Herculaneum tickets: prices, passes and what admission includes

Which Herculaneum ticket do you need?

Buy ordinary admission for one self-guided visit to the archaeological area, Antiquarium and Boat Pavilion. The published full price is €16, checked on 24 October 2026. A guided tour, transport from Naples and an audio guide are not implied by that admission price.

For repeat visits, compare the €30 individual Ercolano Card before buying separate day tickets. For a single visit, the ordinary ticket is the simpler purchase. Neither option overrides maintenance closures: the Ancient Theatre and Villa of the Papyri are currently closed.

When the annual card saves money

Two ordinary full-price adult admissions cost €32, compared with €30 for the individual annual card, before any applicable booking charges. The card becomes useful if you genuinely plan a second paid visit within its 365-day validity. It excludes separately ticketed events and evening openings.

The €58 family card covers two adults and under-18s. Under-18s already qualify for free ordinary admission, so do not buy the family card just because children are travelling: for a one-off visit, compare two adult day tickets with the children’s free tickets. The card is for returning, not for adding a guide or opening a closed building.

Using a Campania Artecard

The park accepts Campania Artecard, including the LITE version, and tells cardholders to go to its ticket office to activate the card. This is a regional pass, distinct from the Herculaneum-only Ercolano Card.

If you already hold an Artecard, use that entry procedure rather than automatically buying a second ordinary ticket. If considering a new regional pass, compare the exact version’s included admissions and validity against the other sites you will actually visit; acceptance at Herculaneum alone does not establish that it saves money.

Book from the park’s own website

Start at the archaeological park’s Tickets page and follow its Buy Now link to CoopCulture. That separates the official admission product from reseller bundles. Online admission can be shown as a QR code on a phone or printed; retain the ticket during the visit.

The park mentions a €1.50 pre-sale charge and says it does not apply to free tickets. Treat the €16 as the base tariff and compare the complete checkout total, rather than assuming every sales channel charges exactly the same amount. No date-specific availability is promised here.

A reseller may add a guide, audio guide or transfer. Judge the extra cost against those actual inclusions, the tour language, meeting place and cancellation conditions. “Priority access” does not mean a private visit, entry to closed areas or exemption from checks.

Free admission and reduced tickets

Under-18s qualify for free admission, including non-EU visitors. The €2 young-adult category is subject to the nationality or residency conditions listed by the official seller; being a student or being under 25 does not by itself establish eligibility. Carry the document supporting the ticket category you choose.

On the first Sunday of the month, 25 April, 2 June and 4 November, the park publishes free entry for everyone. On those free days, reservations are not required and cannot be made online: collect the free ticket at the park’s ticket office that day. This differs from booking an individual free or reduced ticket on an ordinary paid-entry day.

Winter hours: arrive well before the last entry

From 15 October to 15 March, gates open at 08:30 and close at 17:00, with last admission at 15:30. Visitors must leave the archaeological area by 16:40 to reach the gates before closing. The park’s 15 October 2026 notice confirms the winter change.

Allow roughly two to three hours for a first visit as an editorial pacing estimate. Entering at 15:30 gives substantially less time than that before the archaeological area clears. A morning or early-afternoon start is more useful than treating the last-entry time as the recommended arrival.

The published summer schedule, 16 March to 14 October, is 08:30–19:30, last entry 18:00, with the archaeological area cleared by 19:00. The park lists daily opening and closure on 1 January and 25 December unless a special opening is announced.

What is closed, and what the ticket does not promise

The park currently lists the Villa of the Papyri as closed for works with no reopening date, and the Ancient Theatre as closed until further notice. A standard ticket or annual card does not admit you to those closed sites. Do not buy a tour specifically for either without a new official reopening notice.

The ordinary ticket includes the Antiquarium and Boat Pavilion as well as the open archaeological area. Access to individual houses can change with conservation work, so use the current park map and on-site directions rather than a fixed checklist copied from an old tour description.

Use Ercolano Scavi station, not just a town-name search

From the Napoli Centrale complex, use the separate EAV/Circumvesuviana service and select a train calling at Ercolano Scavi. The park directs visitors to the Napoli–Sorrento line and the Corso Resina 187 entrance; its directions describe a short walk from the station. From Sorrento, choose the Naples-bound service with that stop.

Ercolano Scavi is the useful station name for this visit. Do not substitute Portici–Ercolano on the national railway without planning a different onward walk. EAV introduced new Vesuvian schedules on 17 October 2026, so read the stopping pattern as well as the destination.

30 October 2026: the train timetable is not enough

EAV has announced a 24-hour strike affecting Vesuvian rail and road services on 30 October, with guaranteed-service windows 05:30–08:30 and 16:30–19:30. Outside those windows, operation depends on participation. Move this day trip if your dates allow.

If your date is fixed, use the notice’s actual guaranteed departures and confirm the stop you need in both directions. The 16:30 start of the evening guarantee is already later than Herculaneum’s 15:30 final admission. Do not plan an afternoon arrival around it, or assume a public bus will be unaffected.

Re-entry and mobility access

Ordinary admission permits one entry; after leaving, you cannot return on the same ticket. Plan lunch and breaks around that rule. Wear closed, comfortable shoes for uneven archaeological surfaces.

For mobility restrictions, the park publishes a blue-marked Herculaneum for Everyone route and directs visitors to the entrance security staff for access information. That is a defined route, not a claim that every ancient house or the complete station-to-site journey is step-free. Use the official accessible map when deciding whether the visit fits your needs.

Choose one archaeological visit or give each its own time

Herculaneum is a practical shorter archaeological outing from Naples; Pompeii suits a longer visit across a larger ancient-city route. Visiting both on one winter day leaves little room for delays, lunch and individual houses. For a first trip, choose one or put them on separate days.

Naples provides city sights and MANN alongside the excavations. Base the hotel decision on the rest of your trip rather than changing hotels solely for an admission ticket.