Pompeii Weather Month by Month

Hours, prices and access verified by the Pompeii Italy Tours team — last checked 2026-09-09

Sixty-six hectares of open stone with almost no shade, hours that move with the season, and a volcano half of these tours also climb. The weather changes what a day at Pompeii is, not just how it feels. Guided options run in every month of the year — see the italy pompeii tours listed here.

What the weather does to a visit here

Three consequences, in the order they will affect you.

Shade. Pompeii is a roofless city. The porticoes are gone, the courtyards are open, and the streets run mostly north–south so they hold sun for most of the day. Between June and September the practical limit on a visit is not your interest but your water bottle, and the reviews of these tours are full of travellers thanking guides for parking them in shadow at every stop.

Hours. The park runs two timetables. From 16 March to 14 October it opens 9:00 to 19:00 with last admission at 17:30; from 15 October to 15 March it closes at 17:00 with last admission at 15:30. That winter cutoff is ninety minutes before closing, not the usual thirty, and it rules out a late-afternoon tour entirely.

The volcano. Several tours here pair Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius. The excavations stay open in almost any weather; the crater path does not. One traveller's October review records exactly that — a good day out with the Vesuvius half cancelled by the conditions.

Pompeii month by month

January

The coldest month and one of the three wettest. Highs reach about 12°C by mid-afternoon and nights drop to 6°C. The gate shuts at 17:00 with last admission at 15:30, and on the 15th the sun sets at 16:59 — you will be walking out into dusk. Crowds are at their lowest all year.

February

Much like January but drying slightly, with about 108 mm across eleven or twelve wet days. Highs of 13°C are comfortable for walking once the sun is up. Winter hours still apply, so the last admission is 15:30. The site is quiet enough that a two-hour tour reaches more than it does in July.

March

The month the season turns. From the 16th the park moves to summer hours, opening until 19:00 with last admission at 17:30, and the two-slot admission system starts. Highs climb to about 15°C. Wet days still run to eleven, so a light waterproof is worth the space.

April

One of the two best months. Highs of 18°C, long opening hours and the wild flowers out along the walls. Rain drops to about 82 mm. Easter is the single busiest week of the spring, so book the ticket or the tour well ahead of it.

May

The best month on the numbers: 22°C, under nine wet days and the full 9:00 to 19:00. Shade is already scarce by midday on the open stretches. Book an early slot and you will have the Forum before the coach parties reach it.

June

Summer proper. Highs of 26°C, barely five wet days and long light — sunset is 20:35 on the 15th, well after the gate closes at 19:00. Carry more water than you think. The 9:00 slot is the comfortable one.

July

The driest month and one of the two hottest, at 29°C with three wet days. There is almost no shade across 66 hectares of open stone. The afternoon admission slot holds only 5,000 against the morning's 15,000, so it sells out first. Hat, sunscreen and two litres of water.

August

The hottest and the busiest, with highs near 30°C and the whole of Italy on holiday. Reviewers on these tours record 42°C on the stones and praise guides for finding shade rather than for the history. Go at 9:00 or do not go in the middle of the day.

September

The other best month. Highs ease to 25°C, the crowds thin after the first week, and summer hours run to the 14th of October. Rain returns to about 100 mm, most of it in short heavy bursts rather than all day.

October

Warm, wet and quiet, at 22°C over about ten wet days. The park switches to winter hours on the 15th, so the last admission moves back to 15:30 mid-month — check which side of that your date falls. The light is the best of the year for photographs.

November

The wettest month of the year by a wide margin: about 186 mm across fourteen wet days. Highs of 17°C are still pleasant between showers. Heavy weather can close individual houses and will close the Vesuvius crater path, so a combination tour is a gamble this month.

December

Mild, wet and almost empty. Highs of 14°C, thirteen wet days and a 15:30 last admission. The park closes on 25 December and again on 1 January, the only two days of the year it does. Between them it is the quietest the site ever gets.

The seasons, and which one you want

Month	Average high	Average low	Rainfall	Wet days
January	12°C	6°C	131 mm	12–13
February	13°C	6°C	108 mm	11–12
March	15°C	8°C	111 mm	11
April	18°C	10°C	82 mm	11
May	22°C	14°C	68 mm	9
June	26°C	18°C	32 mm	5
July	29°C	21°C	17 mm	3
August	30°C	22°C	26 mm	5
September	25°C	19°C	100 mm	9
October	22°C	15°C	119 mm	10
November	17°C	12°C	186 mm	14
December	14°C	8°C	152 mm	13

Spring, April to early June, is the best of it: warm without being punishing, long hours, and the site green rather than bleached. High summer is hot, crowded and dry, and it is entirely doable if you take the 9:00 slot and treat the middle of the day as somebody else's problem. Autumn, September to mid-October, matches spring for temperature and beats it for light, at the cost of a hundred millimetres of rain. Winter is quiet, cheap and mild, and the only season where the closing time genuinely constrains you.

Best time of day

Nine in the morning, in every month. The park opens at 9:00 year round, the coach parties from Rome and Naples arrive from about 10:30, and the first ninety minutes are the emptiest the Forum gets. In summer it is also the coolest stretch you will get inside the walls.

The other good window is the last two hours before closing, once the day trips have left — but only in summer, when that means 17:00 to 19:00. In winter the equivalent window does not exist, because the last admission is 15:30 and the sun is down by 17:00. Between 16 March and 14 October the afternoon slot is capped at 5,000 against the morning's 15,000, which is a genuinely smaller crowd if you can get one.

Weather questions people actually ask

What is the best month to visit Pompeii?

May and September. Both give you highs in the mid-twenties, nine wet days or fewer and the full 9:00 to 19:00 opening. April and early October are close behind and quieter still.

Does Pompeii close when it rains?

No. The site stays open and every tour listed here runs rain or shine, which the operators state in their own booking notes. Heavy weather can close individual houses, and it closes the Vesuvius crater path more readily than it closes Pompeii.

How hot does it actually get?

Average highs reach 29 to 30°C in July and August, and the stone radiates on top of that — reviewers of these tours record 42°C on the paving. There is almost no shade, so the temperature you feel is well above the forecast.

Is Pompeii better in winter?

It is quieter and cheaper, and 12 to 14°C is comfortable walking weather. The trade is daylight: the gate shuts at 17:00 with last admission at 15:30, and in January the sun sets at 16:59.

Opening hours and the admission slots are set out on the visiting page, the walking surface on the site map, and the rest in the FAQs. Fares are compared on Pompeii Italy Tours.

Sources

Monthly averages are computed from thirty years of daily reanalysis, 1995 to 2024, for the park’s own coordinates (40.7513°N, 14.4868°E), via the Open-Meteo historical archive; a wet day is one with at least 1 mm of rain. Sunrise and sunset are computed for the same point. Opening hours, the seasonal switch dates and the admission slots are published by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. Prices and hours change — check before you travel.