train Naples to Sorrento

Donna, I've taken the Circumvesuviana many times, without incident, but since there are no reserved seats you might run into a standing situation. You can take the airport shuttle from the airport to the train station, go inside the station to the Circumvesuviana ticket windows/kiosks, go downstairs to the tracks. Make sure you know which track your train is departing from, or you might have to go back to the upper level and down again. Trains run at least every half hour, take a little over an hour to Sorrento, and as Chani pointed out, it's downhill from there. In a good way.

Donna, I also concur with Roberto's suggestion. The Curreri Viaggia Bus is one of the easiest methods to get from the Naples Airport to Sorrento. Check THEIR website for all the details (click on "Bus Routes" to get to the appropriate section). Happy travels!

I don't know about the airport, but from the train station (presumably there's a train from the airport to the city), you go down a level or so to the Circumvesuviani local train to Sorrento. It's easy and there's an escalator. At Sorrento there are a few steps down, then an elevator to ground level. I took a taxi from the train to my hotel. It was about a 10-minute walk without luggage, all downhill, but I didn't want to get lost. . . The taxi was about €15 - they are expensive in Sorrento and the one-way streets mean long rides. Pretty much all of Sorrento is downhill from the train station.

No train at the Capodichino airport. The easiest way from the NAP airport to Sorrento is via bus with the Curreri company.
http://www.curreriviaggi.it/lineecentro_aeroporti.html Tickets are purchased on board (10 euro).

I would support Roberto's advice. I took the new Italo high speed train from Rome to Naples (1 hour 7 minutes); then went downstairs at the Garibaldi train station to catch the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento. That trip was a nightmare; I stood for most of the hour with my bag between my legs. The bus should be much more peaceful than the Circumvesuviana. If you're visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum, you will most likely have to put up with the Circumvesuviana, since they're between Naples and Sorrento. If you board in Sorrento, you will get a seat; on return you may not. On our return from Sorrento to the Garibaldi station, we paid a driver to take us; it cost E105 and was well worth it!

Here's another vote for the Curreri bus. Walk out the door of the terminal, and the bus is a few feet away. Luggage goes into the special storage space. If your hotel is near Piazza Tasso, I think you can have the driver let you off there. Otherwise, the end of the line is the train station. I've ridden the Circumvesviana, and I wouldn't add the extra leg of airport-to-train station for the dubious pleasure of experiencing it again The bus is really stress-free..

The Curreri bus stop at Naples airport moved some months ago from outside the Arrivals Hall to outside the Departures Hall. This is because of building work taking place at the airport. Edit - the Circumvesuviana train service is going from bad to worse. It is having a funding/poor management crisis. This has meant cancellation of runs, breakdown of trains and wild-cat strikes by staff protesting about non-payment of salaries/safety issues. At commute times this has led to some dangerously overcrowded trains and a couple of days ago, a passenger mini riot at Sorrento railway station!

@Linda, It looks like things are going from "bad to worse" in other ways in Europe these days. The evening news tonight had coverage of somewhat severe demonstrations taking place in Athens, Lisbon, Madrid and Rome. The austerity cuts seem to be widening.