How to Get to Pompeii

From Naples — The Circumvesuviana Sorrento Line

The default and best route is the Circumvesuviana commuter train operated by EAV from Napoli Porta Nolana or Napoli Garibaldi (the lower level of Napoli Centrale, reached by a signed descent inside the station). Take the Sorrento line — boards display 'Sorrento' as the destination — and ride to Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri, which is the station immediately serving the archaeological park. Frequency is typically every thirty minutes through the day, and the journey from Naples runs about thirty-five to forty minutes. Tickets are bought at the station counter or machines and validated before boarding. The line is famously basic — older rolling stock has no air conditioning, summer carriages are crowded, and pickpocketing on the route is a real if avoidable risk — but it is by a wide margin the most direct option.

On arrival at Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri, leave the station by the main exit. The Porta Marina entrance to the park is a flat three-minute walk directly opposite, signposted from the platform. There is no taxi leg, no shuttle, no road crossing of any consequence. Total elapsed time from stepping off the train to standing at the security check at the gate is under five minutes for an unencumbered traveller. This is the easy arrival, and it works equally well in both directions for a return to Naples in the late afternoon.

Two cautions. First, do not get off at the station signed simply 'Pompei' on the Trenitalia Naples–Salerno main line — that serves the modern town of Pompei and is a twenty-minute walk from the gate. The station you want is Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri on the Circumvesuviana. Second, allow at least fifteen minutes inside Napoli Centrale to navigate from the high-speed platforms down to the Circumvesuviana level and buy your ticket — the two networks share a building but require a walk and a separate ticket purchase.

From Sorrento — The Same Line in Reverse

Sorrento is arguably the easiest base for visiting Pompeii because the Circumvesuviana line ends at Sorrento and runs through Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri on its way back to Naples. Board at Sorrento station, ride for approximately thirty to forty minutes, and alight at Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri — the same station as a Naples-direction visitor, just approached from the south. Tickets cost a few euros and frequency is typically every half hour. The Sorrento end of the line is generally less crowded than the Naples end at peak times, and the southbound morning trains carry comparatively few day-trippers.

The Sorrento base works particularly well for combined Pompeii–Herculaneum days, because Ercolano Scavi (for Herculaneum) is on the same Circumvesuviana line between Sorrento and Naples. A possible itinerary: ride from Sorrento to Pompei Scavi for an early Pompeii visit, continue to Ercolano Scavi for an afternoon at Herculaneum, then return to Sorrento on a single line without changes. Sorrento also offers a comfortable resort-town base with hotel infrastructure, restaurants, and onward connections to the Amalfi Coast by bus or ferry — none of which Naples Centrale or the Pompei modern town can match for a heritage-focused traveller.

From Rome — High-Speed to Naples, Then Circumvesuviana

Pompeii is feasible as a day trip from Rome if you start early. The standard route is a Frecciarossa or Italo high-speed train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale (typically one hour ten to one hour twenty minutes depending on service), then a change to the Circumvesuviana on the lower level for the Sorrento-line train to Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri. Total transit each way is around two and a half hours including the platform change. Book the high-speed leg in advance for the best fares and arrive at Termini fifteen minutes before departure. Frecciarossa and Italo tickets are named-date and do not need a separate platform validation.

Allow buffer for the high-speed leg. Italian intercity rail is generally reliable but delays of fifteen to thirty minutes are common enough that pinning a Rome day trip to the earliest possible 09:00 Pompeii slot is risky — a delayed train arriving Naples at 09:10 misses the connection. The 13:00 Pompeii slot is the safer Rome-based choice, allowing a slightly later Rome departure (around 09:30 Termini) and buffer at Naples for either an early lunch or the platform change. Return from Pompei Scavi to Rome in late afternoon: take the Circumvesuviana back to Naples Centrale, transfer to a Frecciarossa or Italo, and you can be in Rome by 20:00 even on a 13:00-slot day.

Driving from Rome to Pompeii is possible — about two and a half hours on the A1 then A3 — but rarely the right choice for a day trip. Parking near Porta Marina is limited and traffic on the coast road south of Naples is heavy. Rail is faster, cheaper and less stressful for almost every Rome-based traveller. Driving from Rome makes sense only if you are continuing onward through Campania and have luggage to move beyond Pompeii.

From Naples Airport, by Car, and Other Approaches

From Naples International Airport (NAP, Capodichino), the practical route is the Alibus shuttle to Napoli Centrale (about twenty minutes, frequent departures), then the Circumvesuviana Sorrento line to Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri. Total elapsed time door-to-door is around an hour and a half including the platform change. A direct taxi from the airport to the Porta Marina gate is also feasible — typically forty-five minutes to an hour depending on traffic — and worth the cost if you are landing with luggage and want to start the visit immediately. Confirm a fixed fare with the driver at the rank before departing.

Drivers using the A3 Naples-Salerno motorway should take the Pompei Ovest exit for the Porta Marina entrance, where there is paid private parking immediately outside the gate. The Pompei Est exit serves the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance on the eastern side of the site, useful if your itinerary involves the amphitheatre first or the nearby Boscoreale archaeological site. Parking near Porta Marina can fill by mid-morning on summer weekends; arrive at opening or accept that overflow parking pushes you several blocks back into town. Autostrada tolls are paid at exit; keep a card or cash to hand.

From the Amalfi Coast (Positano, Amalfi, Ravello), driving direct to Pompeii is slow because the coast road eats time — typically ninety minutes to two hours from Positano. The faster route is the SITA bus to Sorrento, then the Circumvesuviana onward. Private transfers from Amalfi to Pompeii are widely available and worth pricing for groups of four or more, particularly with luggage. From Salerno, the Trenitalia main line runs to Pompei (the modern town, twenty minutes from the gate) or to Napoli Centrale for a Circumvesuviana connection — the Naples route is faster door-to-door.

Practical Notes — Tickets, Bags, Last Trains

Circumvesuviana tickets are bought at station machines, ticket counters or selected tobacconists and must be validated in the platform machines before boarding — feed the paper ticket in until you hear the click. Unvalidated tickets attract a fine. There is no Circumvesuviana app for digital ticketing of the kind Trenitalia offers; expect a paper ticket. Trenitalia regional and high-speed tickets are validated differently: regionali need a platform stamp; Frecciarossa and Italo are named-date and do not. Keep cash for the small Circumvesuviana fares — machines occasionally reject foreign cards.

There is a free cloakroom for small bags at each main park entrance. Larger luggage is not accepted, and the Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri station has no formal left-luggage service. Travellers moving through with suitcases should leave bags at the KiPoint left-luggage service at Napoli Centrale before the Pompeii leg of the journey. Day packs and small bags are permitted inside the park, subject to a routine security check at the entrance. The last useful Circumvesuviana service from Pompei Scavi to Naples typically departs in the late evening, well after park closing; the last Sorrento-direction service runs slightly later still. Confirm exact times on the EAV website for your specific travel date.