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Please help me avoid the Sorrento bus dumpster fire tomorrow

Posted by on

I arrived via train to Sorrento this morning and then walked to the bus stop outside of the station. First, I stopped and bought a ticket for the ride.

Side note: I attempted to use the UnicoCampania app, but it would never text the verification text to me when I was in the States. Upon looking it up, it seems to be a common problem. I signed up for the app, registered, and then when it came to the text, I never received it. But, when I came over here....my phone has a Swedish number, but no texts/voice- only data. I did put in the Swedish number on the off chance it would work, but it didn't. So, ultimately, I would just be paying the bus fares trip by trip. Which is fine.

One reason everything was such a mess- there are no numbers on the buses. And the routes on the screen are semi-vague, and as you are standing there, you don't have time to look it up and reason and figure out what route it is. So, I went to one bus- showed him the route I was wanting, and my destination. He told me that wasn't him, it was the bus in front of him. So, I got on that bus. Well, the bus went in the complete opposite direction. I almost started crying. However, it wasn't just me. There were a couple of other people on the bus who were told the same thing by the other bus driver, and ended up going in the wrong direction.

Ultimately, the bus I was on did end up going sort of close to my final destination, and then I just took a taxi from there. I suspect if I would have been on the original bus, I would have ended up going the route I had originally wanted.

Anyway, this has me all spooked about tomorrow. I have a ferry ticket for 7:15 am, so I don't have a lot of room for error in the morning. I have looked at the time tables and everything, but....I did that for yesterday too, and that didn't exactly work out. There is a bus that leaves S. Agata through Massa Lubrense at 6:05 am. There is also a bus that leaves S. Agata- N Verde through Priora at 6:05 am. Both seem like good options. Assuming they are on time-ish. The Priora one is shorter, so I am leaning toward that one.

How worried should I be that this isn't going to work out?

Also, second side note: I am not going to have time to go to a store to buy a ticket. Will they take payment on the bus?

Posted by
4105 posts

Which town are you staying in? S. Agata? Is the ferry dock in Sorrento? Which town are you headed to ? You need to check with your lodging to see if they can provide bus tickets, they’re not available on these busses, but at most tobacco shops.

Posted by
77 posts

Ugh bummer to hear. S. Agata is about a 30 minute walk, but the bus stop is a 10 minute walk.

Villa does not have tickets. Was hoping I could just pay on the bus.

Posted by
33577 posts

sorry - you are trying avoid a fire? I see no evidence of a current fire in Sorrento??????

There is a current fire at Luton airport but that is no where near Sorrento?

Posted by
7057 posts

Not a real fire lol!

The phrase
“Dumpster fire” means a chaotic situation

Posted by
33577 posts

I am so out of touch with how people speak away from where I am. A bus fire would NEVER have occured to me... weird.

Posted by
7943 posts

I can offer no help, but in my several experiences, the bus stop at Sorrento can be a bit chaotic.

My last time, we were taking the Sorrento-Amalfi bus. Being the good RS reading traveler, we were gunning for a seat on the right side for the views. We showed up plenty early, I seem to recall a sign designating where the bus would stop, there were maybe 8-10 people in line ahead of us, so we fell into queue. Closer to time for the bus, the queue grew, a number of people just standing around, then when the bus did show up, it was just a mad scramble. Another queue had formed around the corner, so two queues trying to get in, then those standing by just headed for the door.

We did finally get on, did get right side seats, but they had plastered the bus windows with an advertising "skin", plastic with little holes, that blocked most of the view, and certainly made taking a picture impossible...stupid.

Posted by
77 posts

Well, today was indeed a dumpster fire, after all.

I arrived 15 minutes early for the bus, and then waited about 30 minutes after it was scheduled to arrive. Never showed. Someone came by and suggested I walk into town, because there would be more options there. So, I did, and sure enough, there was a bus there waiting, and I hopped on. However, it went the long way, and in the mean time, there was some sort of incident, and the road was held up for about 30 minutes. All in all, it took me 2 hours to make it in to Sorrento.

Needless to say, I missed my ferry.

In the meantime, I had a tour here in Sorrento which provided transportation. Their website makes it look like it is a private shuttle. Well, what they did was actually sent a taxi. So, they called him for him to take me to my accommodation, again, per their website. Now, this driver got massively loss. Completely in the weeds. Like 30 minutes out of the way. I finally convinced him to just take me into town and I would just walk from there. So, we get to town, and he asked me to pay.....a $75 fare. I told him that it was included in my tour, and he insisted it was not. After a few calls, he said that only transportation back into Sorrento is included. But, since I was near Sant Agata, I needed to pay the difference. Which I did because...here I am in a foreign land, what else could I do?

Should I dispute this with the card company? At the very least, I would say that I shouldn't have to pay for him getting completely lost.

Anyway...the good thing was, I then took a bus, and it was EAV, and EAV is light years better than SITA. It came on time. There is a map on the screen with the stops clearly marked. Unfortunately, tomorrow morning's EAV bus cuts it a bit too close to the time I need to be ready to catch the train. But, SITA isn't particularly reliable. So, I really don't know what I am going to do. I either have to leave super-extra early with EAV...or roll the dice with SITA.

Posted by
16409 posts

Sorry you had stress over public transit!

I will reference a previous post of yours where you'd anticipated issues with both bus (time to Sorrento) and taxi (price to Sorrento) from an accommodation far from Sorrento that you'd selected. That accommodation was heavily reviewed by previous guests as a good choice mostly for those traveling with a car. It probably wasn't a great choice for your situation.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/upper-sorrento-taxi-service-situation

You hadn't come back to tell us whether you'd opted to stay with that hotel or chosen one much closer to Sorrento so your post above didn't tell us exactly where you were traveling from, or where you were picking up a ferry.

Posted by
7057 posts

Sorrento is a great base without a car. The transportation in the area is definitely chaotic and overcrowded and unreliable-all that has been reported many times here but it is still the best choice.

Staying well outside Sorrento without a car is not a choice I would have made.

Sorry you’re having such a difficult time.

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