For those passing through the city, I suggest spending at least 2 days in Naples, so that you can see the main attractions in Naples in one day, and the next day head to Pompeii.

Pompeii Tours

Despite being relatively simple to visit Pompeii from Naples by yourself, there is always the possibility to take a tour instead.

If you are looking for a more comfortable option, where you won’t need to worry about finding your way around the city, buying the ticket, finding your train’s platform, and all these stressing things relating to moving around, you can just book your tour here.

They will not only bring you to Pompeii but also guide you through the ruins. Each is great, especially if you are passionate about history like me.

I highly recommend booking a guided tour when visiting ruins, since it is a chance to learn more about the history of the places, plus have a more immersive experience since most of the times, some building is not in good conditions, and it is not possible to figure out what they were and their importance without the help of a professional.

Another good reason to book a guided tour is that you get automatically a skip-the-line pass, which allows you to visit the ruins without having to wait in the entrance line. This saves a lot of time, especially when you consider how big this archaeological site is!

If you want to get to Pompeii from Naples by yourself and get a guided tour through the Pompeii ruins, book it here!

Nowadays, it is also possible to book a VR tour through Pompeii, which is a guided tour that included VR glasses. This way, this tour brings you back to the golden ages of Pompeii, recreating each building in detail, and showing you inside the houses of prominent figures of that time. It is a chance to have a feeling of how life used to be back then. Book this experience here!

Taking the Circumvesuviana line

The first step to get to Pompeii from Naples is to head to the Napoli Centrale. The main train station in the city. It is the same train station that you arrive in, coming from other cities if you arrived in Naples by train.

To get to Pompeii, you have to take the Circumvesuviana line, which is the train line that links Naples all the way to Sorrento.

This same line stops at Herculaneum, another ancient ruin that like Pompeii, that was destroyed in the Vesuvio’s eruption.

Herculaneum is another great archeological site to visit in Italy and has some well-preserved walls and frescos, I recommend visiting it if you have time, but do plan different days to visit Pompeii and Herculaneum, as both sites are huge and demand a lot of time to be appreciated.

The Circumvesuviana line is located just downstairs at the Napoli Centrale, the stairs are right in the entrance of the station and you will easily spot it as it is well signalized.

Plus you will see a bunch of tourists doing the same thing as you, so there is no way to get lost.

The trains of this line are definitely not the most beautiful trains you will see in your life, but let’s say they have some…personality.

Brace yourself because the trains are normally crowded during the trip as this is a tourist route. Everybody that goes to Herculaneum, Pompeii or head to the Amalfi Coast, usually takes this same line.

It is also important to pay attention to your belongings during the trip, put your bags close to your body and make sure everything is secure.

Unfortunately, pickpockets are famous in Italian trains and especially in the Circumvesuviana line due to the fact it’s being so touristy.

It is a really short trip, it only takes around 35 minutes to get from Naples to Pompeii via the Circumvesuviana line.

Arriving in Pompeii

To get to Pompeii ruins, you should leave the train at the Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri station. It will leave right in front of the gates.

From the station, you just have to make your way to the ticket post, which will take less than a minute.

If you are like me though, that love to learn about the history of each place and make the most of your trip, join one of the Pompeii tours below, as they will give you a way better insight about this amazing archaeological site.