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Pompeii runs on two timetables. From 15 October to 15 March the site opens at 9:00 am (09:00), the last entrance is at 3:30 pm (15:30) and it closes at 5:00 pm (17:00) From 16 March to 14 October the morning start is unchanged, but the last entrance moves to 5:30 pm (17:30) and closing to 7:00 pm (19:00), which leaves room for a longer day among the ruins.
The site is closed on 25 December and 1 January, unless otherwise communicated, and entry is free on the first Sunday of every month. Because that is also when many visitors choose to come, it helps to check the Park's page on timetables and tickets first.
The Park caps attendance at 20,000 entries a day and sells personal tickets only, so a busy day can sell out. Each ticket carries the holder's name along with the day and time slot for entry, and it cannot be passed to someone else.
Staff may ask for an identification document at every entry to check that the name matches. If it does not, the visitor is turned away and no refund is due. As a rule tickets are not refundable, except when the Park closes in an extraordinary way, and neither the name nor the date can be changed. The standard tickets are valid for one entry, so you cannot leave and come back in with the same one.
The site has three entrances: Porta Marina, Piazza Esedra and Piazza Anfiteatro. By train, the Circumvesuviana line from Naples to Sorrento stops at Pompei Villa dei Misteri, the Naples to Poggiomarino line stops at Pompei Santuario, and the FS Naples to Salerno train stops at Pompei. the Park's page on how to get there lists the bus and car options as well.
Suitcases, bulky bags and other cumbersome objects have to be left at the left luggage area, and the permitted bag size is 30 x 30 x 15 cm. Eating is only allowed in the designated places, and visitors may not tour the site scantily clad or bare-chested.
The stones are fragile: touching frescoes and furnishings, climbing on walls and entering roped-off areas are all forbidden. Audio guides cannot be brought in, apart from those supplied by the Park's official concessionaires and authorised agents. The full list is in the Park's regulations for visitors.
Organised groups of more than 35 people are not admitted, and groups of more than 15 must use whisper or earphone systems, so the biggest coach parties are kept apart from the smaller guided ones.
For a private visit from Naples, the Half-Day Private Tour to Pompeii Ruins from Naples is a half-day tour in a private vehicle that enters the site at the Porta Marina gate, and its operator says ticket inclusion depends on the booking option you pick. The Pompeii & Herculaneum Full-Day Tour with Guide from Naples pairs Pompeii with Herculaneum in one day, with a local guide at Pompeii, according to its operator.
If you would also like the volcano, the Pompeii & Mount Vesuvius Day Trip from Naples adds a climb of Vesuvius, and its operator says the Pompeii entrance fee is not included. The Private Tour: Sorrento, Pompeii & Vesuvius Full-Day Trip is a private day that starts from Sorrento and joins the ruins to the crater. On any of these, check what the booking covers before you go.
Almost every day; the two exceptions are in the opening-hours section above.
No. Tickets are personal and the name is checked against an identification document.
Not with the standard ticket, which is valid for a single entry.
That depends on the line: see the train options in the section on getting there.
