei+ ticket |
| 17:30 | Last entry until 14 October; the site closes at 19:00 |
| 15:30 | Last entry from 15 October to 15 March; the site closes at 17:00 |
| 18:00 to 18:35 | Frecciarossa back to Rome from Napoli Centrale |
Pompeii is closed on 25 December and 1 January. It is open on every other day of the year, Tuesdays included, when Oplontis and the Stabiae sites close.
The amphitheatre at Pompeii. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
Combining it with somewhere else
Coach tours pair Pompeii with Vesuvius or the Amalfi Coast; on your own, Naples is the easy addition, since the fast train stops there anyway. Pompeii is one of several day trips from Rome: the same page compares Florence, Orvieto, Tivoli and Tuscany’s hill towns. For the sights back in Rome, and which day each one closes, see what to book before you go.
Common questions
How do I get from Rome to Pompeii by train?
Take a Frecciarossa from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale (1 hour 13 minutes to 1 hour 23, from €18.90 on a weekday in October), then the Circumvesuviana's Napoli–Sorrento line to Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri, beside the Porta Marina entrance. Trenitalia also sells Rome to Pompei's main-line station with a change in Naples, then the Pompei Link bus.
How much is a ticket to Pompeii?
€20 for Pompeii Express, the ancient city only, or €25 for Pompei+, which adds the Villa of the Mysteries, the Villa of Diomedes, Villa Regina at Boscoreale and a shuttle, from pompeii.vivaticket.it. Tickets carry the holder's name and allow one entry.
What time is last entry at Pompeii?
17:30 from 16 March to 14 October, when the site closes at 19:00. From 15 October to 15 March last entry is 15:30 and it closes at 17:00. It is closed on 25 December and 1 January.
Is a Pompeii tour from Rome worth it?
It costs about the same as going alone. The coach day trip with a guided tour of the ruins is from £59.14 on GetYourGuide; on your own, the cheapest fast-train fares and the €20 ticket come to €57.80 (about £50) before the Circumvesuviana. The tour saves you the changes in Naples.
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