How to get to Pompeii from Naples, Sorrento and Rome

Short answer: take the Circumvesuviana train from Naples or Sorrento to Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri station. It stops a few minutes’ walk from the main entrance. Everything else on this page is about the details that decide whether that trip is easy or miserable.

From Naples: the Circumvesuviana

The Circumvesuviana is the local railway that runs around Vesuvius. Take the line towards Sorrento: it starts at Napoli Porta Nolana and stops at Napoli Garibaldi, which is underneath Napoli Centrale, the main station. Get off at Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri. The ride takes roughly forty minutes.

It is a commuter train, not a tourist one. Expect crowded carriages in season, often no air conditioning, and keep an eye on your bag. Buy the ticket at the station before you board, and check the departure board: not every train on the platform goes towards Sorrento.

In season, a tourist train called Campania Express runs on the same line with fewer stops and guaranteed seats, for a higher fare. It does not run every year or every day, so check whether it is running on your dates before you plan around it.

From Naples: Trenitalia

The other option is a Trenitalia regional train from Napoli Centrale towards Salerno, getting off at Pompei. That station is in the modern town, not at the excavations, and it is nearer the eastern entrance at Piazza Anfiteatro. Trains are usually less crowded than the Circumvesuviana, which makes it a reasonable choice if you plan to start from the Amphitheatre end anyway.

From Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast

From Sorrento, it is the same Circumvesuviana line in the opposite direction: about half an hour to Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri. From Positano or Amalfi, the usual way is a bus to Sorrento and then the train. Organised tours with a coach transfer are easier, but they fix how long you get inside the site.

From Rome as a day trip

It works, but it is a long day. A high-speed train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale takes a little over an hour; from there, go down to Napoli Garibaldi for the Circumvesuviana. Allow two and a half to three hours door to gate each way.

That leaves time for the short or the middle route through the excavations, not for the whole city. If you want to see all of it, sleep in Naples or Sorrento.

By car

Pompeii is just off the A3 motorway between Naples and Salerno; follow the signs for Pompei Scavi. There are paid car parks around all three entrances. Driving in Naples itself is the hard part, not the motorway.

Which station for which entrance

• Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri (Circumvesuviana, Sorrento line): a few minutes from Porta Marina and Piazza Esedra, the western entrances. The busiest way in.
• Pompei (Trenitalia) and Pompei Santuario (Circumvesuviana, Poggiomarino line): in the modern town, closer to Piazza Anfiteatro, the eastern entrance.

The ticket is the same for every entrance, and you can leave by a different one. On a long visit, arriving at one end and leaving at the other saves you walking back across the whole city.

Before you set off

• Large bags are not allowed into the excavations. If you are travelling with luggage, check the park’s current rules before you go.
• Trains back to Naples fill up around closing time. Leaving half an hour earlier, or a little later, makes the return noticeably easier.
• Download everything you need on your phone before you arrive. Inside the site the signal is effectively gone.

Updated 2026-10-08