Parco del Vesuvio: Escursione sent n. 5-6-1 Gran Cono, Strada Matrone e Valle dell'Inferno con guida privata

We climbed Mount Vesuvius as part of a guided daytrip out of Naples. Our bus dropped us at the staging area. We entered with timed tickets. Our tour manager gave us two hours to climb and return to the starting point. So off we went! Picked up simple walking sticks from a guy just inside the entrance...they were totally worth it, and only cost a few Euros as a tip when we returned them. It was a warm day, but overcast that afternoon. It gets cooler and windier as you climb so be sure to wear good walking shoes, and bring a sweater or jacket, a hat, sunscreen, and bottled water...in a backpack. As we climbed upward, I stopped to shoot photos of the views of the cities of Pompeii and Naples and the Mediterranean and the mountains. Of course I took photos of our progress on the trails, which are rocky and uneven and even slippery at times. This was not an easy climb as you begin hiking at a high elevation and are going higher. In most parts of the trails, there is room for those going up and those going back down. But occasionally the trail narrows so you may have to wait a couple minutes. There were two stations for stops for food and water and restrooms and even souvenirs and gifts. The second one was at the highest point. Most important is to know your capabilities and your limitations. Have fun!! We made it up and back down in just two hours, and were happy and proud to have made the hike!

Tout d'abord je vous conseille de ne pas regarder les bas-côtés de la route d'accès, c'est une poubelle à ciel ouvert !!!!
Passage obligatoire rémunéré par des navettes (payante) pour vous accompagner plus haut....
Si vous avez besoin de faire un dernier Pipi, les toilettes sur place vont vite vous couper l'envie !!!
Après je conseille d'être bien en forme physique pour faire l'ascension qui n'est pas forcément facile pour des personnes ayant un peu de mal à l'effort (40mm environ).
Les infrastructures de sécurité sont inexistantes ou totalement délabrées, alors prenez soin de surtout ne pas vous appuyer sur les rembardes.....
Le site en lui même est magnifique !!!!
La victoire de l'ascension vaut le coup !!!!
Dommage pour le reste...

We had bought tickets to enter Vesuvius at 15:20 in advance. You can enter up to 40 min before the stated time, and as late as 100 min after.

We took the train from Napoli Porta Nolana to Pompeii Santuario. We went 2-3 hours earlier than the bus to Vesuvius leaves so we could have lunch in Pompeii, making sure we could use the restroom and freshen up before the trek, and not have to rush to the bus. Porta Nolana did not have working monitors to see which platform our train would be at, I would recommend arriving 15 min ahead of time because of that. We bought our tickets using the EAV app, which was pretty easy but you have to authenticate your account using SMS. You could also take the train to Pompeii Villa dei Misteri if you're going earlier like we did, but I would not recommend taking the bus from Villa dei Misteri.

We took the bus 808 from Pompei - P. za Anfiteatro CL. The bus stop is right next to one of the souvenir stands next to the exit from Pompei ruins. It can be tricky to find, it's just a pole with a blue sign. Get there 10-15 minutes in advance to make sure you find it. Also get there in advance because a lot of people will be taking the bus and it might fill up. Make sure to bring cash, preferably coins if you're only buying one ticket at a time. We tried buying the bus ticket in the EAV app, but it was the wrong ticket and we still had to buy the ticket on the bus. I think it was €3,60 - 3,80 per person for a one way ticket.

We took the bus on June 5 at 13:30 and it filled up at Villa Dei Misteri, so I don't recommend planning to take the bus at a stop later than that. The bus driver did have to stop people from entering once it filled because it wasn't the kind of bus that had space for standing travellers.

The bus did have air conditioning, on both trips!

The trek up the mountain did take a lot longer than we thought. It is very (!) steep going up, and slippery because of the gravel on the way down. Don't bring people who can't walk up on their own, eldelry and children, if you have time constraints. It's too much work walking up on your own, I can't imagine having to help someone else at the same time.

Taking the bus back was the same process. It arrived early so people started lining up 15 minutes before departure. It did have standing spaces but it still had to leave people behind that wouldn't fit. We took the bus leaving at 17:00 back.

We took the train from Villa Dei Misteri back to Porta Nolana, shorter train ride but it was a lot more people than the train we took to Pompeii Santuario. It was cramped and we had the stand the whole ride back.

My tips/info for people going to Vesuvius:
- Plan your bus and train times based on the fact that you can enter 40 minutes before your ticket time and 100 minutes after.
- Don't try to save time by taking the bus from Torre del Greco! You can get off the bus there on the way back from the mountain and take the train from there, but I wouldn't risk missing the bus by planning to take it up the mountain from there.
- Don't pack too much and don't bring water! They sell water at several places on the mountain, before, during and after your trek, for regular city prices.
- They have some kind of outside toilet after the entrance, but I didn't try it.
- Bring a print out of your ticket(s)! There is no reception on the mountain and you want to save battery by bringing a print out instead of using a pdf on your phone.
- Bring coins for the bus ticket! The bus driver ran out of change pretty quickly. Both of our bus drivers spoke okay English.
- Your shoes will get super dirty!

De préférence optez pour réserver vos billets sur internet, sur place cela est plus compliqué connexion difficile, assez long pour remplir le formulaire, nous avons eu de la chance, qu'un employé du site nous aide.
Concernant la visite du volcan ,rien d'extraordinaire , montee d'environ 1/2 heure, vue sur naples, si vous n'avez pas de brume.
A faire si vous avez du temps libre.

Bien se renseigner avant de décider de gravir le Vésuve.
Tout d'abord, prévoir de réserver le parking en amont sur le site du parc du Vésuve contre 6 euros afin de pouvoir se garer dans le parc national du Vésuve.
Ensuite, soit sur chemin goudronné se diriger vers l'entrée de la billetterie ou prendre une navette pour 2€ par personne (aller-retour) qui part toutes les 15min. Pour l'aller nous avons pris la navette (5-10min).
Puis arrivée à la billetterie (tolérance 40 min avant et 100min aprés) avec billet daté+ heure, environ 1km d'ascension pour accéder au cratère.
Les chemins d'accés sont larges, propres, prévoir chaussures de marche.
Des stands de souvenirs et de boissons sont proposés à plusieurs endroits du parcours.
Pour le retour idem, soit reprendre la navette ou à pied. Cette fois-ci, nous l'avons fait à pied (plus facile) et nous avons mis 25-30min.
Pour l'aller, peu d'intérêt d'y aller à pied.

L'effort en vaut la peine, même si pas sportif, pas de difficulté.