How to get from Naples to Procida
Latest update: 22 January 2024
|
Once you know how to get from Naples to Procida it's all fairly straightforward but it does require a little bit of pre-planning if it's your first visit. Most visitors to the island enter Italy via Naples Airport from where they proceed to the city's maritime port.
You can reach the port by taxi or shuttle bus and then there's also a choice to be made between the type of crossing: ferry or hydrofoil. |
|
Related links
Choosing your port and type of marine crossing.
Unless you're lucky enough to have your own private boat, the most common way to reach Procida is by sea from Naples or the town of Pozzuoli which is just outside Naples. There are also sea crossings to Procida from the neighbouring island of Ischia.
There are two types of public boat that sail to Procida: ferries and hydrofoils. The ferries are for cars and foot passengers while the hydrofoils are for foot passengers only but with a shorter journey time.
You can sail to Procida from two different ports in Naples; from Naples Porta di Massa you can take the car and passenger ferries with a journey time of an hour and 10 minutes while from Naples Beverello port you can take the foot-passenger-only hydrofoil with a journey time of 40 minutes.
The closest mainland port to Procida is Pozzuoli from where the ferries take 40 minutes and the hydrofoils just 20 minutes. If you have a car then Pozzuoli is usually the best choice, particularly if you're travelling down from Rome or Florence as this way you can avoid the traffic in Naples city centre.
As the majority of visitors come through Naples and don't have their own cars then the hydrofoils from Naples Beverello are the fastest option, albeit slightly more expensive than the ferries.
How to proceed on arrival at Naples Airport
Before booking your flight to Naples have a think about the arrival time; the last ferry leaves Naples at 21:55 so if your flight is due to arrive in Naples after 21:00 you're unlikely to make it to the port in time and will need to spend the night in Naples. The earlier flight arrival time the better as this will give you a lot more choice. If you jump to our ferries and hydrofoils timetables page you'll see there are frequent crossings every day of the year with around 15 to 20 different sailing to choose from, depending on the time of year.
Once you arrive at the airport you'll have a choice between taxi and bus to get to your chosen port (Porta di Massa for the slower ferries or Beverello for the faster hydrofoils). A taxi from the airport to either of the ports should cost around €20 and take up to half an hour depending on the traffic. You can also take the Alibus, a specialised service with a limited amount of stops which are just the airport, the main train station (Napoli Stazione Centrale) and Beverello port. The Alibus takes around 40 minutes to reach the port and runs every 20 minutes or so meaning you should leave yourself at least an hour for this, in addition to the time it takes to collect any baggage and clear customs at the airport. To reach Porta di Massa by bus you can take the Alibus to Beverello port and then from there take the free shuttle bus service that connects Beverello to Porta di Massa with a journey time of 5 minutes (plus waiting time).
From Naples City Centre or Napoli Stazione Centrale to the Ports
If you're staying in accommodation in Naples or arriving by train at Napoli Stazione Centrale (this is the stop where the majority of trains stop, particularly the trains from other major cities in the country), you have lots of ways to reach the port. The most obvious choice is taxi; there are always dozens of taxis waiting at Stazione Centrale but if you prefer to take public transport you can choose between bus, tram or Metro. Of the three public transport options I would recommend the underground Metro system which is very modern, safe and easy to use. The Metro station closest to Stazione Centrale is called Garibaldi and is reached by a recently-finished, pedestrianised walkway lined with shops. You need to buy a ticket for Line 1 and take the short journey to Municipio which is 2 or 3 stops away. From Municipio you exit the Metro and find yourself in a square that's currently being renovated but from which it's very easy to see where to go next with all the ferries and port clearly in view.
You can also take an Alibus from the train station. The bus stop is located on the large square outside Stazione Centrale known as Piazza Garibaldi and from there it's just one stop to Beverello port or to the Airport (which would be in the wrong direction if you're heading for Procida).
The regular buses and tram options are a little more complicated and perhaps not quite as user friendly as the options listed above.
What to do once you get to the Port
Remember you have a distinct choice between two ports in Naples: Beverello port for the faster/more expensive hydrofoils or Porta di Massa for the slower/cheaper ferries.
At Beverello port you'll find a row of ticket offices belonging to a variety of operators offering tickets to different destinations. To reach Procida you need to use either Caremar or SNAV. There's an electronic departures board showing the next departures so just locate the hydrofoil you'd like to be on and walk to the relevant ticket booth to buy your ticket. There's rarely any financial benefit to buying a return as opposed to two singles so unless you know exactly which crossing you'll be taking when you return to Naples, it's best to just buy a single at this stage and leave yourself some flexibility for the way back.
Porta di Massa is very similar to Beverello although mostly indoors which is an advantage during the colder months. Again it's just a case of buying your ticket from the relevant ticket kiosk although in the case of the ferries it's slightly easier as there's only one operator which is Caremar.
Unless you're lucky enough to have your own private boat, the most common way to reach Procida is by sea from Naples or the town of Pozzuoli which is just outside Naples. There are also sea crossings to Procida from the neighbouring island of Ischia.
There are two types of public boat that sail to Procida: ferries and hydrofoils. The ferries are for cars and foot passengers while the hydrofoils are for foot passengers only but with a shorter journey time.
You can sail to Procida from two different ports in Naples; from Naples Porta di Massa you can take the car and passenger ferries with a journey time of an hour and 10 minutes while from Naples Beverello port you can take the foot-passenger-only hydrofoil with a journey time of 40 minutes.
The closest mainland port to Procida is Pozzuoli from where the ferries take 40 minutes and the hydrofoils just 20 minutes. If you have a car then Pozzuoli is usually the best choice, particularly if you're travelling down from Rome or Florence as this way you can avoid the traffic in Naples city centre.
As the majority of visitors come through Naples and don't have their own cars then the hydrofoils from Naples Beverello are the fastest option, albeit slightly more expensive than the ferries.
How to proceed on arrival at Naples Airport
Before booking your flight to Naples have a think about the arrival time; the last ferry leaves Naples at 21:55 so if your flight is due to arrive in Naples after 21:00 you're unlikely to make it to the port in time and will need to spend the night in Naples. The earlier flight arrival time the better as this will give you a lot more choice. If you jump to our ferries and hydrofoils timetables page you'll see there are frequent crossings every day of the year with around 15 to 20 different sailing to choose from, depending on the time of year.
Once you arrive at the airport you'll have a choice between taxi and bus to get to your chosen port (Porta di Massa for the slower ferries or Beverello for the faster hydrofoils). A taxi from the airport to either of the ports should cost around €20 and take up to half an hour depending on the traffic. You can also take the Alibus, a specialised service with a limited amount of stops which are just the airport, the main train station (Napoli Stazione Centrale) and Beverello port. The Alibus takes around 40 minutes to reach the port and runs every 20 minutes or so meaning you should leave yourself at least an hour for this, in addition to the time it takes to collect any baggage and clear customs at the airport. To reach Porta di Massa by bus you can take the Alibus to Beverello port and then from there take the free shuttle bus service that connects Beverello to Porta di Massa with a journey time of 5 minutes (plus waiting time).
From Naples City Centre or Napoli Stazione Centrale to the Ports
If you're staying in accommodation in Naples or arriving by train at Napoli Stazione Centrale (this is the stop where the majority of trains stop, particularly the trains from other major cities in the country), you have lots of ways to reach the port. The most obvious choice is taxi; there are always dozens of taxis waiting at Stazione Centrale but if you prefer to take public transport you can choose between bus, tram or Metro. Of the three public transport options I would recommend the underground Metro system which is very modern, safe and easy to use. The Metro station closest to Stazione Centrale is called Garibaldi and is reached by a recently-finished, pedestrianised walkway lined with shops. You need to buy a ticket for Line 1 and take the short journey to Municipio which is 2 or 3 stops away. From Municipio you exit the Metro and find yourself in a square that's currently being renovated but from which it's very easy to see where to go next with all the ferries and port clearly in view.
You can also take an Alibus from the train station. The bus stop is located on the large square outside Stazione Centrale known as Piazza Garibaldi and from there it's just one stop to Beverello port or to the Airport (which would be in the wrong direction if you're heading for Procida).
The regular buses and tram options are a little more complicated and perhaps not quite as user friendly as the options listed above.
What to do once you get to the Port
Remember you have a distinct choice between two ports in Naples: Beverello port for the faster/more expensive hydrofoils or Porta di Massa for the slower/cheaper ferries.
At Beverello port you'll find a row of ticket offices belonging to a variety of operators offering tickets to different destinations. To reach Procida you need to use either Caremar or SNAV. There's an electronic departures board showing the next departures so just locate the hydrofoil you'd like to be on and walk to the relevant ticket booth to buy your ticket. There's rarely any financial benefit to buying a return as opposed to two singles so unless you know exactly which crossing you'll be taking when you return to Naples, it's best to just buy a single at this stage and leave yourself some flexibility for the way back.
Porta di Massa is very similar to Beverello although mostly indoors which is an advantage during the colder months. Again it's just a case of buying your ticket from the relevant ticket kiosk although in the case of the ferries it's slightly easier as there's only one operator which is Caremar.
