Vesuvius is the silhouette you see across the bay every morning from the Sorrento coast. It is the only active volcano on mainland Europe, and you can walk right up to the rim of its crater.
Getting there from the B&B
The starting point is the Quota 1000 piazzale, in the municipality of Ercolano, at the end of the Ercolano–Vesuvio provincial road. It is about an hour and a quarter by car from the B&B.
One detail catches many visitors out: parking is not allowed in the park-managed piazzale itself. Paid car parks are further down the provincial road, and shuttles run from the last one.
Without a car: take the Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Ercolano Scavi, then a bus or shuttle up to Quota 1000. Alternatively there are organised excursions leaving from Sorrento with a dedicated coach — more expensive, but they remove the connection problem entirely.
Buy the ticket in advance. Always.
Access to Trail no. 5, "Il Gran Cono", is granted only with an online advance purchase. Tickets are not sold on site: turn up without one and you will not go up, with no way to fix it on the spot.
The park works in timed slots with a maximum number of visitors per slot. In high season, book a few days ahead and pick a slot that accounts for the hour-and-a-quarter journey from Sorrento plus parking and shuttle time.
The climb
It takes about half an hour to walk from the piazzale to the crater rim. The path is unpaved, switchbacked, wide and never exposed, but it climbs steadily and the surface is lapillo — volcanic gravel that slides under your soles. No particular fitness is required; decent shoes are.
At the top you walk along a stretch of the crater rim. On one side the cone, on the other a view that on clear days runs from Naples to the Sorrento peninsula and out to Capri.
When to go
April–June and September–October are the best windows. In summer the trail is in full sun and the heat is punishing. In winter it often closes for high wind, rain or snow, and the closure is decided on the day.
There is a less obvious reason to avoid July and August too: summer haze eats the view. The finest days from the summit are the clear, windy ones in spring and autumn.
Our advice
Check the weather and the trail status on the morning itself, before you leave. It is an hour and a quarter each way from Sorrento, and finding the path closed on arrival costs you the day.
Bring a sweatshirt even in July: at a thousand metres, in the wind, it is far colder than on the coast.
Many of our guests pair Vesuvius with Herculaneum in a single day — the excavations in the morning, the crater in the afternoon. It works well, provided you have booked the right time slot.
Aerial view of Vesuvius