Golf guide • Italy • Campania

Golf in Naples: the city beneath Vesuvius, two nine-holers inland

Naples is above all a city destination: its historic centre, its museums and Pompeii come before golf, as Campania has no eighteen-hole course open to visitors. Two nine-hole courses welcome visiting players: Golf Club Salerno in Pontecagnano (about 1 hour 10 minutes by road) and Mirabella Golf Club, among the Mastroberardino family's vineyards in Irpinia (about 1 hour 20 minutes). Come in spring or autumn for a round or two between days of sightseeing.

Plan this tripUpdated 11 October 2026

Let us be frank: Naples is not a golf destination. The only course in the metropolitan area, the Circolo Golf Napoli, lies in the extinct Campiglione crater in the Phlegraean Fields, inside Carney Park, a US Navy recreation base; access is restricted to American military personnel and club members. To the north, Volturno Golf at Castel Volturno is now listed by the Italian Golf Federation only as a seven-hole promotional course. To play, you have to take the road.

The two serious options are nine-hole courses, a little over an hour from the city. Golf Club Salerno, in Pontecagnano, pairs with a day on the Salerno coast; Mirabella Golf Club, to the east, spreads among the vines and olive trees of the hills of Avellino, in the heart of Taurasi country. Neither justifies the journey on its own, but each offers a green breather between days in the city.

For it is the city that makes the trip: the historic centre, a World Heritage Site since 1995, the National Archaeological Museum, Pompeii and Herculaneum at the foot of Vesuvius, pizza and a two-Michelin-star table facing the bay. Three to five nights are enough, with a round or two slipped into the programme. In the evening, from the heights of Chiaia, Vesuvius stands out against the bay.

The courses

Green and bunker below a row of olive trees, a vineyard in autumn colours and a stone farmhouse on the hill

Golf Club Salerno

Architect: Paolo Luongo
9 holes
Par 34

In Pontecagnano, on the plain south of Salerno, Golf Club Salerno is a nine-hole par 34 designed by Paolo Luongo, open all year round and affiliated to the Italian Golf Federation. A short, accessible layout that makes for a relaxed round to loosen up the swing rather than a championship test. The club has a driving range with covered bays, a putting green, a chipping green, a restaurant and lessons with professionals. A convenient stop on the way to the Salerno coast or Paestum.

Official website

Mirabella Golf Club

9 holes

Mirabella Golf Club lies within the Mastroberardino family's Radici Resort at Mirabella Eclano, in the hills of Avellino. Its nine holes with double tees play as eighteen over 3,700 metres, par 62: a short course where some holes pass between rows of vines and olive trees and others open onto the Irpinian countryside. The driving range, floodlit in the evening, offers targets from 50 to 200 metres. A round that pairs naturally with a cellar visit and lunch over a glass of Taurasi.

Official website

Where to stay

ROMEO Napoli

A contemporary five-star hotel by Kenzo Tange & Associates on Via Cristoforo Colombo, facing the port for the Capri and Ischia boats. Rooms look either over the city or over the harbour: book a Harbour View category to have the bay in front of you, and keep an hour for the rooftop pool, facing Capri and Vesuvius. A Sisley spa and an Alain Ducasse restaurant.

Grand Hotel Parker's

Founded in 1870, the Grand Hotel Parker's claims the title of the oldest hotel in Naples; Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginia Woolf and Oscar Wilde all stayed here. Perched on Corso Vittorio Emanuele above Chiaia, it takes in the bay from Posillipo to Vesuvius. A Relais & Châteaux house of 67 rooms: ask for a Deluxe Sea View, then go up to the Bidder Terrace on the sixth floor for a drink facing Vesuvius.

Hotel terrace with a white-clothed table and potted lemon trees, city rooftops and the sea at sunset

Where to dine

George Restaurant

On the top floor of the Grand Hotel Parker's, chef Domenico Candela runs a restaurant awarded two stars by the Michelin Guide. Cooking rooted in Campania, open to French and Japanese influences, served as two tasting menus. His Pomod'oro explores seven varieties of Campanian tomato. Book the terrace at sunset, facing the bay and Vesuvius.

Palazzo Petrucci

On Via Posillipo, chef Lino Scarallo seats thirty-six guests in a dining room arranged around an open kitchen and the wine cellar. Creative tasting menus, fish and produce from the Campanian land, with a view of the sea. Ask for a seat at the counter to follow the service up close.

L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele

Founded in 1870 and on Via Cesare Sersale since 1930, this is one of the most famous pizzerias in Naples. The menu runs to four pizzas, and the ingredients come from Campania, from the flour to the fior di latte. The queue is part of the ritual: take a numbered ticket at the door and wait to be called; the kitchen serves non-stop from late morning until evening.

Beyond golf

The historic centre and the Archaeological Museum

The historic centre of Naples, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, preserves the street plan of the Greek city almost intact. A few streets away, the National Archaeological Museum holds most of the Roman works unearthed at Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae. A morning at the museum before the sites gives the visit its full meaning.

Pompeii and Herculaneum

Buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, the two Roman towns are less than an hour from Naples. Pompeii impresses with its size, its decorated houses and its paved streets; Herculaneum, smaller and rediscovered as early as 1709, has kept roofs, doors and wooden furniture beneath the volcanic flow. Allow a day for the one and half a day for the other.

The wines of Irpinia

In the hills of Avellino, the Mastroberardino house, founded in 1878, made the name of Taurasi, an Aglianico red with DOCG status since 1993, and saved ancient grape varieties such as Greco and Fiano. It is also replanting ancient vineyards inside Pompeii itself. A tasting is the natural complement to a round at Mirabella.

Narrow alley between ochre and red façades with green shutters, laundry on balconies and a baroque church front at the end

When to go

Spring, from March to June, and autumn, in September and October, bring the most pleasant mild weather for walking the city as well as a course. Summer is hot and humid, and July and August draw crowds to Pompeii and the coast. Winter stays mild by the sea, but the rain falls mostly in autumn and winter, November being the wettest month, and the Irpinian hills are noticeably cooler then.

Getting there

Naples-Capodichino airport (NAP), the busiest in southern Italy, lies less than 6 km north-east of the centre, about twenty minutes by taxi. High-speed trains link Rome and Naples in about an hour. A hire car is essential for golf: allow about 1 hour 10 minutes to Golf Club Salerno and 1 hour 20 minutes to Mirabella.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a golf course in Naples?

The Circolo Golf Napoli, a nine-hole course with double tees in the Campiglione crater at Pozzuoli, is reserved for American military personnel and club members. Visitors play at Golf Club Salerno or Mirabella Golf Club, more than an hour's drive away.

What is the best golf course near Naples?

Campania has no eighteen-hole course open to visitors. Mirabella Golf Club, among the Irpinia vineyards, offers the most attractive setting; Golf Club Salerno, a nine-hole par 34, the easiest golf.

How far is it from Naples to the nearest golf course?

About 1 hour 10 minutes by road to Golf Club Salerno in Pontecagnano, and about 1 hour 20 minutes to Mirabella Golf Club in Mirabella Eclano, traffic permitting.

When is the best time for a golf trip to Naples?

From March to June and in September and October. Summer is hot, humid and very busy; November is the wettest month.

How many days do you need for a golf trip to Naples?

Three to five nights: a round or two, a day at Pompeii or Herculaneum, a morning at the Archaeological Museum and time for the historic centre.

Tailor-made

Your golf trip: Naples

Tee times, suites, transfers and tables: your concierge replies within 24 hours with a proposal shaped around you.

Fairway lined with ancient olive trees and a dry-stone wall, sloping down towards the sea at sunset

Puglia