View from the rim into the crater of Mount Vesuvius

Volcanoes of the World

Up the mountain – and to everything that lies in its shadow. With the rules that apply today.

Photo: Photo2023 · CC BY 4.0

Bay of NaplesOne volcano, two buried cities

Mount Vesuvius and the two cities it buried in AD 79. All three sit on one rail line from Naples – and all three have had new rules since 2024.

Mount VesuviusThe step up to the crater rim. Tickets online only, no ticket office on the mountain.PompeiiUnder the ash. Daily limit, time slots, named tickets.HerculaneumDown into the city. Smaller, better preserved, no visitor limit.All day plans from NaplesWhat can be combined in one day.

Tickets and day plansPompeii tours, Vesuvius tickets, day trips

Mount Vesuvius ticketsTime slots, last minute, refunds.Pompeii ticketsNamed tickets and the daily limit.Pompeii and Vesuvius day tripOrder, times, bus 808.Pompeii or Herculaneum?If you only have one day.

HawaiiWhere you can watch the Earth grow

Kīlauea has been erupting in episodes since December 2024, sunrise on Haleakalā is rationed, and Mauna Kea's summit road is four-wheel drive only.

KīlaueaLava only during eruptive episodes. What the USGS status says today.HaleakalāSunrise by reservation only: $1, released 60 days ahead.Mauna Kea4WD required above 9,200 ft. Stargazing happens at the visitor station.Diamond HeadExtinct crater above Waikīkī – entry by time slot only.

JapanThe mountain everyone wants to see

Mount Fuji's climbing season is short and, since 2024, tightly regulated. You can see it all year – best in winter.

Mount Fuji¥4,000 fee, gate closes at 2 pm, season July to September 10.HakoneSteaming valley with a gas warning, ropeway and Free Pass.

Guatemala and Costa RicaFire at night, acid lakes in the cloud forest

On Acatenango you camp across from a volcano that erupts every few minutes. In Costa Rica, park tickets are now online-only almost everywhere.

AcatenangoTwo days, cold, hard – and the Fuego ridge is off limits.PacayaHalf a day from Antigua. Guide required, no lava right now.ArenalPerfect cone, no glow since 2010. Summit climbs are banned.PoásAcid crater lake: online ticket and helmet required.Rincón de la ViejaCurrently the country's most restless volcano – park open.Río CelesteThe blue river at Tenorio Volcano. No swimming.

IndonesiaSunrise over the Sea of Sand, blue fire in the crater

Java, Bali and Lombok have Asia's most visited volcanoes – and, since 2024, new fees, health certificates and quotas. In September 2026 two of them are only partly open.

Mount BromoSunrise over the caldera. The crater stairs sit inside the exclusion zone.Kawah IjenClosed since September 4 after a wildfire. Otherwise: health certificate and mask.Mount BaturBali's sunrise mountain. The hiking ban never happened.Mount RinjaniA serious multi-day trek with new rules since 2025. Currently partly open.

New ZealandRed craters, boiling lakes, an island no one lands on

The Tongariro Crossing barely works without a shuttle, not everything in Rotorua charges admission – and no one has landed on Whakaari since 2019.

Tongariro Alpine CrossingBooking is free, parking is capped at 4 hours – so take a shuttle. Please skip the summits.RotoruaWhich geothermal park suits whom, what is free – and where things stand on Whakaari.Rangitoto IslandAuckland's youngest volcano: the island is free, the ferry is not.

Why this site existsRules change. Travel blogs don't.

On Vesuvius the access rules were changed twice in 2026; on Teide, summit reservations now run through a new portal; on Etna, today's alert phase decides how far up you get. We back every rule with the authority's own source and its date – and we say what other sites get wrong.

With source and date

Ordinances, park authorities, civil protection. What cannot be documented is not on the page – or it is marked as uncertain.

Upfront about advertising

We link tours and tickets to GetYourGuide or Tiqets and earn a commission for it. Where the official ticket is cheaper, we say so.

Every place is different

On Vesuvius you lean over the rim, Pompeii lies under ash, and in Herculaneum you walk down into the city. The pages open the same way.