How to arrive to Vesuvius

 By car 

If you have a vehicle, you can reach Mt. Vesuvius going through the motorway A3 Napoli - Salerno till the exit of Ercolano or Torre del Greco:

From Ercolano: at the exit of Ercolano you have to turn left (under the motorway bridge), go through via Boscocatena, go straight toward via Benedetto Cozzolino crossroads: passed the crossroads, go through via San Vito, where you can see the homonymous baroque church. Left the church, after 2 kilometres ( 1,24 miles) of winding road, you reach the crossroad with the road getting on from Torre del Greco. Here you need to go straight on.

From Torre del Greco: At the exit of Torre del Greco you have to turn right, then you have to go straight toward the first crossroads. Left this crossroads, go straight through Via De Nicola and then Via Vesuvio; an easy path 3 kilometres (1,86 miles) long take to crossroad with the road getting on from Ercolano (next to La Siesta restaurant), where you need to turn right and go on.

After passing the aforesaid crossroad, you have to continue going up, and after 3 kilometres ( 1,86 miles) you meet with another crossroad: turning right you can reach the historical Eremo hotel , the little churh of the Holy Saviour, the old and new Vesuvius Observatory. If you want to reach the crater, instead, you have to go straight on, but the road divides further: the right fork take to the ex-chair-lift (not more operating), where there is a pleasant bar with a sight-seeing terrace; take the left fork, which stops after 2 kilometres (1,24 miles) in a wide parking at 1000 metres (0,62 miles) of altitude where you have to continue on foot.

By train, bus and taxi

If you do not have a vehicle, you can reach Mt. Vesuvius by public transport. If you come from Capodichino airport, you need to take the bus for the central station (Piazza Garibaldi). If you come to Naples by FS trains, you need to stop to Napoli Centrale station, too. Here, you have to take the Circumvesuviana Railway, and reach Ercolano-Scavi station. People who come from Sorrento or Pompei, can reach Ercolano-Scavi station taking the Sorrento-Napoli or Pompei-Napoli lines. A bus service, managed by Trasporti Vesuviani, and a taxi service is available from Ercolano-Scavi station to Mt. Vesuvius, until 1000 metres (0,62 miles) of altitude.

The trail on foot

When you arrive by car, bus or taxi at 1000 metres of altitude, from the parking there is a short trail 860 metres long, with a drop of 135 metres and an average slope of 14%, which in about 15 minutes arrives on the west crater rim (1180 metres) where there is a refreshment-point and the ticket office. The crater can be visited all the year, except when weather forecast aren't good. At present, the access to the crater is allowed from 9.00 to 15.00, upon buying a ticket of 5.16 Euro (Lire 10.000). From the ticket office starts a conducted tour, accompanied by the local volcanological guides. The crater presents inside a cavity over 300 metres deep, a circumference of the crateral rim about 500 metres long. The path continues among characteristic projections and briefly takes to the Capannuccia (1170 metres) and then to the highest point of Mt. Vesuvius (1281 metres). Shoes and dresses must be suitable for an excursion above 1000 metres of altitude on unpared terrain.