We will have 5 nights to spend in mid October before we head off to Cortona for 1 week. It would be helpful to get some pros/cons to these areas. My husband and I love to spend time getting to know the local areas and people, we're not keen on cities and tourist traps. Wine and food are a big part of our life. We prefer walking or riding the train for our transportation but we plan to rent a car for our week in the Tuscany area. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7389 posts
Welcome!
There are dozens and dozens of threads here discussing Sorrento and the AC
Have you tried a Search?
Be sure to filter by Type and Date
Posted by
San Diego, California
5883 posts
https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=2y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Atrani&utf8=%E2%9C%93
Hope the above helps. Whatever you decide, book lodging asap, as October is no longer shoulder season, and the demand will still be high.
Have a wonderful trip!
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1233 posts
Hello sorsoli1455, and welcome to the forum!
Sorrento is a very resorty, upscale town and Salerno is... not. Both offer access to the AC but they are very different vibes.
Salerno is much "realler" Italy than Sorrento with some of the chaos and scruff that southern italy has but is a tiny, manageable village compared to madness of Naples. Salerno reminds me of Italian touristing the 80s and 90s where you order something from the menu and what shows up may something close to what you expect or...not. The English of menus is clearly more Google translate and things feel like they could go sideways at any time. Where times and schedules are much more "guidelines" than hard and fast rules.
Salerno - the parts tourists care about - has about a km long, very wide, pedestrian only shopping street stretching north from the train station that dissolves into the old town area filled with restaurants and bars and mural covered walls. The fashions are much more southern that the stores of the north - much more sparkle and animal print - and I found the energy pervasive in the traffic and the people.
Unlike other seaside areas Salerno has food from both the sea and from the land as Campagna has a very strong meat and tomato based culture. The tomato sauces and gnocchi are amazing everywhere, but I also had an amazing seafood soup in form an Italian version of bouillabaisse. And the prices will have Sorrento beat as well for average eat and drinks.
There are parks, cathedral with the most amazing basement and a castle if you care about the local tourist things. Salerno gives you access to Paestum, Pompeii, Naples and to buses and ferries for the AC and I think it is a good base for those things.
I'm not sure how to sum it up - I guess if you are cruise, tour, first class kind of people I would go with Sorrento. If you are "closer to ground", "roll with it" and exploring people I think Salerno offers a mild taste of southern Italian chaos.
My $.02, hope that helps,
=Tod
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
8091 posts
I don't mean to tell you what you want to do, but it's unusual for someone to fail to mention Pompeii, Herculaneum, or Capri, when asking about Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. Some people also have a historical or cultural interest in (gritty) Naples, or Caserta. It is much easier to use public transportation if staying in Sorrento, although (despite a nice cliff-top location) it is perhaps a less-romantic town. It's a bit of a purpose-built, postwar resort location. However, because of the cliffs, it has only one tiny public beach, unfortunately located between the two commercial marinas.
It is frequently observed that this area is a victim of its own success. It is absolutely jammed from May to September, and Sorrento has sustained demand all year. People who write about "local people" often ask about the smaller towns east of Amalfi, and the larger Salerno (which has a Trenitalia station, which Sorrento does not.) But those smaller towns can make daytripping expensive or difficult. Mid October is the beginning of the slide to off-season. You might wish to try (it can be difficult) to find out the exact date when most of the ferries shut down for the season. Infrastructure is bit hit-or-miss in southern Italy.
Your opening sentence is not explicit about your overall itinerary. It's not even clear if you have firmly decided to travel south before going north to Tuscany. There is no train between Sorrento and Salerno, although both towns are connected to Naples. Sorrento is quite far from Rome.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-coast-for-7-nights-itinerary-help
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-coast-for-5-days-where-to-set-base-from
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/herculaneum-and-pompeii-questions
Posted by
5355 posts
It's not the places so much but what you intend to do and how you prefer to do it; one unpack but long {unpleasant, in my view} day trips, or move more but get different options in evening.
It helps to know if you have any interest in Naples, Pompeii, etc., as mentioned above. Sorrento is chosen for its proximity for day trips, the Amalfi Coast is chosen for views.
In midOctober, the AC ferries are still running.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks for the assistance to this "Newbie".........there is so much information and lots to consider, appreciate the answers. We have decided to stay in Sorrento and have booked (refundable) La Torrarella. We'll figure the rest out as we go along. Of course, any recommendations are always welcome. Thank you!!
Posted by
352 posts
Spent November 2024 AC, heading down the west coast over to Puglia and up the sole, down the heel and up the east coast.
Stayed a week in a hotel (extremely unusual for me as I almost always stay in apts). Based in Amalfi, easy bus trips east to Positano, Fuore, then east to Ravello, walked to Atrani a couple of times (watch Equalizer 3 with Denzel), Vietri al Mare, etc. November buses were easy, not crowded and very doable schedules.