From Salerno Cruise Port to Vesuvius and Pompeii: A Day Trip on Our Own
In September 2026, we stopped in Salerno on a cruise. Pompeii is the obvious place to visit from here. But as we love hiking and being outdoors, we wondered: could we visit Mount Vesuvius too? Could we fit both into one day without spending too much?
We can now say that yes, visiting both Vesuvius and Pompeii is possible, as long as your ship’s time in port allows it. We even had time for a short walk around Salerno afterwards. We did, however, have to run twice on the way there.
Here’s how we got to Vesuvius, what we paid and what we’d keep in mind when planning the trip.
From Salerno cruise port to the train station
Our ship was scheduled to be in port from 7:00 am to 5:30 pm. We planned to catch the 7:37 am train to Pompei. During our visit, trains ran roughly every 30 minutes. The tricky part was the connection: we still needed to catch a bus from Pompei up to Vesuvius, and those buses ran much less often.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get off the ship until 7:20 am. Google Maps estimated a 31-minute walk for the roughly 2.3 kilometres to the station. So we ran along the lovely seafront and only just made our train. Not exactly a relaxing start to the day.
We had found the train on the Trenitalia website, where buying tickets online was easy. That also saved us having to use a ticket machine at the station. A one-way ticket cost just €2.80 per person. We arrived in Pompei on time at 8:19 am.
One thing to watch out for at Salerno station: our train left from platform 2TR. We went to platform 2 first, but that’s a different platform altogether. Trains can pass straight through platform 2, while the tracks at 2TR end at Salerno. Once we reached the platforms, we had to turn left towards the tracks that start there. You can spot them on Google Maps’ satellite view by looking for the trains standing there. If you’re already short on time, this small detail matters. Still, always check which platform your own train leaves from.
Bus 808 from Pompei to Vesuvius
In Pompei, our bus 808 left from Piazza Anfiteatro. You can find the stop on Google Maps as “Pompei – P.zza Anfiteatro CL”. There’s also an entrance to the Pompeii ruins here.
When we used AI to help plan the trip, it repeatedly directed us to a different stop. But our bus did leave from Piazza Anfiteatro, which also seems to be the closest stop to the train station.
According to Google Maps, it’s about a ten-minute walk from Pompei station. Our train arrived at 8:19 am, and the bus was due to leave at 8:30 am. So off we ran again.
On the way, people from a travel agency tried to sell us a tour, telling us that the bus left from their place. If you’re heading for the public bus, don’t let this confuse you or hold you up, especially if you’re cutting it as fine as we were.
There was only one bus at Piazza Anfiteatro, so it was easy to find. We caught it just in time. We were pretty glad about that, as the next 808 wasn’t due until 9:50 am.
Buying tickets from the bus driver
There’s an app that should let you buy bus tickets. But even after spending quite a while trying, we couldn’t find our route. Buying them from the driver was easy, though. We paid €3.80 per person each way.
Make sure you bring cash. Our driver could give change for notes, but we didn’t see a card machine.
The journey up took about 55 minutes. We already had great views of Naples along the way. Once the road starts climbing the volcano, the drive is pretty spectacular.
The stop you’re heading for is listed on Google Maps as “Ercolano – Vesuvio CL”. It’s right by the national park entrance, where the walk up to the crater begins.
Tickets for Vesuvius
You need a ticket to enter the crater trail. We bought ours in advance through the official Vivaticket page and paid €11 per person.
The website said we needed to print the tickets, but the QR codes scanned straight from our phones without any trouble.
You choose a time when booking. Our ticket details said we could enter up to 120 minutes before or after that time. That turned out to be correct: our tickets were for 11:00 am, but we got in at 9:30 am without any problems.
Before booking, read the current ticket details so you know which entry window applies to you. If the regular tickets have sold out, check the advice on the official website too. When we booked, it listed other ways to get tickets.
The walk to the crater: short and straightforward, but very windy
The path starts with a straight stretch before winding uphill to the crater rim. It’s quite steep in places, but the walk itself is straightforward. The path is wide, well maintained and covered in fine volcanic gravel. You’ll see people walking up here who you probably wouldn’t normally find on a hiking trail.
The open section along the crater had fences at the edges, and we didn’t come across any narrow stretches with unprotected drops. We didn’t need any special hiking gear. We still wouldn’t walk up in flip-flops, though. Sturdy, comfortable shoes are a better choice.
What we really underestimated was the wind. It was extremely windy at the crater. Keep a good hold of your phone, sunglasses and anything else that could blow away. We’d recommend bringing a light jacket, even in summer.
Can you walk all the way around the crater?
We couldn’t walk all the way around during our visit. According to our recording, the route up and along the crater was about 1.5 kilometres long, with roughly 165 metres of climbing. We then went back the same way.
There were several small shops selling souvenirs, coffee and snacks along the path. At the last shop, a chain blocked the route ahead, so we couldn’t continue to the higher part of the crater rim. A map at the entrance did show a circular route, but we couldn’t find it. It’s best to plan for a short walk and expect to return the way you came.
We were back at the entrance after about an hour and 20 minutes. Around 20 minutes of that had been spent at the crater, taking photos and enjoying the views. The timing worked out perfectly: we caught bus 808 back to Pompei at 11:00 am.
Getting there early was worth it
There had only been about ten people on our bus that morning, so it was pleasantly quiet. The bus we took back down had left Pompei at 9:50 am, and plenty of people got off when it arrived at Vesuvius.
We also passed far more people on our walk back down than we’d seen on the way up. If you can catch the early bus, it’s worth it. We were glad we’d seen Vesuvius while it was still a little quieter.
On to Pompeii at lunchtime
We were back in Pompei just before noon. To our surprise, the bus didn’t return to Piazza Anfiteatro. Instead, it ended its route at the western entrance to the ruins. That worked perfectly for us: we could walk through Pompeii from west to east without having to return to where we’d started.
We bought our Pompeii tickets online through Vivaticket while we were still on the bus. There was a €2 service fee, but it meant we could skip the long queue at the ticket office.
When we booked, there was an entry window from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and another from 1:00 pm onwards. These times were for entering the site, not for how long you could stay. We chose the first window and went in shortly after noon. Of course, that didn’t mean we had to leave again at 1:00 pm. We bought the Pompeii Express ticket, which covered the ancient city but not the villas outside it.
We spent about three hours in Pompeii. Around 3:00 pm, we caught the train back to Salerno, booking our €2.80 tickets on the Trenitalia website shortly before departure. That even left us some time to explore Salerno’s old town.
How much did our day trip cost?
We paid €46.20 per person for the whole trip:
Return train journey between Salerno and Pompei: €5.60. We booked each ticket online shortly before departure.
Bus 808 to Vesuvius and back: €7.60. We paid the driver separately for each journey.
Vesuvius entry: €11.00. We booked online in advance.
Pompeii entry, including the online booking fee: €22.00. We booked online shortly before arriving.
Total: €46.20 per person.
These prices, departure times and entry rules are from our visit on a Tuesday in September 2026. Check them again before your trip. The bus timetable is especially important if you want to follow a similar plan.
Visit Vesuvius first, then Pompeii
If you want to visit both, we’d definitely start with Vesuvius. You’re further from the ship there, and you have fewer buses to choose from.
Our backup plan was simple: if something went wrong, we’d skip Pompeii and take the train straight back to Salerno. That gave us one part of the day we could drop if needed. In the end, though, we still had plenty of time there.
Bus 808 ran reliably during our visit. Even so, we’d always leave plenty of spare time to get back to the ship when heading out on our own.
Our early connection was very tight
We got lucky twice that morning: first with the train in Salerno, then with the bus in Pompei. We certainly wouldn’t recommend our exact timing if you’re after a relaxed day out.
To avoid that stress, you could aim for a later bus. During our visit, the next one left Pompei at 9:50 am. Return buses from Vesuvius included departures at 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm.
That would have left us less time in Pompeii. The later bus and the crater were also much busier when we visited. Still, we could have fitted in a visit to Pompeii with that later connection too.
Public bus or organised tour?
If you miss the early bus and face a long wait, it might be worth asking the local tour companies about their departure times and prices. You may be able to save some time that way, although we don’t have any more details about those options.
Otherwise, the public bus did everything we needed. The tour sellers told us it would stop a lot along the way, but it didn’t feel that way to us. Most passengers were heading to Vesuvius anyway, and the drive up was an enjoyable part of the day.
We’d spent quite a while researching the best way to reach Vesuvius by public transport. Different routes and stops kept coming up. In the end, the train to Pompei followed by bus 808 worked really well for us, apart from those two runs to catch our connections in the morning.
If you only want to visit one of the two
Pompeii only: We’d happily recommend the train from Salerno. We paid just €2.80 each way, and trains were frequent and reliable during our visit. It would still be our first choice for a day in Pompeii, as we could decide for ourselves how long to stay.
Vesuvius only: We’d also take the train to Pompei and then bus 808 again. Without Pompeii afterwards, you have much more room in your schedule. Still, check your ship’s time in port and the current return buses before deciding whether the later departure works for you.
[[affiliate:box-2]]
Our thoughts on the day
Vesuvius, Pompeii and even a short walk around Salerno can all fit into one day ashore if your ship’s times allow it. It can get a little stressful, though, and you might find yourself running once or twice. That was certainly part of our day. Make sure you leave enough time to get back to Salerno, as you still have to get from the station to the cruise port.
Vesuvius really impressed us. Looking into the crater and taking in those wide views made the effort well worth it. We couldn’t see Pompeii from up there because the open path didn’t take us far enough around the crater. But a little later, we were walking through the ruins ourselves.
We were so pleased we’d managed to visit both. And when we told our fellow passengers that we’d spent less than €50 each, including all entry tickets, there was a little envy. Some had paid around that much just for a transfer to Pompeii and admission, and they had to stick to their tour company’s schedule.
We had a wonderful day and saw so much. It was one of the highlights of our cruise. Next time, we’d just like to skip the two runs.