6 Days in Naples: Your Day Trip Base

Six days from a Naples base adds Paestum’s Greek temples to the 5-day core of Pompeii, Capri, Herculaneum-Vesuvius, the Amalfi Coast, and Procida, six distinct Campania day trips without changing hotels once. Building up from scratch? Start with 2 , 4 , or 5 days . Got a full week? Move to 7 days to add Ischia.

Book these before you go

Day Focus Distance/train time from Naples
Day 1 Pompeii ~30-40 min, Circumvesuviana to Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri
Day 2 Capri ~45 min-1h15, ferry from Molo Beverello
Day 3 Herculaneum and Vesuvius ~20-25 min to Ercolano Scavi, plus a shuttle to the trailhead
Day 4 Amalfi Coast (Sorrento, Positano) ~1h to Sorrento, then SITA bus onward
Day 5 Procida ~40 min ferry from Molo Beverello
Day 6 Paestum ~1h15, direct regional train from Napoli Centrale

Day 1: Pompeii

  • Morning: Circumvesuviana from Napoli Centrale to Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri, 30-40 minutes, standard entry EUR 20, book through VivaTicket ahead, skip the station touts
  • Midday: 44 hectares, almost no shade, budget 3-4 hours, prioritize the Forum, the amphitheater, and the plaster casts
  • Evening: Back to Naples for dinner near the Centro Storico

Day 2: Capri

  • Morning: Ferry from Molo Beverello, roughly EUR 22-30 one-way, 45 minutes to just over an hour, take the earliest sailing available
  • Afternoon: Marina Piccola for a swim, the funicular to Capri town, the Faraglioni viewpoint, and the cash-only EUR 18 Blue Grotto if the seas cooperate
  • Evening: Confirm the last return sailing before leaving the port that morning

Day 3: Herculaneum and Vesuvius

  • Morning: Circumvesuviana to Ercolano Scavi, 20-25 minutes, Herculaneum entry EUR 16, better preserved and far less crowded than Pompeii, a half day is enough
  • Afternoon: Shuttle bus to Piazzale Quota 1000, then the Trail 5 hike to the Vesuvius crater rim, 30-40 minutes each way. Nominative, timed, online-only tickets, book ahead
  • Evening: Back to Naples

Day 4: Amalfi Coast (Sorrento and Positano)

  • Morning: Circumvesuviana or Campania Express to Sorrento, about an hour, then the SITA bus onward, ticket bought at a tabaccheria before boarding
  • Afternoon: Positano’s steep lanes and beach clubs, an early 7:30-8:00am start beats the mid-morning crush on the Positano-Amalfi leg
  • Evening: Return bus or seasonal ferry to Sorrento, then the train back to Naples

Should you stay overnight on the Amalfi Coast instead of day-tripping? If your schedule allows it, yes. A single day trip from Naples burns several hours in transit each way before you’ve seen anything, while an overnight in Sorrento or Positano lets you catch Positano’s coastline at sunset and a quieter morning before the SITA buses fill up again.

Day 5: Procida

  • Morning: Ferry from Molo Beverello, roughly EUR 19-22, about 40 minutes, or the cheaper, shorter run from Pozzuoli
  • Afternoon: Marina Corricella’s pastel houses, a slow harborside lunch, small enough to cover without a fixed plan
  • Evening: Last ferry back to Naples, check the schedule before a late lunch runs long

Day 6: Paestum

  • Morning: Direct regional train from Napoli Centrale, about 1 hour 15 minutes, roughly EUR 8-12, the station square opens straight onto the Porta Sirena gate
  • Afternoon: Three of the best-preserved Greek temples outside Greece itself, entry EUR 15 March-November or EUR 10 in winter, no town to pad the visit so the temples are the entire day
  • Evening: Train back to Naples, a longer round trip than the other five days but a genuinely different kind of ruin than Pompeii or Herculaneum

Is Paestum worth the trip from Naples? For classical-history fans, yes, it’s a quieter counterpoint to Pompeii’s crowds and among the best-preserved Greek temple sites anywhere outside Greece. For a shorter stay it’s the easiest day here to cut, there’s no town or secondary sight to justify the round trip on its own.

Getting around

Circumvesuviana fares run roughly EUR 2.60-4.40, bought at station machines or the GoEAV app ; Paestum runs on a separate direct regional line from Napoli Centrale, not the Circumvesuviana. Ferries for Capri, Procida, and the Amalfi Coast all leave from Molo Beverello.

Tips and essentials

  • Book Vesuvius and Pompeii tickets before you leave home
  • Confirm return sailings and trains each morning before you leave your hotel
  • Keep bags zipped on the Circumvesuviana and around Napoli Centrale
  • Put Paestum on whichever day you’d otherwise waste on packing or a slow morning, the train ride itself is restful

Six days lets you cover the full Campania spread without a single rushed day, the only real trap left is trying to squeeze a seventh stop in on top of it.