From 16 March to 14 October the city opens at 9:00, last entry is 17:30, and the gates close at 19:00. The morning holds 15,000 of the day’s 20,000 entries, and the afternoon holds 5,000. From 15 October to 15 March it opens at 9:00, last entry is 15:30, and it closes at 17:00. Arrive near opening if you want the forum before it fills. Midday is hot, and the streets have little shade.
Where you walk in
Ticket offices are at Porta Marina, Piazza Anfiteatro, and Piazza Esedra. Porta Marina is the usual arrival from the Circumvesuviana station. The amphitheatre is at the far end of the city. If the villas are the point of the day, the Herculaneum Gate is where an Express ticket can add that route for €8, by card only. That add-on cannot be bought on its own. Last entrance there matches the season: 17:30 in the long months, 15:30 in the short ones.
A fair amount of time
Two to three hours covers the forum, a main street, and one large house if you do not linger. A full day still leaves corners unseen. The Stabian sites and Oplontis close on Tuesdays. Pompeii does not. Bring water. A guide is not part of this ticket. The park rents its own audio guide at the gate.