Family Visit Notes for Pompeii and Herculaneum
Families can do well at Pompeii and Herculaneum, provided the day is paced around heat and distance. These notes cover costs, comfort, accessibility and one sensitive subject, with prices in euros.
Entry costs for families
Anyone under 18 gets in free at both Pompeii and Herculaneum. Young adults from 18 to under 25 who are EU citizens pay EUR 2 at Pompeii, and so do non-EU residents with an Italian residence permit. At Herculaneum the same age group pays EUR 2 and adults pay EUR 16. Tickets at Pompeii are issued in the holder’s name, and ID is shown at the ticket offices, so keep documents to hand. The first Sunday of each month is a free day: there is no online booking, and families queue at the turnstiles. The park still limits entry to 20,000 people a day.
Keeping children comfortable
Pompeii is large and mostly open to the sun, and the streets are paved with uneven basalt that slows pushchairs and tired legs. Plan at least a half day, and split it into short stretches with rests. Water, sun hats and snacks matter more here than at most sites. The park allows only small bags, up to 30 x 30 x 15 cm, and offers free luggage storage at the entrances. The summer opening hours, 16 March to 14 October, run from 09:00 to 19:00, so an early start avoids the hottest part of the day. See the park information .
What holds a child’s interest
Try the Forum with Vesuvius behind it, then the amphitheatre, the oldest surviving stone amphitheatre. A guided thematic itinerary of about 1.5 hours costs EUR 8 plus entry and is free for under 10s, a length that most children can manage. Herculaneum is smaller than Pompeii, so a visit there is easier to complete in a single outing, and the Circumvesuviana to Ercolano Scavi takes about 20 minutes.
A sensitive subject
Some casts at Pompeii preserve the bodies of people who died in AD 79. The exhibition in the Palestra Grande, open since 12 March 2026, shows 22 of them, and the Garden of the Fugitives has 13. Others are in the buildings where they were found. You know your children best, so decide whether to include these places, and prepare younger visitors with a few honest words beforehand. You can skip them without missing the rest of the site.
Access for visitors with disabilities
The park has installed tactile, Braille and LIS supports, a project called Pompei tra le mani, at the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance. The Artebus shuttle that links the park’s sites cannot take wheelchairs. Use the park’s accessibility page to plan a route.
Vesuvius with children
The Gran Cono is a guided walk of up to 2 hours return on the short route. Children under 6 are free with an adult, and tickets, sold online only by the authorised seller , cost EUR 10 for adults, or EUR 8 for under 25s with ID. Think about whether your children can walk uphill for that long. For family tour listings, browse Viator .
Read more: group activities near Pompei suits larger family parties.