Trips & tickets
Skip-the-line entry to the crater path in Vesuvius National Park with a smartphone audio guide. You walk up at your own pace; getting to the car park is up to you.
An air-conditioned minibus from a central meeting point in Pompeii to the volcano, with the national park ticket included. You walk to the crater at your own pace.
A bus up to about 1,000 m, then the walk to the crater and along its rim. Departs from Pompeii or Naples, with the entry ticket included.
The full GetYourGuide listing for Mount Vesuvius — crater tickets, shuttles, guided tours from Naples and Sorrento, and Pompeii combinations, with live prices.
A visit to Vesuvius centres on one thing — the path up to the crater rim, entered on a timed ticket sold by the national park. Around that ticket sit several ways to get there: public buses and shuttles, guided tours from Naples and Sorrento, private drivers, and day trips that pair the volcano with Pompeii or Herculaneum.
The right choice depends on where you are staying and how much you want arranged for you. These pages compare the options plainly.
Plan it properly
Every way up to the Vesuvius crater path: EAV bus 808 from Pompeii, the Vesuvio Express from Ercolano, driving and parking at Quota 800, and when a transfer or tour from Naples or Sorrento is simpler.
How to book the Vesuvius crater: online-only timed tickets, groups of 60 every 10 minutes, the 120-minute window, last-minute releases, refunds, opening hours through the year and what the 3,807 m path is like.
How to combine the Vesuvius crater with Pompeii or Herculaneum in a day: the combined tours from Naples and Sorrento, doing it yourself by train and bus, the timing that works, seasons and what to wear.
The volcano
Photographs licensed from Shutterstock.
Yes. Crater tickets are sold only online, on the park's ticketing site, and entry is in groups of 60 visitors every 10 minutes. You can buy up to 30 days ahead; tickets can't be cancelled and the date and time can't be changed.
Don't count on it. The mobile signal near the entrance is very weak, so buy before you reach the Quota 1000 square.
The path is 3,807 m long in total, tops out at 1,170 m and climbs about 140 m at an average 14% gradient. Allow about 3 hours there and back.
Some do and some don't. Several transfers from Pompeii and Naples include park entry; the tours page says which. Check each product before you book.