Rome to Sorrento/Capri

not exactly what you asked for, but why not spend one nite in Sorrento? 2 is even better! It's a great place, and it will give you a full day to explore rather than a few hours.

Vastours, Carrani, Green Line Tours all offer a 1-day trip to Capri. If you want a bus tour you only get Capri. It's too far to do Capri & Sorrento in one day. I would take the above poster's advice and spend a night or two in Sorrento and take a day trip to Capri. Watching the sunset or sunrise on the coast is fabulous!

I totally agree with you both on an overnight. My favorite hotel is the Hotel Minerva in Sorrento and personally I would like nothing better than to stroll down the streets of that lovely town sampling lemoncello all evening! :) However, I'll leave it to my girlfriend to decide if she wants to cut short a day in Roma or not. This trip is all about her and what she wants to do. In the meantime, thanks so much to you both for your counsel. MPD

Why do you need a tour? Just take the train from Rome to Naples, Naples to Sorrento, hop on the short hydrofoil ride and arrive on Capri. Does your friend realize that she will be passing Pompeii on the way to Sorrento?

Hi, Tim! You're absolutely right - it's not a big deal on the train and I've actually done it before; however, we're on a bit of a time crunch and the connections aren't very great and I don't want us to be hanging out at the Naples train station for too long. In addition, please remember, my girlfriend has never been abroad and I just want to make this as stressless as possible. I appreciate your advice, however, and if I was with someone else it would clearly be the way to go! Best, MPD

My personal message to your girlfriend would be to cut the time short in Rome and spend more time (and at least one night) in Sorrento. If she even has a small desire to see Sorrento/Capri, she will never forget her experience there. We stayed in Sorrento last May at Il Faro, which is steps away from the boat to Capri in the morning. We followed Rick's advice to the letter, by going directly to the Blue Grotto boats and experiencing the cave first thing. Then, after a short bus ride to Anacapri (majolica tiles), we hopped a cab to Marina Piccola, where we lazed on the unique rentable beach chairs of Bagni di Gioia, sipped Granita, and swam in the sea. Unforgettable. Whereas, in my humble opinion, the heat, noise and dirt of Rome is "required" but not so memorable.

Polly, you're terrific - and I totally agree with you. I've done the Sorrento overnight, lying around gazing at the sea, sipping Lemoncello thing and it is magnificent. One major difference here, however, is that it will be December so no splashing in the Mediterranean. I thank you much for taking the time to opine but I'm thinking my girlfriend would rather be shopping in gritty, dirty Rome than strolling around Sorrento with me. She may not have the lovely memories that you and I have but she'll be delighted to have a suitcase filled with Christmas presents from Italy. Thanks again, MPD