A street in Pompeii, with 2,000 year old cart ruts...
	Rome to Pompeii by train:  A Trenitalia Frecciarossa from Rome to Naples.  More info about Frecciarossas.
	A Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Pompeii.

Rome or Florence to Pompeii

It's one of Italy's most amazing attractions.  An entire Roman town, buried under ash and lava by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD then excavated so you can wander around.  If you get the chance to go, take it.  It's just south of Naples, but can be done as an easy day trip from Rome by high-speed train, or even (if you're keen) from Florence.  This page will tell you how, inexpensively & independently, no tour necessary.  By travelling on a 186mph high-speed train, not by 50 mph tour bus it maximises your time at Pompeii, and you can explore the ruins at your own pace for as long or as short a time as you like.

Step 1, take a high-speed train to Naples

• Every half-hour or so, high-speed trains link Rome Termini with Naples Centrale in just 70 minutes.  Trains run from Florence SMN to Naples Centrale every hour taking 2h52.

• Rome to Naples starts at €19.90 each way if you book in advance and commit to a specific train.

• You can buy on the day, but you then pay the 'base' fare, around €44 each way.  Reservation is required, but there are almost always places available even just before departure as there are so many seats on so many trains.

• Buy tickets at www.italiarail.com (easy to use with English-language place names, prices in € or £ or $) or www.trenitalia.com (you'll need to use Italian place names, prices in €).  Italiarail charges a €3.50 booking fee, but this will be refunded if you email them afterwards at seat61@italiarail.com.

• Most trains are high-speed Frecciarossas with a choice of 4 classes explained here.

Step 2, take the Circumvesuviana Railway to Pompeii

• At Naples Centrale, step off the high-speed train from Rome and follow the signs downstairs to the Circumvesuviana station, located underneath the mainline station.  The Circumvesuviana station is called Napoli Piazza Garibaldi, but it's co-located with Napoli Centrale.

  The video below will show you exactly how to walk from Naples Centrale downstairs to Naples Piazza Garibaldi Circumvesuviana station.

• Circumvesuviana electric trains run from Naples Piazza Garibaldi station to Pompeii Scavi - Villa Dei Misteri every 30 minutes, journey time 36 minutes, fare around €3.20 each way. 

• No prior booking is necessary or possible - think New York Subway - just turn up, buy a ticket at the Circumvesuviana ticket office or use the ticket gate that allows you to touch in with a contactless bank card, go through the automatic ticket gates onto the platform and hop on the next train.  The final destination of the Circumvesuviana train is Sorrento.

• The Circumvesuviana Railway website is www.eavsrl.it.  The Circumvesuviana station co-located with the mainline Napoli Centrale is called Napoli Garibaldi.

• Don't confuse Pompeii Scavi (Villa di Misteri) with the other Pompeii station on another Circumvesuviana route, or Trenitalia's mainline Pompeii station which serves the new town.

Step 3, cross the road to the ruins of Pompeii

• Walk out of Pompeii Scavi - Villa Dei Misteri station, the main entrance to the ruins is across the road a 100m to your right.  It's that easy! 

• You can see the station and ruins entrance on this map - the entrance is marked Scavi di Pompei.

• The ruins are open every day of the year, usually 09:00-19:30 April-October, 09:00-17:00 November-March, but check opening times and entrance fee at www.pompeiisites.org or www.pompeionline.net.

• Allow more time than you think you need.  I can easily spend all day there, there's lots to see.

Direct Rome-Pompeii train on Summer Sundays

• In 2023, Trenitalia ran a direct Frecciarossa 1000 high-speed train from Rome to Pompei every Sunday from 23 July to 8 October 2023.  But only on Sundays!  Check times and dates for 2024 online.

• It leaves Rome Termini at 08:53 arriving Pompei at 10:40. The train arrives at the Trenitalia's Pompei station, not the Circumvesuviana one, from where it's an 800m 11-minute walk to the Piazza Immacolata entrance to the ruins of Pompeii, see walking map.

• The return train leaves Pompei (Trenitalia station) at 18:40, arriving Rome Termini at 20:55.  But remember, only on summer Sundays!

Tips & suggestions

• If you want to keep your return time flexible, pre-book a cheap Super-Economy ticket from Rome to Naples one-way, then buy a ticket from Naples to Rome from the self-service ticket machines at Naples Centrale at the Base price when you are ready to go back.  The high-speed trains require reservation so can in theory sell out, but there are so many seats & trains, even if one train is full, there will be almost always be seats on a later one.  In fact, there are also regional trains from Naples to Rome which don't have reservations and cannot sell out so you'd never be stranded even in the highly unlikely event that all the many high-speed trains were fully-booked.

• Alternative Italo trains.  There are also competing Italo trains between Rome and Naples, these excellent trains can be booked direct with Italo at www.italotreno.it.  Here's my view of how Trenitalia & Italo compare - But why not try State-owned Trenitalia one way and privately-owned Italo the other and see for yourself?

• Florence to Pompeii is a long day trip, but perfectly do-able if you're keen to see Pompeii - and you should be!  Florence to Naples takes around 2h52 by high-speed train from €29.90 each way, plus the 36 minutes on the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii.

• Sorrento to Pompeii:  Sorrento is at the end of the Circumvesuviana Railway, so you can travel direct from Sorrento to Pompeii Scavi - Villa Dei Misteri every 30 minutes for just a few euros.  Fares and timetable (if you really need a timetable) at www.eavsrl.it.

• Herculaneum also has excavated ruins dating from the same eruption in 79AD.  Ecolano is the station for this, on the same Circumvesuviana line from Naples to Pompeii and Sorrento.

• Luggage storage in Pompeii:  There is a left luggage office upstairs in Pompeii Scavi - Villa di Misteri station, operated by a tour company.  The price is around €5 per item, it's open until 19:00.  Feedback would be appreciated.  The cafe at the station may also store luggage for you, for the same price.

• To visit the summit of Vesuvius, a regular bus service runs from Pompeii, operated by EAVBUS, see www.unicocampania.it/turisti#vesuvio (Italian only), you can find the bus timetable at www.eavsrl.it/web/node/498826 (scroll down & search the list for Pompei-Vesuvio).  Please let me know if these links stop working.  However, for a day trip I'd just stick to visiting the ruins of Pompeii.  Trying to get up Vesuvius would leave you too little time to properly see the ruins.

A visit to Pompeii in pictures

1.  Take a Frecciarossa 1000 from Rome Termini to Naples.		Standard (2nd) class seats on a Frecciarossa 1000.

2.  Hop on the Circumvesuviana Railway from Naples to Pompeii Scavi, leaving every 30 minutes.		3.  Outside Pompeii Scavi - Villa Dei Misteri station, the entrance to the ruins is across the road and to the right.  See map.

A typical street of shops in Pompeii, complete with stepping stones at crossing points.

A bakery.		A taverna, or Roman bar.

Above left, the famous Cave Canem mosaic - beware of the dog - at the entrance to a Pompeian town house.

A remarkably well-preserved lupanar.  An insight into a 2,000 year old culture if ever there was one.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupanar_(Pompeii).

Painted walls inside a town house in Pompeii.

Pompeii's ancient forum, with Vesuvius in the background.

More shots of the forum.

The Villa dei Misteri - House of the Mysteries - a well-preserved suburban villa on the edge of Pompeii, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_of_the_Mysteries.

Video guide:  How to change trains at Naples Centrale onto the Circumvesuviana

This video shows you exactly how to walk from the mainline concourse at Naples Centrale down to the Circumvesuviana Railway platforms for the local trains to Pompeii & Sorrento.

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