Sorrento is located about a 90 minute coach ride south of Naples. Once you have escaped the urban sprawl of Naples the winding coast road gives you some beautiful views of the Gulf of Naples on your right whilst all the time the imposing height of Vesuvius is receding behind you.
Sorrento is often regarded at the gateway to the Amalfi Coast. It is a bustling unashamedly tourist dominated Italian town with a population of 20,000 people which is swelled to bursting point in the summer months. Our visit came at the end of August and the first week in September and coincided with the last weekend of the Italian holiday month of August. As such we go to appreciate Sorrento with all its home base and foreign visitors and a slightly quieter Sorrento when it played hoist to mostly English and to a lesser degree German visitors. Other nationalities were represented but very much in the minority to the coach loads of tourists from the UK and Ireland.
The Geography
The Bay of Sorrento is a lot larger than I had expected. My original preconception was of a small sleepy Italian fishing village that would provide a useful starting point to explore the local areas of interest. A travel book and a few reviews on Ciao later that opinion was quickly changed. Sorrento itself is made up of five communes with Sorrento Town itself providing the main shopping and commercial centre.
The centre of Sorrento is Piazza Tasso which is bisected by the Corso d' Italia which is the main thoroughfare and in the evenings is closed to traffic to allow the locals and visitors alike to parade along in all their finery. Tasso is full of large bars and restaurants with huge patio areas while Corso is filled with tourist shops, gelateria and some more up market designer stores.
Sorrento has two marinas. Marina Grande and Marina Piccola, conversely it is Piccola which is the larger of the two and is the departure point for the ferries that cross to Naples and the surrounding islands as well as the cruises along the Amalfi coast.
Maria Grande is the smaller of the two and is home to a number of fishing and pleasure vessels and is well worth a visit. It has a small beach area and some nice sea food restaurants.
Both marina can be reached by public transport or by walking however be warned Sorrento is a coastal town perched on the cliffs and while the walk down is pleasant the same cannot be said for the return journey.
Places of interest in Sorrento
For me the beauty of Sorrento was just to wander around the tight little streets checking out the shops and attempting to eat every flavor of ice cream on offer. Of particular interest are the local shops demonstrating marquetry which is a process of decorating inlaid wood, there are some beautiful (and tacky designs) however the prices do reflect the craftsmanship involved.
From the outside the large white cathedral does not look that impressive however once inside not only is it an oasis of calm from the bustle of Sorrento there are some beautiful scenes in particular the crucifixion above the altar.
There is not a lot else to see of note in Sorrento other than there are some beautiful views of the coast from Communale Park, otherwise it is a place where it is fun to sit outside of a café, enjoying the sun and people watching.
Beaches
Sorrento is not the place to go if you are looking for miles and miles of sandy beaches. The coastal geography means that every single bit of space by the waters edge that can be is used and often you will pay for the pleasure. There is a small beach at Marina Grande but it is nothing to get excited about and you will be swimming in the same water that is used by the boats so best to dodge the floating diesel deposits.
A safer bet is to visit the wooden lido between the two harbors. Entry and a sun bed was about 12 euro for the day and there is a sheltered swimming areas and places to buy food. We only spent one day on the beach during our stay and for that we traveled out on Linea A bus to Mehta which is the eastern most commune where the beaches are less crowded however the sand is the black volcanic variety and full of small stones.
If you are feeling a bit flush a better way to enjoy the sun and sea is to hire a boat and get out and explore the bay for the day stopping off to swim wherever you fancy.
Eating Out
It is difficult to comment on the quality of the restaurants as we were staying half board and the quality of the food in the hotel was excellent. On the two occasions we ate out for lunch I found the food quite pricey and fairly ordinary in quality. You will never be stuck for choice however we were unable to find any truly quaint local restaurants or cafes to recommend. For the truly fussy eater you can always find numerous places offering English fare of fried breakfasts and everything with chips. Hopefully such places will whither and die in the future as they only detract from the feel of Sorrento and to be honest if you want to eat such food then you should be heading to one of the Costa's.
Getting Around
Sorrento can get steep in places for those who like to walk especially when walking down to either of the harbors or beaches. You also have to contend with the traffic and in particular the scooters, there are probably some traffic rules but they seem to be more for guidance than actual enforcement, best tip of the day is only cross the road behind a local (who knows the rules) or a large American tourist as the Italians will generally aim for them first.
The local bus service is frequent and occasionally even fits in with the time table. Bus tickets can be purchased at tobacconists before getting on the bus and cost 1 euro for 60 minutes of travel. Upon boarding do not forget to stamp your ticket in the machine to validate it otherwise the ticket inspectors will shout at you in Italian and on a bad day may fine you. Be warned the buses do get full and can resemble rush hour on the tube.
There is a train line which also resembles the tube with the amount of graffiti on it and is a 300metre walk from Tasso. We stayed away from it so cannot comment on the quality.
Taxis are numerous but can be expensive because of the traffic as the meter keeps moving even when you are not. For the ultimate tourist experience there are horse drawn carriages that leave from Tasso for a quick tour.
Local tours can be organized from the tourist office which is located in the centre of town.
Accommodation
Hotels and camp sites abound in Sorrento and there is something for every budget. We stayed in a hotel just outside of the main town in Sant Agnello (see review Hotel Grand Parco del Sole) One point to consider when booking a hotel is the traffic noise in and around the centre of Sorrento particularly at night when everyone drives their cars and scooters around until the early hours. This was at the heart of our reason for choosing a hotel in the commune of Sant Agnello which is a 25 minute walk from the town centre.
Interesting Day Trips
The best thing about Sorrento is the number of day trips available and places of interest.
Top of anyone's list should be the active volcano of Vesuvius; after all it is due to blow again in 2008 taking Naples with it so see it while you can. Nearby is Pompeii and the two sites can be visited as part of a combined trip in a day although if you want to see everything in Pompeii it would take a couple of days. The cost of our one day trip was 35 euro with admission costs to both sites on top.
For the series shopper a day trip to Capri is a must to see how the other half live. Ferries from Sorrento are about 11 euro return. While there it is worth visiting Grotta Azzurra to be serenaded by the oarsman on your row boat, after the song he will hassle you for a tip and scowl if you do not hand over enough. In addition to Capri there are the islands of Ischia and Procida which are worth a visit if time allows.
Naples is only 90 minutes away whilst Rome can be done in a day however it is a 3 hour coach trip to get there and you can get flights from Stanstead with Ryannair cheaper than the cost of the tour.
Finally a trip along the Amalfi coast is not to be missed, whether you actually drive along the road or (as we did) take a more sedate cruise along the coast it is worth stopping off in the picture postcard perfect Positano or the less steep Amalfi itself.
Suitability
This is an ideal location for a family holiday particularly if you are the sort of person who likes to get out and about rather than spending your holiday sat by the pool. Both of my two children had a wonderful time and in particular they enjoyed the visit to Vesuvius despite the climb to the top. My daughter showed a blossoming interest in the desire to shop; unfortunately this involved visiting every tacky tourist shop in search of a present for her best friend. At least this was cheaper than the designer shop habit she will no doubt develop in later years.
The geography of Sorrento is not so friendly to those who have difficulty getting about and whilst the public transport is accessible to most everyone certainly many of the restaurants and hotels (including our own) would not be suitable to those with severe walking disabilities or wheel chair users.
Recommendation
I would not hesitate to recommend Sorrento as a place to visit. I felt that a seven day visit was plenty to see most of what we wanted to, 10 days would certainly be sufficient and allow for an extra couple of relaxation days as after most of the sight seeing we were pretty tired in the evenings.
It does get crowded in the summer months and naturally very hot as well and it is important to take account of the traffic noise when booking a hotel.
What you will get though is a busy tourist resort frequented by Italians which is an excellent base from which to explore a beautiful part of Italy.
For more information check out www.sorrentotourism.it
Thanks for reading my review.
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