Mistakes everyone makes in Naples
The costliest mistakes in Naples happen before you even reach the ruins — at the wrong station, with the wrong ticket, or queuing for a funicular that isn't running.
- Circumvesuviana
- Leaves from Porta Nolana or Garibaldi
- Ticket for the ruins
- The city ticket doesn't cover it
- Montesanto
- Shut since 15 May 2026
Most mistakes in Naples happen before you even set off for the ruins or the hill: people look for the wrong station, buy the wrong ticket, or wait for a funicular that isn't running. A fifth is waiting right at the airport exit, by the taxi rank.
1. Looking for the Circumvesuviana at Napoli Centrale
Napoli Centrale sits right there, so it's tempting to assume the train for Pompeii, Herculaneum and Sorrento has a platform somewhere inside it. It doesn't: it boards at the neighbouring Porta Nolana station, or at Garibaldi beneath the square, and anyone who doesn't know that loses ten minutes circling the wrong building.
2. Assuming the city ticket covers the train to the ruins
The Circumvesuviana to Ercolano or Pompei needs its own zone-based ticket, separate from the €1.30–1.50 fare that covers the metro and funiculars. It's bought apart, at a machine or the counter at the departure station, before you go through the gate.
3. Planning Vomero via the Montesanto funicular
Montesanto has not run since mid-May 2026, out of service for a general overhaul, with a replacement bus standing in for it. Anyone who doesn't check ahead ends up at the foot of stairs that go nowhere; the Centrale funicular from Via Toledo, or metro line 1 to Vanvitelli station, reach Vomero faster.
4. A bag on the rack on the morning train
The Circumvesuviana to Pompeii is busiest in the morning, when day-trippers and local commuters share the same carriages. A bag on the overhead rack is out of sight; on your lap or between your feet it stays where it should.
5. A taxi from the airport with no fixed fare
The Alibus runs straight from Capodichino to Piazza Garibaldi and on to Molo Beverello, for €5. A taxi is faster door to door, but only if you ask for the fixed fare before setting off — without it the meter runs, and the price climbs with the traffic.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Where does the train for Pompeii leave from?
From Porta Nolana or Garibaldi station, not Napoli Centrale.
Does the city ticket cover the Circumvesuviana?
No, it needs a separate zone-based ticket, bought apart from the city fare.
How do you reach Vomero while Montesanto is shut?
By the Centrale funicular from Via Toledo, or metro line 1 to Vanvitelli station.
Ready for Naples?
Where to next
The neighbourhoods of Naples
→Rione Sanità holds bones and catacombs, the Quartieri Spagnoli a mural that became a shrine, and Vomero a…
Pompeii · 23 km
→The Roman town Vesuvius buried in AD 79 is a half-day trip from Naples, on one ticket and without a car.
How well does Naples suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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