You can learn a lot here for nothing Naples is a city where people make things in plain sight. Pizzaioli stretch dough behind open counters, and nativity-figure makers work in shopfront studios. So before you pay for a workshop, decide how much you want to learn by watching and tasting, and how much by doing. This page sorts the options from free to the full masterclass. Free: watch the artisans San Gregorio Armeno, the narrow lane between Via dei Tribunali and Spaccanapoli, is lined with workshops where craftsmen model, fire and paint terracotta presepe figures all year round.

Guided or do it yourself? Most adventure tours sold in Naples have a do-it-yourself version, and the gap in price can be large. Sometimes the tour is worth it for the transport, the guiding or the boat. Sometimes you are paying for a minibus to a place a train reaches. Here are the main options by price band, with the DIY cost alongside. Under EUR20: underground Naples The cheapest guided adventure in the city is also the one with no DIY version.

The best shows here are free The biggest crowd-pullers in the Naples calendar cost nothing to attend. Three times a year the cathedral fills for San Gennaro, and every May the city opens buildings that are locked the rest of the year. The opera house is the one place where you pay, and even there a cheap way in exists. Here is the calendar sorted by cost. Free: the San Gennaro days On three dates the Archbishop of Naples displays an ampoule of San Gennaro’s dried blood in the Duomo, and the crowd waits for it to liquefy: the Saturday before the first Sunday of May, 19 September and 16 December.

Most of Naples is outdoors, and free The streets, squares and seafront of Naples are its main attraction, and walking them costs nothing. Add a funicular ride, a volcano ticket and an open-air Roman town, and a week of outdoor days costs well under EUR100 in tickets. Here they are, from free upwards. EUR0: the old centre on foot Spaccanapoli and Via dei Tribunali, two of the straight Greek and Roman streets that still cut through the UNESCO-listed historic centre, make a full morning of walking with no ticket.

Bigger group, smaller bill Travelling in a group changes the maths in Naples. Some things get cheaper per person, such as a private boat, and some get harder, such as the timed tickets that sell in small batches. This page works out the cost per head for the main group options and the booking rules that trip groups up. A private boat: cheaper than it looks A private speedboat for the day along the Gulf of Naples or the Amalfi Coast costs roughly EUR700 to EUR1,800 or more.

Prices for two, not per person Most guides quote prices per head. Couples pay double, so the figures below are for two people together, from a date that costs less than a pastry to a day on a private boat. Naples is generous at the cheap end, which leaves room for one proper treat. Under EUR10 for two Two espressos at the counter: EUR2 to EUR2.60. Stand at the bar like everyone else.

The cheapest bus tour is a public bus Before you pay for an open-top tour, look at what the ordinary buses cost. A city ride is EUR1.30, the airport coach is EUR5 and the Amalfi Coast bus starts at a couple of euros. Organised tours still earn their price in a few cases, and this page sets out which. From the airport: Alibus, EUR5 The ANM Alibus runs direct from Naples Airport to Napoli Centrale station and on to Molo Beverello, the port for Capri and Ischia.

Adrenaline here is cheaper than you think The two biggest adventures near Naples, a volcano summit and a cliff path above the Amalfi Coast, cost less than a museum ticket. Water sports cost more, and a private boat costs a lot, unless you share it. Below, each option is priced from cheapest to dearest, with the catches that can make a cheap day expensive. Vesuvius crater: EUR10 Entry to the Gran Cono trail is EUR10, or EUR8 for under-25s, with children under 6 free, plus a small online booking fee.

Escape the city, then come back to it Couples often find Naples loud in the middle of the day and magical at either end. The trick is to leave for the water, come home for the evening and keep one night for something dressed up. Capri, with a plan Hydrofoils for Capri leave Molo Beverello and take about 50 minutes, at roughly EUR21 to EUR30 each way, with the EUR5 landing fee included between April and October.

Three trips worth a night away Many visitors treat Naples as a base for day trips. A night or two away changes the pace, and three routes work well from the city: the Amalfi Coast, the islands and the royal palace at Caserta. All start from stations you can reach on public transport. Overnight on the Amalfi Coast Take the regular Circumvesuviana from Napoli Garibaldi to Sorrento, then switch to SITA Sud coaches along the coast road.

Plan around the kids, not the monuments Families who treat Naples as a museum trip often end up with tired children by noon. A better plan puts one big outing in the morning, a long pizza lunch and a ride or a play space in the afternoon. Morning: Herculaneum or the science centre For history, choose Herculaneum. It is a Roman seaside town about 20 minutes from Napoli Garibaldi on the Circumvesuviana to Ercolano Scavi, compact enough for half a day.

Three walks, three moods Naples rewards walking more than any other kind of touring, but the city is too big for one route. Three separate walks, each two to four hours, give a fair sample of it. Walk one: the Greek-Roman decumani This is the straight historic axis. Begin at Piazza del Gesu and follow Spaccanapoli east through Piazza San Domenico Maggiore. Return along Via dei Tribunali, the parallel street, with a stop for a pizza a portafoglio at EUR2 to EUR3.

Three layers of the city Naples reads best in layers: what lies under the street, what the kings built on top, and what is staged inside the opera house. Tours follow the same pattern, so the sections below follow that order. Below the street Under the old centre runs a network of Greek-Roman cisterns and aqueduct tunnels, reached from Napoli Sotterranea at Piazza San Gaetano 69. Guided tours leave every hour from 10:00 to 18:00 in English and Italian.

Free first The best money-saving fact about Naples is how much of it costs nothing. Spaccanapoli and the parallel Via dei Tribunali, the straight Greek-Roman streets that cut through the old centre, are free to walk all day. The nave of the Duomo di San Gennaro is free, as are Piazza del Plebiscito, Galleria Umberto I and the nativity-figure workshops of San Gregorio Armeno, where craftsmen sell hand-painted presepe figures year-round.

Look up, then look down The best sightseeing in Naples happens at two heights: inside churches, where ceilings and cloisters hold the art, and on the hills, where the whole bay opens up. This route sorts the city by what you want to look at. Sculpture and paintings The star is Giuseppe Sanmartino’s Veiled Christ of 1753 in the Cappella Sansevero, whose marble veil looks translucent. The chapel also holds anatomical machines in its crypt.

Two Days: Pompeii, Then Herculaneum and Vesuvius Two days from Naples fits the two cheapest, closest Campania day trips back to back: Pompeii on Day 1, Herculaneum paired with Vesuvius on Day 2, both reached on the same Circumvesuviana line for a few euros a ride. Longer trip available? The 4-day through 7-day versions add the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Procida and Paestum; the full Naples day trips guide has the cost math behind these picks.

Four Days: Add the Amalfi Coast and Capri Four days nests the Pompeii and Herculaneum-Vesuvius pairing from the 2-day itinerary , then adds a full day on the Amalfi Coast and a full day on Capri, the two trips that need a bus or a ferry rather than just a train ticket. It’s the honest budget option if a fifth day isn’t available; the full guide has the cost math behind every leg below.

Six Days: The Full Campania Spine Six days nests the Pompeii, Herculaneum-Vesuvius, Amalfi Coast and Capri days from the 4-day itinerary , then adds Procida or Ischia by the cheap Pozzuoli ferry and a day at Paestum’s Greek temples. This is the version that covers every major Campania day trip from Naples without doubling any of them up. The full guide breaks down the cost math behind each leg; the 7-day itinerary turns Day 3 into an overnight instead of rushing it.

Seven Days: Give the Amalfi Coast the Overnight It Deserves Seven days keeps the same six-trip spine as the 6-day itinerary , Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius, Capri, Procida or Ischia, Paestum, but spends the extra day turning the rushed Amalfi Coast bus day into an overnight in Positano or Amalfi instead. That’s the one change worth making with a spare day; the full guide explains why a same-day Amalfi round trip loses most of its hours to transit.

Naples Is the Cheapest Way Into Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast Every major Campania day trip starts from a Naples train platform, not a rental car counter. EAV’s Circumvesuviana line reaches Pompeii in 30-40 minutes for €3-4, Herculaneum and the Vesuvius shuttle stop in 20-25 minutes, and a regional train gets you to Paestum’s Greek temples in about 75 minutes. Verdict: skip the all-in-one guided tours that bundle transport, entry and a guide for €80-120 a person; buy the train ticket and the site’s own entry ticket separately, and the same day costs a third of that if you’re comfortable reading a train schedule.

Two days in Naples: the budget version Two days on a budget in Naples means committing to the city itself and skipping every day trip. No Pompeii, no Vesuvius, no Amalfi Coast, not because they lack value but because none of them fit into 48 hours without gutting the Centro Storico you actually came for. This plan gets you the one splurge worth every euro, the timed Cappella Sansevero slot, plus the underground tour, a free Duomo nave, and a full pizza crawl, all running on public transport tickets that cost about EUR1.

Four days in Naples: the budget version Four days on a budget in Naples means the city itself, in full, with zero days lost to Pompeii, Vesuvius, or the Amalfi Coast. This plan covers everything the 2-day plan does, the timed Cappella Sansevero slot and the underground tour, then adds the two things a tight 48 hours has to cut: MANN’s collection and a full afternoon in Vomero. All four days run on the same EUR1.

Five days in Naples: the budget version Five days on a budget in Naples stays entirely inside the city, no Pompeii, no Vesuvius, no Amalfi Coast, and still doesn’t run out of things worth paying for. This plan carries over the 4-day plan in full, the Cappella Sansevero, Napoli Sotterranea, MANN, and Vomero, then adds a fifth day built around Naples’ actual specialty: the markets and the street food, most of it costing a few euros standing up.

Six days in Naples: the budget version Six days on a budget in Naples stays entirely in the city, no Pompeii, no Vesuvius, no Amalfi Coast, and turns into the kind of trip where you stop checking sights off a list. This plan carries the 5-day plan forward in full, the Cappella Sansevero, Napoli Sotterranea, MANN, Vomero, and the Porta Nolana market day, then adds a sixth day built for a slower, unhurried second look at whatever earned a rushed first visit.

Seven days in Naples: the budget version Seven days on a budget in Naples stays entirely in the city, no Pompeii, no Vesuvius, no Amalfi Coast, and this is the point where a lot of visitors decide they’ve under-planned by treating Naples as a stopover. This plan carries the 6-day plan forward in full, the Cappella Sansevero, Napoli Sotterranea, MANN, Vomero, the market day, and a slow revisit day, then closes with a genuinely light seventh day built for whatever you didn’t get to.