How to Get to Herculaneum: Train, Car and Cruise Ship
Planning your visit?Timed slots are limited, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before. Reserve today, decide later.
Check ticket availabilityBy train from Naples
Board the Circumvesuviana at Porta Nolana or Garibaldi and ride about 20 minutes to Ercolano Scavi. Pompei Scavi sits on the same line, which is what makes a two-site day workable without a car; the guided version of that day is on the Pompeii combo page.
By train from Sorrento
Same line, other direction: about 45 to 50 minutes from Sorrento to Ercolano Scavi. It is a commuter railway, not a scenic express, so expect crowds in high season and keep an eye on your bag. It still beats the coastal traffic.
The walk from Ercolano Scavi station
Out of the station the route is signposted: roughly 500 metres down Via IV Novembre to Corso Resina and the park entrance, about ten minutes. I have walked it since I was a boy; it is my commute. Downhill on the way there, uphill on the way back, and in August that second half matters, so keep water for the return.
Driving and parking
There is a municipal car park on Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi and private car parks nearby. Fair warning from a reviewer who drove: Ralf found parking “more complicated than expected”. Leave yourself margin, or let the train do the work.
From the Naples cruise terminal
Metro or walk from the terminal to Garibaldi, then the Circumvesuviana to Ercolano Scavi: allow about an hour door to gate. Since the site itself takes two to three hours, a morning ashore covers the whole thing with time to spare.
If you would rather not navigate at all
The €45 from-Naples guided tour includes tickets and a roughly two-to-2.5-hour guided visit. Its base option meets at the site with no transport included; pickup and transfer variants exist at checkout. Charles, who took it, wrote: “You can ‘do’ Herculaneum in two hours, unlike Pompeii.” How it compares with the other guided options is on the guided tours page, and the booking fine print is in the from-Naples tour review.
What works
- One train line serves Naples, Ercolano and Pompei Scavi
- The station walk is short, signposted and downhill
- Cruise passengers can do the whole visit in a morning
Worth knowing
- The Circumvesuviana gets crowded in high season
- Parking proved “more complicated than expected” for one driver
- The walk back up to the station is the hot direction
Book the option you actually mean to book. The from-Naples tour’s base version is “Regular Group Experience — No Transport included” and meets at the site; if you choose a pickup variant, your pickup time arrives by email, so watch your inbox.
The no-navigation option
Tickets included, guide included, and under-18s enter free with a passport shown at the ticket office. Dates below.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get from Naples to Herculaneum by train?
Take the Circumvesuviana from Porta Nolana or Garibaldi to Ercolano Scavi, about 20 minutes. From the station, walk roughly 500 metres downhill along Via IV Novembre to the entrance on Corso Resina; it takes about ten minutes and is signposted the whole way.
Is there parking at Herculaneum?
Yes: a municipal car park on Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi plus private car parks nearby. One reviewer who drove, Ralf, found parking “more complicated than expected”, so allow margin. Opening hours and last entry are on the planning page.
Can I visit Herculaneum from a cruise ship docked in Naples?
Comfortably. Metro or walk to Garibaldi, then the Circumvesuviana; allow about an hour door to gate. The site takes two to three hours, so a morning ashore is enough, with the downhill walk from Ercolano Scavi at each end.
Which station do I get off at for Herculaneum?
Ercolano Scavi, on the Circumvesuviana line. Do not confuse it with other Ercolano stops on other railways; Scavi means excavations, and it is the one 500 metres uphill from the gate.