5 nights in Sorrento
 

Staying 5 nights in Sorrento, planning on going to Naples & Pompeii one day.. Exploring the Coast another, and maybe a trip to Capri.

Anyone know of the best way to do these excursions? Best time of day, cheapest transportation, etc.

Also curious about nightlife in Sorrento!

Thanks in advance to all for the information!!

1- Sorrento by CircumVesuviana train to Pompeii Scavi train station right at ruins main entrance; continue on to Naples - get to Pompeii as early as possible

2- Amalfi Coast buses Sorrento to Amalfi via Positano or in season by boats - quicker, more expensive - take the bus one way and a boat the other?

Capri - Frequent ferries from Sorrento.

Sorrento IME hops at night - gads of folks out for the evening passage. Tons of restaurants and cafes.

Another day trip could go from Sorrento to the crater of Mt Vesuvius by minibus..

Pompeii and Naples are on the Circumvesuviana train line that runs between Naples and Sorrento. Pompeii is about halfway in between the two. Cost is about 4€ Naples/Sorrento and 2.5€ Sorrento/Pompeii.

Ferry from Sorrento port to Capri and you can bus down the coast or take a ferry to a few locations (Amalfi/Positano).

FYI - Ferries do not run late so don't plan on them for even getting back after dinner or a club. In summer, last ferry might be around 7pm.

To use the Circumvesuviana, where do purchase tickets? And do you have to get them validated before boarding

"Circumvesuviana, where do purchase tickets?"

I bought mine in Naples at the lower level ticket window just for that purpose on the way to the platform, lowest level. In Sorrento at the station window.

I suppose you have to validate the tickets yourself as usual on that type of conveyance. You can try asking at window but the validating machines should be obvious - many locals may have passes so will not be validating tickets so do not go by their example.

yes, do "compost" your tickets [as our kids would have it] in one of the machines - they are usually yellow.

in Sorrento you buy them at the railway station.

there are now some fast trains that only stop at Sorrento, Pompeii Scavi, Ercolano Scavi, and Naples and the same on the way back; they take about 30 mins as opposed to twice that on the normal service:

http://www.eavsrl.it/web/sites/defau...ESS%202016.pdf

if you want to use it, it would be sensible to ask for tickets for the Campania Express as I suspect that it may cost more and require different tickets to the standard train.

Sorrento is unfathomable to me. Why stay at a place that is perched on top of a cliff like a giant slice of cake? Views of the coast are only seen if you have a fancy hotel or if you glimpse at the little park or on the marinas.
Anywhere in Italy that has multiple British pubs and sells fish and chips is a joke. It is more touristy than Las Vegas Venice and the only Italian voices you'll hear are those of the restaurant servers and shop staff. Everyone else are tourists.

If you want nightlife, you'll get some twee bars that will charge you over 10 euro for a drink. Have fun.

i have to wonder if you've actually been to Sorrento, blueeyedcod. OK my last visit was in February a couple of years ago, [after a gap of more than 30 years] and I'm sure that it's a lot more crowded in July and August but if you walk away from the main touristy areas you soon find a typical italian town going about its everyday business with not a fish and chip selling pub in sight.

Yes, I have been there many times. Where are these areas you speak of where the tourists don't go, annhig? I'm certain the reason they don't go there is because there is nothing to see. Sorrento is a little light on 'hidden gems'

Annhig, I concur. I was there shortly before Christmas and found it an excellent place to stay, despite not having "attractions" of it's own other than locals enjoying the holiday season and the views from the edge if I walked downhill. One has to wonder, if so devoid, why the cod been there "many times". Sometimes a place with nothing to see is exactly right, a place to rest between places to see.

The little streets running parallel to the main "drag" are charming and the further you get away from the main square, the more "typical" and less touristy they become. Beyond them there are other squares [i recall one with a garden] and streets that gradually work their way down to the small harbour area. Walking the other way from the square, the town is more modern with non-tourist shops and other gardens and open spaces.

I've no doubt that in July and August it's very different to how it was in February, but I suspect that the tourists are concentrated into a relatively small area, and can be escaped by those who wish to do so.

And surely, 'cod, if you dislike it so much, don't go!

I am not a big fan of Piazza Tasso, but agree that Sorrento is a very pleasant place to stay for a few days, having just been there mid-May. Yes, our hotel was full of British people, but they are pretty quiet and polite people and we didn't mind them at all! In fact they are somewhat like Canadians :)

We had a really nice authentic seafood meal at Marina Grande, and a Michelin star meal up in town, and both were very enjoyable experiences.

There is no denying that Sorrento is a great hub to visit other places easily.

I have no choice. I have family on the Amalfi Coast and we shop in Sorrento sometimes. I've never stayed there (no need as the fam home is down the road) but it just strikes me as so touristy and ironically SO many people say they want to avoid exactly that when they go to Italy.
I know those little streets you speak of - but that is *all* there is in Sorrento. Shopping. And an easy getaway to other places. It doesn't even have a decent beach.
Naples is a better 'hub' for transport and it so many sights it would take years to see them all - but it has way less tourists - double edged sword that one as the local economy could do with them but at least it remains free of trinket stores and crappy tourist restaurants.

We ate several nights running at a simple little place along one of the narrow lanes below the main drag, not a "crappy tourist restaurant" and in fact, except for a flashy place we stopped for a cup of tea in the center, I'm not sure which places you mean. Maybe the real issue is the fact that you've never actually stayed there, which could explain a lot, thinking you get the drift when you don't. But I don't expect anything in the way of softening attitude. (Don't confuse me with the facts,... etc.)

<<Maybe the real issue is the fact that you've never actually stayed there, which could explain a lot, thinking you get the drift when you don't.>>

lol - I don't need to get the drift - and what 'drift' exactly?. I know thousands of people love Sorrento but it's nowhere I would pay to stay - and last time I checked it was okay to have an opinion on a forum. Here is an example of a crappy tourist restaurant.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restau..._Campania.html

Bllueeyedcod - you are certainly entitled to have an opinion - and this forum is better for having varied opinions - but you come across as if your view is the correct one and those of us who like Sorrento are clueless, or naive tourists who don't know better.

Here's my take on Sorrento - I've stayed there three times in past seven years for about a week each, twice in July and once in March. The only time I saw hoards of tourists was in the middle of the day (maybe 10-3pm) on a couple of days. And they were just in the very center of town. Even then there were plenty of back streets that were essentially empty, and certainly away from the center (so we're talking a ten minute walk) it was quiet.

If you use Sorrento as a base, which is what most of the questions here are usually asking about, then you are gone during that time anyway (to Capri, or Pompeii, or Positano).

There are some crappy restaurants. There are also some very good restaurants and that is the case with Positano and Amalfi as well. It's just misleading that to imply the whole town is a ridiculous place to stay just because there is a fish and chips restaurant. There are numerous shops selling tourist junk. There are also some great little shops. There's a shop selling spices owned by a really nice local woman the quality of whose stuff is so good we specifically seek it out and stock up when we're there. There's a wonderful ceramics shop at the other end of town with unique pieces similar to pieces I've seen in museums, not the typical stuff you see all over Italy. These are just examples, there are more.

I don't know how 'hidden' the gems are but we found plenty of places like the cloisters of Convento di San Francesco, the fishing village of Marina Grande, walks in both directions along the coast, etc. I found more places to wander and explore than I did in Positano. Personally I find Positano overrated. The view of it from the water or from road in either direction is magnificent,truly wonderful, but once there I find is less interesting than Sorrento and way over priced. But I would never tell someone not to go there.

isabel - I think that we can all fall victim to thinking we know somewhere that we go to often, so often that we don't really see it. I suspect that that's what's happened to 'cod who goes to Sorrento just to do what he needs to do there, sees the crowds in that main street and square, and runs away again as fast as his legs can carry him.

Whilst I haven't been to Sorrento as often as you, I agree that there are many little nooks and crannies; may I add to your list a lovely scarf shop which is down near the herbalist? Not only did it have a great selection of scarves, but the proprietor, on learning that we were at the language school, kindly allowed me to practice my Italian on her, thus endearing her to me forever.

I don't know Positano but I felt the same way about Amalfi - great for a day trip but not a lot to do in the evenings if one were staying there.

@ Isabel, could you please tell me the name of the spice shop and ceramic shop. Those are two of the type of shops high on our list to shop at and we are staying in Sorrento for 5 nights in September.
Thank you

The spice shop is Confezionato da Aromi di Sorrento, Via Fuoro, 62A

Via Fuoro is the continuation of via Cesareo which is street than runs parallel to Corso Italia, the main street.

I can't find the name of the ceramics shop but it's located just off Piazza Sant Antonio on Via Luigi de Maio, before it starts going down hill. There is a larger ceramics shop right across the street from it (on the corner) which is not bad, but has the kinds of things you see in most touristy ceramics shops in Italy. The one I'm talking about is much smaller and not open all the time. The woman who owns it is very nice and her brother runs a restaurant (really good) just outside the town walls. If you ask her she'll direct you there.

isabel - did they sell herbs as well? if so, I'm pretty certain it's the one we visited, which was somewhere down there. The scarf shop is somewhere along there on the left, closer to the Piazza Tasso.

annhig - yes they did. The place smelled amazing, and the few things we bought the first time were really good, kept their scent and flavor for a long time (till they were used up) so the next trip we bought a lot more. Fortunately they don't weigh much so make a good thing to bring home.

I am a 'she' folks. I'm not trying to be a right-fighter. Just saying that Sorento (which is mostly post WW2 built by the way) has no character or appeal for me. However - disclaimer - I do love Delfinos.

There are parts of Positano that are not mowed down with tourists and at least it has two beaches and views that don't require standing at the edge of a cliff or paying for an expensive hotel to see.

If you want a scarf shop - this is the place. World leaders and royalty shop here at their little store in Chiaia in Naples.

http://www.marinellanapoli.it/en/scarves-man-woman.php

If you want a scarf shop - this is the place. World leaders and royalty shop here at their little store in Chiaia in Naples. >>

at world leader/royalty prices no doubt, 'cod.

it's obvious to anyone with eyes that lots of Sorrento was rebuilt post WW2 but that is not the point of it, nor is the lack of views; there are plenty of places nearby with views as you rightly say. It's not as if people are going to be surprised when they get there that they can't see the sea, is it?

The point is that as a base for touring it has a lot of advantages, and enough to keep those of us with less refined tastes than some others here interested in the evenings.

Sheesh! I was just adding the link to Marinella to add that Naples is a city full of artisans who don't import from China and people still hand stitch ties and scarves. Price was not my point. Quality and local craftsmanship is.

Naples also fulfills your convenience criteria as a 'base for touring' and has tons more things to do without the eyeball to eyeball English speaking tourists - but that is falling on deaf ears, clearly.

Naples also fulfills your convenience criteria as a 'base for touring' and has tons more things to do without the eyeball to eyeball English speaking tourists - but that is falling on deaf ears, clearly.>>

how does a link to a high end shop amount to recommending Naples as a place full of artisans or a touring base, 'cod? We aren't ming-readers. I would agree that it has a huge amount to see and may well suit a lot of people as a base, but its reputation might well deter the very people you seem to despise.

I actually found quite a lot of people in Sorrento who spoke little or no english - perhaps you are looking in the wrong places.

Debate is good. So lets consider this as debate and not argument.

I found Naples an exciting city with a lot of personality and several beautiful sites (churches, the tiled cloister - don't off hand remember it's name but it's in all the guidebooks), the castle, a couple of beautiful gallerias. I definitely recommend people visit it, and not just to go to the Archaeology Museum. But it's a large city and has a totally different feel to it than Sorrento so I don't really think it's a good alternative. Especially for people who are not city people - for those it would really take some getting used to before you feel comfortable, which is not the case for Sorrento.

Also from Sorrento you have the option of the bus - which while it can be crowded mid day in season - has views that are magnificent and different from those you get from the boat.

I also found there to be more English speaking tourists in Positano than Sorrento. Since it's a smaller village to start with the percentage of tourist to local is higher than Sorrento.

Good points, isabel. Naples to me is the sort of place to which one graduates after a number of years of visiting Italy and feeling comfortable in big Italian cities - friends of ours to whom that does not apply booked a hotel in the wrong end of town and never went out in the evening at all, so scared were they of the neighbourhood, and even I felt spooked by some of the tiny ill-lit [or rather non-lit] streets off the Spaccanapoli one dark February night. They would most certainly have had a better holiday had they stayed in Sorrento and I would think twice about staying there in winter.

Foreigners aren't the only people who are afraid of Naples' reputation, BTW - my first italian teacher, a young Milanese man of about 30, told the story of he and his friend being at traffic lights in Naples, struggling with a map and totally lost. The passenger in the car next to them wound down his window and gestured to them to do the same - they were sure that they were going to be kidnapped or worse. However all they wanted was to help and in fact they lead him and his friend to where they wanted to be.

Well we liked Sorrento both times we stayed there. No- it's not a tourist attraction in itself but is a very convenient place to stay that avoids much of the worst traffic in the area.

Our hotel had great views over the Bay of Naples and a private elevator from the terrace down to the ferry/hydrofoil docks directly underneath. It also had private parking so we could drive to Pompeii (go first thing it's hellishly hot later in the day) and up and down the coast to the various towns - but it was May so the traffic was not at it;s worst. But it also has ferries to Naples, Capri and even down the coast to several towns.

Yes, there are a large number of tourists in the town - there are anyplace on the AC in season. But we had no trouble finding restaurants filled with locals and Italian menus and foods - not those places with menus in 8 languages and with pix of the foods.

<that avoids much of the worst traffic in the area.> - yep - because it's on the pointy end of a peninsula and the road has nowhere else to go.

<Yes, there are a large number of tourists in the town - there are anyplace on the AC in season.> - nope. The Amalfi Coast has three popular towns and about 10 others that no one has heard of but are just as beautiful.


Those places with 8 languages and photos are actually to help the restaurant staff. It doesn't mean the food is rubbish - it just means they don't have to stand there and translate everything on the menu for the masses of English/Japanese/Chinese and Indian tourists and everyone else who doesn't speak Italian or English.

Anyone from Milan is afraid of Naples. It's in their DNA. When I'm in Rome, heading south for Naples the taxi drivers actually try and talk me out of going there because they have a friend of a friend of a friend's neighbour who was pickpocketed in a church.

>>>To use the Circumvesuviana, where do purchase tickets? And do you have to get them validated before boarding<<<<

Yes, buy tickets at any of the stations and most validation occurs as you stick your ticket into the gate to access the train area. The fast train annhig mentioned is quite a bit more expensive than the regular runs.

If you are visiting certain things (Pompeii, archaeology museum in Naples, etc.) three days straight, it might make sense for you to get the Campania Artecard 3 day tutta la regione (32€) which gives you two site entrances free and transport for 3 days (in Naples and down the coast, but not ferries). There is a 7 day card also, but it doesn't include transport.

http://www.campaniartecard.it/artecard_Regione.cfm

Amalfi & Ravello : last week we caught the 08.30 (there is also one at 09.00) Sita bus from Sorrento Station to Amalfi, via Positano, using our Campania Artecards . The bus pulled up at about 08.00 and there was a rush for the seats on the right hand side of the bus for the best views, by the time we left there was barely even standing room left. It emptied out quite a bit at Positano. We arrived in Amalfi at about 10.10 just as a Sita bus for Ravello pulled in which we squeezed onto (using our Artecards) arriving in Ravello shortly before 11.00. As we had Artecards we didn't have to pay for tickets but you can get them from the booth by the bus stop and I seem to think that they may have been 8 euros, can't be certain though.

Getting back down to Amalfi a couple of hours later was a bit of a joke, we waited 45+minutes in the full sun, for a Sita bus, of which 2 were timetabled (brand new summer timetable) but didn't arrive, gave up and went for lunch, went back, waited again with the crowd for the 14.45 which was late according to a driver of a different bus. The Coast-to-Coast open top coach back to Amalfi turned up, scheduled half hourly .15 and .45, so we caught that at a cost of 5 euros each, which was a very enjoyable little trip.

Finally, at a cost of 17 euros each, we caught the Alicost ferry Amalfi to Sorrento, via Positano at 16.35, arriving 17.25. Again, you need to be there early if you want a seat on the right hand side of the ferry to enjoy the view. There was no passenger access at all at the front of the boat and only a very small amount at the back.