Day Trips to Naples from Rome

It is easy to fall in love with Naples for its pizza, for its incessant chaos, for its beautiful views of Vesuvius (if you know how to find them), and for many more things that I will tell you about if you keep reading. Do you feel like taking a trip to Naples from Rome? The following lines are for you.

If you decide to leave Rome for a day, that excursion has to be very worthwhile. And visiting Naples and the incredible Pompeii are a compelling reason that will make you forget for a day the majestic Eternal City. I don't know if it's the same for you, but when I'm on a trip I like to let myself go, enjoy and not have to worry too much about the logistics of transportation, especially if I'm on a tight schedule.

With this all-inclusive day trip to Naples and Pompeii in Spanish, you will leave early from Rome in a private bus and you will be accompanied at all times by a professional guide who will put everything you see in context (something I found essential, especially in Pompeii).

The stop in Naples will allow you to get to know the historic center of the city and its most important points without having to spend too much time moving from one place to another. In addition, you will have time to have lunch and taste one of the famous Neapolitan pizzas. What more could you ask for?

About the visit to Pompeii

You will be touring the ruins of Pompeii for about two hours. Although at first it may not seem long, I assure you that it is a reasonable time to see the essential sites of the ruins and understand how people lived in this impressive city that was petrified by the eruption of Vesuvius.

If you prefer to visit Pompeii with more time, you can dedicate up to a whole day or even combine the excursion with an ascent to Vesuvius. If you want to know all the possibilities, I invite you to read this article on how to visit Pompeii from Rome in one day.

By train

The train is a very convenient option for a day trip to Naples from Rome. You won't have to worry about parking, unnecessary detours or stops. The disadvantage compared to other methods of transportation can be the price: the fast train ticket, which will take you to Naples in 1 hour 15 minutes, costs between 44 and 60 € each way.

There is a slower train, which takes between 2 and 3 hours to get to Naples, which costs between 20 and 27 € each way depending on the class. It can be a good option if you are traveling on a tighter budget, and if you take the train early in the morning you will have plenty of time to explore the city in one day. Check all schedules and prices on the official Trenitalia website.

Getting to Naples from Rome by bus

Most buses to Naples from the Italian capital are operated by Flixbus, Baltour and BusCenter, and a round-trip ticket usually costs around 20 ¤. Buses go direct to Naples, departing from Rome's Autostazione Tiburtina and arriving at Naples' Piazza Garibaldi bus station in about 2.5 hours.

My recommendation is that you buy the bus tickets a week in advance, to make sure you have seats available for the day you want to do the tour, and that way you take the hassle out of getting the return ticket as well.

In any case and being very honest with you, I will tell you that you cannot see Naples completely in one day (and even less if we add the waiting times for public transportation). The goal of your excursion from Rome is going to be to enjoy the city and spend a day different from what you would find in the Italian capital. This is the itinerary I did on my visit:

I'm not a big coffee fan, but you have to admit that Neapolitan coffee is something worthy of the most exquisite palates. The first thing I did when I got off the train in Naples was to head to the Gran Caffè Gambrinus, a stylish Viennese-style coffee shop, with marble walls, sculptures on the shelves and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

It probably sounds familiar, as it has become quite a touristy place, but I, being a romantic, was not going to miss the opportunity to have an espresso and sfogliatelle for breakfast in one of Oscar Wilde's favorite places in Naples.

The Piazza del Plebiscito is a huge square, the core of Naples' public life and one of its main points of interest. It is named after the plebiscite held during the Italian Unification, thanks to which Naples became part of the Kingdom of Italy and the House of Savoy.

As if its historical importance were not enough, the square has that Italian essence of grandeur and spectacle, presided over by the immense colonnade of the church of San Francesco di Paola. It is a neoclassical marvel that impresses by day and captivates by night when it is illuminated.

The Royal Palace of Naples is one of the places that best testifies to the importance of the city during the 18th and 19th centuries. The size and splendor of this palace is due to the fact that it served as the residence of the Bourbon dynasty for a century, and later passed into the hands of the Savoy family.

It evolved as it passed from hand to hand, but its halls still retain the extravagance of 18th century Neapolitan style. Its façade is crowned by eight marble statues of the kings who ruled Naples from the 12th century until the Italian Unification.

However, the impressive part of the Palazzo Reale is inside: you will find a monumental pink and white marble staircase leading up to the Royal Apartments, the Court Theater, the Throne Room, and the Royal Chapel, all decorated with spectacular paintings and tapestries.

The Palazzo Reale is open every day except Wednesdays, from 09:00 to 20:00, and the entrance fee is 6 €.

This is a visit they don't prepare you for: the majesty of the interior of the Teatro San Carlo, when you look up and admire the feeling of infinity of its six floors and the fresco of the dome, is something that caught me totally off guard.

For this reason, the Teatro di San Carlo is considered one of the most beautiful opera buildings in the world, and it's easy to imagine the hall filled with the aristocrats of the time, debating between glancing at the stage, the royal box, or a furtive lover on the other side of the bleachers.

The only way to visit the Teatro di San Carlo inside is to attend a performance or join one of the guided tours offered by the building's own organization. The tour lasts about an hour, and I recommend doing it even if you have a little less free time at the end of the itinerary.

I'm pretty sure that if you're taking the train back to Rome and tell the conductor that you haven't had a pizza during your visit, he'll tear up your ticket and send you to one of his relatives' restaurants.

No, seriously, I don't think I need to convince you that Neapolitan pizza is the most authentic sample of this food revered the world over. One of the most recommended restaurants is Gino Sorbillo's pizzeria, but the lines are usually huge. Gorizia 1916 is another of the best named restaurants in town, a bit more expensive but also more elegant, being in the posh area of Naples. Finally, the option that many locals will recommend: L'antica Pizzeria da Michele Forcella.

Galleria Umberto I is the typical Italian shopping arcade, where you'll find cafes and stores to take a break from sightseeing. For me, just the coolness inside and the zodiacal decoration of the floor tiles, coupled with the feeling of space that opens up under the ceilings of the building, make the gallery worth a stop.

If you've been to Milan, the Galleria Umberto I will remind you a lot of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, as it was a direct inspiration in the construction of this Neapolitan building.

In case you opted for another breakfast to start the day, you can find some scrumptious sfogliatellas and other sweets in the gallery. By then, you will have realized that pastries and sweets are one of Naples' passions.

Via Toledo is one of the few straight streets you will find in Naples. When you reach it, you'll realize that you've been wandering along snake-shaped roads all day. As such, Via Toledo is the city's shopping street, with buildings of very different styles and stores of all kinds.

Alex's Traveller Tip

The Toledo Metro station is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, I'd better not give you a description and let you discover it on your own!

The heart of the city of Naples is made for getting lost in. Walking through its streets you will find a church on practically every corner, and you can enjoy watching life go by: street musicians, artists' studios, old men watching soccer on TV in a bar, and stores of all kinds that are hard to describe.

The streets are narrow and offer little privacy to their inhabitants. You only have to glance up to see typical Italian family scenes happening in front of you, through the windows of their homes. If you want to soak up the essence of Naples, this is the area where you can breathe the most genuine atmosphere of the city.

Something that will interest you if you like the ancient world is that you can see part of the roadway of the Greco-Roman city of Neapolis. Spaccanapoli, which could be translated as "Short Naples", is a succession of streets that literally splits the city in two: Via Della Anticaglia (Upper Decumanus), Via Dei Tribunali (Decumanus Major) and the street that begins as Via Benedetto Croce and becomes Via San Biagio Dei Librai (Lower Decumanus).

Of the five hundred or so churches in Naples, none can match the city's Cathedral: the Duomo di San Gennaro or Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta, as it is known to the locals.

Although it is not as impressive as the Cathedral of Florence or Milan, Naples' cathedral is a jumble of Gothic and Baroque styles with an impressive interior decorated with frescoes evoking the image of Paradise.

The perfect plan to end the day is to take the funicular to Castel Sant'Elmo, a 13th century fortress with a particular star shape, on top of the hill of Vomero. There you will meet locals and tourists who have come with a lesson learned: not in vain, from this top you can enjoy the best 360° views of the city, Vesuvius and the Gulf of Naples.

A perfect way to end your excursion to Naples before heading back to Rome.

The best way to get to know Naples is on foot: this is the only way to find the most authentic streets and breathe the essence of the city. However, a day trip is usually a bit short on time, so to get around Naples I recommend taking the metro.

The Naples Metro has two lines, 1 and 6 (it is a mystery what happened to all the others) and covers almost the entire metropolitan area of the city.

In case you have chosen to go to Naples by car, be careful as there are several areas of historical importance where parking will be expensive, with fines of up to €90. These areas are called ZTL (Limited Traffic Zone) and the best way to avoid them is to park on the outskirts of the city or check a map of these areas before parking your vehicle.

Beware of pickpockets

Naples is a city with a somewhat tarnished reputation for not being entirely tourist friendly. Don't worry too much, as long as you take special care with pickpockets and avoid leaving the more central areas you won't have any problems.

Wear comfortable shoes

Since you will be walking all day on this excursion, remember to be well prepared: you will appreciate wearing sneakers, a backpack with water, a power bank to charge your cell phone and something warm for the night, in case you are traveling in summer. In winter, the best idea is to wear layers to be more or less warm as the day goes by.

Be prepared with cash

Some stores and restaurants only accept cash, so carry some loose change just in case (my recommendation: take just enough).

If you don't speak Italian, don't worry

If you don't speak Italian, you won't have any problems in Rome as they will more or less be able to understand you in Spanish or even English. But to travel to Naples, I recommend you to have a translation app installed on your cell phone as it can make your life easier on some occasions.

If you already know Naples or you are not too interested in visiting this city, perhaps Florence is an option that you might like more. Before going from Rome, I recommend reading more about how to prepare for this experience here: Day Trips to Florence from Rome. One of the (so many) good things about Rome is its location on the map: besides being in the center of the Italian peninsula, it has a lot of emblematic places to visit in its surroundings. If you feel like discovering them, I leave you a list of what for me, are the best places to visit near Rome.