Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
main street, Via IV Novembre. Trains run regularly to/from Naples (€2.20), Pompeii
(€1.60) and Sorrento (€2.20).
By car take the A3 from Naples, exit at Ercolano Portico and follow the signs to car
parks near the site's entrance.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Mt Vesuvius
Towering (at 1281m) darkly over Naples and its environs, Mt Vesuvius (Vesuvio, 1281m),
is the only active volcano on the European mainland. Since it exploded into history in AD
79, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum and pushing the coastline out several kilometres, it
has erupted more than 30 times. The most devastating of these was in 1631, the most re-
cent in 1944.
Another full-scale eruption would be catastrophic. Some 600,000 people live within
7km of the crater and, despite incentives to relocate, few are willing to go.
Established in 1995,
Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio
( 081 239 5653; adult/reduced €10/8; 9am-7pm
Jul & Aug, to 5pm Apr-Jun & Sep, to 4pm Mar & Oct, to 3pm Nov-Feb, ticket office closes 1hr before the crater)
at-
tracts some 400,000 visitors annually. From a car park at the summit, an 860m path leads
up to the volcano's
crater
(admission incl tour €8; 9am-6pm Jul & Aug, to 5pm Apr-Jun & Sep, to 4pm Mar
& Oct, to 3pm Nov-Feb)
. It's not a strenuous walk, but it's more comfortable in trainers than in
sandals or flip-flops.
You'd also do well to take sunglasses - useful against swirling ash - and a sweater, as it
can be chilly up top, even in summer.
Shuttle-bus operator
Vesuvio Express
( 081 739 36 66;
www.vesuvioexpress.it
;
Piazzale Stazione Cir-
cumvesuviana, Ercoloano)
runs services from Ercolano to Mt Vesuvius, departing from Piazza
Stazione Circumvesuviana, right outside Ercolano-Scavi train station. Buses depart every
40 minutes from 9.30am to 4pm daily, with a journey time of 20 minutes each way.
Return tickets (which include entry to the volcano summit) are €18.
From Pompeii,
Busvia del Vesuvio
( 340 9352616;
www.busviadelvesuvio.com
; Via Villa dei Misteri,
Pompeii)
runs a shuttle service from outside Pompeii-Villa dei Misteri train station (hourly
from 9am to 3pm) to its bus terminal in nearby Boscoreale. From here, it's a 25-minute
journey up the national park on a 4WD-style bus. Return tickets (including entry to the
volcano summit) cost €22.
