Gaiola, Naples: how to book and visit the underwater park

What the Gaiola Underwater Park is

The Parco Sommerso di Gaiola is a marine protected area and underwater archaeological park created in 2002 off Capo Posillipo. It runs from the Borgo di Marechiaro to the Baia di Trentaremi and is split into two zones: Zone A, the fully protected reserve around the islets, which you may not enter without authorisation, and Zone B, where you can swim and rowing and sailing boats may pass.

Guided activities are run by the non-profit association CSI Gaiola. The visitor centre (CeRD) opens Tuesday to Sunday 10am–4pm from May to September, and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10am–2pm from October to April.

What you see at Gaiola, above and below the water

• The two Gaiola islets, joined by a small bridge. The villa on the island has had owners such as Paul Getty and Gianni Agnelli, and local folklore says it is cursed.
• The Roman villa of Pausilypon, built in the 1st century BC by the knight Publius Vedius Pollio: part of it has sunk beneath the sea through bradyseism, the slow rise and fall of the ground in this volcanic area.
• Pollio’s fish ponds, about 9,000 m² of tanks with channels, sluices and walkways, including underground pens for moray eels.
• The Casa degli Spiriti, a 1st-century BC building right at the waterline.
• The Baia di Trentaremi, with its yellow tuff caves.
• Posidonia seagrass meadows, which are spreading back across the seabed.

With a mask and snorkel you see Roman structures a few metres from the shore, and that is what makes Gaiola unlike any other beach in the city.

Gaiola booking: how it works in summer and winter

From 1 May to 30 September entry is by online booking only, on the marine protected area’s website.

• Two sessions: morning 9am–1pm or afternoon 2pm–6pm; one per person per day.
• A maximum of 200 people per session. Bookings open daily for today and tomorrow, and close up to an hour before the session ends.
• Up to 5 people per booking, including at least one adult. Children must be booked too.
• You need each person’s full name, place and date of birth, Italian tax code, residence, email and phone. Non-Italians must use the English version of the form.
• A maximum of 3 visits per person per week. You can cancel up to the start of the session; no-shows who have not cancelled are barred for 15 days.
• You can arrive up to an hour before your session closes. Download the PDF at the end of the booking, because phone signal on site is poor. Bring ID and your tax code if you have one.

From October to April the park opens daily, still free, with registration at the gate or online booking up to 200 visitors: 10am–5pm in October, November, March and April; 10am–3pm in December, January and February. The park closes during Civil Protection weather alerts.

Rules, steps and what to bring

• Access: via the Discesa Gaiola, a stairway of about 150 steps down and then back up. A free electric shuttle gives priority to older visitors and children.
• No cars: the Discesa Gaiola is a limited-access zone (ZTL) in summer and there is no parking all year.
• Banned: disposable bottles, cans and plates; fishing; collecting sea life, rocks or archaeological material; drones.
• Take your rubbish away; smokers must carry a pocket ashtray.
• Dogs are allowed with a muzzle and poop bags.
• The park lends out sea-themed umbrellas and has a small book-swap shelf.

Bring water in a refillable bottle (disposable ones are banned), water shoes for the rocks and something to eat, and have your booking ready before you head down the steps.

Snorkelling, boats and kayaks at Gaiola

Beyond swimming on your own, there are three ways to see the Roman remains up close.

Guided snorkelling with CSI Gaiola

The route “Dal Porto imperiale alle Peschiere di Pollione” (from the imperial harbour to Pollio’s fish ponds) takes about 2 h 30, around 1 h 30 of it in the water, and costs €25 per person, adults and children alike (some sites still quote an outdated €20). Wetsuit, mask, snorkel and fins are included. You must be able to swim; armbands are compulsory under 14; no photos or video during the tour. It does not include the bathing-area booking.

Aquavision and diving

Aquavision is an electric glass-bottom boat (about 1 h 30, weekends from May to October, adults €12, children €10), but the service is listed as temporarily suspended. Certified divers can request dives by email at the Secca della Cavallara (max 25 m) or bio-archaeological dives from the Secca della Gaiola (max 16 m).

Kayaking along the Posillipo coast

Kayak tours from Marechiaro to Trentaremi pass through Zone B; kayaks never enter Zone A. The only operator authorised to guide kayak visits inside the park is Nautica Cafarelli. If you book with someone else, the trip stays in Zone B or outside the park. Kayaks must not be dragged onto rock platforms, which may be Roman structures, and nobody may paddle into the Casa degli Spiriti. Compare prices and operators on our page about bike and kayak tours in Naples.

Pausilypon, the Grotta di Seiano and Parco Virgiliano

Posillipo deserves half a day out of the water too, but check what is open first.

Pausilypon and the Grotta di Seiano

Above Gaiola lie the land remains of Vedius Pollio’s villa: you enter through the Grotta di Seiano, at Discesa Coroglio 36, a Roman tunnel about 770 metres long, and come out at the theatre, the odeion and the reception halls, with a viewpoint over Gaiola. From 1 October 2026 the archaeological park is closed for restoration and safety works, with no reopening date announced. Until then guided visits cost €7 (€4 for ages 7–14) and visitors had to sign a liability waiver because of ongoing works: check the current conditions when it reopens.

Parco Virgiliano

On top of Capo Posillipo, the Parco Virgiliano has viewpoints over Nisida, the Campi Flegrei, Capri and the bay. After a long closure for works it partly reopened from 27 June 2026 (entrance square, north avenue and viewpoints), while work continues on the lawns, playgrounds, amphitheatre and fountain. Standard hours are 7am–9pm for most of the year, longer in May and June. Don’t confuse it with the Parco Vergiliano a Piedigrotta in Mergellina, home of the so-called Tomb of Virgil.

Getting there and planning the day

The park entrance is at the bottom of the Discesa Gaiola, below Via Posillipo. Take a bus along Via Posillipo to the Capo Posillipo area (current lines and stops on anm.it), then walk down: there is nowhere to park a car. For kayak tours leaving from the Baia delle Rocce Verdi (Via Posillipo 68), operators point you to bus 140, stop Rione Primavera.

A day plan: book the morning session, swim or join the guided snorkel, have lunch in Marechiaro or Posillipo, then head up to the Parco Virgiliano for sunset. If you have time left, return towards the centre along the seafront to Castel dell’Ovo; and if Pollio’s fish ponds caught your imagination, the moray tank at the Naples Aquarium recreates them.

Gaiola tours and tickets: what is worth paying for

You don’t need to buy anything for Gaiola: entry is free and booked only through the park’s official website. Be wary of anyone selling “tickets” for the bathing area. The paid activities worth considering are CSI Gaiola’s guided snorkel (€25) and kayak tours along the coast; GetYourGuide lists several kayak and boat tours around Posillipo, which you can compare by route, duration and cancellation terms. We are an independent guide: if you book through the Tiqets or GetYourGuide links on this page we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

For more days on the water, see Capri, Amalfi and Ischia, or go back to things to do in Naples to build the rest of your trip around Gaiola.