Tips for Sorrento in April please.

[DrMadelineMaxwell]

We're booked there for a week. Me, one history mad adult DD and one teen DD who is just looking forward to a holiday. I've always wanted to visit Pompeii and Herculaneum since I was a little girl so they are definitely on the list.

What else to do/see?
Where to eat? We are half board but like to have a few meals out and about.

How to go about getting to Pompeii etc? The tripadvisor tales of being ripped off or pickpocketed on the circumvesa train has put me off using that!

We stayed in Sorrento and rented a car to drive to Pompeii. We also drove the Amalfi coast which was a beautiful drive and visited Positano and few other little towns. I also recommend taking a boat trip to Capri.

I'd love the boat trip so shall have a look into that. But i'm far too chicken to hire a car and drive abroad! :)

I wouldn't want to drive there. The roads are very busy, and I don't drive like an Italian. The train is fine. Just use your common sense and don't put your phone/money in your back pocket. I always use a cross body bag and keep my hand on it. I managed the underground in Rome unscathed by doing this.

Depending on the weather you could walk down to the harbour and get a boat trip to Capri and/or round to Amalfi.

We went to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius by train and it was fine. The traffic was terrible on the Amalfi drive, we did an organised trip in a mini bus which meant we could both look at the scenery.

If you are there over Easter, the weird parade with black pointy hats is on Good Friday and we sadly missed that but the hotel gave us each an Easter egg at breakfast on Easter Sunday. Easter Monday is called Pasquetta and the population of Naples arrives for a day in Sorrento and its packed but all good natured.

Buy limoncello.

Eating wise I would go to Ristorante o parrucchiano in the centre of Sorrento. Supposedly the birth place of cannoli which I don't know whether this is true but they certainly do absolutely gorgeous food!

Oh excellent! Thanks @CaptainMyCaptain that's the type of thing I find I can miss out on if I don't know it's on. We are there Good Friday and Easter Sunday, flying home Easter Monday.

The circumvesuviana train is fab. Poppaea's villa at Oplontis is a great site with lovely wall paintings and you can also see the layers in the ash and pumice from the eruption, including the fused layers from the pyroclastic surges. It's quite awe inspiring.

Positano, Amalfi, Ravello. Capri I found too crowded. But if you are going in April then that may not be a problem. I went on train to Pompeii, nothing happened. Some teenagers were a bit mouthy, the guard just chucked them off! I love that neck of the world. I love the people watching when you are sat in an open air bar in the main square.

CIrcumvesuviana train is great; cheap and very convenient. Pick pocts probably no worse than anywhere else, just use normal common sense. We've been to Pompeii three of four times and always just wandered about with a guide book but last time we hired a private tour guide and although it wasn't cheap, it was worth every penny as we learned so much more.

You should also try and get to the museum in Naples too. You can get a boat to Naples from Marina Picolo.

If you are fish lovers then you should take the walk down to Marina Grande and have a meal at Delfino's, though you'll probably need to book. L'Antica Trattoria is also fab but not cheap, However, to balance that out there are lots of places where you can get an enormouse pizza which will feed all of you for 5 Euros. Whatever you do, do not be tempted to eat at Sedil Dominova; it's the only place we've had a truly disappinting meal in Italy and whilst not terrible, there are so many better places to eat in Sorrento.

Where are you staying?

Train to Pompeii is fine, Herculaneum ok but a longer walk through less nice area. Or you can get a coach/tour from Sorrento station or Piazza Tasso but may find time onsite more restricted. Get boat around to Amalfi, bus is scary! Capri is pleasant enough but not a lot to do unless you hike to Anacapri or take an overpriced boat trip. There are Roman ruins a bis ride outside outside Sorrento, think the stop is called Capo, with great views and a lovely cove.

We went in April a few years ago - it was colder than I expected (jeans, jumper and light jacket cold). Pompeii was amazing - go on one of the official tours together more out of it. Also the bus trip and climb up mount Vesuvius was worth doing - just to say you did it. The train is brilliant, so easy and so cheap - we didn’t have any problems with pick pockets but kept ourselves vigilant.

I took my teenage DS and DD to Pompeii by train. It was fine.
If you take her passport you can get under 24 year olds in for free. They were doing that deal at the time. Sorrento is lovely bit quite busy. Enjoy

We are staying at Conca Park Hotel as it seemed to be close to the centre without being too crowded or stuck on a clifftop or down a road to have to navigate the crazy drivers!

Obviously you're going to be there over Easter so it will be rammed by Italians not at work as well as other tourists. Book Pompeii etc in advance as entrance to hot tourist attractions can get booked up for weeks in advance.
Weather will be unpredictable. I'm on the opposite coast and we've had snow in April. We've also sunbathed. It changes from one year to the next.
Apart from the religious processions on Good Friday the busiest day will be Easter Monday. Everyone is with family on the Sunday and then goes out on day trips on the Monday.

The Easter white and black parades are fascinating to watch. Such a surreal atmosphere and great experience. Mount vesuvius was fantastic and for your history mad DC Pompeii. I wouldnt drive.. The driving over there was crazy compared to UK. We did the Amalfi Coast on the top deck of a double decker bus and it was hair raising! We went at Easter in April and can remember it being rather hot for April. Enjoy x

The train is fine. Last time I went there was a mini bus that took you part of the way up the volcano. Consider going to Naples. Never had a problem there and the museum is great.
Trip advisor as with other reviews picks up the worst things that happen to people. If your read the entries for London you probably wouldn't travel there. Take rucksacks for valuables and don't put them down in there floor.

We will book in the see the sites earlier in the week.

Unless things have changed you need to validate your train tickets at the station. There was a little machine on the platform that you put your ticket into to get it stamped.

Yes, if you buy train tickets at the station you still need to validate them beforehand. Not if you buy in advance from trenitalia though and print your confirmation.

Following as we are going Easter Sunday. My research tells me the trains won't be on a normal timetable that weekend so I haven't worked out yet the best way to get from the Airport. Good advice to pre-book. I've been to Pompeii before so definitely want to go to Herculaneum this time, and a boat trip to the Amalfi coast if possible. I've been to Ischia before but not Capri.

trenitalia site should already have Easter week timetables (it's the Italian version of Trainline basically)

You can get a bus from Naples airport direct to the railway station (used to be n14, might have changed)

Trains probably won't be that fewer than any Easter, but they will get booked up much earlier. Probably not the Circumvesuviana though which is a local line.

Sorry, than any SUNDAY obviously!

I loved Herculaneum, don't be tempted to miss it. I enjoyed it more than Pompeii (which I did really like) because it was quieter and less overwhelming and you could get closer to everything. Plus with Herculaneum you could really see how the modern city was on top of it, and it was exactly the same - you can imagine how a city can be swamped by the ash and everything. We spent a week in Sorrento and I think my favourite thing was Herculaneum.

We are totally intending to go to Herculaneum. The only thing is whether to do an outing with both on one day, or do Pompeii one day and Herculaneum another.

We like a mixture of doing and chilling out, so will be going to those two places and maybe another, then just chilling and mooching around the town for the other 3 days.

Do them separately. Pompeii takes more than half a day, Herculaneum 2-3 hours.