While in Southern Italy, visiting both the ancient ruins of Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius is a must since they are both incredible sites of ancient history. In this blog post I’ll share the most convenient way to visit Vesuvius and Pompeii in one day to help you plan the perfect day trip. This blog post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase I may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Find out more here.
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How did you visit Vesuvius and Pompeii?
I was based in Naples. I decided that the best way for me to visit Vesuvius and Pompeii was to join a day trip organized by a local company. This is the day trip I joined. I bought the tickets online a few weeks before my trip to make sure it wouldn’t be sold out.
I thought this way I don’t have to rent a car, worry about parking, waiting in line at the ticket office in Pompeii and the Vesuvius National Park. Just had to show up on time and everything else was taken care of.
The meeting point was in Naples’ Piazza Garibaldi, close to the main train station, Napoli Centrale. This is very convenient since you will find public transportation that brings you to the main train station no matter where you stay in the city of Naples.
There is also a similar day trip to Vesuvius and Pompeii from Sorrento in case that’s your base when visiting the Amalfi Coast.
What did the Vesuvius and Pompeii day trip you joined include?
The trip included the round trip transportation by bus from Naples, tickets to both Pompeii and Vesuvius, an expert guide for Pompeii, and a pizza lunch with a drink. So basically everything I needed for the day.
I got the Vesuvius entrance ticket via WhatsApp the day before the trip. And our guide had my Pompeii ticket on the day of the trip. Each of us had to show our ticket for Vesuvius because that’s the rule of the National Park, hence why they texted it to us in advance.
For lunch we ate at a restaurant close to Vesuvius. We could pick from a margherita or marinara pizza.
And a drink, either alcoholic or non-alcoholic, was also included. The pizza was delicious, as it is the case with most places in the Naples area.
After lunch surprise
After lunch and before we went to Vesuvius for the second part of the day we also stopped at Maurizio Russo’s distillery for a limoncello tasting. His limoncello and other beverages got international awards and he was there himself, so it was a really cool surprise.
In fact, he didn’t give us just limoncello to try, but also a pistachio drink, meloncello (the equivalent of limoncello but with melons), and a strawberry drink.
And we also tried his famous mozzarella limoncello and mozzarella rum. They are combinations of limoncello or rum with buffalo milk, the same milk that mozzarella is made from.
I know the combination might sound disgusting, but it’s actually really creamy and delicious. No wonder he got some international prizes for these drinks.
Besides all the drinks, we could also try lemon chocolate, cookies, candy. It was a feast. Everything was really good.
Of course, after you try everything, and if you liked something, you can support him by buying either drinks or chocolate as souvenirs.
Is one day enough to visit both Pompeii and Vesuvius?
Yes, I think one day is enough time to visit both Pompeii and Vesuvius. Both are close to Naples, so you won’t waste much time in transit.
The guided tour for the archaeological sites of Pompeii lasts around two hours and you cover a lot during that time.
The hike to the crater of Mount Vesuvius only takes about 30 minutes. So even though you see a lot in a single day, you won’t feel rushed. I personally didn’t feel like I needed extra time in either location.
What was your experience visiting Pompeii?
It was mind-blowing. I loved visiting this ancient Roman city so much! Pompeii was a city that was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
The city was covered by 8 meters of volcanic ash and pumice, thus preserving the city. This allows us to see what Roman cities looked like at the time.
The Pompeii ruins are not just a few rocks that were part of buildings. They are entire buildings, streets, and neighborhoods that are very well-preserved.
I’m glad we had a guided tour of Pompeii included with our day trip ticket because I learned so much about it. Don’t get me wrong, even just walking the streets of Pompeii is a surreal thing.
But learning about how they lived during Roman times and how we still use a lot of the design principles from the city of Pompeii in the way we design cities today is an unforgettable experience. At least it was for me.
It made me realize the significance of Pompeii even nowadays, after over 2,000 years. The ancient civilizations were incredibly smart. I wish I could go back in time to talk to them.
Besides the archaeological ruins, you can also see plaster casts of some victims of the eruption. You can literally see the position they were in when they died when the volcano erupted.
What was your experience visiting Mount Vesuvius?
I am not a hiker, so I hated the hiking in the scorching heat part haha. But once I made it to the top it was amazing. Being able to see a volcano crater up close and enjoy breathtaking views of Naples made up for the hike.
Vesuvius is the volcano whose eruption destroyed not only Pompeii, but also Herculaneum, Oplontis and other settlements.
The volcano erupted multiple times since, its last eruption being in 1944. It is technically still an active volcano, but it hasn’t erupted in 80+ years, so visiting it is safe.
The bus will take you up to 1,000 meters altitude, and from there you have to hike another 280 meters to reach the peak of Mt. Vesuvius and see the crater.
The hike to the crater rim can be a bit challenging because some of the slopes are pretty steep and there are a lot of small volcanic rocks on the ground. Which means that it’s easy to slip and fall, especially when you go back down.
I managed not to fall, but I had to walk pretty slowly. Make sure you wear sneakers. I can’t imagine doing this hike in sandals or flip-flops.
It was really cool to see a volcano with so much history in person. It’s absolutely worth the trip and the hike. Plus, the view of the Bay of Naples from up there is incredible.
What should I bring on this Vesuvius and Pompeii day trip?
If you visit during high season it will be very hot. And both Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius don’t have much shade.
So make sure you use sun screen. I re-applied it in between the two sites to make sure I don’t get a sunburn. It’s a good idea to also bring a hat and sunglasses.
Since you will sweat a lot, make sure you have a bottle of water with you. In case you forget you can also buy it in Pompeii, at the restaurant where you have lunch, or at the top of Mount Vesuvius, so no need to panic.
It would be a good idea to have some cash with you if you need to buy water or anything else, especially at Vesuvius.
You can use the bathroom both at Pompeii and at the restaurant. I didn’t use the restroom at Vesuvius, but I think there was one.
Make sure you wear closed-toe, comfortable shoes since you’ll have to hike to the top of Mount Vesuvius.
Do I need to book tickets in advance?
Yes, I highly recommend you book your tickets in advance of your trip. Naples is a very popular destination so it’s very likely that tickets will sell out for this day trip. Especially if you visit during the summer months. Booking in advance will give you peace of mind.
Do you recommend this day trip to solo travelers?
Yes, absolutely. This day trip is open to anyone: solo travelers, couples, families etc. There were people of all ages on this day trip from all over the world.
The two sites you will be visiting on this day trip have such an incredible history that it would be a pity not to see them while in the Naples area.
I felt completely safe on this day trip. In addition, our guide, Alessia, was so warm and funny. She made everyone feel welcome and made sure we were all having a great time.
The driver was incredible too. The drive to Vesuvius is on very narrow roads and he navigated all the turns and traffic from the opposite way like a champ. I feel like if you’re not an experienced driver you will crash the car on these roads. Another reason to just book a day trip.
How to get cell phone data when visiting from abroad?
The cheapest and most convenient way to get data while visiting from abroad is to buy an eSIM. An eSIM is a digital SIM that lets you activate a data plan from a provider without having to use a physical SIM card. They are super easy to use.
I use Airalo. You can go to their website, select the country you’re traveling to, select how many GB of data you want, and how many days you want the eSIM to be active for. After you pay you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to activate the eSIM.
You can activate it on your phone in under 1 minute. Once the eSIM is activated you don’t have to do anything else. When you’re at your destination you will automatically get data.
The service might get a little spotty while on the top of Mount Vesuvius, but other than that you should get good coverage everywhere in Italy.
The cool thing about eSIMs is that if you travel to multiple places in Europe, you can just buy one eSIM for Europe. And you have data in all European countries.
Europe was just an example I used since this blog post was about Pompeii and Vesuvius. But there are eSIM plans for Asia, Africa, or even global. These packages can come in so handy if you go on a long trip around the world!
This way you don’t have to buy a new SIM card in every country you visit and to keep changing it. And you don’t have to pay hefty roaming bills to your network provider from home.
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Ioana was born and raised in Romania, lived in NYC for 14 years, and is now back in Romania. She fell in love with traveling when she was little and used to visit her aunt in Vienna. Then in high school she was able to visit Siberia, Turkmenistan, Istanbul, and Tokyo through chemistry competitions. As an adult she started to travel solo once she turned 30 and visited 20+ countries so far. Ioana is a full time travel blogger and content creator with an audience of 80K+ people on Instagram. She loves to share travel recommendations and tips.