ITALY: Where is Pompeii?

Pompeii is one of the worlds most fascinating and historical UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Situated about about 8 kilometres away from Mount Vesuvius, it covers a total area of 163 acres, and in its day was a major city in the Italian region of Campania. Pompeii it currently found some distance inland, but in ancient times it would have been very near to the coast.

Since the eruption of the 'still active' volcano - Vesuvius, on the 24th August 79 AD, Pompeii has also been buried under twelve different layers of volcanic material to a maximum depth of 25 meters.

How to get to Pompeii

Pompeii  over-shadowed by Mt. Vesuvious

By train

On the Circumvesuviana Napoli-Sorrento line it takes 30 to 40 minutes to get to Pompeii from either Naples or Sorrento.

 Click on the station where you want to get the train in this timetable.

It should cost €1,80 to €3,20. Get off at "Pompei Scavi". At the station, you can leave your bags for €1,50 (collect by 7:00 pm in summer, 6:00 pm October to February), or leave them for free at the ruins (pick up by 7:20PM). 

The entrance to Pompeii is about 50m away from the station and there's a Tourist Information office further down the street.

If you make a mistake and get off at 'Pompei Sanctuario' instead of 'Pompei Scavi', the walk through town is not too far, but in the heat of the day it can be tiring. 

Just keep an eye out for the brown directional street signs.

Pompeii Scavi train station

If you are travelling down from Rome then you can take a special train from Termini (each way is 10.50 Euros) or the regular train (each way is 22 Euros, 29 for first class) to Naples, then go down the escalator to the Circumvesuviana and buy a ticket to Pompeii Scavi (1.80 Euro).

From Salerno you can take the local train service to Pompeii. 

There is a lot of confusion about where the train stops and how long the walk is from the station. 

There is only one suitable station on the train line (it is different from the other train services mentioned above) and it is called "Pompei". A ticket from Salerno costs €2.10 one way and the journey either takes 25 minutes (fast service) or 45 minutes (slow service). 

The Pompei train station is quite a long way from the main entrance to the historic site, but is only a ten minute walk from the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance. Taxi drivers at the train station will offer to take you to the entrance for around €10.

The streets of Pompeii

By bus

SITA runs buses from Naples. The cost is the same as the train.

By boat

If you are on a cruise, you can set up an excursion to explore the ruins (bus transfer) and tickets and tour will be included. 

From the cruise boat a hydrofoil travels around the Bay of Naples to Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii (from Naples). A bus-shuttle will take you to the ruins.

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Based on an article from http://wikitravel.org/en/Pompeii and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii
Images care of http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/33/6/441/F1.expansion.html and http://www.destination360.com/europe/italy/pompeii and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9853142/Pompeii-begins-90-million-facelift.html