Naples Archaeological Museum Logistics

There are storage facilities in the neighborhood (check Maps—for example, there is a chain called Bounce). You’ll have to decide if that is more or less onerous than returning to the train station to use their storage.

Just an FYI, we used Rick’s audio tour of the museum but it changed, the museum, since he recorded it. Like I wrote, it is just an FYI.

I recall the MANN museum has lockers inside, but unfortunately I don't recall how large they are. Additionally, there was a Q to wait to get inside & to put stuff away, which I would expect to be longer on a Sunday. We used our Compania Arte Card Lite 365 (a mouthful I know!). We definitely saved money, it's good for one entrance to all the nearby ruins, Pompeii, Herculaneum, etc. Here's info about purchasing. Just walk to the front of the MANN Q, they let us right in. We did have to exchange them for entrance tickets to Pompeii, but that only took a few moments. If you're going to Paestum or more ruins this is a serious savings! https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/experiences-using-the-campania-arte-card-or-365-lite-card-in-naples-pompeii

Hi, Giangilberto from Milan, here is some useful information: November falls under the winter schedule and
starting October 15th, Pompeii opens at 9:00 AM, with the last entry at 3:30 PM and closing time at 5:00 PM.
As for luggage, Naples Central Station has a storage facility, it is just two or three stops away from the "Museo" metro station (on Line 1).
The Campania Express service has been suspended since October 1st. This leaves the standard Circumvesuviana train for the trip to Sorrento, which is much more crowded and offers no reserved seating. This makes a private car service a far more sensible choice than usual.
Hiring a private car with a driver (NCC) for four people with luggage is certainly feasible, but you need to give them some advance notice so they can check vehicle availability and organize the transfer, I would recommend calling them a day or two beforehand.

Yes, car service 100% rather than heading back to the train station.

However, on my trip to Naples last year we went from Naples to Sorrento by ferry which I really enjoyed. Going by car (on a previous trip) wasn't as nice for me because I got car sick on the winding roads. I'd much rather be out on the open water with the stunning view of Mt Vesuvius.

Have you considered taking a ferry? You could get a taxi from the museum/luggage storage down to the docks where you board the ferry.

We did exactly that. We took the train from Rome to Naples and stored our luggage at the museum (We pack light. Just 2 carry ons and 2 back packs.) We had a driver pick us up at the museum at a time we had arranged previously. He took us to our hotel in Sorrento. That being said, I wish we had taken a ferry, as someone else suggested!

There are a limited number of free lockers available at the Museum and since you're not getting there til later, I might want to have a "plan B" nearby just in case. Google maps will show you luggage storage options.

Car service is fine, albeit expensive. There is a Metro station pretty much right under the museum that will take you to the Naples Garibaldi train station. It's just a single stop away. From there, it's a short walk to the Circumvisuviana ticket window and down to the train. But car service is a lot more convenient.

As someone above mentioned, the RS audio tour is out of date. I would just hire one of the guides at the entrance instead. If you get there before noon, you can see the giant sundial do its thing.

Thanks for all the suggestions ! These are very helpful. Ideally we would just have carry on luggage, but that's probably not going to work out : ) and I suspect the museum lockers will not be large enough.

And although I'm still leaning to car service, I'll take a look at the ferry as well to see how frequently they run in November.

Don't overlook the very famous Farnese Marbles there.

Agreed with others above, probably best to use lockers at the Naples train station, the MANN museum is just a few stops away on the subway. Which we found easier to use Apple pay than a credit card, though there's a small tobacco shop across from the machines if you need to speak with someone to get tickets.

If you're only going to sleep in Sorrento, why not stay in Pompei (one i), just across the street from the ruins? You can take the regional train after your day visiting the MANN, (my feet were tired after 4 hours and we didn't see everything!) It's a nice little town, and you will wake up where you want to be, rather than dealing with an expensive transfer to Sorrento, then another train to the ruins. Here are some details in case you're interested - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/great-trip-to-pompeii-naples-over-new-years-december-26-january-2nd-2026

Ideally we would just have carry on luggage, but that's probably not going to work out : )

I would strongly encourage you to get everyone on board with carryons only. It is liberating. Build your wardrobe around a color capsule and there's no need to pack a different outfit for every day. Travel CPAPs are the size of a grapefruit. You don't need 3 pairs of shoes. My wife is hyper fashion conscious, and even she agrees... this is the way. <(°.°)>

Regardless of the pros of carryon, it would still likely be too large for the museum storage facility, so a moot point.

We put our carryon backpacks in the museum lockers but we got there early to have our pick of larger ones. But the train station is right there for luggage storage. I just believe that there are a lot of other advantages of carryon travel but ¯_(ツ)_/