Planning your first trip to Sorrento, Italy? Here’s a simple guide of everything you need to know before your trip. Hidden gems, restaurants, tours, beaches and more!
TOURS AND DAY TRIPS FROM SORRENTO
Activities in Sorrento
Lemon Tasting/Picking
This town is known for their love of lemons. Everywhere you go in town, lemons appear in apparel, handbags, towels, and paintings. It’s almost a requirement to have a shot of limoncello after lunch and dinner to cleanse your palate (it’s only polite and totally not just for a buzz, of course.) Lemon trees are native to southern Italy so why not experience Sorrento in its entirety and get a taste of the land. Listed are some tours for you to check out.
Beach Clubs
Marameo’s beach
Marameo’s is the beach club where I ended up going. This beach has spectacular views, a very wide swimming range, and beach chair/beds to rest on. There are bathrooms and changing rooms included for guests.
Pricing
For entry, use of changing rooms, and deck-chairs it’s a total of 13 euros. For the sun-lounger it’s 16 euros. Renting out a cabin is 35 euros.
Peter’s Beach
Peter’s beach club is highly rated amongst visitors. It’s located on the same strip of land that Marameo’s beach club is located on. You choose from deck-chairs and sun-loungers to rest on. There are cabins available for those looking for a more deluxe experience.
Pricing
For access the beach club, changing rooms and deck-chairs it’s a total of 15 euros. To access the beach club, changing rooms and deck-chairs it’s a total of 20 euros. Cabins are 35 euros and can fit up to 4 people.
How to access the beach clubs
To get to the beach clubs, you must travel down the cliff that Sorrento lies on. There are two choices you have, you can either take the elevator down for 1 euro (lines tend to be long) or walk down the ramp provided for visitors. Fair warning, it’s a long way down and back up, so be prepared to walk. The walk down to the water is not too bad, however you’ll want to think about taking the lift rather than walking back up the ramp.
Day Trips from Sorrento
Pompeii
what is pOMpeii?
Sorrento is conveniently located next to the city of Pompeii: A preserved ancient roman city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Pompeii is truly worth visiting if you are intrigued with history. The ruins are extravagant and incredible to witness in person. The richness of the past flows through the streets of the vacant city.
how to visit the city
There are many ways you can tour the city of Pompeii. You can do a self-guided tour, private tour, or small or large group tour. I suggest aiming for a private or small group tour. These tours are more intimate and personable. Small group tours tend to allow for better conversation between you and your guide. I’d also aim for a tour that’s around 2-3 hours long, that way you can gather as much information as possible in a reasonable amount of time. If you do half a day tour, you might become overwhelmed.
Personally, I choose a small group tour and had an amazing experience. The tour I chose was Salta la fila e vista Pompeii con un Archeology. Our host Lello explained everything in detail and made learning the history tremendously entertaining. Here are some other tours to look into:
- Pompeii small group tour with an archaeologist
- Pompeii: Small group tour with an archaeologist
- Unique private tour of Pompeii
- Pompeii: Entrance Ticket with Audio Guide
Take the time of the day into account when choosing when you’d like to tour. The summer months tend to bring extreme heat, and it could be excruciating remaining outside for an extended period of time. Here’s a list of some things to consider bringing on your Pompeii tour.
- Umbrella
- Sunblock
- Hat
- Glasses
- Backpack
- Water bottle
how to get there
There is a train you can hope on that take you from Sorrento to Pompeii. The ride is about 20-25 minutes and is the most convenient way to get to the destination. You can also opt-in for taking a taxi, however they tend to be more expensive and overpriced.
Capri & Anacapri Island
Capri
what is capri?
Capri is an island located in the Naples bay. Capri town is the most visited town on the Capri island. It’s a buzzing little town filled with people but remains luxurious. This town has shopping and high-end dining available for those looking for a glamorous time.
Beaches are available here; however, they aren’t the typical sandy beaches one might expect, but rather covered with pebbles and rocky surfaces. Despite the rocky shore, the beaches are lovely, and the water makes it all worth it. There are many beach clubs for you to choose from if you want to lay under the sun and relax during your visit. The beach I went to and would recommend is called Marina Piccola di Capri.
how to get there?
Getting to this prestigious island is fairly simple. Take a ferry that leaves from the mainland in Sorrento, and it’ll drop you off right in the hub of Capri town. Note: Tickets tend to sell out fast, so it’s better to by your ticket earlier in the day rather than later; either buy your return ticket as soon as you get to Capri or purchase a two-way ticket, that way you are guaranteed a spot for the ferry home and don’t have stress about whether or not they’ll sell out of tickets.
Anacapri
what is anacapri?
Anacapri is on the upper side of the Capri island. This area is more laid-back and less crowded since ferries don’t dock on this side of the island. The views from the upper side are incredible. This is because the highest point on the island, known as Monte Solaro, is stationed in Anacapri. Monte Solaro offers panoramic views of both the island and ocean.
This side of the island is home to the famous Blue Grotto. To get there, you must travel by boat. If you don’t have a boat, you can still access it by land and wait in a line to be taken by boat to the Grotto. Once again, during the summer months the Blue Grotto usually gets over capacity quickly so you might not be able to get in the actual cave. I’d recommend going as early as you can if you wish to experience the Blue Grotto.
HOW to get there?
There are a couple options in place for reaching Anacapri. The first option would be by boat. The easiest way to do this is by taking a tour where they bring you all around the island of Capri. This is exactly what I did, and it was stress free.
The tour I purchased was Tour, Sail, and Walk in Capri First in Sorrento. Our hosts were amazing and extremely personable; I highly recommend looking into that tour. The second option would be to take the bus from the just off of the main plaza in Capri. The bus ride is a total of 15 minutes long. This option is best for those who want to see both sides of the island and/or have taken the ferry over.
Positano
how to spend a day in positano
Beach
Positano is relatively small in size but it’s extremely lively and can get crowded quickly. This town can be compared to the towns that make up Cinque Terre. To learn more about Cinque Terre, visit this blog post: Top 5 Most Beautiful Cities in Northern Italy.
If you’re planning on taking a trip here, you should plan on reaching this town earlier in the day/morning to avoid crowds. This way you have a better chance at having a good spot on the beach; the main beach is called Spiaggia Grande Positano. You have the option of going to the free beach or joining a beach club for the day. The beaches are rocky, so I chose to rent a sun-lounger at the beach club. Also, it gets very hot, therefore, I suggest renting umbrella.
Hikes
Make sure to bring your walking shoes! Positano has some beautiful hikes waiting for you to discover. Tourist looking for a more active activity should plan on doing the most famous hiking trail in the Amalfi Coast: the Path of the Gods. This trail contains lots of steps and takes stamina but the view once you reach the top is outstanding. At the top, you’ll be overlooking the Sorrento and Positano peninsula. For a list of more hikes, check out this website: 2023 Best 10 Trails and Hikes in Positano.
how to get to Positano
Getting to Positano from Sorrento isn’t difficult. You can either hire a taxi driver to take you which is about a 30-minute drive or take the ferry. The ferry is the cheapest option, and it runs multiple times throughout the day. Using taxi services is more expensive but could be a better option if you wish to get to Positano by a certain time.
