Naples Multi-Day Trips on Three Budgets
Three nights in Naples can cost very little or a great deal, and the gap comes down to a handful of choices: which ruins, which boat, which evening. Here is the same city priced at three levels.
Lean: free streets and local fares
The base layer costs almost nothing. Spaccanapoli, the Via dei Tribunali, the Duomo’s nave, Piazza del Plebiscito, the Borgo Marinari causeway and the Parco Virgiliano viewpoint are all free. A single ride is EUR1.30 (EUR1.50 on the metro), a 90-minute integrated ticket across buses, metro, trams and funiculars is about EUR1.80 (fares changed on 1 October 2026, so check unicocampania.it ), and the airport Alibus is EUR5.
Trips out are cheap on the Circumvesuviana: EUR2.60 to EUR3.60 one way to Herculaneum or Pompeii, with fares listed on the EAV site . Herculaneum is EUR16 and Pompeii’s Express ticket is EUR20. The first Sunday of the month is free at both. A slow Caremar ferry to Capri starts around EUR14, well under the hydrofoil fare. Eat from the counter: espresso EUR1 to EUR1.30, a folded pizza EUR2 to EUR3.50, sfogliatella EUR2 to EUR3.
Middle: the booked-slot days
This tier adds the timed tickets. Cappella Sansevero is EUR12, MANN EUR20 (EUR10 with the Artecard), Pompeii EUR20 and the Vesuvius crater EUR10, plus a booking fee. A sit-down margherita at Da Michele, Sorbillo or Starita is EUR7 to EUR14. Hydrofoils to Capri or Ischia run about EUR21 to EUR30 each way.
The Campania Artecard bundles admissions with Unico transport, and its tiers range from a Naples 3-day card to a Campania 7-day card. Prices and rules are on campaniartecard.it . It pays off only if you visit the paid sites it covers, and Pompeii plus MANN alone already add up to EUR40. Hotels near Napoli Centrale keep every train short, and you can check rates on Booking.com .
An Amalfi overnight fits here too. SITA Sud buses run Sorrento to Positano for about EUR2.40 and Sorrento to Amalfi for about EUR3.40, and a 24-hour COSTIERASITA pass is about EUR10. Boats along the coast start around mid May. See SITA Sud for current timetables.
Splurge: guides, boats and opera
A small-group tour with an archaeologist at Pompeii or Herculaneum runs EUR40 to EUR75 per person for two to three hours. A shared full-day Capri and Blue Grotto cruise is EUR85 to EUR160, and you can compare Capri cruises on GetYourGuide . A private speedboat along the Gulf or the Amalfi Coast costs EUR700 to EUR1,800 or more per day. Finish an evening at Teatro di San Carlo; check the season at teatrosancarlo.it .
Which length suits which budget
Two nights fits the lean plan: old city, MANN, one ruin. Three nights suits the middle plan with an island. Five nights opens space for Caserta (8:30 to 19:00, closed Tuesdays, direct train from Napoli Centrale) and an Amalfi overnight. For day-by-day sequencing, see the four-day itinerary .
Tip: whatever the budget, spend the first booking on Sansevero and Vesuvius, since those are the two that sell out.