jskalee

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!!

PalenQ

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..

kybourbon

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).

kybourbon

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.

jskalee

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

MmePerdu

"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.

PalenQ

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.

annhig

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.

Blueeyedcod

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.

annhig

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.

Blueeyedcod

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'

MmePerdu

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.

annhig

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!

sundriedtopepo

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.

Blueeyedcod

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.

MmePerdu

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.)

Blueeyedcod

<<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

isabel

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.

annhig

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.

lancer11

@ 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