Panicking - sorrento with teens

[Teakettletrio]

We are off to Sorrento for half term with three teenagers. We all want to go to Pompeii and Vesuvius so that’s easy. However the rest of the time my kids just want to swim. The weather forecast is not looking great - rainy and 18-20 degrees. My plan had been to go to the thermal baths on Ischia for the day but that worked out at £350 for us to go and that’s beyond our budget for a day trip. So that’s off the table. What can we do?
We have a hire car, so we can travel about a bit but what are we going to do with them? I’m now thinking I’ve picked the wrong place to go and it’s going to be a miserable holiday with lots of moaning. Help!

@twistyizzy but that was a live recording of someone driving from Naples to Sorrento. Italian drivers included. It didn’t look that mental to me.
We’re not planning to drive around Naples town I can imagine that is a different kettle of fish. Just going to drive from the airport to the hotel and back.

I guess it depends on everyone's perspectives. It just wasn't worth it to me. The cost of a transfer service from the airport to our accommodation in Positano and back was equivalent to renting a car for a week and then nobody had to deal with the stress of driving. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I’ve looked it up on various Italian sites. Quoting €25/head. Still not cheap, but not €200. Seems a shame not to do it. Could you not get trains from Napoli to Sorremto and get someone else to carry the bags?

Get them in the pool still! We went in October half-term and the unheated pool was fine once you got in. We weren't even the only ones. Was definitely t shirt temps in the daytime.

Go to Naples. It’s really vibrant and amazing. Really recommend. Personally I didn’t like Capri. Expensive and not that interesting. If you go to pompeii get a guided tour. Also walk down to the local town and at the church there is a tower. It’s a couple of euros to take a lift to the top of the tower. Then you have a great panoramic view of the ruins. Church is also very pretty.

You might need to manage expectations never understand brits booking for October half term and expecting a summer holiday. We house swapped lots of Oct half terms to south of France got some warm days but barely warm enough to swim or sunbathe. South of Spain possibly just about for a summer type holiday but not France or Italy it’s nearly November!

Can you send me a link to the cheaper boats? And was it 25 euros return? All the sites I’ve looked at give you two separate prices for these and back. (so two singles basically)

Personally I like it cooler. I’ve been wanting to go back to Pompeii for about 30 years. I went on a school trip and it was about 37 degrees and I couldn’t look at anything because I felt so sick. So we’ve deliberately picked a cooler time to come and see it.
It’s just that my kids are wanting to swim and the idea of a warm thernal
Bath type swim was top of the list. But now I’ve realised we don’t have the budget for it.

Tbh it’s one day for Pompeii, one for Herculaneum plus Vesuvius, one for a bus trip to visit some towns, another for the same in opposite direction. Then a day for poking around Sorrento. Plus Naples. That’s a pretty full week and then some. Trains are cheap. Please check you def have parking at your hotel (if not, cancel the car!)

Definitely book it in advance. We were there last October half term and nearly didn’t get there because tickets were all sold out. Had to book an expensive “tour” option to get there at all.

It takes a bit of planning - train gets you to one point, then you have to get a bus or something up to the top, and you might need to book that, and the Vesuvius tickets are quite firmly time slot ones. It’s not a huge area so they don’t want to risk overcrowding.

Def look at it in advance.

Mind you I was in southern Italy this time last year - it was by my standards warm and sunny enough to want to sit in the shade, I was wearing a strappy dress and sandals. I passed a local wearing a full-length winter coat, sweater scarf and boots. Their thermostats are set for a different climate! We were sunbathing on empty beaches.

Also agree with you on experience of ferry tickets - we were on an enormous passenger and car ferry, hundreds of people, and they were still v pricey. Direct Ferries, for 4 of us, returns Sorrento - Capri, £178. We did book only one or two days before but still. Not cheap!

Villa Poppea/Scavi Oplonti is great - completely preserved Roman villa. Herculaneum good too.

You can get a train from Pompei to Paestum - well preserved Greek temples that are a sight to behold.

capri is a great day out too but very expensive

In recent years there's been a trend for people to try and get a "summer" holiday in October half term. Thread after thread of people thinking they can go to med resorts near November and expect the same weather as August.
I once went to Mallorca in October and had 7 solid days of rain, never again, it's not even pleasant for sightseeing.
I was in Spain in September and had 3 days needing a fleece, one clear hot day and 6 days of mixed cloud / sun. The sea was beautiful but the pool was freezing.

Sorrento is a bit different though, so many possibilities for sightseeing that you aren't relying on hotel/ beach.

Also - am I looking at the right website for train prices? I was just working out how much a day trip to Naples on the train will be. It’s coming out as £140 return for the 5 of us. That can’t be right, can it? I thought train fares were cheap?

@mustwashmycurtains we definitely have parking at the hotel. It’s not in the centre of Sorrento.

Only thinking of doing pompeii and Vesuvius. And one day in Naples if it doesn’t cost £140 to get there and back. The kids will not give a stuff about Positano, Amalfi or any of the other places. So we won’t be doing that! If we can find somewhere to swim or kids do SUP that will be enough. The rest of it they will have to brave the cold swimming pool.

As well as Vesuvius and Pompeii we used buses and did the walk of the gods. It is very challenging in places but it drops down into Positano and then we got the bus back from there. We also did a great cookery course at Amalfi heaven gardens though depends on your budget. Go to museo della carta in Amalfi. Naples does look like a bit of a dive when you drive past it on main roads but has some great modern art and museums so maybe do a bit more research before discounting it entirely. Is the film festival on in October? Take warm clothes for Vesuvius!

Bloody hell, it does seem to be £140 for a day trip on the train to Naples. Jesus Christ. I think we will just be doing pompeii and playing cards in the room to keep warm!!!

Hi OP, we were in Sorrento about three weeks ago and you’re absolutely correct in the ferry prices to Capri. Have just found our tickets and it cost 26 euros out to the island but strangely 21 euros for the return so total of 47 euros per adult. We hadn’t pre booked , Just bought them from the booth at the marina.

https://www.ticketone.it/event/parco-archeologico-di-pompei-ingresso-giornaliero-scavi-di-pompei-20795747/?affiliate=IG4

This is the official Pompeii ticket site and it allows booking of free tickets for U-18s. Sorry it is in Italian, and is rather convoluted so persevere. I thought I used an English version but maybe not. I did have to create an account.
Express is the regular ticket, Plus gives access to the Villa of Mysteries and a couple of villas off site. Definitely visit Villa of Mysteries.

It won’t be £140 to Naples on the train. Visit the station, the prices are on display. It’s was £6 return each to Pompeii, so would be a little more to Naples.

I mean pretty much any outing is going to be expensive when you multiply it by five... 🤷

The thermal baths on Ischia are fantastic.

I beginning to wonder if we should change our hotel and stay in Naples itself rather than go all the way to Sorrento and spend so much money shipping ourselves around.

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

i think you’re looking at the prices for the campania express - you can just get the circumvesuviana, it’s not fancy but it’s v cheap. Def not £140 for you all.

https://sorrentovibes.com/train-from-sorrento-to-naples-info-timetable-fares/#:~:text=The%20Circumvesuviana%20train%20from%20Sorrento,if%20you're%20not%20prepared.

Pompeii itself is worth the trip IMO! But I've 100% been swimming in southern Italy in October it just depends on the weather so you might be lucky!

Agree with @ShaunaOfTheDead I remember trains being much cheaper. There are expensive and cheaper options.

No matter what happens, I think you could plan some lovely day trips, do some hikes and possibly some swimming weather dependant. I'm sure you'll have a lovely time!