Travel and Must See in Sorrento - Amalfi Coast

Take the train Rome to Naples Centrale
At Naples Centrale walk downstairs and transfer to either the Circumvesuviana (cash only open seating) commuter train or the Campania Express (this comes with a seat reservation) to Sorrento,

Pack according to the weather forecast and/or historical averages for September
https://www.accuweather.com/en/it/sorrento/212286/september-weather/212286

We used this service to tour the coast instead of the regular Sitabus which does not gurantee a seat

https://www.city-sightseeing.it/en/sorrento-en/

https://www.city-sightseeing.it/en/city-sightseeing--amalfi-coast-amalfi/ravello/

You might want to go to Pompeii which is easy to get to on the Circumvesuviana from Sorrento

Da Franco Pizza, About a block or 2 from the train station.

hey tina
lots of things to do in naples. we went years ago and wished we had did a tour so now i'll have to go again and set up a tour. i'm sure people will tell you the train, bus and maybe a private hire from train station. a few sites to check out is maybe:
enogastronomictour.it, press english button going thru lemon groves, making lemonicello, organic farm making cheese, making pizza.
chefcarmensorrento.com cooking classes.
esperidi.com (special offers) cooking class
culinarybackstreets.com click naples and backstreet culinary secrets
getyourguide.com (naples), lots of tours to look at.
your can stop at a tourist information kiosk and ask, do one that taste pastries, yummy.
wear comfy clothes and shoes, it'll probably be warm, pack light, you don't want to carry heavy bags: you can bring some laundry soap in ziploc or little plastic bottle, sink wash and hang to dry. people don't care what you look like, want you to spend some euros. hope this stirs your brain, don't forget to eat pizza.
aloha

Tina, a little more about transport...
As Jazz stated, the usual way to Sorrento is high-speed train to Napoli Centrale and the Circumvesuviana commuter train from adjoining Garibaldi station to Sorrento. High-speed trains take a little over an hour, and you will have specific train number, carriage and seat assignment. Explore your options on the Tenitalia (Italy's national rail service) or Italo (private rail service which serves larger Italian cities) websites:

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

https://www.italotreno.it/en

Lowest class is fine: no need to spend more for business or first-class. Purchasing in advance can often land you a nice price break.

There is no high-speed rail service to Sorrento. The Circumvesuviana is a beat-up, bare-bones thing but cheap and gets the job done. The seasonal Campania Express is a little nicer train, still reasonably priced, and makes fewer stops but it also has very limited daily runs. Still, if the timing works, this is a good choice.

https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/naples-to-sorrento-train-schedule

https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/campania-express-train-schedule

Both of these trains also stop at Pompeii, which is a "must" for many, many tourists visiting the region. The station you'd want is Pompei Scavi - Villa dei Misteri, which is located right in front of the main entrance to the excavation. Another option on the line is the excavation of Herculaneum (station: Ercolano Scavi).

As far as other "musts", it's entirely up to you. Some tourists enjoy the ferries from Sorrento to Positano or Amalfi or SITA buses to both + Ravello. Others day-trip to Capri via ferry. You can explore ferry routes/schedules/prices here (use the drop-down for changing departure/arrival ports:

https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/ferry-schedule

https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/sorrento-to-positano-bus-schedule

We didn't feel tours were necessary to/at any of these places but people who've done them have spoken well of the RS shared Mondo day tours when space was available for them: reserve in advance. A tour may be a plus for Pompeii as unless doing quite a lot of your own research (we did + with a helpful book purchased at the site) navigating the VAST excavation on your own is an adventure. :O)

A tour will hit some of the highlights, and unless one is escorted to/from Sorrento, you can explore some of what wasn't covered on your own once the tour has ended.

https://www.sharedtours.com

There is quite a bit to do on Capri depending on what trips your trigger.. We did some nice hiking to interesting points on the island, took the chairlift to the top of Mt Solaro in Anacapri, wandered around both (small, virtually pedestrianized) towns, peeked at some churches, etc. We stayed ON the island for a couple of nights so had more time than you would with just a day trip but you can pick and choose activities to suit.

Chances are the weather will be quite warm and mostly sunny. Take sunscreen and hats and sandals (with thick soles - cobblestones can be a killer). Also take sturdy walking/hiking shoes with good traction - not all the paths are paved and good traction will help if you do get some rain.

From Sorrento, you can take the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and even Naples for day trips. You can take the ferry to Capri. You can take the bus or the ferry to the Amalfi Coast towns. You can download the SITA bus schedules from their website. Both Pompeii and Herculaneum have audio guides that are pretty good. You can also download Rick Steves' audio tour of Pompeii. And you can hire a guide at the entrance to Pompeii if you want a richer experience.

If you are going directly to Sorrento from FCO, you will need to take the Leonardo Express from the airport to Termini station in Rome in order to get the train to Naples. Full fare from Rome to Naples is €46 per person plus €14 from FCO to Rome. If your plan is to get off a transatlantic flight go to Sorrento, consider a private transfer service. It will be more expensive but it will save you a lot of hassle.

Thank you so much! This helps a great deal.

For those of you that did tours, did you book ahead or while you were there?