Offbeat Naples and Campania: 5 Days
Five days based in Naples covers the archaeology, one island, the coast, and a quieter fifth day that almost nobody doing a shorter trip bothers with: Paestum’s Greek temples. Days one through four follow Pompeii, Herculaneum-Vesuvius, Capri, and Sorrento-Amalfi in that order; day five swaps a repeat coastal stop for a genuinely different landscape a direct train away. Need the coast to be an overnight instead of a day trip? See the 6 day plan, or step back to 4 days without Paestum.
Book these before you go
- Pompeii tickets are VivaTicket-only from 2 March 2026 , the park’s exclusive vendor
- Reserve a Vesuvius crater slot , nominative, timed, and online-only, no gate sales
- SITA bus tickets to Positano and Amalfi sell only at a Sorrento tabaccheria, never on board
- Book a Capri day tour if you want the boat and Blue Grotto sorted together
- Check hotel rates near Napoli Centrale for easy access to both the Circumvesuviana and the regional line to Paestum
| Day | Focus | Distance/train time from Naples |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pompeii, the full site | Circumvesuviana, about 30-40 min |
| 2 | Herculaneum plus Vesuvius crater | Circumvesuviana, about 20-25 min, then a connecting shuttle bus |
| 3 | Capri by ferry | Molo Beverello, roughly 45 min to 1h15 by ferry |
| 4 | Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast | Circumvesuviana/Campania Express, about 1h to Sorrento, then SITA bus onward |
| 5 | Paestum’s Greek temples | Direct regional train from Napoli Centrale, about 1h15 |
Day 1: Pompeii, properly
Take the Circumvesuviana to Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri, roughly 30-40 minutes from Naples. Standard entry is EUR 20, Pompeii+ is EUR 25, and EU citizens 18-25 pay a reduced EUR 2. Budget 2-4 hours minimum, and buy only through the official VivaTicket channel.
Day 2: Herculaneum, then the volcano
Ercolano Scavi is one stop further, about 20-25 minutes out. Herculaneum’s EUR 16 entry buys a smaller, better-preserved site, mud-buried rather than ash-buried, and a half-day covers it. The connecting shuttle bus reaches the Vesuvius crater trail, a nominative, timed, online-only ticket at EUR 10 full or EUR 8 reduced.
Day 3: Capri, the island day
Ferries from Molo Beverello run roughly 45 minutes to just over an hour, around EUR 20-25 one-way. The Blue Grotto is a separate cash-only EUR 18 add-on that closes without warning in rough seas. Confirm the last return sailing before you leave Naples.
Day 4: Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast
Sorrento is about an hour out by Circumvesuviana or Campania Express. The SITA bus onward runs roughly EUR 2.50-4 a leg, tickets sold only at a tabaccheria, never on board, and summer departures fill by mid-morning; go early or expect standing room.
Day 5: Paestum, the day almost nobody adds
Paestum is a direct regional train from Napoli Centrale, about 1 hour 15 minutes, with the station square opening straight onto the site’s Porta Sirena gate. Entry is EUR 15 March through November, EUR 10 in winter, EUR 2 reduced for EU citizens 18-25. There’s no big town here to pad the visit, just three of the best-preserved Greek temples outside Greece itself, so this is a long day purely for the ruins, not a stopover with a lunch scene attached.
Is Paestum worth the trip if you’ve already seen Pompeii? Yes, for a different reason: Pompeii is Roman daily life frozen mid-collapse, while Paestum is Greek temple architecture that predates Pompeii by centuries and draws a fraction of the crowd. If classical history is the draw rather than volcanic disaster, Paestum earns its long day trip on its own terms.
Is a fifth day better spent on Paestum or a second Amalfi Coast stop? If day four already felt rushed, a second coast day, ideally an overnight in a quieter village like Atrani or Cetara, gives more value than Paestum’s long round trip. Paestum is the better fifth day specifically for travelers who want a genuinely different landscape rather than more coastline.
Check the Trenitalia regional timetable to Paestum the night before: trains run roughly hourly, not every 30 minutes like the Circumvesuviana, and missing one costs you real time out of an already long day.