Frequently asked questions

Yes — please PRINT your ticket on A4 paper before you arrive at the gate. After payment you'll receive a payment receipt by email, then within two hours a second email with your official entry ticket attached as a PDF. The Herculaneum barcode turnstiles at the Corso Resina entrance are designed to read flat printed pages and do not reliably scan phone screens in bright Mediterranean midday sun. Print one A4 page per visitor, in colour if possible, and fold it in four to fit the scanner mouth. Each ticket admits one person and carries that visitor's name printed on it, so every member of your party must bring their own printed page.

Priority entry through the Corso Resina gate bypassing the general queue, plus full access to the Parco Archeologico di Ercolano excavated zone — including all open houses (Casa di Nettuno e Anfitrite, Casa del Tramezzo di Legno, Casa dei Cervi, Casa del Bel Cortile, Casa dell'Atrio a Mosaico), the Suburban Baths, the Boatsheds, the Antiquarium visitor centre with its multimedia exhibits, the College of the Augustales, and the Bottega del Garum. Under-18s of any nationality enter free at the gate with valid ID; the family tier just bundles the paperwork for parents at checkout.

Different burial mechanism, different preservation. Pompeii was buried by metres of cool ash that left walls, frescoes and street plans visible but allowed organic material to decay over centuries. Herculaneum was buried by roughly twenty metres of superheated pyroclastic flow that carbonised organic material instantly — wooden beams, doors, beds, screens, ropes, food, even loaves of bread. Herculaneum is roughly a quarter the size, a quarter the crowds, and preserves what Pompeii lost: multi-storey houses up to three floors, wooden interior fittings still in place, marble inlay in high quality. Most archaeological travellers who do both rank Herculaneum the richer experience.

Both, if you have the days. They sit on the same Circumvesuviana line, 25 minutes apart by train. Pompeii is the scale experience — 66 hectares of urban grid, an amphitheatre, a Forum, the body casts. Herculaneum is the depth experience — multi-storey houses with carbonised wood, the Boatsheds skeleton discovery, the glass-paste mosaic at Casa di Nettuno e Anfitrite. The ideal pairing is Pompeii on one day, Herculaneum on a second morning, and either the Vesuvius summit or the Naples Archaeological Museum on the second afternoon.

Two to three hours is the standard window for a thorough first visit covering the major houses, the Suburban Baths, the Boatsheds and the Antiquarium. Add 30 to 45 minutes for an audio guide. Add another hour for the MAV virtual museum 200 metres from the park entrance, which is highly worthwhile as a pre-visit context and is a separate ticket. Most visitors find Herculaneum less exhausting than Pompeii because the site is compact, partly shaded by the cliff face above the excavated zone, and quieter.

July and August weekend queues at Corso Resina can hit 45 to 90 minutes between 10:00 and 13:00 without a pre-booked ticket, and there is no shade at the gate itself. Midday inside the excavated zone is hot — much of the site sits well below modern street level, surrounded by volcanic stone that absorbs and re-radiates heat. Start at the 08:30 opening. Carry 1.5 to 2 litres of water per person. Use the air-conditioned Antiquarium rooms as a midday cooling stop. Skip-the-line cuts the gate queue to under 5 minutes.

The glass-paste mosaic of Neptune and Amphitrite at the Casa di Nettuno e Anfitrite (the colours read best in natural light through the open ceiling). The carbonised wooden screen at the Casa del Tramezzo di Legno. The marble statues at the Casa dei Cervi. The Suburban Baths — the best-preserved Roman baths anywhere, with intact stucco ceilings and benches of carbonised olive wood. The Boatsheds along the ancient shoreline with the skeleton remains. The Bottega del Garum where the famous fermented-fish sauce was made. Plan around two and a half hours for a complete tour.

Yes. Herculaneum was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997 as part of the serial inscription 'Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata' (reference 829). The inscription covers Herculaneum, Pompeii itself, and the Villa Poppaea at Oplontis in Torre Annunziata. All three sites are managed by the Italian Ministry of Culture through CoopCulture as official ticketing operator. The UNESCO listing recognises the unique value of the Vesuvius-buried towns as a single archaeological landscape preserving Roman urban life at the moment of the AD 79 eruption.

Tickets are issued for a specific date and are non-transferable once issued. If your plans change, reply to your confirmation email at least 48 hours before your booked date and we will rebook your visit to any open slot in the operator's calendar within the next 60 days at no charge. Inside 48 hours, same-week swaps remain possible if alternative slots exist but are not guaranteed by the operator. Tickets carry the visitor's name and cannot be transferred to another person once issued.

Yes — Herculaneum is genuinely well-suited to children, more so than Pompeii. The site is compact (two to three hours rather than a full day), partly shaded, and the headline features — the Boatsheds skeleton discovery, the carbonised wooden bed, the loaves of bread in the oven — capture imaginations directly. Under-18s of any nationality enter free at the gate with valid ID. The MAV multimedia museum next door is excellent for children with its 3D reconstructions of how the rooms looked before AD 79. Bring a baby carrier rather than a stroller — Roman paving is hard on wheels.

On the first Sunday of every month, the Italian Ministry of Culture's #DomenicaalMuseo policy waives admission to all state museums and archaeological parks, including Herculaneum. The intention is to encourage Italian residents to visit national heritage, but the practical effect at Herculaneum is heavy crowding from before opening, slow movement through the headline houses, and queues at the coat-check. If your priority is the calm photographic experience of Herculaneum, choose any other Sunday or a weekday. A concierge ticket on a non-free day buys you a calmer site than a free ticket on a heaving one.

Under-18s of any nationality are admitted free at the gate with valid photo ID. EU residents aged 18 to 25 may qualify for a reduced rate with valid ID showing residency. Visitors with disabilities and an accompanying carer may qualify for free entry with appropriate documentation. Italian schoolteachers on duty and accredited journalists may also qualify under specific operator policies. For all reduced or free categories, the documentation must be presented at the gate; the concierge cannot replace the ID requirement. Check the official Parco Archeologico di Ercolano website for the most current eligibility list before your visit.

There is a small café near the Corso Resina entrance serving coffee, water, soft drinks, panini and pastries at modest prices, and several drinking-water fountains across the excavated zone dispensing potable water. Bring a refillable bottle. There is no large restaurant inside the park; the modern town of Ercolano immediately outside the gate has several small trattorias and pizzerias within five minutes' walk. The Antiquarium visitor centre has indoor seating where you can eat food brought in from outside. Picnicking in designated areas is permitted.

Personal photography is permitted throughout the park without flash. Tripods, selfie sticks, drones and external lighting equipment require an advance permit from the operator and are not normally allowed during standard visitor hours. The glass-paste mosaic at the Casa di Nettuno e Anfitrite shows its colours best in the natural light through the open ceiling, around mid-morning. Photography of the skeletons at the Boatsheds is permitted but discouraged out of respect for the remains. Commercial filming requires advance permission with separate fees.

An accessible route covers the main thoroughfares of the excavated zone and the Antiquarium visitor centre, including ramped access to the lower-level entrance. Several of the famous houses are reached by uneven Roman paving and a few steps, which limits wheelchair access to a partial visit. The Boatsheds along the ancient shoreline are reached by a ramped pathway suitable for most wheelchairs. Visitors with disabilities and an accompanying carer may qualify for free admission with documentation. Email us before your visit and we will confirm the current accessible routing with the operator.

Closed-toe trainers or proper walking shoes are essential — the Roman paving is uneven and the modern access ramps down into the excavated zone can be slippery in wet weather. Loose breathable cotton or linen for summer, a brimmed hat, sunglasses, high-SPF sunscreen. A light long-sleeved layer for the cooler interior rooms and the air-conditioned Antiquarium. No formal dress code. Avoid sandals, flip-flops and any kind of heel. Bring a small day-pack-sized bag only; larger backpacks must be left at the coat-check at the entrance.

All sales are final. The Parco Archeologico di Ercolano does not refund unused or missed-slot tickets, and neither do we. Where the operator itself fails (the park is unexpectedly closed on your booked date, your ticket is not honoured at the gate through no fault of yours, or a major access disruption prevents your visit) we will rebook or refund in full. We genuinely prefer to rebook rather than refund where the choice exists, because a rebook gets you the visit you came for. Read the order confirmation for the complete terms.