Sorrento.. What to do ?

[Newtothisstuff]

Hey
Off to Sorrento in a few weeks
Was supposed to be going to a wedding which has now been called off so I wondered if anyone had any recommendations ??
I really fancy a Vesuvius and Pompeii trip... Anything else ???
New :-)

Yes definitely go to Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii and or Herculaneum, take a day trip to Capri Island, take a local bus to Amalfi, explore Amalfi, also get off and explore Positano too! Lots of things to see and do, Sorrento is a very pretty town and a great base to see the surrounding area!

What Cherry said. Pompeii is very dusty so wear your oldest sandals/trainers. It is easy to get there by train from Sorrento.

Pompeii is wonderful

We also travelled by bus to the Amalfi coast.

Boat trip to Capri

day trip to rome is doable - train to naples, train from naples to rome.

bus trip up to Ravello (same route as Positano/Amalfi bus)

It's a beautiful area, enjoy

I forgot, drink some limoncello too :)

I was wondering about the trains
Thanks everyone, I've never been to Italy before so I'm very excited !
Thanks for the tip about the shoes, I'll be sure to take some not to nice ones

there are regular trains from Sorrento to Naples, think it's called circumvesuviana line, they stop at Pompeii.

I forgot to mention that occasionally there is the odd strike on the railways, so check before you go and have a back-up plan for that day. You are better off going by train yourselves than on an organised excursion (coach trip), because then you have as much time there as you want and there is so much of it to see. The organised excursions were only there about 2hrs.

If you are a foodie, you can get packs of enormous dried porcini mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes from the shops in Sorrento to bring home. And you should see the cakes in the cafes!

Pack some motion sickness pills. The roads are very narrow and winding, with multiples bends and hairpin turns in quick succession.

I was there with 20 girlfriends last summer. Living in a similar hillside myself, I was fine with the roads but almost everyone else was very sick. They went through boxes of motion sickness pills.

Agree with all suggestions above but with 2 pieces of advice

1. Go to Pompeii early in the morning to avoid crowds and there's hardly any shade there so the heat can be hard to take in the afternoon and

1. Don't drink too much limoncello- worst hangover I ever had

Second Ravello, pompeii. Miss Naples.

At Pompeii when you think it's just too hot but you still want to see everything get some of the ice/slush drink things in the cafe bit, a couple of those totally revived us. Oh and look out for carved penises everywhere. EVERYWHERE!!

Don't drive unless you are confident abroad.

There are boats from sorrento to places dotted down the coast including Amalfi which are good for avoiding tedious road journeys. However be warned that you may take the boat to somewhere and be delayed coming back if the sea is rough (happened to us, so had to spend a bit longer in one place but no big deal and could have got the bus if necessary)

If you are susceptible to mosquito bites prepare to come back covered (sorry!) but take a pair of tights to wear in the evenings (seriously as that's the worst time) and also the best releif is from an liquid ammonia pen (get in boots) the creams and zapper things don't work but that does.

Have a great time!!

Thank you so much everyone

Don't forget to allow time to people watch. We spent ages in the street cafes watching the world go by.

Sorrento is also good for just mooching round. There seem to be weddings every day and it's amazing to see what some of the guests wear!

Have a brilliant time - we loved it there

All great suggestions, the only one I would probably disagree with (but that's down to my taste) is a trip to Capri.

I prefer Ischia for a day trip. I just found Capri too busy and a bit pretentious (for me).

Ha Ha Bajas advice is good, but we got to Pompeii in time for opening and the gates stayed locked because everyone was in a meeting! We and all the other visitors were left out there for half an hour.

Herculaneum is better preserved and more compact than Pompeii

I certainly wouldn't do a day trip to Rome - you'll spend all day on the train!

But yes to Amalfi, Ravello, Capri and Pompeii and/or Herculaneum (you really don't have to do both unless you're very interested in Roman culture. Pompeii is huge and a day trip, Herculaneum is much smaller and could be done in half a day.

I love Naples for all it's bustle and atmosphere, but beware of thieves. My DH had his (expensive) watch ripped off his wrist in a quiet square. The archaeological museum is great though and worth a visit.

P.S. The ice and slush thing is called 'granita'

And no, don't drive unless you're very confident on tight, winding, hairpin roads. I've driven the Amalfi coast and it's not for the faint-hearted.

Second Ischia rather than Capri. The ice cream in sorrento is amazing

I also recommend Poppaea's house at Oplontis, if you're not all Romaned out. Take the circumvesuviana train to Torre Annunziata. It's a single but very grand villa reputed to have belonged to the family of Nero's mistress. It has beautiful wall paintings, a swimming pool and the most fantastic 'wall' where you can see the layers of the deposits left by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79 - really brings home how devastating it was. It takes about 45 mins to go round and is very evocative.

Be careful about Vesuvius - if you are short of time and it's at all cloudy, don't bother. If there's a cloud on the top you won't be able to see anything and it will be cold and horrible.

Pompeii and Herculaneum are both fantastic and the Archaeological Museum in Naples is wonderful, including the Alexander mosaic and the secret room full of Roman porn.

I love my ancient stuff. If you are a real obsessive like me, it's worth the trek (about two hours on a bus) to Paestum, where there are three of the finest Greek colonial temples in beautiful, if lonely, countryside.

I also recommend ice cream and seafood in Sorrento, limoncello and posh-deli shopping in Amalfi and an open-topped sports car along the Amalfi Coast road if you are feeling brave.

I just had to reply even though I've never been. It's just one of those places I've always wanted to go to. Been to Sicily years ago. That was out of this world. Hope you have a great time.

There are some people suggesting you give Pompeii a miss in favour of Herculaneum - that's just crazy talk! You would kick yourself if you didn't go to the (arguably) greatest historical site in Europe. Herculaneum is lovely, but it has nothing to rival the Villa of the Mysteries or the garden wall-paintings in Pompeii. The cafe at Pompeii is nicer too! If you have one day to do one Roman thing, do Pompeii. It's like meeting Elvis - iconic, familiar and instantly knowable.

I'd advise taking a walk around Sorrento itself - it is built right over a narrow ravine, just a few steps off the main square you can look down on abandoned buildings which are a bit surreal. Also under the Palazzo Tassi is a really fun pub/nightclub with several levels of bar and dance floor with different music styles.

Otherwise there are lovely walks around the hills - Sunflower Books do a nice guide with walks in.

Visit Herculaneum, Vesuvius, Pompeii, Capri (the walk around East end of the island is lovely), Positano, Amalfi. Naples is a shithole, but the museums and the Spacca Napoli and definately the subterranean caves are worth visiting.

Lucky you! The main tourist attractions have been covered already...

We loved Naples - we took the funicular to the top for incredible views. Little back street restaurants had amazing food - no menu, you just have the specials of the day with delicious wine. Down some little side streets round the cathedral ( I think) are pop up stalls selling everything you could possibly want for a nativity scene. We bought a pottery one which comes out every year - apparently the more food you include the better

There is a lovely Limoncello bar out in Sant Agnello overlooking the sea - very friendly and great views.

We hired a car and drove out to Maiori/Minori for a taste of real Italy rather than tourist filled - some lovely pottery shops there.

Hope you have a fantastic holiday!

having been to both, I agree with notnow, I much preferred Pompeii to Herculaneum.