SORRENTO OR NAPLES
 

We have one day/night before catching an early flight home from Naples. I have heard Sorrento is less bustling (and therefore preferable for us) to Naples - is it inconvenient for getting to Naples Airport very early in the morning? Any idea of taxi fare? Thank you.

http://www.curreriviaggi.it/
the Curreie bus goes to and from the Airport to sorrento,don't know if the timetable is suitable for you though.

I loved Sorrento! A day would be nice, but more time would be nicer. Try to take a bottle of lemonocello liquer home. They make it there and it's wonderful. My bottles broke on the way home. My luggage dripped, but smelled divine.

I hate Sorrento.
Vespas at neck breaking speeds with no regard for anyone.
I have been there 2 times and found this to be true both times. I will never go back there.

Sorrento by far. I second scarlettudor...pick up some limoncello.

Or you could use your day and go to Pompei.

My advice depends on what you are doing prior to arriving in Naples, and whether you plan on seeing Pompeii, Herculaneum, any part of the AC, etc. It really depends on what you want to do with your day.

I happen to love Naples - lots to do, excellent restaurants, easy access to Pompeii, ferries to Capri & AC, etc., and busy.
I also love Sorrento - great views, good restaurants, easy ferry access to AC, access to Pompeii - if you get a hotel that is quiet. That is possible, but jetsetj is right about the vespas.

I also prefer Sorrento, but just make sure it works for your schedule.

As far as picking up that limoncello (which is wonderful), check your local wine/liquor stores before buying any in Sorrento. I bought some and lugged it all over Florence and Rome only to find the liquor store about 2 mi from my house back in the US carried the exact same brand - and it was cheaper!!! AARRGGHH!

If you have an early flight out of Naples, then stay in Naples. You just need to pick the right neighborhood (and the right section within). The many neighborhoods are vastly different from one another. There are even some VERY quiet parts of the pedistrian Spaccanapoli.

ditto bardo

((I))

Sorrento! It's easy to get to the airport from there, and the limoncello is a MUST :) And people on mopeds in any Italian city will try to kill you or themselves, so there's really no point avoiding it.

THANK YOU EVERYONE. To answer a few questions, we will be finishing a week in Positano and Capri...the main reason we are spending the last day in either Sorrento or Naples is to take a day trip to Herculaneum. Since our flight out the next morning is at 8 a.m., I am wondering if Sorrento is inconvenient as our base for the our last night....or if we would be smarter to just stay in Naples. Any further thoughts? THANK YOU! (will definitely be enjoying limoncello to the max)!

I'm sorry I'm no help on the convenience of the plane arrangements, but I do know a good quiet hotel in Sorrento. At least, it was when I stayed there 10 years ago. The Aminta. It's a mile or so above the city, on the way the drive down the Amalfi coast. Very friendly staff, lovely big rooms overlooking the bay.

Oh, and on the limoncello, do check your local liquor stores before you go. Mine didn't have it. It was cheap in Sorrento.

jsetj, it you want to avoid Vespas, you must avoid the whole of Italy, not just Sorrento. When comparing Sorrento with Naples, it's hard to believe Naples is quieter, safer, and with no Vespas.

Sorrento will do you just fine -- and I love Napoli, you've been candid in nailing why it's not for you. Sorrento is also an urban space in many ways, but it nothing like the urban chaos Napoli. Plus, staying near the train station in Napoli is the worst part of town. (Almost.)

Tripadvisor should be a good resource for just finding a good hotel in Sorrento. Are you going to ask the hotel to call a taxi for you? I'd look on Tripadvisor and pick a place that is convenient to the train that goes to the ruins, is quite, safe and has a reliable desk in touch with a good taxi driver.

In truth, I wasn't impressed Sorrento either (though I didn't notice the Vespas any worse than elsewhere in Italy). I stayed a few nights and found Sorrento a bit overtouristed - and yes, I know there are tourists everywhere in Italy, but this place seemed too full of them. I would say the same of Venice, except the staggering beauty of the place makes up for it.

I didn't stay in Naples, but I ventured a day trip there - a little nervous about how dirty and scary it was supposed to be - and instead I found Naples charming, once I wandered away from the train station, and was very sorry I didn't stay there instead of Sorrento.

But - we all have different tastes and interests in the places we visit! No harm in that.

Andrew, I think for somebody who is looking to get to the ruins, and already said they don't want bustle, putting them on a direct path through the Napoli train station is not a great recipe.

Many, many, many people are surprised that they like Napoli, either despite its problems or because they manage never to encounter its problems. But if you don't like bustle -- I would say bustle part of Napoli's charm.

Sorrento has go the problems you say -- and maybe the original poster will decide that he'd rather face bustle that bus tours.

So glad to see this thread. I am facing the same question. I had about decided to do Naples instead of Sorrento for 3 nights Oct. 30-Nov.1 - as a base for Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples museum and possibly Paestum. I recognize I can do all that from Sorrento, but the notion of taking the train from Rome, dropping bags at hotel in Naples, and then having the rest of the day for Herculaneum and the museum, seems like a good use of our time. If we go all the way to Sorrento, I don't know how much we will get done that day besides travel. In addition, the food and the bustle of Naples are sort of appealling. The thing that stops me is that each of our day trips will require that we go to the train station. In fact, staying near there would be ideal considering that we want to do day tripping out from there. But from this post, as well as other accounts, that sounds like the WORST place to stay in Naples. SOOO - maybe the better idea is just to go on to Sorrento. I know there is a place to leave luggage at Pompeii - maybe we could do that on our way to Sorrento. I had hoped to devote an entire day to that excurion however. Anything else I'm forgetting in making this decision? Oh - and at the end we will be renting a car. That might be easier in Sorrento too I suppose?

no, no, no, nancy! Stay in Napoli and take taxis to the train station. Okay? Your hotel will help you. Napoli is small. It's gonna cost you all of 5 euros per trip. It would be a shame if you are up for staying in Napoli to miss that. It's a fantastic experience of Italy.

Even staying in Sorrento, you are going to have to mind your wallet on the train to the ruins. The area surrounding the Napoli train station is unnerving for most tourists because there are so many poor people there, and open petty vice (druggies, hookers). It's like the old unDisneyfied Times Square, but much more of a chaotic swirl of people going every which way.

You'll be fine. Stay in Napoli! Or if you are really keen on spending all your possible time in at the ruins, stay in Pompeii. People deride the town as soulless, but it's go two great restaurants. Plus Pompeii! What more do you need in Italy. (I'll only add that Sorrento isn't as far as you think.)

nancy, I agree w/ zeppole. Stay in a nicer part of Naples (maybe at a hotel that is €10 less per night) and "splurge" on €5 taxis to the train station.

Naples sounds like a bit of an adventure. And since I will be there with my 27 year old son - he can "protect" me - I hope. The taxi seems like the answer. Any thoughts on favorite hotels? The top rated ones on Trip Advisor don't seem to be in the nicer areas. We don't need fancy, but a comfortable bed (hard to find in Italy apparantely)and near good restaurants for dinner at night would be nice.

You need to state your budget.

I've seen good recommendations for hotels right around the archeological museum in Napoli. Don't forget to check venere.com for user reviews, and they have helpful maps as well.

Totally agree with the Naples crowd...Sorrento would be redundant to what you have already seen and has nothing new to offer you after the rest of your vacation is taken into account.

SO much easier to manage an early flight from Naples, and you can find an area of town that suits your needs and your budget.

I am a big fan of Naples, BTW and find it is often put down as a destination when it actually has amazing vistas, wonderful welcoming people, fine architecture, hotels and history. The pizzas not bad, either.

By the way, you won't need "protection." Napoli is not dangerous for tourists. At all! (Barcelona and NYC are worse. Truly). But you do need to watch your wallet. Don't carry anything that can't be replaced. Carry only a copy of your passport.

Some years ago a young male tourist was taking pictures in one of the oldest, poorest, most-alley ridden parts of Napoli. Somebody yanked his expensive digital camera out of his hands. He chased the thief -- which provoked neighborhood youths to take sides against him, and he got a beating (and not his camera back). So there you've heard the worst of it. Tell your son not to take on the local street toughs.

But I wouldn't hesitate to go to Napoli by myself. If I thought I'd needed help, I'd ask a Neopolitan. They're very chivalrous.

So is the area around the museum pretty good? There were some well ranked hotels there, but I thought it was very close to the train station, and therefore not recommended. I remember reading BobtheNavigator's trip report, and it seems to me he stayed near the bay. I would hope to spend no more than 150E per night and am more comfortable with 120E. Have you rented a car in Naples? My understanding is that you don't want to drive in Naples. Period. How do you avoid that if you rent a car?

To clarify - I mean when it comes time to leave Naples, we will rent a car. So it is just a matter of getting out of the city.

Don't drive a car in Napoli. Period.

The standard advice is to stay near the bay in Napoli. It's the wealthiest part of the city. It is the one most kitted-out for foreign tourists. It has high-end shopping. Some hotels there have shuttles to the train station (I think the Mercure does).

But you need to stay there, and other parts of the city, near the theatre, and near the museum, are just as safe. User reviews on tripadvisor and venere usually talk about whether people felt comfortable there. 150E per night is a generous budget for Napoli.

There is one piazza directly facing the train station that is the locus of many poor immigrants, street vendors, street chaos, often dirty. That's what is unnerving. But even that is not dangerous. No one will attack you. But most people prefer to bed in places that give them a greater sense of well-being.

If your comfort zone is about something a little bit visibly affluent, hint of stability, then head for the beach. Organized crime owns the waterfront, but that's another story, and it's probably why it has a little more dough than the rest of town. But if are close to the older center of town, you'll be just as safe, and you'll save a few steps to the museum and a euro on your taxi fare.

Where are you going after Napoli?

TYPO ALERT: I should have typed you "DON"T NEED" to stay near the bay.

Nancy, I strongly recommend Decumani Hotel de Charme.

http://www.decumani.it/en/

Very inexpensive, beautiful rooms, great staff and best of all a perfect location: smack in the middle of the historic center in a pedestrian area. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Agree w/ zeppole again: the waterfront area is NOT where you want to say.

Also, the Decumani is right near the museum.

Also the Decumani website doesn't do it rooms justice. Not only very nice, but BIG (including 15-20 ft. ceilings). Check out the photos in the "Room and Rate" section. I've never stayed in a nicer (room or location) €100/night hotel.

I will definitely check the hotel out - as I recall it was very favorably reviewed on TripAdvisor.
We are considering two options upon leaving Naples. If we stay in Naples three nights, we would head to Tuscany. The other option is to stay in Naples only two nights, and then go south to Paestum area for one night, before heading up to Tuscany. I really want to see Paestum, and can't figure whether it would be better as a day trip from Naples, or to do in the car, and then go on from there.

If you are going to Paestum (great idea), simply take the train from Napoli to Salerno and rent your car in Salerno (and use it go to Paestum, then on to Toscana).

Sounds like a great plan. I have just re-read my posts and your answers from 2 months ago Zeppole, addressing many of the same issues. I keep putting the planning of this down, and then picking it back up again, but I feel much more comfortable now in my decisions, and your input has been invaluable. There will surely be more questions, but I am happy with my resolve to stay in Naples.

Great. I hope you have a great trip with your son. Be sure to have some artichokes if you head to Paestum in the fall. That's prime artichoke season, and Paestum's are famous.