Naples or Sorrento
 

Hi all,

Going on a 1 week trip to Italy with me and my girlfriend for the first time and after spending 3 days in Rome, I was wondering which of Naples or Sorrento is the better place to set up base for 3-4 days to visit pompeii/mt vesevius/amalfi coast?

Many thanks

Sorrento much better located for all of those and a nice pleasant smaller town - Take train Rome - Naples Centrale and then fololow signs in Naples' station for 'CircumVesuviana' commuter train which ends in Naples. Book Rome-Naples at either Acquista il biglietto con le nostre offerte - Trenitalia or www.italotreno.it/en - two competing railways using same tracks and stations - commuter train to Sorrento just buy at that station (connected via corridors from Naples Centrale- about 5-minute walk - train terminates at Sorrento. For lots on booking Italian trains and what to expect on them (like 1st v 2nd class) check www.seat61.com (great tips for booking your own online discounted tickets); www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts. Pompeii is just a short train ride from Sorrento - Pompeii Scavi station for archaeological site. Ferries nice way to go to Amalfi though world-famous Amalfi buses ply the coast constantly too but can be slow with lots of traffic on sinuous two-lane roads. Capri is a popular day trip also from Sorrento by boat.

The ferry option from Sorrento to the Amalfi Coast would depend on what time of year you're going. The ferries don't run year-round.

I agree with Pal for myself BUT please read up about what you can do in both cities before you choose. As Pal mentioned, Naples is so much larger, it may offer just the evening excitement you want.

If possible, hire a driver for the Amalfi Coast portion of your trip if you don't use the ferries. It took us over an hour to go from Sorrento to Amalfi on a city bus. Traffic was miserable and I actually felt slightly nauseous on the bus. And, we couldn't have gone all the way to other cities on the coast--would have to change buses. Perhaps that has changed?

Sorrento IME hops at night too - lots of yes mainly tourists out and about.

Both are good choices. We just returned from the areas.

Naples is a great city with much of the actual art from Pompeii in their great Museum. It has fantastic transportation and amazing food for great prices. It's a loud and gritty city. We stayed at Palazzo Ruffo di Bagnara, and loved it... just across the street from the metro and gates to old town area. It's a ways from Amalfi... best bet might be ferry to Sorrento, then to Amalfi.

Sorrento is a small quite touristy city (no judgement... I love being a tourist.) You can walk most anywhere you want to go in town... and the bus or ferry can take you to Amalfi or Pompeii easily. You can find a place with a big sea view and relax or just use it as a base and go-go-go. We found restaurants etc to be quite a bit more expensive than Naples. We stayed at Settimo Ciello and our room felt like it was on the edge of the world, overlooking the sea so we loved just hanging out there!
Have fun with your plans.

I loved Sorrento and found it an excellent base for visiting the Amalfi Coast.. I also went to Pompeii and then spent a day in Naples visiting the museum. Sorrento is quite crowded and touristy, but as mentioned an excellent base: you can take coast to coast buses from the train station or ferries to the islands. I didn't spend much time in Sorrento except in the evenings after touring all day and loved sitting at Bar Fauno with a limoncello watching the traffic....

When we went to take the Circumvesuviana from Naples to Sorrento, we discovered there are multiple Circumvesuviana routes but only one goes to Sorrento. Take care which train you take,

Yes be sure the train is labeled Sorrento where CircumVesuviana trains terminate - and it's a nice ride too - all along coast with Mt Vesuvious always looming overhead.

PalenQ, you said..."Take train Rome - Naples Centrale and then fololow signs in Naples' station for 'CircumVesuviana' commuter train which ends in Naples." Did you mean Sorrento at the end of that sentence? I have a train ticket from Napoli Centrale to Rome and thought that station was the one I needed (not having to get the CircumVesuviana...).

Yes, meant ends at Sorrento! The CircumVesuviana station is a separate station prctically adjacent to Naples Centrale with about a 10-minute or so walk thru covered walkways between them.

OK, that's what I thought but wanted to make sure. Don't want to find out I need a different station. Thanks.

There is more than one route leaving from Naples Garibaldi station (adjacent to the main Naples train station), so make sure you get the train to Sorrento.

Sorrento - without a doubt! It's one of my favorite cities (among many) on the Amalfi coast. Sorrento is very comfortable and navigable, making it easy to get around and alsoa terrific base for exploring the neighboring cities and sites. As others have mentioned, you can take the Circumvesuviana train to the adjoining areas (Napoli, Pompeii, etc), as well as the ferry boats to Capri, Amalfi, Positano, which are easy to access in the marina. In addition, there is the affordable SITA Bus option which leaves from the front of the Circumvesuviana train station so there are lots of ways to travel and explore. Sorrento's shops stay open late along the Corso Italia and in the older streets so it's easy to stay up late exploring, shopping, and eating gelato with all the other Italians taking their evening "passegiata" too. Have a great trip - buon viaggio!

Sorrento may offer a lot -- but it is NOT on the Amalfi Coast.

Correction! Wasn’t meant to be taken too literally.....Sorrento is an easy base and gateway to the Amalfi coast.