This vacation focuses more on relaxing, aimless wandering and eating, so it might not be useful to anyone looking for sightseeing ideas, but for what it's worth, I will write a small report that I can now supplement with pics since, after a hiatus, I've now regained the ability to post photos.

We were going to begin this trip with four nights in Naples but my partner's walking capability is diminished due to lower back pain so our time there would have been frustrating--not being able to wander and soak up the vibrant atmosphere of this incredible metropolis We'd visited Naples a few times before but I'd not stayed in Sorrento since my (first) honeymoon, and my partner had never been. So ensconcing ourselves in a seafront luxury hotel, relaxing on the terrace and digging into some delicious Campanian coastal cuisine sounded like a reasonable compromise.

I don't know how many more big trips my partner (or I) will be able to take, so we decided to splash out on this one. I booked four nights at the GH EXCELSIOR VITTORIA, one of the few remaining grand hotels of Europe that has remained in the same family for five generations. Thanks to the adept maneuvering of my Virtuoso agent, we were upgraded to a deluxe room with a vast terrace overlooking the Bay of Naples, Vesuvius, and the City of Naples. I almost dropped to the floor in exultation when we were ushered into our room (#143).

After reading horror stories about the hordes of tourist clogging the streets of Sorrento, I was pleasantly surprised when I embarked on what would become my daily wanderings. Yes, the tiny lanes running west from the main Piazza Tasso were jammed during the height of the day, but the streets themselves were so picturesque and ablaze with flowers that the crowds did not hamper the experience much. And once you veered away from those densely packed streets, there were times when you had the view all to yourself. Sorrento seemed to me not to be given over solely to tourism, as there was plenty of local life going on around me as I walked...Nonnas lugging shopping carts, groups of young people gawking at the windows of the shops----I was in a small Italian city!! I was in heaven!!

The weather was much cooler than I had imagined. I could not even think of swimming in the gorgeous hotel pool, but I did spent time ambling through the beautiful gardens of the hotel, where statues and remnants of ancient columns hid amidst the lemon and orange trees and flowering shrubs. I do wish I had brought a warmer jacket, though.

Here are a few snaps of the hotel interior:

View of Marina Piccola and Vesuvius from room; we could see the (long) lines waiting for ferries to the islands

Terrace

Lemon trees in hotel garden

Enrico Caruso's time at the hotel near the end of his life is commemorated by this plaque' his suite, with his piano, is offered for rent

Entrance to the hotel, at the end of a long pathway leading from Piazza Tasso

Palatial breakfast room

View from terrace with marina and ferries, and Vesuvius in the distance

Breakfast array at table..I gorged on maracuya every morning! And that is fresh ricotta in the center foreground!!

Hotel and views look lovely! Looking forward to more.

I forgot to mention our flight and airport experiences: We flew on ITA from JFK to Naples, with a connection time of about 60 minutes in FCO. Our flight to Rome was late.

One benefit of being old and sightly decrepit is that you can take advantage of wheelchair transport at airports. Wheelchair service at JFK was horrendous. We waited for a wheelchair for my partner for 45 minutes, 45 minutes during which we saw not ONE wheelchair pass by in Terminal One. The lovely ITA agent, Danielle, phoned three times, only to be told that there were two other flights boarding and there would be a delay.

After 45 minutes, Danielle told us that he would escort us through security himself (how's that for service!!??) and would hold onto my partner so he could walk safely. On the way to security, I spotted an empty chair and grabbed it for my partner to sit down. The three of us proceeded to passport control, with me pushing the chair, when an irate wheelchair "supervisor" began yelling at us, saying that we needed be pushed by an "official: wheelchair pusher," who--lo and behold-- suddenly materialized and took over. We said goodbye to the helpful Danielle, finished the security procedures, and boarded the plane.

The flight was fine; I watched a ridiculous remake of Jurassic Park and slept with the help of half an Ambien--first time I'd used a sleeping pill on a flight in more than 10 years.


Having the wheelchair eliminated all the commotion of having to go through the EES systems upon arrival in Italy; handicapper travelers and their companions wait in the transport vehicle while the agent, armed with your boarding passes and passports, steps inside to complete the immigration procedure. We did not set foot inside the terminal at FCO.. Two minutes later, we were on our way to the gate and quickly boarded the plane to Naples.

Exiting the baggage claim in Naples, I looked in vain for a driver bearing a sign with my name. After a few anxious minutes, I spotted the sign, and the driver from Transferelax apologized for being late, blaming this on the tight parking in the downstairs lot.
We passed the hour-long drive on the autostrada, through that very, very long tunnel (!!!) with animated conversation, mainly about food: The differences between pizza from Naples, pizza from his hometown of Vico Equense, and pizza from Sorrento. He confirmed my choice of pizzeria for that night, telling me that DA FRANCO made the best pizza in Sorrento, as the shop is an outpost of the original, in Vico. (More on this topic later..much more, as I picked up a lot of information about pizza, and other dishes, in a few short days).

The transfer from NAP to our Sorrento hotel cost 99 euro, much lower than some other quotes that I received. (one company often mentioned here wanted 150 euro) I was not sure about tipping protocol; I gave the driver 110 euro. Is this the "thing to do??"

Besides the fact that my partner had to use a chair in the airports, and a cane at times for walking, I had to contend with my own small malady-I pulled something in my rear-end that resulted in a sharp pain radiating down my left leg whenever I put weight on it, or moved in a certain way....it was pretty excruciating for the first few days but is much alleviated by now, our fifth day in Italy..

Good for you and good luck with the rest of the trip. Airports can be very crazy these days and hope you feel better quickly. We went to Matera about 10 years ago based on your interesting trip report and I have great memories of matera and then moving onto Puglia. We ended up in Positano at the beginning of June on another trip and there just were too many tourists. Hopefully in May it will be quieter everywhere. We went to Europe twice a year for almost 15 years but the travel bug has left me and my husband�s need to go to the conferences (which helped partially finance the whole deal) isn�t necessary anymore.We live in the hills of Santa Barbara and gaze at the ocean and eat well and then every few months go up to Bay Area and see family and friends and that seems to be all we need these days. Happy adventures.

Wishing you a smooth journey ahead. I've never been south of Rome so very interested in what you experience in southern Italy.

Following along! Have a great trip!

Your hotel looks fabulous. We stayed in Sorrento twice and I'd love to go back.

First time was briefly with a tour group, at an upmarket hotel just on the outskirts, with the most, drop-dead gorgeous views, over the bay and Sorrento.

Second time was just the two of us, for almost a week, lots of easy day trips. We stayed in an atmospheric pensione, right in the centre of things, with cappuccino and croissants at the local cafe included for breakfast.

Looking forward to reading more...

Another trip report by ekscrunchy! Sounds good so far and your hotel looks fab.
We loved Sorrento, stayed at Hotel Mediterraneo in Sant'Agnello on the outskirts, it was lovely and had incredible views. It was 2012 and affordable, now their room rates are in the stratosphere and I'm not sure why.

Here are a few random photos of Sorrento, taken along the busy lanes west of Piazza Tasso. I ended up buying a few tubes of my new favorite toothpaste--Marvis (a few flavors are available on Amazon but many more can be found in pharmacies in Italy), and one of those thin Indian-cotton dresses (18 euro) printed with lemons, like the ones that you see swinging in front of every other tourist shop here and along the Amalfi Coast:



Cedri (etrog in Hebrew) in Supermarket along Via del Corso

My beloved maracuya (passion fruit) at breakfast

Sorrento lemons

View from Piazza Tasso towards the Bay; hotel in the rear, right, with breakfast room of hotel jutting out over the street

More lemons

Citrus, citrus and more citrus!!

Take your choice of day trips; we could watch the (long) ferry lines from our terrace

Local works of art

More art!!

Lemon in every permutation--drink it, suck on it, chew on it.......shops are generous with samples of lemon candies!!!

Skirts, dresses, blouses, caftans--take your pick. I did!

I bought one of the green dresses, printed with lemons.....far left..will I ever wear it? Bets are on!!

Looking forward to the rest of your trip eks. Puglia clearly seems to be one of your favourite Italian destinations! Glad to know your leg is better, especially with Matera coming up.

I havent returned to Sorrento in a while, but I still have four painted tiles bought from there years ago on my souvenirs shelf! Do you enjoy limoncello?

Much of the drive from Naples airport to our Sorrento hotel was passed with discussions with the driver about food, pizza in particular. The driver was from Vico Equense, known as a capital of pizza. He confirmed my choice for our first ight's dinner at DA FRANCO, an outpost of the original location in Vico. We went with high hopes of having pizza of the quality we remembered from Naples. These hopes were not met; I won't say the pizza was bad, but we were disappointed, nevertheless. Toppings were fresh and tasty; dough was thin but still was "too doughy: for both of us. Ask ten locals where to get the best pizza in Sorrento and nine will tell you: "Da Franco."


DA FRANCO, on Via del Corso near the railroad station

I ordered the chef's special and it was good, not at all great

One of the three pages listing the pizze

My chef's special, with zucchini flowers, ricotta, yellow tomatoes, and prosciutto cotto--tasty!

Margherita. It would be decent in New York, disappointing here in Sorrento

Interior of DA FRANCO; diners were a mix of locals and tourists; total with water: 24 euro.

We stopped for two generous scoops of gelato--a mix of chocolate fondante and caramelo--at one of the two AMORINO locations in the city; celestial!! 4.80 euro for a "coppa normale." I usually pass on dessert at restaurants in favor of stopping for gelato on the way back to the hotel....I like to look forward to a treat before sleep....

Love this area, thanks for taking me back.

Great pictures. In case you don't know, you can eat those huge lemons whole, including the rind, which is not bitter. Just slice them and dig in! 😁

I'll save the best meals we had in Sorrento for last. (Both at the same restaurant, outside town)

On our final night, we decided to give pizza another try. We did not want to venture to the Michelin-rated local restaurants, and many of the places in town had a reputation of catering to tourists with mediocre food at high prices.

I had heard from yet a few other locals that if we wanted pizza, we should try the more modern LIEVE, located a bit out of the touristed center. The hotel kindly offered to bring us there in their golf cart and it was fun to drive in that open-air cart through the streets!


LIEVE proved to be an improvement over DA FRANCO, but still nowhere close to the magnificent creations I remembered from the legendary spots in Naples, and even from some of the best pizzerie in New York. You will notice in one photo that the topping slid off the Margherita. more on that, below.

I had a long discussion about this with the driver who brought us to our favorite restaurant in the Sorrento area. (details to come; we ate there two nights in a row) He told me that the reason that cheese slides off the pizza is that the chef used mozzarella made that morning. according to Alessandro, the cheese must rest, unrefrigerated and wrapped in a damp cloth, for one day before being used as a pizza topping. (Over and over, throughout the years, I have been admonish NEVER to put mozzarella in the refrigerator....it lasts three days, covered in a damp towel on the counter..)

I chose LIEVE'S 'pizza en pale" because it was said to be crispy and cooked for a long time at low temperatures, unlike their regular pizza. A little too thick and not crispy but flavors were good; I could only eat a quarter.

The Margherita was good....but....

..the topping slid off.....now we know why this happened.....the secret is in the age of the mozzarella.....(I guess!!)

Interior of LIEVE....on Via degli Aranci...

LIEVE menu...bill with white wine and bottle of water: 40 euro. A few locals told me the they thought the place was overpriced...


.Remember: NEVER put your mozzarella in the frig!!! Wrapped in a damp towel and left on the counter, it should last for three days..that is, if you buy its the day it was made, not so easy in the US!!!! After the third day, if any is left, I was instructed to toss it!!