Sorrento (Italy)

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Sorrento is a very busy town, or series of communes which run together. As a shopping experience, everything you could wish for is clustered into its narrow streets and spacious squares, from the normal tourist offerings to the essentials of everyday life. Leather goods, silks, ceramics, and lemons (including Limoncello, an alcoholic lemon drink) are specialities of the region and are widely available in the town. Shopping ...
...of the busiest junctions in Sorrento it took on the appearance of an intricate ballet. It was very entertaining, and I only saw one minor bump between 2 scooters, which was resolved with a raised hand of apology from both parties. They didn’t even slow down.

Entertaining as it may be, the traffic produces a lot of pollution, both of the noise and fume varieties. If you have any breathing difficulty, or are a light sleeper (or want ... more

Sorrento, on the west coast of Italy, south of Naples, is an ideal holiday spot, whether you want to lie on the beach all day or get out and about soaking up the local culture. The scenery is absolutely stunning from the volcanic black sand of the beaches to the craggy cliffs overlooking the bay. In the height of Summer the temperature is pretty uncomfortable for most Brits, and the heat is quite draining even in September when I visited. The average temperature was around 30C (it had been over 40C in July), so sun screen, hat, and plenty of water to drink are essential items for a day by the sea, or wandering through the town. We did get one day of rain, which coincided with the great blackout of 2003 when the power was off in all of Italy and many other parts of Europe. We still managed to enjoy our day, and it didn’t spoil the holiday at all. Thunderstorms are not unusual at that time of year, but it’s unlikely you’ll get more than one day of rain.

THE MARINAS

Below the main town, lie the 2 marinas - Marina Grande and Marina Piccola. It’s quite a steep drop to both marinas from the town. Marina Grande at the southern end (the smaller of the two, despite the name) is the old fisherman’s village, and is very picturesque, with brightly coloured boats, beach huts, aquamarine water so clear you can watch the fish playing in the shallows, and dramatic black volcanic sand on the small foreshore. After the walk down to the marina, and certainly before considering the walk back up, you will appreciate the small cafes with outdoor tables under canopies, and the cool interiors of small shops catering for the tourist. You will find it hard to miss these as the proprietors aren’t likely to wait for you to come to them, but will encourage you inside whether that was your intention or not. Marina Grande is quieter than the rest of Sorrento, and consequently prices are a bit steeper here.

Marina Piccola, at the northern end, is the main ferry terminal for catching hydrofoils to Capri and Naples. It’s very busy, but still quite picturesque. There is a regular bus service (more on that later) to and from the town of Sorrento, so it’s not necessary to climb the stairs that lead up from the marina to the town.

The stretch of shoreline between the two marinas is taken up with various decked lidos for swimming and sunbathing, and cafes and restaurants. It’s impossible to walk from one marina to the other without going back up into the town though, as we discovered to our cost. There are stairs, and in one place an elevator, running up through the cliff so you can get up and down at various points along the shore.

SHOPPING

Sorrento is a very busy town, or series of communes which run together. As a shopping experience, everything you could wish for is clustered into its narrow streets and spacious squares, from the normal tourist offerings to the essentials of everyday life. Leather goods, silks, ceramics, and lemons (including Limoncello, an alcoholic lemon drink) are specialities of the region and are widely available in the town. Shopping around pays dividends as the same goods can vary dramatically in price from shop to shop. In the shops, you pretty much have to pay the price on the ticket, but in markets do feel free to haggle. You will find it really pays.

There are various wine and spirit outlets which cater to the tourist trade. Order all your drinks to take home during your last week and they will package them up and deliver them to your hotel on the Thursday, ready for you to leave on the Friday. Prices are excellent, and generally better than you will get onboard the ferries from Calais, but there are a few exceptions, so it’s probably better to check the ferry prices on your outward journey for comparison. The same will apply to airport offerings.

TRAFFIC

This is the downside to Sorrento. Being such a busy town, and a busy ITALIAN town, the traffic is absolutely bonkers. After a few days, as a pedestrian, you get the hang of it. The only people who run to cross the road, are the tourists who’ve just arrived. Everyone else saunters in the knowledge that Italian drivers will not run them down just because they have right of way. Eventually you have to take the risk, or you’ll never cross the road. At first glance, there is no rhyme or reason to it, it’s just a free-for-all, but if you actually watch for a while you start to see a pattern. Everyone disobeys the official rules, but they do it in such a way that they’re co-operating with each other to keep the traffic flowing. Cars give way to the ubiquitous scooter, even when they’re on the wrong side of the road! I wouldn’t want to have to drive in it, but watching it from the first floor balcony overlooking one of the busiest junctions in Sorrento it took on the appearance of an intricate ballet. It was very entertaining, and I only saw one minor bump between 2 scooters, which was resolved with a raised hand of apology from both parties. They didn’t even slow down.

Entertaining as it may be, the traffic produces a lot of pollution, both of the noise and fume varieties. If you have any breathing difficulty, or are a light sleeper (or want to use your balcony!) make sure your hotel is away from the centre of town. The hotels closer to the sea seem the quietest, and the views over the 2 marinas are stunning by day and night. On my next visit I will be trying for a hotel on the Via Capo, overlooking Marina Grande, where I won’t be wakened by traffic fumes every morning.

OUT AND ABOUT

If architecture and history is of interest to you, Sorrento leaves you spoiled for choice. Being a catholic country, it has many old churches, most notable of which is a 15th century cathedral. There is also the Basilica of St. Antonino, which has it’s origins in the 11th century. If that isn’t early enough for you, part of the original walls of the town, a Greek defensive wall, which predates the Roman town is still standing. These are in the well-named Historical Centre of the town, as are many buildings related to Tasso, the poet of Sorrento.

Sorrento is a very pleasant town to spend time in, but it is also an ideal base for exploring the whole region. Package holidays tend to offer organised tours to Pompeii, Vesuvius, Capri, and Amalfi, normally as an optional extra, and at a price. However, it’s very easy from Sorrento to organise these trips for yourself. The public transport is excellent, reliable, and cheap. Set your own agenda and you will save a packet and have the freedom to spend as much or as little time in each venue as you please. Compare that with paying over the odds, and being rushed round at someone else’s pace, and you know it makes sense.

The public transport system is called the Circumvesuviana, and it incorporates both trains and buses. There are several train stations in Sorrento (and surrounding communes) all on the Circumvesuviana line, and the main terminus railway station also houses a bus station.

Naples, Pompeii, and the lesser known Herculaneum, are all easily accessible by train, and the Amalfi coast and ferry terminal for Capri are accessible by bus. In both cases you purchase your ticket before you travel, either at the train station or a tobacconist. You then validate your ticket in a machine before getting onboard the train, or validate it onboard the bus. Pompeii will cost you €1.80 return, Herculaneum (Ercolano Scavi station) €2.00 return, with €10 entrance fee to each site (2003 prices). The Amalfi coast road to Positano and Amalfi is spectacular, if a little hair-raising, and Amalfi Cathedral is well worth a visit. This is the only trip we did with our organised tour, and we regretted it when we discovered we could have done it ourselves for €1.30 return on the bus. When buying your bus ticket don’t forget to ask which bus to catch for your destination. The circumvesuviana buses are identified by Linea A-E, with the appropriate letter on the electronic display on front of the bus.

Buses to Vesuvius go from both Ercolano and Pompeii. We got the bus from Ercolano, but unfortunately never made it all the way up Vesuvius. This was the only time my Italian wasn’t up to having a rough idea what was going on, and we had to abort the mission. It’s a long story involving a pushy German, which I won’t bore you with here. One word of warning though, the price for the bus isn’t for getting to the top. You have to negotiate that once you get to the observatory half way up Vesuvius.

EVENINGS

Sorrento takes on an entirely different character in the evening. This is when Italians (and a few temporary Italians) partake of La Paseggiata, which basically means to go out and stroll, to see and be seen. Every evening, some of the roads around Piazza Tasso (the main square) are closed to traffic and the Italians walk, talk, and sit in pavement cafes and bars. It’s so pleasant to be able to stroll late into the night in a T-shirt.

There is plenty of variety in eating and drinking places, from the homegrown variety to Chinese and Indian restaurants, Irish bars and one Scottish bar. Like any town, prices vary according to quality and clientele. There is also the famous Foreigners Club, situated at the top of the road to Marina Piccola, with stunning views over the bay by day and night. Someone described the quality of service to me as reminiscent of Raffles in Singapore, but not having had the pleasure of that establishment I’ll have to take her word for it. Food is excellent and reasonably priced for lunch and dinner, or you can just drink and socialise, but if you don’t like loud music I would stay clear in the evenings. This advice also applies to choosing a hotel in the vicinity. It’s really loud.

THE PEOPLE

I couldn’t finish this review without mentioning the lovely people of Sorrento. Of course, you occasionally run into one who bucks the trend, but in general I found them to be very welcoming, particularly those who work with the tourists. Hotel and shop staff were very helpful and friendly, and almost without exception had enough English to meet my needs. Attempts at speaking Italian are appreciated, but you will often find they immediately switch to English anyway. This is especially so in situations where there is some urgency, like in busy shops or when buying travel tickets, so I didn’t take it personally. I found it best to start in Italian, and then take my lead from them.

CONCLUSION

As you can see I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Sorrento, and would recommend it to anyone as both an interesting town in it’s own right, and a good base for seeing the Campania region of Italy. It’s a very tourist oriented town, full of hotels and bed and breakfast establishments, but the essential Italian nature of the place still shines through. This wide variety of accommodation means there is something to suit most pockets, and you can eat as cheaply or as extravagantly as you like. It’s Italy. The food is good. If you want to lie on the beach all day and hang out with other Brits in the evenings, you can. Equally, if you want to experience Italy and the Italians, you won’t go far wrong in Sorrento.
 

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