Naples International Airport to Pompeii
About 25 km south-east; the cheap route is the Alibus plus the Circumvesuviana train, while a fixed-fare taxi runs around €70–80.
The Roman town buried by Vesuvius in AD 79 and dug out of the ash largely intact — streets, shops, frescoed houses and the plaster casts of the people who did not get out.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Pompeii, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €75).
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €75 | Private transfer |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €75 | Private transfer |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €75 | Private transfer |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Cheapest fare | From €8, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Train
Under eleven euros and the way most visitors go. Note the station name: Pompei Scavi is the ruins, plain Pompei is the modern town on a different line and a twenty-minute walk away.
Where to catch it: Alibus to Napoli Centrale, then the Circumvesuviana towards Sorrento; get off at Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri, which is a two-minute walk from the Porta Marina entrance.
Best for budget travellers near a stationTaxi
Thirty-five minutes on the motorway against seventy on the train. Worth it if you are going straight from the airport to the site with luggage, which several hotels near the ruins are set up for.
Where to catch it: Pompeii is on the published fare list; confirm the figure before setting off as with any predetermined run.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
If you are visiting the site rather than staying, agree the waiting arrangement in advance — Pompeii takes three hours minimum and the taxi rank outside is unreliable in the afternoon.
Where to catch it: Commonly booked as part of a day trip that continues to Vesuvius or the Amalfi Coast, with the driver waiting.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
Sensible if Pompeii is a stop on a wider drive — Vesuvius, Herculaneum and the coast are all within half an hour. Less sensible if Naples is your base, given the ZTL.
Where to catch it: Straight down the A3 motorway; there are paid car parks around the Porta Marina and Piazza Anfiteatro entrances.
Best for travellers who want to explorePompeii & Naples in photos
Buying tickets in Naples
Naples has no airport rail link and does not need one: the Alibus shuttle leaves from directly outside arrivals, costs €5, and reaches Piazza Garibaldi (Napoli Centrale) in 20–30 minutes before continuing to Piazza Municipio by the port in 35–40. The detail most arrivals miss is that the ticket is integrated and valid for 90 minutes across other urban services — so if your hotel needs a metro or funicular leg afterwards, the same €5 covers it. Buy from the machine, the ANM app or on board, and validate. For onward journeys, the Curreri coach runs from the same area down the peninsula to Sorrento, and the Circumvesuviana commuter railway from the lower level of Napoli Centrale serves Pompeii and the coast cheaply — get off at Pompei Scavi for the ruins, not plain Pompei, which is a different line and a 20-minute walk away.
Taxi scams & safety in Naples
Naples does something no other airport in this guide does: the city publishes binding fixed taxi fares with every supplement already inside the number — airport pickup, night, holiday, luggage and radio booking included. €21 to Napoli Centrale, €24 to Piazza Municipio, the port and the ZTL historic centre, €125 to Sorrento, €145 Positano, €155 Amalfi, €160 Ravello, one way per vehicle. Say "tariffa predeterminata" and name the destination as you get in, and the meter should stay off; motorway tolls and a minivan supplement are the normal exceptions. If a driver starts the meter for a listed destination, repeating the phrase is the correct response and an entirely routine one. Use the official rank rather than an approach inside the terminal. Do not hire a car for a Naples city stay — the centro storico is a camera-enforced restricted zone and parking is genuinely hard; hire later for Pompeii or the coast instead.
Getting from NAP to Pompeii
One detail decides whether your visit to Pompeii starts well or starts with a twenty-minute walk beside a main road: the station is called Pompei Scavi. Plain Pompei is a different station on a different line serving the modern town, and people get off there several times a day. Scavi means excavations. The right station puts you two minutes from the Porta Marina entrance.
The route almost everyone takes
Alibus from the airport to Napoli Centrale for €5, then down to the lower level for the Circumvesuviana line towards Sorrento, and off at Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri. Trains run roughly every half hour. The whole thing comes to about ten or eleven euros and a little over an hour. It is a commuter railway rather than a tourist service — crowded, unglamorous, and entirely reliable.
When to pay for a car instead
Thirty-five minutes on the motorway against seventy on the train, for something between €70 and €85 on the fixed-fare list. That is worth it if you are going straight from the airport to a hotel near the ruins with luggage, which a number of people do — several hotels in modern Pompei are set up precisely for that. It is not worth it if you are day-tripping from Naples.
Do not underestimate the site
Pompeii is not a monument you look at for an hour. It is a town of sixty-six hectares with streets, shops, bakeries with the millstones still standing, painted houses, two theatres and an amphitheatre. Three hours is the realistic minimum and a full day is not excessive. If you arrive with luggage, there is a free left-luggage facility at the entrances, but check its closing time against your onward plan.
What the casts are
The bodies decayed and left voids in the hardened ash. In the 1860s the excavators began pouring plaster into those voids, and what came out were the shapes of people at the moment the surge reached them. They are displayed in several places around the site. It is worth knowing what you are looking at before you come across one unprepared.
Getting the timing right
Little of the site is shaded and the stone holds heat. In July and August the middle of the day is genuinely punishing — go early, carry water, and use the drinking fountains, which are numerous and safe. The site opens early enough that a morning arrival from the airport can be inside before the coach parties.
Combining it with the volcano
Vesuvius is twenty minutes away by road and the crater rim walk is straightforward from the upper car park. Herculaneum, smaller and better preserved because it was buried by mud rather than ash, is fifteen minutes back towards Naples on the same Circumvesuviana line. A hire car makes all three into one day; public transport makes it two.
If you take a taxi, agree the wait
The rank outside the site is unreliable in the afternoon, particularly when a cruise excursion has just left. If a driver has brought you from the airport and you intend to go on somewhere else afterwards, settle the waiting arrangement before they drive off. Otherwise plan to leave on the train, which runs until the evening and is the simplest exit.
Tickets, and the queue
Buy online in advance and pick an entry slot. The Porta Marina queue in summer can absorb an hour of a day you have travelled some distance to spend, and the three entrances — Porta Marina, Piazza Esedra and Piazza Anfiteatro — do not share the same crowd. Audio guides are available at the gate; the site is signposted but sparsely, and a great deal of what you are walking past is not obvious without one.
What to wear on your feet
The streets are original Roman paving: large basalt blocks with deep cart ruts worn into them and raised stepping stones at the crossings. They are uneven in a way that catches people out, and there is a good deal of walking. Sandals are a mistake. This is a practical point rather than a fussy one — twisted ankles are the site's most common incident.
