Sorrento question

fun,

Regarding your questions......

1. Travel time will be ~1-2 hours as I recall, but that will depend on traffic.
2. I suppose that depends on what you consider "must see". I can't remember details on the sights in Sorrento, but aside from that it's a beautiful city and worth at least a day (IMO). In the same situation, I'd want to spend more time in Sorrento than in Naples.

Hi Ken,
Thanks a lot for the quick response. My problem is that I get carried away reading about all the things to do and see, and I know we don't have enough time.
You are right. Sorrento is on the bay, so it should be lovely in its own right. We enjoy hiking, and I read about some hiking opportunities in Sorrento. So perhaps we should move on and spend a day just exploring in Sorrento.

Abu, part of my time in Italy in 2014 was spent just as you outline here -- I had three nights in Naples followed by four nights in Sorrento. On the day when I departed Naples, I arranged for a taxi to pick me up at my B & B at 2:00 pm. I left my baggage at the B & B, then had the full morning for seeing sites in Naples, of which there are many, and also lunch in Naples, then met my taxi and baggage for the drive to Sorrento. By 3:15 pm I was dropped by the door of my hotel just outside Sorrento, my room was ready for me, and by 4:00 pm, I was exploring Sorrento. Taxi cost about €100, certainly a splurge for one person, but it saved me so much time and hassle lugging my baggage around. Sorrento is a lovely town for wandering around, eating and shopping, but the town itself does not have many real sites to visit. I spent each full day out on day trips, one to Herculaneum and Pompeii, and twice to the Amalfi Coast and its towns. I myself decided to skip Capri. By the way, from Naples I took one day for a wonderful day long trip by train to Salerno and Paestum. Paestum has some of the most intact and wonderful Greek temple ruins anywhere in the world, with a very nice small museum at the site.

Hi Larry,
Thank you so much for your detailed feedback. This is really very helpful. I had considered taking the ferry from Naples to Sorrento, but to save time, we are splurging with the car transfer. Seems more efficient, which leaves more time for sightseeing.

Yes, the Greek temples in Paestum sounds wonderful. Makes sense that you did a day trip from Naples. Our plan is take the bus to Salerno after spending time on the Amalfi coast, and to spend 2 nights/1 day there before taking the train to Rome. During that day, we want to visit Paestum. Really looking forward to that.
Do you have any suggestions of a hotel/B&B which won't break the bank? We want a comfortable place, but since most of the time on vacation is spent outside, luxury is not a requirement.
Thanks!

We did Ricks' walking tour of Sorrento, and it did open up the city to us, however, what i would urge you to consider is taking the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi, transfer to the van to Ravella, and see the sites up there and then hike down back to Amalfi. The tourist office in Ravella has maps of the trails and it will take a couple of hours to get back to Amalfi. Of the 3, Ravella is the jewel.

JerryG, thanks a lot. I will look at what Rick Steves says about Sorrento.
I was going to ask about Ravello, which sounds wonderful from what I have read, so thank you for mentioning it. After our time in Sorrento, we want to spend a couple of days in Amalfi. From there, we plan to visit Ravello and hike down to Amalfi. We may also hike from Atrani to Amalfi that I thought would be interesting.

Although it would be nice to do all this from Sorrento, it seems like the transportation can be time consuming, which will take away from time spent hiking in the outdoors. Hence I am leaning toward bedding down in two places as necessary.

Anu:

Trip by car from Naples to Sorrento is usually about an hour. I'd suggest one less night in Naples (but admittedly I'm not a huge fan of Naples). For me, the must see in Naples is the museum but I think it has more context AFTER you visit Pompeii/Herculaneum but this is just my personal preference.

If going by car or private transport, consider stopping at Herculaneum on the way to Sorrento. It's 20 minutes out of Naples and on the way to Sorrento.

Sorrento has less of the "must see" sights as it's a great launching point for Capri, Amalfi, Positano, etc.

Enjoy!

I'd like to throw my two euro in the pot for Sorrento. I like one day just in the city to roam around - especially the Greek section where all the shops are. The other days (I'm usually there 5 or so), I do the day trips to Capri, Paestum (admittedly a long commute), the and the Amalfi Coast. But by car? Have you looked at the ferry from Naples to Sorrento? How about the boat from Sorrento to Positano and on to Amalfi Town? (then take the bus back).

Here at home I look at my commute as a necessary evil. In Italy I make the travel part of the vacation. The boat rides are loaded with scenery and relaxation. There is one (sorry don't remember the line) that stops off of Capri for everyone to go swimming. Now that's pretty special - and you can't do that by car! Check out alilauro.it for ferry service.

Sorrento is where I head to in the evening. The sunsets are very special - the Greeks had it right: Apollo driving his fiery chariot into the ocean that them steams and boils. Sigh! Restaurants in Sorrento are varied. My favorite is up the hill at Hotel il Nido (which is where I always stay). There are places down by the bay (especially Trattoria da Emilia) that make a very special event out of very special seafood. In town, Ristorante Pizzeria da Gigino is my stand-by. Sit inside where you can watch the pizza maker!

Enjoy!!!

I've been to the Amalfi coast many times and also vote less time in Naples. For me me the museum and a good pizza and bring on Sorrento! Capri is worth a day for sure, you can take the train to Pompeii buses down the coast all very reasonably. The hikes can be fun, we did one in Capri and on th "walk of the gods". A lot depends o. If your a city mouse or country mouse but personally Naples was my least favorite city in Italy

I love Napoli and go back as often as I can. You can do a lot in one day/two nights. The possibility of dining twice by the waterfront castle is making me hungry!

Paestum is also a favorite of mine, get the combo ticket for the archeological site and museum (museum is closed on Mondays, temple site is open every day). There is a hotel/restaurant with a patio cafe-bar that looks out on the ruins - if you can stay for sunset, it can be magical.

Not such a fan of Sorrento, but it is a good transportation base.

Like Zoe, I also love Naples. So much more to see than just the archeological museum!

You do have another option. Take the ferry from Naples-Capri. About 50 minutes. Baggage check is at the marina at Via C. Columbo #10. Explore Capri.

Ferry from Capri-Sorrento 20 minutes.
Take the last ferry. Allow time to retrieve
your luggage. Take the bus from the marina in Sorrento up to the town.
This is less expensive than a private transfer, makes better use of your available time.

This should allow 6-8 hours in Capri.

http://www.capri.net

For your transfer Amalfi-Salerno, I would also use the ferry.

Salerno to Paestum but your tickets r/t
No service in the station at Paestum.

How do you arrange a private transfer from Naples to Sorrento?

There's lots of companies that do this. Google search something like private transfer Naples to Sorrento and read reviews for a bit. I'm using Aldo Limos for my Naples to Positano transfer, and although they have great reviews, I haven't actually done the transfer yet myself. Maybe others will weigh in with an endorsement for a company they've already used. If you look at Tripadvisor - Transportation in Sorrento, a lot of companies come up.

Thank you, everyone for your ideas and suggestions. I have incorporated most of them as I have refined my itinerary.

We will spend two nights in Naples, and do a private transfer to Sorrento. I know it is a bit expensive, but it allows us to move efficiently, and stop to see Herculaneum for 2-3 hours on the way to Sorrento. Based on suggestions that I got from travelers on this forum, we may risk having ruin fatigue by trying to do Herculaneum and Pompeii on the same day. So we will do Herculaneum on the way, and Pompeii as a separate day trip from Sorrento.

For the transfer, I have booked with http://www.nccnapolicarservice.com, which gets very good reviews on Tripadvisor. So far, they have been very responsive to my emails. Will report back here after using them.

We plan to use use Sorrento as a base to do day trips to Capri and Pompei. I did read that there are some hikes around there as well. If time permits, we can do one of those.

Based on your recommendations, the ferries seem to be a nicer and more relaxing way to travel. So in addition to taking the ferry to Capri, we also plan to take the ferry from Sorrento to Amalfi, and then Amalfi to Salerno. When we are in Amalfi, we plan to go to Ravello and hike down back to town, and also do a couple of other hikes I read about.

Paestum is definitely on the itinerary, in fact, that's why we are going to Salerno. Thanks for mentioning the need from R/T ticket from Salerno to Paestum. I will definitely get the combo ticket for the archeological site and museum. Since we will be there on a Tuesday, it should work.

Sincere thanks again, for all your help with polishing my itinerary.