All tours at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples: six options, and what each one asks for above the ticket office price
The benchmark: €20, no booking fee
Before comparing anything, keep this number in mind. A full-price ticket to the MANN costs €20 at the ticket office; on the museum's website it costs the same, because the booking fee is zero. Under 18s enter for free, between 18 and 25 you pay €2 if you fall into the specified categories. The full price list, with exceptions, is in MANN tickets and prices.
From here down, every line on this page is a subtraction. Package price minus twenty, and then the question: what does that difference give me?
The six, from cheapest to most expensive
GetYourGuide 'prices from' at the time of writing: they fluctuate, so always check the current price before deciding.
The cheapestNaples: National Archaeological Museum Audio Guide
The best-sellerNaples: National Archaeological Museum Ticket and Audio App
City passCampania: Artecard 3–7 days or Gold/Lite 365
Priority entranceNaples: National Archaeological Museum with Digital Guide
Live guideNaples: National Archaeological Museum Guided Tour
PrivateNaples: Private Guided Tour of the National Archaeological Museum
Audio guide, from €3.99 — ticket not included
This is the most confusing item on the site, so I'll say it first: admission is not included. You're buying commentary that plays on your phone, then you pay your €20 at the ticket office like everyone else. It's rated 4.0 from 173 reviews. One is worth reading: 'I didn't always find the things described in the guide, but then I discovered they were under restoration.' Another reviewer got lost because the entrance had moved since the guide was recorded, and the operator confirmed the ongoing work. In defence of the product, a third reviewer hits on the museum's real problem: 'There aren't many captions inside, so I recommend getting this audio guide.' The museum, incidentally, rents its own at the ticket office for €5, covering 90 artefacts in 85 minutes, in five languages.
Ticket plus audio app, from €26 — six euros more than at the ticket office
This is the best-selling product in its category, 4.2 from 1,188 reviews, which is by far the largest sample on this site. It includes the official museum ticket plus an app. The difference from buying at the ticket office is €6, and those six euros buy two concrete things: you can book from home and cancel up to 24 hours beforehand. For those arriving in Naples with a flexible schedule, that's not insignificant.
What they don't buy, the reviewers say better than I can. 'It was not necessary to book skip the line tickets and the audioguide wasn't useful. The museum is worth visiting though.' And especially: 'This is just for tickets to the museum — the audio guide is an app on your phone, not the audio guide provided by the museum.' That's correct, and it's the most common misunderstanding: the app's audio is not the museum's €5 audio guide. Another review points out a serious practical problem: a voucher arrived without a barcode and was disputed at the entrance. If this happens to you, the ticket office number is 081 0098800.
Campania Artecard, from €27 — the lowest rating on the site
Rated 3.0 from 792 reviews, and I'm not hiding that because it's useful information: seven hundred people have struggled with this product. The Naples 3-day pass costs €27 and gives three free entries plus reduced prices on subsequent ones, with urban transport included; it's the same price as the official Artecard website. The MANN is the first name on its list of free entries.
Three things to know beforehand. The passes are digital and must be activated manually: the activation cannot be undone, so activate it on the day you actually start using it. TheAlibus from the airport is excluded from all Artecards, and this alone explains a good chunk of the angry reviews. And it's only worth it if you visit a fair bit: with one and a half museums in three days, it doesn't add up. I've done the full breakdown in Free Naples and how much other museums cost.
Admission with digital guide, from €34 — you pay for not queuing
4.2 from 201 reviews. This combines priority admission and a digital guide. Those who defend it do so for one reason only, and they state it clearly: 'The purpose of the purchase was to avoid the enormous queue at the ticket office. And I entered without queuing.' Those who criticise it always criticise the same half of the package: 'The museum was fantastic, but the audio guide was very disappointing,' and 'I recommend a ticket without an audio guide.'
A necessary note about the listing, not the operator: among the highlights, it lists 'the temples of Concordia, Juno, and Zeus,' which are not in Naples. It's a copy-paste error that remained in the description. It doesn't change the product, but if you read that line and formed an idea, the idea was wrong.
Two-hour guided tour, from €42 — the only one that changes your visit
4.8 from 605 reviews: the highest rating on the site with real numbers behind it. Two hours with a live guide, in a museum with 125 rooms and few captions, where half the things you're looking for might be closed that day. I'm not downplaying it to seem honest: this is the only one of the six that genuinely changes what you take away from your visit. I've written about it in detail in Guided tours at the MANN.
Private tour, from €45 — excellent rating, small sample
4.7, from only 22 reviews. I'm writing that in bold because a 4.7 built on twenty-two people isn't the same thing as a 4.2 built on one thousand one hundred eighty-eight: it might be excellent, but you don't know that yet. It makes sense for a family, for those with specific pace or accessibility needs, or for those who want a visit tailored to a precise interest.
What's included and what's not, in all six
Usually included
- The entrance ticket, in five out of six cases (not with the €3.99 audio guide)
- Access to the Gabinetto Segreto, room 65, which is included in the ticket and does not require a reservation
- Current temporary exhibitions, included in the museum ticket
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours beforehand, on all six
- The cloakroom, which is free at the MANN
Not included
- The museum's audio guide, the real one, which you rent at the ticket office for €5
- The official CoopCulture guided tour, €8, admission not included
- The Alibus from the airport, excluded from all Artecards
- Parking, which the museum doesn't have: there are only blue-striped spaces around it
- Any guarantee that the room you're interested in will be open that day
| Naples: National Archaeological Museum Ticket and Audio App | Highest ratingNaples: Guided Tour of the National Archaeological Museum | Campania: Artecard 3–7 days or Gold/Lite 365 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | €26 | €42 | €27 |
| What it adds to buying at the ticket office | An app and cancellation | Two hours with a guide | Transport and other museums |
| Rating and reviews | 4.2 out of 1,188 | 4.8 out of 605 | 3.0 out of 792 |
| Who it's for | Those who want to book from home | Those who want to understand what they see | Those who visit a fair bit in a few days |
| The risk | Finding out the audio is an app | Closed rooms that no one will refund you for | Activating it and not being able to cancel it |
| Free cancellation | ✓ Up to 24 h before | ✓ Up to 24 h before | ✓ Up to 24 h before |
| View → | Book → | View → |
If you have to choose blindly, choose this way: if you already know you're going and you're happy to read on your own, buy at the ticket office and spend the rest on lunch. If your plans are uncertain, the ticket with the audio app costs you an extra six euros and lets you cancel. If you're only going to the museum once in your life and want to take something away from it, the two hours with a guide are the best value for money.
The six full descriptions, with each one's flaws, are in the reviews, no holds barred. And if you're still deciding whether to go in, I've also written if it's worth it.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best option for visiting MANN?
There isn't one that always wins. If you just want to get in, the €20 ticket at the box office without advance booking is unbeatable, and there's nothing to be ashamed of. If you want to book from home and be able to change your mind, the ticket with the audio app costs an extra six euros. If you want to understand what you're seeing, the two-hour guided tour is the only thing that really makes a difference to your day: I talk about it in guided tours at MANN.
Does the €3.99 audio guide include the ticket?
No, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding in its category. You're only buying commentary for your phone: you pay for admission separately, €20 at the ticket office. The museum also rents its own audio guide at the ticket office for €5, covering 90 exhibits in 85 minutes. The full price list is in tickets and prices.
Do you really need skip-the-line at the Naples National Archaeological Museum?
It depends on the day. The real queue forms on free admission days and certain weekends; on a Tuesday, there's no queue because the museum is closed. A reviewer of the best-selling product says it bluntly: it was not necessary to book skip the line tickets. Before paying for it, check when you're going in free days and closing days.
Can they be cancelled?
Yes, all six allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start: I checked this on each of the six listings. This is the main reason why some people pay a few euros more than the box office, where the ticket is just a ticket. The only exception to keep in mind is the Artecard, which can be cancelled before use, but once activated, it cannot be cancelled.