Three days adds Naples’ underground side to the two day essentials: Napoli Sotterranea, the Catacombe di San Gennaro, and the Cimitero delle Fontanelle, all in one day. Drop back to the 2 day plan if bones and cisterns are not your thing, or extend to 4 days for a slower food day too. Day Focus 1 Centro Storico, the Duomo, and the Veiled Christ 2 MANN, the Quartieri Spagnoli, and a funicular to Vomero 3 Napoli Sotterranea, the catacombs, and the Cimitero delle Fontanelle Book these before you go

Two days covers Naples’ non-negotiables: the Veiled Christ inside the Cappella Sansevero, the Duomo, and MANN, plus a funicular ride up to Vomero for the view. It skips the underground sites entirely; add a third day using the 3 day plan if a skull-lined cemetery interests you at all. Day Focus 1 Centro Storico, the Duomo, and the Veiled Christ 2 MANN, the Quartieri Spagnoli, and a funicular to Vomero Book these before you go

Most people book two nights in Naples, rush through Pompeii on a tour bus, and leave thinking that was the day trip. It undersells the whole region. Naples sits at the hub of a rail and ferry network that reaches Pompeii in about 35 minutes, pairs Herculaneum with a volcano hike off the same train stop, and puts Capri, Procida, and the Amalfi Coast within a single ferry crossing or bus ride.

Naples rewards visitors who go looking for the strange stuff. The Duomo, the Veiled Christ inside the Cappella Sansevero, and the mosaics inside MANN are worth every minute, but the city’s best afternoons happen underground in a skull-lined cemetery, down an alley shrine to a dead footballer, and inside a market that spills produce onto the cobblestones before 9am. Book the icons first, since two of them close on Tuesdays and one sells out its timed slots weeks ahead.

Four days adds a slower waterfront day to the three day plan: Castel dell’Ovo, the lungomare, the Orto Botanico, and a stop at the city’s original sfogliatella bakery. See the 3 day version if you would rather skip straight to dinner, or 5 days to add Capodimonte’s hilltop park. Day Focus 1 Centro Storico, the Duomo, and the Veiled Christ 2 MANN, the Quartieri Spagnoli, and a funicular to Vomero 3 Napoli Sotterranea, the catacombs, and the Cimitero delle Fontanelle 4 Castel dell’Ovo, the lungomare, and the Orto Botanico Book these before you go

Five days adds a full day at Capodimonte’s hilltop museum and park to the four day plan, plus the Galleria Umberto and the Teatro di San Carlo on the way back down. Trim to 4 days without it, or push to 6 days for Naples’ quieter coastal edge too. Day Focus 1 Centro Storico, the Duomo, and the Veiled Christ 2 MANN, the Quartieri Spagnoli, and a funicular to Vomero 3 Napoli Sotterranea, the catacombs, and the Cimitero delle Fontanelle 4 Castel dell’Ovo, the lungomare, and the Orto Botanico 5 Capodimonte’s hilltop museum and park Book these before you go

Six days adds a full day on Naples’ quieter coastal edge, Posillipo’s headland park and the harbor at Mergellina, to the five day plan. Drop it for the 5 day version , or take the full week for one more slow day back in the centro. Day Focus 1 Centro Storico, the Duomo, and the Veiled Christ 2 MANN, the Quartieri Spagnoli, and a funicular to Vomero 3 Napoli Sotterranea, the catacombs, and the Cimitero delle Fontanelle 4 Castel dell’Ovo, the lungomare, and the Orto Botanico 5 Capodimonte’s hilltop museum and park 6 Posillipo, Mergellina, and the coast Book these before you go

Two days based in Naples is enough for the archaeological core of Campania, not the coast. Give Pompeii a full day, then close with Herculaneum and the Vesuvius crater trail off a single train stop. Skip Capri and the Amalfi Coast entirely this trip; both need a full day minimum and the ferry or bus logistics alone would eat half of a two-day visit. Longer version? See the 3 day and 7 day plans, or the full Naples as a Campania base guide .

Three days based in Naples covers the two essential archaeological sites plus one genuine island day, without a rental car or a rushed Amalfi Coast bus scramble. Pompeii gets its own full day, Herculaneum pairs with the Vesuvius crater trail on day two, and a Capri ferry closes it out on day three. Need the coast too? See the 4 day version, or step back for the 2 day archaeology-only cut and the full Campania base guide .

Four days based in Naples adds the Amalfi Coast to the archaeological core and a Capri day, all without a rental car. Pompeii and Herculaneum-Vesuvius fill the first two days, Capri takes the third, and Sorrento plus a slice of the Amalfi Coast rounds out day four, with the SITA bus reality laid out plainly below. Want a slower coast day with an overnight instead of a rush? See the 5 day version, or the 3 day cut without the coast at all.

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.

Six days based in Naples adds a second, deliberately different island day: Procida, smaller and quieter than Capri, on its own dedicated day rather than as an afterthought. Days one through five stay the same as the shorter version, Pompeii, Herculaneum-Vesuvius, Capri, Sorrento-Amalfi, and Paestum, with day six closing on the island most Naples-based visitors never get to. Want Ischia added too? See the 7 day version, or drop back to 5 days without Procida.

A full week based in Naples is enough to cover every genuine day-trip angle in Campania, without a rental car and without an overnight bag: two archaeological sites, two islands, the Amalfi Coast, and the Greek temples at Paestum. Days one through six follow Pompeii, Herculaneum-Vesuvius, Capri, Sorrento-Amalfi, Paestum, and Procida in that order; day seven closes on Ischia, sampled one area at a time rather than oversold as a full-island day.

A full week closes with a slow last day back in the Centro Storico: one more pass through San Gregorio Armeno and Pignasecca, and a final sfogliatella at the counter. See the 6 day plan to cut a day, or the 2 day version for just the essentials. Day Focus 1 Centro Storico, the Duomo, and the Veiled Christ 2 MANN, the Quartieri Spagnoli, and a funicular to Vomero 3 Napoli Sotterranea, the catacombs, and the Cimitero delle Fontanelle 4 Castel dell’Ovo, the lungomare, and the Orto Botanico 5 Capodimonte’s hilltop museum and park 6 Posillipo, Mergellina, and the coast 7 A slow last day, back where you started Book these before you go