Visiting Naples, Italy: Your 2-5 Day Itinerary
Need an itinerary for your trip to Naples? We've got you covered with two ideal itineraries that you can customize to fit your vacation goals and length.
Naples is a common entry point for trips to Southern Italy, but it’s often overlooked as a destination in its own right. After spending a month here, we can tell you that this city is definitely not one to be slept on. In this post we’ll share with you our ideal Naples itinerary for a two to five day trip, including recommendations for the best spots to eat and how you can save some money on your trip when visiting Naples (see Day 1 for the biggest one!). Of course, any vacation should be driven by personal preferences, so feel free to adjust the schedule to accommodate your interests. Look out for bolded items as the can’t miss priorities!
Hungry? Check out our list of the best bars and restaurants in Naples here!
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Activities At A Glance
(Click each Day to jump down for more information)
Five Days
*Day 1:
- Free walking tour with GuruWalk
- Lunch in the Spanish Quarter
- San Carlo Theater
- Royal Palace of Naples
- Galleria Borbonica OR Catacombs of San Gennaro
- National Archaeological Museum of Naples
- Aperitivo at Piazza Bellini
- Dinner on Via Tribunali (aka “Pizza Alley”)
- Guided tour of Pompeii
- Sunset at Castel St. Elmo
- Dinner in Vomero
- Tour of Herculaneum
- Hike Mount Vesuvius
OR
- Beach day in Bagnoli
Two Days
*Day 1:
- Free walking tour with GuruWalk
- Lunch in the Spanish Quarter
- National Archaeological Museum of Naples
- Aperitivo at Piazza Bellini
- Dinner on Via Tribunali (aka “Pizza Alley”)
Day 2:
- Guided tour of Pompeii
- Sunset at Castel St. Elmo
- Dinner in Vomero
Why Visit Naples?
If you’re looking for an authentic Italian experience, Naples is the place for you. Read – it’s a bit of a hot, crazy, mess, and if we’re being honest, it’s not for everyone. But if you enjoy (or can see past) the energy and chaos of a gritty city, there is a lot here to offer that you can’t get in the sanitized tourist zones of somewhere like Florence or Venice. In short? Visiting Naples is your top choice for experiencing the real Italy.
The birthplace of pizza, Naples’ location on the coast also provides an abundance of fresh seafood, leading to a rich and varied food scene that is surprisingly affordable. Also featured? Vibrant nightlife into the wee hours of the morning. For history buffs, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, so it and the surrounding area are full of incredible sites. UNESCO ruins like Pompeii and Herculaneum are a quick train ride away, or you can walk through the creepy underground catacombs of Naples itself. If natural beauty is your thing, Mount Vesuvius is always in view and makes for a great day-trip, as do the nearby Amalfi Coast and islands of Capri, Procida, and Ischia, which decorate the Bay of Naples. All in, Naples offers an unforgettable trip for travelers of all kinds.
Where To Stay When Visiting Naples?
We stayed at an Airbnb in the San Carlo All’Arena neighborhood, but we wouldn’t recommend this for most visitors. While it was certainly more affordable than other neighborhoods, it was a 20 minute walk to the trains and about 30 minutes to the nearest attraction or lively bar/restaurant area, a tough sell when you’re only visiting Naples for a few days. Instead, we would recommend visitors to Naples to stay in either Vomero, Chiaia, or the Spanish Quarter.
Vomero is our top pick, and the place to be if you’re a foodie, particularly if you’re interested in eating something outside of the pizza and pasta mold. Full of trendy bars and restaurants, it’s a clean, spacious, and hip neighborhood. Also, as it’s located on a hilltop, it offers exceptional views of the city and the Bay of Naples. Vomero is well-connected by trains to all the major sites.
Chiaia is a waterfront neighborhood, and is best suited for more luxury-inclined travelers and shopping enthusiasts. The neighborhood is slightly less well-connected by train, but is walkable to most major sites. Â
If you’re ok with some street noise, the Spanish Quarter is the most convenient neighborhood to stay in. Close to all the major sites and major metro hubs (target something near the Toledo stop), getting around Naples is a breeze. On top of that, it’s one of the best neighborhoods for delicious, authentic, and affordable meals. Â
Use your personal taste and Naples itinerary to guide the best neighborhood for you!
P.S. – Looking for recommendations on where to eat in these neighborhoods? Check out our post 20 Top Places to Eat and Drink in Naples.
Day 1 - A Palace With A View
- 08:00-12:00 – If you’re up for it, start your day with a free walking tour via GuruWalk – don’t forget to tip! Otherwise, sleep off that jet lag and push the walking tour to after lunch.
- 12:30-2:00 – Grab an early lunch (yes, early – typical meal times here are 8/9am, 1:30-3pm, and 8:30-10:30pm) in the Spanish Quarter. We recommend Da Maria for a great “locals” feel and an even better spaghetti alla vongole (not me over here drooling).
- 2:30-3:00 – If it wasn’t included on your walking tour, make sure to check out the Galleria Umberto I, an incredibly beautiful mall near the San Carlo Theater. Enjoy an after-lunch espresso and the view.
- 3:30-4:00 – Tour the San Carlo Theater. Though we didn’t get a chance to do this ourselves, we were kicking ourselves for missing it. Guided tours cost 9 EUR (no self-guided allowed) and English tours take place at 11:30am and 3:30pm. Find more information here.
- 4:00-6:00 – Tour the Royal Palace of Naples. Today’s Top Site! Grab an audio guide for 4 EUR and explore at your own pace.
- 6:00-7:30 – Spritz time! Enjoy one of the best things about Italy – free snacks with every drink – to help tide you over till dinner. There are seemingly unlimited options for aperitivo, but in this neighborhood we recommend Ammor&more.
- 8:30-10:00 – Dinner at Ristorante La Porta Accanto Napoli, a tasty and conveniently located choice for classic napoletana dishes, like pasta alla genovese. Learn more about the traditional dishes of Naples in our post here.
Today's Top Site
The Royal Palace of Naples is the first palace I’ve ever toured that I could actually imagine people living in. Beyond the magnificent private theater and the national library, and of course some beautiful architecture and artwork, the palace offers stunning views of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius. Each room had massive windows and beautiful terraces that I could picture the royal court strolling across and soaking in the sun and ocean breezes. We found the audio guides here to be an excellent partner and wouldn’t say a guided tour is needed.
Tickets for the palace are 15 EUR and can be bought here, but we would actually recommend that you purchase the Campania Artecard instead.  This pass can definitely save you some money while visiting Naples, so we’ve covered it in detail below.  There is also the “Romantic Garden” inside that is free to enter, which offers a nice retreat from the buzz of the city as well as a great view of the currently closed Castel Nuovo. Â
Campania Artecard
This digital card with accompanying app allows you to visit many of the region’s most popular sites for one discounted rate. We bought the Campania Artecard 365 Lite, which cost only 26 EUR and allows us to visit each of 34 sites one time within a year. These include heavy hitters like Pompeii, the National Archaeological Museum, Herculaneum, the Palace, and more. In fact, if you buy this pass and visit every spot on this itinerary, you would save 54 EUR per person. There are also cheaper passes for people under 25, and still others that include transportation. Learn more about all the passes here.Â
FYI – Our favorite way to start off any new city is with a walking tour. It’s the best way to get familiar with the area, learn some fascinating tidbits about the city’s history, and pique your interest on which sites or museums you would like to add to your itinerary. We reserve our tours through GuruWalk, which is an app that offers free – yes, free – walking tours in over 800 cities in 100 countries (and counting!).  Check out some of their most popular Naples tours below:
Day 2 - A Slice History
- 08:30 – Start your day with a classic Italian breakfast – espresso i cornetto (croissant). It might not be your big American cup of coffee, but it’s delicious, cheap (should be 1.50 EUR or less) and available on every corner. When visiting Naples, Caffe Mexico is the best.
- 09:30-12:00 – There’s a lot of activities and historical sites in Naples that are…a little on the creepy side. Be it the Catacombs of San Gennaro, the Galleria Borbonica, or the Sansevero Chapel, take this morning to explore your dark and twisty side, if you’re so inclined. If you’re scared of your shadow like Colby and I, try a walk along the Lungomare or a visit to the beautiful Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte park .
- 12:30-2:00 – Enjoy some of Naples’ delicious seafood for lunch. There are many great options depending on where you spent your morning! Check out this post for inspiration.
- 3:00-6:00 – Visit the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.  Today’s Top Site! This one is an absolute can’t miss as it includes all of the loot from the Pompeii and Herculaneum digs. Grab an audio guide if you can as this museum is HUGE.
- 6:00-7:30 – Head to nearby Piazza Bellini for aperitivo. This plaza is a favorite among locals and features some ancient Greek ruins casually strewn in the middle. It has several great aperitivo bars and is also a hot spot for late night festivities (my hangover can attest).
- 8:30-10:00 – Walk around the corner to Via dei Tribunali, aka “Pizza Alley.”  In the city with the world’s best pizza, this is the epicenter. We recommend Gino e Toto Sorbillo, a popular haunt that’s worth the wait. Their huge menu includes 23 bespoke pizzas named after the owner’s grandparents and their – wait for it – 21 pizzaioli (that’s professional pizza maker) children!
Today's Top Site
The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is an impressive beast, and a can’t miss site when visiting Naples. Spanning nearly 130,000 sq ft (or over 12,000 sq m), it is one of the largest and most significant archaeological museums in the world. The museum houses an extensive collection of artifacts, most notably those excavated from the Pompeii and Herculaneum digs. We were so glad that we toured this museum prior to touring Pompeii itself, as it really helped us imagine what the city would have been like before it was destroyed. There is even an exhibit in the museum with sexually explicit art discovered in the lupanare of Pompeii. We – and the group of schoolchildren in front of us – were highly entertained. Not to be forgotten in the Pompeii hype, the museum also houses the famed Farnese collection of Roman antiquities.
Tickets can be bought from the museum here for 22 EUR. Or, if you’ve bought the Campania Artecard like we recommended in Day 1, entrance is included. The museum sells audio guides for a reasonable price, however they were sold out the day that we attended, which was a real bummer. If tackling the museum on your own sounds intimidating (which, with a museum this big, we wouldn’t blame you), we recommend purchasing a guided tour from Get Your Guide. See some of their most popular National Archaeological Museum of Naples tours here:
Day 3 - Pompeii
-  09:00-4:00 – Take a guided tour of Pompeii. Today’s Top Site! Pack a lunch and be prepared to do a lot of walking.
- 6:00-8:00 – Enjoy sunset at Castel Sant’Elmo. Make sure to arrive before the Castel closes (6:30pm) in order to catch sunset from the best viewpoint in the city. Pack a bottle of wine and some snacks to enjoy while you’re there. Tickets cost 5 EUR (cash, in person) or, if you purchased the Campania Artecard, entrance is included.
- 8:30-10:00 – Treat your tastebuds to dinner in Vomero. This hip neighborhood is full of great restaurants. We recommend Verso Giusto for a more “spin on the classics” take or Staj Noodle Bar if you need a break from Italian cuisine.
Today's Top Site
It’s hard to imagine visiting Naples and missing out on the incredible site of Pompeii. Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage site located about 45 minutes from central Naples by train. This ancient Roman city was completely destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Buried in ash until excavation began in 1748, the city was remarkably well-preserved and offers us incomparable insight into the daily life of ancient Romans. In fact, you can still see the ruts in the cobblestone worn by the frequent passing of chariots throughout the town.
Walking the streets of Pompeii is a truly surreal experience. You can really imagine what it must have felt like to be there, especially after having seen all of the art and artifacts in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples the day before. What really surprised us though was the size of the site – Pompeii is massive, with 108 acres (or 44 hectares) excavated. Walking one end to the other takes some time, so you should plan for 4-6 hours at the site and also pack some food and water, as the nearest cafe can be quite a hike away.
We chose to see Pompeii self-guided and honestly, we regretted it. We had hoped to use the available app with audio guide content, but found it extremely glitchy, prone to crashes, and unable to work without cellular data. Instead, we caught ourselves eavesdropping on a tour from time to time and wishing we had just bought one, as the guides are really able to bring Pompeii to life and give context to what you’re looking at. If you’re interested in a guided tour, we always enjoy our experiences with Get Your Guide, and have included links to their most popular Pompeii tours below. If you still prefer to visit Pompeii self-guided, check out this post from our friends at Snap Happy Travel, which summarizes all of Pompeii’s top sights and provides helpful tips to optimize your visit.
A few quick tips first though! The most affordable way to access Pompeii is by taking the Trenitalia train to Pompeii station and then making a (super easy) transfer immediately out front of the station to the red Pompeii bus that will drop you right in front of the park, costing you only 4.80 EUR each way. You can buy these tickets at the station or on the Trenitalia app. Entrance tickets to Pompeii are 22 EUR and can be bought here, but if you bought the Campania Artecard, entrance is included. But even if you didn’t buy that, you can still get in for free if you time your visit right!
Pro-tip: Entrance to Pompeii is free on the first Sunday of the month, as it is to all museums in Italy.
Day 4 - Hike Mount Vesuvius
- 09:00-1:00 – Tour Herculaneum. Another city buried in the ash of the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius, this site is interesting due to the amount of organic material (wood, food) that was also preserved. The main attraction here are the remains of hundreds of people who took shelter in the boathouses. This site is much smaller than Pompeii and can be tackled in 2-3 hours. Colby and I were too wiped after Pompeii to check this one out, but would love to see it next time around. Tickets are 16 EUR (or included if you bought the Campania Artecard) and can be purchased here.
- 1:30-2:30 – Grab a quick lunch between Herculaneum and the Ercolano-Scavi train station before your Vesuvius Express bus departure.
- 3:00-7:00 – Hike Mount Vesuvius. Today’s Top Site! Grab a drink at one (or all four!) of the refugio up top and enjoy the incredible views (learn more here!).
- 8:30-10:00 – Have dinner at Etto. Their hearty, healthy, and delicious bowls will refuel you after your big day. Plus, it’s right by Piazza Bellini if you’re craving an after-dinner drink.
Today's Top Site
Hiking Mount Vesuvius was one of our favorite activities when visiting Naples and should absolutely not be skipped in your Naples itinerary. The volcano is majestic – and still steaming! – and the views of Naples, Sorrento, and the Bay are sweeping. We were also pleasantly surprised to find not one, not two, but four refugio along the way that sell drinks, snacks, and souvenirs at reasonable prices. Have you ever had a glass of wine for 4 EUR at the top of a volcano? You bet your butt we did – all four times.
If you’re not a big hiker, don’t be intimidated. The bus does most of the work for you, and the remaining hike is a moderate grade along a wide, well-maintained path. My Apple Watch tells me that we gained about 630 feet (192 m) of elevation and walked a total of 2.4 miles (3.9 km), round trip. We saw people of all ages and fitness levels, not to mention footwear, managing the hike just fine.
In order to hike the Volcano, you have to buy tickets with a timed entrance in advance. There’s no wifi at the top, so don’t plan on that. Tickets cost 12 EUR and can be purchased here. If, like us, you find that tickets are not available on your desired date, there’s good news. The ticketing site releases ten additional “last minute” tickets for each time slot an hour before the entrance time, meaning there are ten new tickets available every ten minutes. After a few tries, we were able to snag some and then headed to the Vesuvius Express station to catch a bus up (which cost an additional 10 EUR each). Read all about this hike with more details on logistics and tips for a best experience here.
Pro-tip: Make sure to take the EAV non-express train route to Ercolano-Scavi station, not the Trenitalia express route. This will save you 13 EUR per person each way.
If you prefer an experience where all the logistics are managed for you, there are also Herculaneum + Vesuvius pre-packaged experiences you can buy –Â check out this one.
Day 5 - Capri or Bagnoli
- 08:00-7:00 – Today’s Top Site! Take a day trip to Capri (learn more here!) OR spend the day at the beach in Bagnoli.
- 8:30-10:00 – Have your last dinner in Naples and pack for home. We recommend one final pizza at Pizzeria Brandi, the establishment responsible for making the margherita pizza famous, in business since 1780.
Today's Top Site
Capri is an incredibly beautiful – but expensive – island off the coast of Naples. If you’re looking for a “lifestyles of the rich and famous” experience, look no further. Capri is easily accessible by ferries that leave as early as 7:00am and return as late as 8:00pm, and you can squeeze a decent amount of site-seeing into a day trip. Though, if we’re being honest, we’d really recommend two nights if you’ve got the time.
Ferry tickets can be bought online through sites like Ferry Hopper, but we recommend just buying them at the port to save a few bucks and make sure you’ve got the right schedule. We also encountered a significant departure delay leaving Capri, so we would suggest not booking the last ferry of the day, just in case. Make sure to pack some Dramamine or the Italian equivalent, Xamamina, if you get sea sick as the waves can be pretty rough – we saw a few people sprint to the bathroom pale-faced on the ride over, and I wasn’t doing so hot myself.
Once you arrive, the top activity is a boat tour of the island. Be aware that unless you’re going very early in the day there is a good chance you won’t be able to see the Blue Grotto – it gets extremely busy and many of the boat tours will just move on rather than wait their turn. We booked our tour with Motoscafisti Capri for only 23 EUR each, which was the best deal on the island. For food, don’t miss Pescheria Le Botteghe for incredible seafood and drinks at the Capri Rooftop bar. Check out our post Two Days in Capri: Your Ideal Itinerary for more.
Bagnoli
If Capri is a bit bougie for you, you can also spend this day exploring Bagnoli, an area on the coast southwest of the city center. It was too early in the season for us to go when we visited in April, but it’s a popular spot in peak summer season for beach clubs, night clubs, and other summer fun. Best for party-lovers, it’s definitely worth a trip if you’re visiting Naples in July or August.
We hope this post helps you to start building your ideal Naples itinerary. Visiting Naples is an incredible vacation, but believe me when I say this is just a taste of what this city and the Campania region have to offer! Check out our post 20 Top Places to Eat and Drink in Naples and Hiking Mount Vesuvius: Your Detailed Guide, and for other hotspots in area, check out Two Days in Capri: Your Ideal Itinerary, Your Positano Itinerary: 2 Days on the Amalfi Coast, and The Best Sorrento Lemon Tours. Comment below what you loved most about Naples!
Want a few more ideas of what to add to your Naples itinerary? Check out these top tours:
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