Please sign in to post.

Easter week in Sorrento

We will be arriving in Sorrento on Holy Saturday (the day before Easter) and will be staying until the Thursday of that week, planning on using Sorrento as our base for trips to Herculaneum, Paestum, Vietri sul Mare, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. My question: what will be best seen on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday (both holidays)? I am thinking perhaps Positano and Amalfi on Easter and Herculaneum on Monday, as they are both "touristy"locations and most likely to have shops and restaurants open..what would you suggest?

Posted by
8094 posts

We were in Rome for Easter this year. We chose to stay 20 miles out of town, and ride the train into Rome for day trips. After experiencing the Vatican weekend crowds, we decided to tour Palestrina and areas south of Rome on Easter Sunday. After a long trip, you might consider resting up and spending Easter Sunday in Sorrento. Then depart rested on other excursions the next day.
Going to any church mass on Easter Morning in Italy can be a memorable experience for anyone.

Posted by
77 posts

Thanks, David. We will actually have been in Rome for about 4 days before moving on to Sorrento, so we will have rested up somewhat (we actually never rest much while traveling, figuring we can do that on the flight home!. My question was really more about which areas would be open for business & which would be most crowded on the holidays.

Posted by
1540 posts

I was in Sorrento Easter week a few years ago. There is an amazing procession along the main street on Thursday night Maundy Thursday - all people are dressed in white and carrying several of the alter pieces from the large churches. On Good Friday the same procession going the opposite direction - with all participants dressed in black (much more somber). It was a fantastic experience to see these 2 processions. Then we arrived in Rome on Easter Sunday - St. Peter's Square was the
experience of a lifetime.

Posted by
1829 posts

Easter is the traditional start of the holiday season in the area so expect everything to be up and running. We were in Sorrento in March this year and there were notices on closed restos and hotels saying that they would be open just before/at Easter. The majority of shops in Sorrento are open all year, it is only the out and out souvenir shops that close in the winter months. (We are in Sorrento at the moment and today is a public holiday. Apart from supermarkets which were open for the morning only, all the other shops were open.) The archeological sites will be open on the Sunday and Monday. You will need to check public transport times nearer the dates, it is too soon for next year, because on some public holidays it is "Sunday" service only. Unfortunately it may be too early for the seasonal coastal ferry services. They usually start mid to late April but who knows what will happen next year.