Docked for the Day in Sorrento--What to do?
 

My husband and I are taking a cruise from Istanbul to Rome to celebrate our 25th anniversary. The cruise leaves in 3 weeks and I am so excited.
I wonder if any of you fodorites could give me suggestions for a day in Sorrento. We are only there from 8am to 6pm. On prior trips, we have visited Pompeii, Capri and Positano. I wouldn't mind a return trip to Positano--my favorite shoe store is there--but, having never been to Sorrento, I am thinking that perhaps I should spend the day there. Any ideas of a nice place to visit, wander, eat lunch, etc.?
Thanks.

nice well-heled watering hole but nearly nothing touristic to see in the town. i'd hop the amalfi coast buses or boats to Amalfi and Rapallo, the only places in the area you haven't been to, except Ischia, another Capri-like island a short enough boat ride from Sorrento. Or Naples, an hour by train or climb Vesuvius from a station on the Sorrento-Naples rail line.

Well IMO Sorrento is less scenic than other parts of the Aamlfi coast - it is good for a sight-seeing base for the area but not a "must see" destination of its own. But that being said, you could easily spend a pleasant day there - depends on how much you want to make the effort to go to another site. There are alot of shops and many offer samples of limoncello - shops not as upscale as Positano or Capri. The views from the edge of town are pleasant and there are some nice places to eat - some with pleasant views. There is a restaurant with a lemon grove inside (don't remeber the name, maybe someone will post it) but we thought the food there was so-so, setting was lovely tho. We liked a restaurant called something like D'Antonio - they had one in town and one down by the smaller harbor (not the harbor where the boats go over to Capri). If I had one meal in Sorrento, I would go to the D'Antonio down by the water - good food, there were some local families there (it was a Sunday) and you can see a pebbly beach and view out to the Bay of Napoli. Have a great trip!

yes the above makes good points - you can have a nice relaxing day in Sorrento and it has a lot of shops too.

Thanks for the tips. PalenQ, we have visited Ravello and Amalfi on prior trips and even climbed Vesuvius. So, I think it makes sense to play it by ear and either wander in Sorrento and search out suec1's restaurant or, if we're dying to venture farther, grab a bus or boat to go further afield.
Thanks to both of you for your help.

I loved Sorrento!

My time there was at the end of a marathon trip across Europe, changing cities, ever few hours. I took the extension to Sorrento and got up o n a Sunday morning with no plans, no guide, nothing. It was wonderful! Old men sat and played chess, people ate, women talked. Music was in the air.

I snapped a photo of this gentleman
http://waynehazle.com/europe/mansleep.jpg

One of my favorite pics from the trip. This pic represents the spirit of that morning.

Thanks Wayne. Sorrento sounds like a lovely respite from all of the other touring and "must sees" we have on this trip. I love the photo. I'll be watching for your gentleman!

I found the name of the restaurants - Zi'Ntonio and Zi'Ntonio al Mare (down by the water). You can find more info and a menu on a website about Sorrento restaurants. Have a wonderful day!

we just spent 3 days in sorrento for a friends wedding, we spent one of the days just wandering around, took a walk down to the villa communale, public garden, and had a coffee whilst enjoying the views - absolutely beautiful. You could definitely do a lot worse than spend the day there, the views are great and there's loads of places to eat, shop etc. Someone mentioned the restaurant with the lemon grove in - i think it's the same place my friend had her reception in which was ristorante parrucchiano on corsa italia - if not there's some lovely places in the main square where you can sit outside.

Are you familiar with the website "cruise critic"? It's a fine source for, among other things, ideas of what to do in various ports. Once you have the site up, scroll down to ports of call (Mediterranean), then click on Sorrento or whatever. Bon Voyage!

Shops are closed from noon till about 4 so remember to do your shopping first. During siesta you can vist the city garden, have a drink at the Foreigners Club with a beautiful view of the Bay of Naples, wander around the beautiful lemon grove on Corso Italia about 500 meters east of Piazza Tasso. Go up Via Fuorimura from P. Tasso about 150 meters and see the gourge of the mills. Then sit at Fauno Bar a P. Tasso and people watch. Make sure you don't forget you have a ship to catch. Enjoy your trip.