Vesuvio National Park — Attraction in Ottaviano

Few infos and advices to go here: Prepare good shoes for walk/hike. For descending sometimes a bit slippery since lots of small rocks and sand on the path No need to bring lots of water if it’s too heavy because you will pass 3 places small/snack shop. €2/bottle (500ml) In the first post, you can even rent stick to help you hike Up there can be windy. Prepare thin jacket just for wind. But it’s depending the weather/season too

You can go to this park with few options: Bus (Vesuvio express from Ercolano station), taxi for sharing (white minibus for many people), taxi private (can be van or just a car)

I have experience with Vesuvio express. You can buy a ticket directly on their office (just outside Ercolano train station) or reserve by WhatsApp. They reply very slow by WhatsApp. The price for transfer and entry ticket is €30/person. Entrance ticket is written €11/person. So the transfer fee should be €19/person with big bus. Normally the bus will drop and pick you up every 2 hours (arrive around 12:00 and pick up by 14:00) etc The bus can be late because they will completely a bus before departure:)

By the way, there is other company who see transfer ticket to this park. The location just few meters away, next to restaurant direction main road. The price written on the signboard outside the office is €30 too.

About small shop for drink or snack: One before enter the park One just after enter the park (Magma Bar) One in first post about 20-25 minutes slow walk. Here you also can hire a guide One is on the top

I found only in the shop before and just after enter the park you can buy food (small pizza or panini) I am not sure whether there is also a food in other 2 shops. Chips or biscuit only I think.

Dog: you can bring and walk with them

There is free toilet after entrance.

Advise: Just bring your happiness here. No need to stress or many complain if you need to wait or something doesn’t work like you want...

Simple and easy with last minute tickets. We arrived just after lunch completely unplanned. Parking cost €7 for 4 hours (which is plenty) and shuttle bus is €3 return for a 5mins journey. Although you can walk up to the ticket entrance from the car park, the shuttle bus is worth it to conserve energy and save time.

Once arrived, there are clear signs to connect with the WiFi, and a QR code will take you directly to the ticket website. Get yourself registered with an account and make sure you are logged in and ready to buy tickets at the right time. Tickets are released every 10mins for the entry timeslot 30mins later (e.g.14:30 entry tickets are released at 14:00). The whole process took around 10mins and even though the tickets are technically for entry 30mins later, we asked if we could enter immediately and the staff didn't mind. Do be aware that there were many people (maybe 50-100) standing around with phones to 'fight' over the 10 tickets released at each 10mins timeslot. So if you are not confident with technology then it is best to book in advance. The fact that we were able to secure tickets straight away, despite the number of people there, likely means there are people who have been there for a long time and repeatedly miss out on getting tickets.

As for the actual experience, it is worth it for the views. The ascent is quite long, steep and slippery (due to loose sand and gravel), so you will need to have some fitness to get to the top, but it is not particularly challenging. As of time of writing, there are currently no toilets at all on the mountain, but we did see some under construction at the entrance gate. There are, however, 3 different cafes along the route where there are seats and shelter. We spent around 3hrs in total from parking to returning...

BUY YOUR TICKETS AHEAD OF TIME!!! Please read if you haven't cause you might not get to see the crater as a last minute ticket buyer

we were fortunate to climb the mountain up to the crater which was a great experience and the views were great!

However, getting entrance to the sight was STRESSFUL. we have traveled many places around the world and buying tickets throughout Italy is confusing and disorganized. But the ticket system they have on top of Vesuvius is such a scheme.

This was our experience:

You can pre buy parking so that your trek is shorter. We did this and it was easy

SHUTTLE FROM PARKING - THEY ONLY ACCEPT CASH The parking without a guide is quite a distance from the entrance gate so they provide a shuttle service. The shuttle service is 3€ per person but they don't accept credit card

ENTERING Vesuvius as a last chance entry So, they make you pay for parking and then pay for a shuttle (good luck if you don't have cash) and then when you get to the top there's a whole other thing.

So if you didn't book your tickets in advance you can only purchase tickets on their LOCAL WIFI which is only available on top of the mountain. THEN when you get to the top. They only sell 10 tickets every 10 minutes until they close the ticket office. So you have to be quick with purchasing the ticket or you miss out. You have to buy the tickets online with the QRcode provided. There were probably 50 people waiting for tickets and there were only 30 tickets available when we arrived. But they were still shuttling people up for 3€ or sending them on a walk with no hope to make it to the crater.

So be prepared to watch the seconds tick by if you're a last minute ticket buyer. We visited in April so off season and it...