Naples: Day Trips, Tours and Tickets

Naples as a base: what this guide settles

Search for “Naples tours” or “things to do in Naples” and you’ll find dozens of lists and very few numbers. We do the opposite: for every day trip and every attraction we set the cost of doing it yourself (train or ferry plus the official ticket) against the price of an organised tour, and we say which one wins. Official prices come from the websites of the parks and museums; tour prices from our partner platforms, verified regularly.

One rule always holds: when the train drops you at the entrance, as at Pompeii, Herculaneum and Caserta, doing it yourself costs less than half. When you need changes, coastal buses or boats, as for Positano or the Blue Grotto, a tour saves you time and often money too.

Day trips from Naples

There are eleven destinations, ranked by how often people ask about them: Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento, Capri, Vesuvius, Herculaneum, Ischia and Procida, the Royal Palace of Caserta, Paestum. For each one you’ll find the journey time from Naples, the departure point, the right season and the price comparison.

• Pompeii: 35–40 minutes on the Circumvesuviana, €3.30 each way according to Unico Campania, Pompei express ticket €20 according to pompeiisites.org. The train wins; the tour is worth it if you want a guide and nothing to organise. Go to Pompeii from Naples.
• Amalfi Coast and Sorrento: the SS163 is narrow and the SITA buses are packed in summer. A minivan from Naples (8–9 hours, from €53.10) is the option we recommend. Details in Amalfi Coast and Sorrento.
• Capri: hydrofoil from Molo Beverello in 50 minutes, Caremar ferry from Porta di Massa at €14.80 plus the €5 landing tax. The Blue Grotto depends on the sea. Guide to Capri from Naples.
• Vesuvius: the Gran Cono at 1,281 metres, ticket online only (€11.68 according to vesuviopark.vivaticket.it), 50 places every 10 minutes. How to get up there in Vesuvius from Naples, or combined in Pompeii and Vesuvius.
• Herculaneum: 20 minutes by train, a smaller and better-preserved site, ticket €16. Perfect for half a day: Herculaneum from Naples or Pompeii and Herculaneum.
• Ischia and Procida: hydrofoil in 50–60 and 35–40 minutes; Procida can be explored on foot, Ischia needs a bus or scooter. See Ischia and Procida.
• Royal Palace of Caserta: regional train from Napoli Centrale in 40–45 minutes, and the palace is right in front of the station; ticket €18, closed on Tuesdays. Go to Royal Palace of Caserta.
• Paestum: three Doric temples, 80–90 minutes by regional train. Guide to Paestum from Naples.

The full table with journey times, DIY costs and tour prices is on the Day trips from Naples page.

What to see in Naples: the attractions in the city

Naples deserves at least two full days before the day trips. There are only a few things to book, but they really do need booking.

• Naples Underground, Bourbon Tunnel and the underground Spanish Quarter: three different routes that visitors mix up. Which to choose in Naples Underground.
• Sansevero Chapel and the Veiled Christ: official ticket €12, closed on Tuesdays, timed entry that sells out days ahead in season. How to book in Sansevero Chapel and the Veiled Christ.
• Catacombs of San Gennaro: guided visit only, €13, closed on Wednesdays. Guide to the Catacombs of San Gennaro.
• MANN: the mosaics and frescoes from Pompeii are here, not in Pompeii. €20, closed on Tuesdays. See National Archaeological Museum.
• Royal Palace, castles and churches: Piazza del Plebiscito, Castel dell’Ovo, Certosa di San Martino, Santa Chiara, the Duomo. All in Palaces, castles and churches.
• Spanish Quarter and the Maradona mural: via Emanuele De Deo and Largo Maradona, free. Route in Spanish Quarter and Maradona.

The full ranking of the 20 things to do, with plans for 1, 2 and 3 days, is in Things to do in Naples.

City tours: when paying for a guide makes sense

In Naples you don’t need a tour to get in, you need one to understand what you’re seeing. The three categories that genuinely work:

• Food tours and pizza classes: 2–3 hours of folded pizza, frittatina, sfogliatella and babà, from €25. Comparison in Food tours and pizza.
• Walking and private tours: the historic centre with a guide in 2–3 hours, or a private tour by car or Vespa for anyone short on time. See Walking and private tours.
• Boat trips in the gulf: a day out towards Capri or Procida with a swim, free of hydrofoil timetables. See Boat tours in the gulf.
• Hop-on hop-off bus: only useful for linking Capodimonte and Posillipo without changes. Verdict in Hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus.

Transport, tickets and passes

The practical details that make or break a day trip: where things leave from, what they cost, what to book.

• Transport: Alibus from the airport to Napoli Centrale and Molo Beverello, metro Line 1 and Line 2, four funiculars, Circumvesuviana from Porta Nolana and Garibaldi, hydrofoils and ferries. Note: the Campania Express (the Naples–Sorrento tourist train, €15 each way) is currently suspended until further notice according to EAV: check eavsrl.it before you go. Everything in Transport: ferries, trains, airport.
• Tickets: an attraction-by-attraction table with the official price and the partner price, so you can see straight away where skip-the-line is actually worth something. Go to Tickets in Naples.
• Campania Artecard: only worth it if you visit at least three paid museums and use public transport; we do the sums in Campania Artecard and passes.

Plan your trip

• 1, 2 and 3-day itineraries: hour-by-hour plans, with the bookings to make the week before.
• When to visit Naples: month-by-month table with weather, sea, crowds and closures.
• Naples with kids: Città della Scienza, Pompeii with augmented reality, a pizza class.
• Naples at night: aperitivo in Chiaia, the historic centre, Naples Underground after closing time.
• Beaches in Naples: where you can swim in the city (Posillipo, Gaiola, Bagnoli) and where it’s worth heading out of town.
• Operators and platforms: GetYourGuide, Tiqets, Headout and official channels compared, with their cancellation rules.

Where to start

If you only have a weekend: day one in the centre with the Veiled Christ and the underground booked in advance, day two in Pompeii by train. With three days, add the Amalfi Coast by minivan or Capri by hydrofoil, choosing according to the sea conditions. For everything else, start from the Day trips from Naples page: it’s the table we’d use ourselves to decide what to do in and around Naples.