Hello,
I was hoping y’all would have some insight re: how best to spend three nights in Sorrento. I will be with a group of four taking a train to Sorrento from Rome. En route on day 1, we plan to stop at Pompeii. We fly out of Naples back to the US after Sorrento.
Thank you for any information.
Three nights gives you two days. One day go to the Amalfi Coast. You could also go to Capri another day if you wish or go into Naples to the Archeological Museum. Or relax and enjoy Sorrento that second day.
What time of year?
> how best to spend three nights in Sorrento
Eating seafood and drinking wine at a restaurant within sight (and smell) of the sea would be my preferred way to spend 3 nights in Sorrento.
I'm not sure that hopping off the Circumvesuviano en route to Sorrento and doing a quick visit to Pompei would work well for me - presumably you are traveling with just one very, very small/light bag? If coming from Rome, you would probably arrive there mid-afternoon, during the hottest part of the day, and I wouldn't want to be schlepping my gear around in the hot sun. Personally, I'd rather do an early morning trip to Pompei from Sorrrento without luggage, in the cool of the morning hours. Just something to consider.
Doing Pompeii, starting from Sorrento in the morning, is a much better plan than making it a 'whistle stop' en-route from Rome.
Thanks much for the information. We will be in Sorrento at the end of September. Interesting thoughts about seeing Pompeii in the early hours!
I've visited Pompeii during the afternoon in late September and found it warm but not uncomfortably hot. Also, there's free luggage storage near the ticket booths at the Porta Marina entrance. Since you'll only have 2 other days to see sights in and around Sorrento, I think stopping at Pompeii on your way from Naples to Sorrento is a good plan. Be sure to buy 2 separate train tickets, one from Naples to Pompeii Scavi and the other from there to Sorrento. The cost is only nominally more than tickets from Naples to Sorrento, which would likely expire before you reboarded to continue your trip.
Although we preferred to go to Pompeii from Sorrento as a day trip, many posters here have used the luggage check counter at the main entrance to Pompeii, in order to make that stop part of a travel day. While agree that it is better to go in a cooler part of the day, I've never seen any comments about the luggage storage that were not positive. Pompeii needs a minimum of two hours, and ideally perhaps 4 hours. There is a large cafe inside the ancient site, which is not true, for example, at Herculaneum.
Because you did not mention either Capri or the Amalfi Coast, it is hard to be sure which is better for an all-day excursion. Both have time-consuming travel, and they are very different from each other. Honestly, the big minus about Positano for me was the high-priced European boutique shopping storefronts, in which I have little interest. But it is a very famous playground of the rich. If I could only do one, I would do Capri. But if you go to Capri without a plan, you will wander around and miss the best sights. I don't depend on a newsboard to point out individual sights for me.
You could use the Search box to read about the Blue Grotto (or not to go ... ) since it such a frequent topic. We thought it would take too much time, so we skipped it on both of our one-day stops on Capri. (The second visit was on a small cruise ship, not a ferry ride from Sorrento.)
If you decide to do Pompei on the way in from Rome, best to get an early start from Termini station. About 75 minutes to Naples Centrale, then another 25 minutes on the Circumvesuviana to the Pompei Scavi stop. Let's say you spend 11-2 there, hop back on the CV and 45 minutes to Sorrento. You have the rest of the afternoon & evening. Note--I would dine each of the three nights at a different Sorrento restaurant. Outstanding and reasonably-priced, you almost can't go wrong.
Although you're still in high season, if you plan your transportation early enough, you should be OK. For example, maybe the first day you take the SITA bus from Sorrento station over to Positano. Leave about 9AM, get to Positano at 10, knock around at the shops, have a great picturesque lunch on the water, then make your way back. Maybe even take the ferry.
Another day you can take the CV to Naples for some classic Napolitan pizza and to visit the Archeological Museum. Very, very much worth it--it houses all the art from the ruins in Pompei that you saw on the way in, besides tons of other artifacts. And then maybe the third day you go to Capri.
Enjoy your planning!
