Paige

Hello! We just got back from 4 nights in Sorrento so I thought I'd post a few comments. We got excellent advice from Paulo and Joedy on how to get from the Naples airport to Sorrento by bus and train for less than $5 each. Compare that to $70 for a driver to pick you up. <BR>We stayed at La Tonnarella in Sorrento and really liked it. 250,000L for a double with breakfast and a balcony with a view of Sorrento and the sea. It's a 10 minute walk from the edge of town. It took us 20-30 minutes to walk to/from the train station or the port (we walk sorta fast, I think). Lots of people recommended staying in Positano, Ravello and Capri but for our short trip, Sorrento worked out best since it's easy to get to other places from there. If we'd had more time, it would've been nice to spend 2 nights in Sorrento, 2 on Capri and 2 in Positano or something like that. <BR>We spent one day at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Too cool!! We didn't hire a guide as so many recommended, but had a guide book and a map and that sufficed. Pompeii is a lot bigger than I had expected it to be. It was rather hot out there but there are lots of water fountains. I had thought we'd just spend a few hours there but we arrived at 9:30 and weren't ready to leave until around 3. Herculaneum is much smaller and we only spent 2 hours there. You can see both in a long day. <BR>We spent a day on Capri. Oh my God, there were so many tourists in the towns there!! We walked up to Villa Jovis and had the place mostly to ourselves. We also took a bus to Anacapri and took the chairlift up Mt. Solero (?) and walked back down, and didn't see many others doing the same. Anacapri, Capri town and the port area were crawling with tourists, more than we saw anywhere else on our trip. I think it would be nice to stay there and be there in the evening after they all leave. There are also lots of hiking opportunities there. I REALLY wouldn't want to spend all day in either of the towns!! <BR>Another day we took the bus to Positano. If you have any tendencies towards car sickness, take some Dramamine or something. It's only 30 minutes but egads, I was green as can be by the time we got there. The views are great, of course. Positano was crawling with tourists as well. The beach was quite disappointing. You could either sit in a little free area with lots of little boats or pay 18,000L to sit in a private area with beach chairs. Like Capri, I think it would be fun to overnight there expecially if you had a hotel with a balcony and pool so you could just hang out. Otherwise there's not a whole lot to do there (in my opinion). It is a really picturesque town so you can easily spend hours just wandering up and down hill. <BR>Well, that's about it. If you have any questions I'd be happy to help, but keep in mind I was only there 4 days and I'm NOT an expert!

Mari

Paige, I loved reading your notes about your trip. We are leaving in a little over a week to go to the Sorrento area for our family trip. My mother-in-law fell at the end of March and it has been one thing after another since then, but we are hoping she will be able to go as planned. Your enthusiasm gave me quite a lift! Thanks.

Myer

We were there about 2 years ago. Stayed directly in the middle of town at Hotel de Sorrento. Small, clean and relatively inexpensive. <BR>Try the Foreigners' Club for a great dinner and amazing evening sunset view. Just a block off the main town center on the way down to the marina. Complete meal for 2, entertainment, etc was app 35-40 US.

Nancy

Paige, We are staying in Sorrento for 4 days at the end of September. Do you have any restaurant recommendations? Did you go to the Blue Grotto? Our plans right now are to skip that but spend a day at Capri/Anacapri (hoping that the tourist season has worn down), Pompeii & Herculaneum, Positano & Ravello. The 4th day we are debating going to Paestum, but that may be overdoing it with the ruins. Any thoughts?

Paige

Hi Nancy! <BR>We just wandered around the old part of Sorrento (between the main drag and the sea)and picked places that looked good. Everywhere we ate was good. For the first time in probably 20 years I had anchovy pizza and it was great! Nothing like what I remembered. Another thing to try is gnocchi a la Sorrentine (or something like that). It's little potato dumplings covered with tomato sauce and cheese. Pizzas and gelato there were wonderful, too! <BR>We didn't go to the Blue Grotto. I really recommend taking the chairlift up to Mt. Solero (?) from Anacapri. You can walk/hike back down or take the chairlift back. I thought that was really cool and wanted to spend a couple of hours just taking it up and down. It's especially nice if your feet are tired!

DJ

Paige, <BR> <BR>I was thrilled to see your report as I too will be going to Sorrento at the end of September, for 4 nights.(I may see you Nancy). We are planning a day trip to include Naples in the AM (to see the musuem and try the pizza) then going on to Pompeii. Your remarks about how much time you spent there made me wonder if I'm overshooting. I do not expect to go to Herculaneum. We (hubby & I) will be staying at the Grand Exclesior Vittoria. We were also planning on going all the way to Paestum on the same day we did the Amalfi Coast, perhaps hiring a driver. Do you know if the buses run to Paestum? Thank you again for your report.

Paige

Hey DJ! Sorry, I don't know about buses to Paestum, although I'm sure someone on this board can help you. Have fun!

Danielle

Hi Paige, <BR> <BR>Thanks for the report. We're going to Sorrento in 2 months and staying at La Tonnarella too! I'm so glad you liked it. Any room recommendations or do they all look like they'd have a good view (we booked a room facing the sea)? How was the beach? We are also going to Pompeii for a day and Capri for another. What is there to see & do in Sorrento - I haven't been able to find much info on it? Is it more wandering around the streets or are there some must-see sites? We only have a day there though because of the day trips. Thanks again for the report!

Nancy

Paige: Thank you for the information. We are wanderers ourselves and usually find the best (or what we consider best) restaurants that way. <BR> <BR>DJ: Saw another post that mentioned your Italy time and looks like we may be passing in the airport. <BR> <BR>Hsppy Travels! <BR>

Nancy

Happy Travels! (Yes, nominate me for membership to AH's school of spelling/typing)

Paige

Hey Danielle! Probably any room with a view would be fine. There's not much beach in Sorrento and what we did see didn't look so great. There's a small beach near the marina but most people sit on the 4 piers attached to the beach. I think you have to pay but you get a lounge chair and have access to the water there. There may be better beaches outside of town somewhere, maybe the hotel can tell you. As for Sorrento, we just wandered around for hours. There's a pedestrian area between Corso Italia (the main street) and the sea near the marina with lots of shops and restaurants. It's a fairly large town so there are lots of streets to check out! Have fun!

Pam

Paige - Thanks so much for your report on Sorrento! My fiance and I are going to Italy for our honeymoon in early September, and the first leg of our trip will be Sorrento. We'll be there for 3 nights and 1 night in Capri. I'd love suggestions on great places to eat, any good shops in Sorrento or Positano, any must dos while we're in the South. You don't see much on sorrento so I was glad to see a post. We're planning on taking it easy the first 4 days as we'll be going on to Rome, Florence and Venice for the rest of our trip. So we'll be running around trying to see everything!

stephen spicer

yes... I was at sorrento 15 yrs ago and it was great probably changed a lot.. i was staying on the top of the hill at forcheto d"or hotel IT WAS THE HOTEL FROM HELL! but me and my friend stayed the following night onwards at sorrento central.I remember vividly TASSO SQUARE is it still ther? is it still great please let me know cos i would like to go there again did you see hotel leone or sorrento palace where i gatecrashed for breakfast and a swim..ha-ha bye

karen

Hi All,<BR>We just spent 5 nights in Sorrento in mid May. We loved it!<BR>We splurged a bit and stayed at the Hotel Europa Palace, with a balcony overlooking the Bay of Naples.<BR>My advise would be: no matter what price range you choose, stay in a hotel that is within walking distance of Piazza Tasso (and the main downdown area). It was so nice to be able to just walk there and shop or find a restaurant. Every restaurant we tried was good.<BR>Paige: I agree with you about Capri. We took a ferry there for the day. It was quite disappointing. Absolutely crawling with tourists (mostly with large tour groups). And this was in mid-May, not the height of the tourist season! The Blue Grotto seemed like quite a tourist trap also.<BR>We hiked up the mountain to get great views and get away from the crowds. <BR>It would be great to be on Capri without the crowds.<BR>DJ: We had rented a car, so we took a full day and drove all the way down the Amalphi coast to Paetrum. We stopped at various places, Positano, Salerno, etc.<BR>It was a long day, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. My daughter and husband are really into history and archaeology, so seeing another ruin was not a problem for us...I guess it depends on your interests.<BR>We also did a day at Pompeii, a day in Naples (took the hydrophoil from Sorrento), and a day at Vesuvius and Herculaneum. If I had it to do over, I would skip Capri and take a ferry to Amalphi or Positano for the day.<BR>All in all a great trip, and Sorrento was very centrally located for seeing many things in the area, either by car, train, bus or ferry.

elizabeth

Some restaurant suggestions in and near Sorrento:<BR><BR>Sorrento<BR><BR>Caruso and La Fenice were recommended to us but we didn't<BR>go to either (they were closed for days on<BR>end). But they were recommended by other restauranteurs (as follows).<BR><BR>Near Sorrento:<BR><BR>Marina del Cantone<BR><BR>A little beach town with two great restaurants.<BR><BR>First is Quattro Passi. We ate there twice (once for lunch and again a<BR>few days later for dinner). The owner, Antonio, is absolutely<BR>delightful. We turned ourselves over to him for our meals - and they<BR>were outstanding. Every course was seafood (ask for the scampi broiled<BR>on lemon leaves - sublime!). He speaks good English (years of working<BR>on cruise ships before coming back home and opening the restaurant).<BR><BR>The other is Taverna del Capital - it was still closed for the season<BR>when we were there but comes highly recommened (Michelin One Star). But<BR><BR>if I had only one choice I'd take Antonios - it was wonderful. (subsequent to our visit he was awarded a one star from Michelin)<BR><BR>Sant'Agata:<BR><BR>La Strucchioni (sp?) is a plain looking Pizzeria (bright<BR>lighting, plain tables/chairs/etc) but with great food and a wonderful<BR>warm welcome from the family who owns it. We ate there twice<BR>(lunch/dinner) and both times took enough food home for<BR>lunches/snacks/etc. The range of cold antipastos is wonderful and<BR>incredibly reasonable.<BR><BR>On the complete other end of the ambiance and price continuum is Don<BR>Alfonsos in Sant'Agata (Michelin 3 star) We arrived for lunch (with a<BR>long drive planned for<BR>later that day - down to Puglia) and they couldn't have been more<BR>welcoming. The husband is the chef, the wife is the business manager,<BR>and the son (Mario) is the maitre 'd. We each ordered one of the two<BR>special menus - one is a very traditional regional menu, and the other a<BR><BR>more ambitious, modern one. They were an interesting contrast (but be<BR>warned - TONS of food - at least 6 courses). It was a really amazing<BR>event - at the end of the meal Mario and my husband went for quite a<BR>drive on the coast roads in Mario's brand new Alfa sports car - at one<BR>point before that he had dropped the keys on our table and couldn't<BR>quite understand why we wouldn't take the car without him (it's a two<BR>seater). (Once you've driven the Amalfi Coast you'll understand why we<BR>weren't prepared to take some stranger's $100,000 car for a spin! - but<BR>it's the thought that counts!) We have enjoyed many French 3 stars, but<BR><BR>this 3 star experience was very different. While the dining room is<BR>very pretty and formal, the tone and manner is very different. Much<BR>more relaxed and family like. But no less expensive. Our lunch (with<BR>one bottle of wine) was $200 US - but worth every penny.<BR><BR>Positano:<BR><BR>Chez Black - it's right on the beach and at first looks really touristy,<BR><BR>but the food and service was good and the price fairly reasonable (by<BR>reasonable I mean about $40 US for lunch with 2 courses each<BR>and wine or beer)<BR><BR>Da Vincenza - we didn't eat there but it comes highly recommended<BR><BR>Ravello:<BR><BR>Ravello is a beautiful town that is not to be missed. Be sure to visit<BR>the gardens overlooking the Coast.<BR><BR>Restaurant Cumpa Cosima is on a small side street - don't miss it. We<BR>arrived at<BR>lunch and the owner was wonderful. We had three pasta dishes that I<BR>still dream about - including about the best lasagna I've ever had<BR>(unlike any lasagna I've ever had!) Lunch for two with wine was $50 US<BR><BR>

DJ

topping for a friend