How To Get To Pompeii from Naples

The EAV Circumvesuviana

This slow public train connects locals with towns and suburbs along the Gulf of Naples, and brings thousands of visitors each day to Pompeii. You’ll also see it referred to as the Napoli-Sorrento line.

It departs from Porta Nolana Station (Google Maps), but the easiest access point for you to get on will be at the next stop in Napoli Piazza Garibaldi (Google Maps), which is a separate station within the same building as Napoli Centrale Train Station (the city’s main one).

That may sound complicated, but it’s nothing to worry about.

Simply make your way to Napoli Centrale (maps) and, once inside the station, follow the blue + white signs for the Linee Vesuviane / Campania Express / Circumvesuviana.

This will take you downstairs to the lower floor and along a covered walkway toward the staffed and clear to identify red ticket office (bigletteria) of Napoli Piazza Garibaldi on the right hand side.

From the main entrance of Napoli Centrale to Piazza Garibaldi station, it’s about a 5-minute walk.

Alternatively, some of you may arrive by metro, taking Line 1 to the Garibaldi stop. If that’s the case, simply go up the three escalators after you disembark, exit into the modern shopping centre, then follow the brown + orange signs for Circumvesuviana. It’s straightforward, and you’ll arrive at the ticket desks in under five minutes.

On our most recent trip to Naples, we were surprised to see that ticket + information desks here had undergone quite a renovation: there are now five tickets kiosks, a dedicated information point, and a real-time digital departures board in addition to the plethora of taped-up timetables

However, as this is the departure point for trains to the Herculaneum ruins, Vesuvius, and the Amalfi Coast as well as Pompeii, it can become quite crowded and chaotic with lots of confused tourists.

Our main advice is not to panic or rush around like a headless chicken if everyone else is.

For Pompeii, you want to take the blue ‘Sorrento’ line.

When purchasing your ticket, ask for ‘Pompei Scavi’‘; there is also a ‘Pompei‘ station but this isn’t the right one to go for or get off at!

It’s €3.30 per person one-way, and travel time is around 35 minutes. A one-way ticket is fine. There are a lot of stations/stops along the way, but some of the Pompeii services run a little quicker as they skip a dozen or so.

Note that you can currently only buy tickets in person at either Porta Nolana or Napoli Piazza Garibaldi station. Cash is definitely preferred by the staff, but you can pay by card (don’t bank on this working though). As this is not a TrenItalia train service, you will not find tickets online or on their website. There is a new GoEav app to buy tickets, but it’s less fuss just to buy at the station.

There are no seat reservations, and be aware of people trying to up sell or put you on the more expensive Campania Express train.

Once tickets are purchased, pass through the barriers and go downstairs to the platforms. There are screens with departures/arrivals information, and the Pompeii train is most likely to depart from platform / binario 1, but just make certain that you get on the train with ‘Sorrento’ as its final destination, as there will be other Circumvesuviana lines passing through!

The current Circumvesuviana timetable has a first departure 05:40, and then 2-3 departures every hour. We recommend planning ahead though, and you can see the latest schedule on the EAV website – click ‘Orario Linee Vesuviane‘ then select ‘L1 Napoli-Sorrento’.

Note that ‘DD’ on the timetable denotes the quicker service with fewer stops.

In our experiences of riding the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii, it’s a relatively small, surprisingly tired, and worn down service in comparison to some of the excellent Regionale trains you’ll find across Italy. It’s more like an old, crap commuter train in London than a sparkly tourist shuttle service, but that’s no big issue.

It can become frightfully hot and crowded though.

Disembark at Pompei Scavi station (sometimes written as ‘Pompei Scavi-Villa Misteri‘), and you’ll be a two-minute walk from the Porta Marina entrance to Pompeii!