Difficulty: Easy – Moderate (depending on route taken)
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is one of the most famous volcanos in the world. The eruption that took place in 79AD descemated the city of Pompeii as well as other small townships in the surrounding areas such as Herculaneum and Oplontis. The eruption was so large that the cone shaped volcano that once stood at nearly 10,000ft was divided into two summits, the larger of which standing at only 4203ft.
The only active volcano currently in mainland Europe, Vesuvius is regarded as the most dangerous in the world due to the density of the population in that live on its slopes.
Hiking Vesuvius
As both a bit of a history nerd and a keen hiker I knew that not only did I want to visit Pompeii, I also wanted to reach the summit of Mount Vesuvius! Most people stay in either Naples or Sorrento when visiting. It is easy enough to access the volcano from both!
I did a fair bit of research into hiking the volcano and found that the options are very limited. I quickly realised there is no one trail that takes you from the base of Mount Vesuvius to the summit. There are nine paths that are maintained by the National Park. Some of these do interconnect, making it possible to create a route to the crater. You can find out more about each path here.
Strada Matrone
The best combination in my opinion would be No. 6 and No. 5. Route 6, Strada Matrone begins from Hotel Parco Vesuvus. Use an Uber to take you here. The path is pretty self explanatory. It eventually connects to Route 5, Gran Cono. This route circles the crater and is the one that most tourists will end up taking – more on that next.
Hiking the mountain this way is not as popular as just doing Route 5, for multiple reasons. It is not as well advertised online and it also requires more effort. Not only is the hike longer and steeper, the baking heat in the main tourist season would make the journey even more difficult!
Gran Cono
Route 5 is popular for a reason. A large volume of tour operators take you directly to the park entrance. Public transport also heads up this way but it is not as reliable. The path is very well maintained. It only takes around 20-30 minutes to reach the crater from the park entrance. Even mum, who is well into her 60s and suffers from multiple aches and pains found it fairly easy!
The crater itself is fairly impressive at around 700m in diameter and 200m deep. Looking closely you can see sulphorous gases gently billowing upwards from multiple points. Looking in the other direction and the views over the Bay of Naples are spectacular! It is incredible that something so deadly holds so much beauty.
The route back down is exactly the same as the route which you came up. Make sure to pay attention to the surrounding landscape which reveals remnants of old eruptions. Lava flows scar the hillsides an the views in every direction are phenomenal.
Tour Operators
Being with mum and on a limited timescale we did opt for the ease of a combined tour of Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii. We booked our tour through Viator. I had already had good experiences with them in Ho Chi Minh. Again, I would highly recommend them. We had hotel pick up and drop off, lunch and water bottles included. It made our day pretty stress free!
I have to say that hiking Mount Vesuvius is a humbling experience. There is nothing like it, especially when you combine it with a trip to Pompeii. It is an absolute must do!
Have you been to Mount Vesuvius yet? How did you reach the summit? Let me know!
