Where to stay for 3 nights in Sorrento area

Can't speak from experience - but after lots of research on this forum and TripAdvisor- we are spending 5 nights in Sorrento at a B&B- Villa Monica. Check them out on TripAdvisor. We aren't going to have a car either- they provide a transport service into Sorrento throughout the day and they'll help you with day trips. Read all the reviews on TripAdvisor. The price is good, the reviews are fantastic regarding the views, kindness of the owners, food, etc.

We stayed at Villa Monica 4 nights last October and really liked it. It's out of the center but the view is wonderful and Pasquale is very accommodating at shuttling you into town. He is also very helpful for planning day trips. He arranged a last minute private driver for us to Naples for a very reasonable price when our planned ferry trip looked too foggy. If you are planning an Amalfi Coast driving day, see what he can arrange for you before you book one from the list in the blue book.

Before we went to Sorrento I went back and forth a lot on whether to stay in town or farther out with a view at Villa Monica. I was very happy with our choice. Also, I like driving in Italy, but I would avoid it in the Amalfi Coast area. Parking is scarce and expensive, and whoever is at the wheel probably should never look out at the astounding views!

What time is your flight out of Naples? If it's early, you should either plan to spend the last night in Naples, or budget enough for a taxi from Sorrento to Naples airport.

We fly out of Naples at 12:30 pm on a Friday. We thought about getting a hotel in Naples that last night so we'd be close enough to the airport. Will there be a train leaving Sorrento early enough for us to get to the airport -or should we stay in Naples our last night? If so any suggestions?

The first Circumvesuviana train leaves Sorrento at a few minutes after 6am and takes about an hour to get to Napoli Centrale, then a bus (or taxi, make sure it's from the taxi queue) to the airport. I don't know if there is a direct bus from Sorrento to the airport.

We may visit Pompeii and Ravello --the Caserta Royal Palace

That palace is within striking distance of Naples, but not in Ravello.

Your local travel plans are ambitious. Especially on a budget (i.e. 100% public transportation) you will have trouble doing all of this in three days. If it's during the sweaty summer high season, you will find lines everywhere, and even crowded sidewalks that make flying visits to places difficult to achive, even if you a personally agile. Also, public transit is not completely reliable on timing.

Just to give you an example, if you stay in Vico Eq, you'll have to wait for and take the very short train-ride to Sorrento. Then you join the line outside the Sorrento station (which is longer than the number of people who fit in one bus) for the bus to Amalfi. Then you wait for the bus to Ravello in Amalfi. The experience is not comparable to taking a single tram in Amsterdam.

Thank for all the replies. We will probably stay in Sorrento--the B and B Monica is not available for our dates in June, it sounded wonderful. Are there any sights we definitely should see? We plan on taking bus to Amalfi Coast and maybe the boat back so we can see coastline from road and sea. Thoughts on Ischia or Capri?

Mondo Guides has a great all day tour that is "shared". Max 8 persons, 50 Euros a piece, sign up on his website under the Rick Steves tab. Also--Curerà Viaggi bus service takes you directly from Sorrento to Naples airport. 10 Euros--no changing. Easier.

We love Villa Oriana and so did everyone we sent there, it is magical and the owner Maria does wonderful breakfast cakes each morning. We were leaving for Rome at 5am and she made sure there was breakfast waiting for us a 4:30am! Not many hotels do that, and the grounds are beautiful, they also arrange tours and transportation to downtown Sorrento as they are on a hill with beautiful views of the Bay of Naples.

We recently stayed in Maison Tofani in the heart of Sorrento and had a lovely stay. Out last morning we had to leave by 5:30 AM and they were generous enough to bring us breakfast to go for the morning. Excellent hosts and the hotel is beautiful!

Hotel Mignon Mueble...central and very nice and reasonable

Hotel Mignon Mueble...central and very nice and reasonable