Napoli to Sorrento help

[RachelP]

Hello, Currently in Italy on a very last minute booked trip - which means I am not as organised as I usually would be! Heading up to Napoli from where we are now in Calabria on 30 Aug and need to get to Sorrento. I've been quoted a rather eye wateringly priced private transfer.
I have read there is a train but it sounded quite dodgy and the three of us (me plus my 17 y/o son and 12 y/o daughter) all have luggage.
Your thoughts and any recommendations for the three days in Sorrento. We are open to suggestions.
Grazie Mille!

 

[Ian Sutton]

Well it's certainly worth keeping your wits about you (and your valuables hidden and secure). AFAIK dodgy equates to presence of pickpockets, both at Napoli's train station, and on the train itself. Not muggings or anything of that ilk.

Are you getting the train from Calabria to Napoli? If so, Salerno might be a good alternative to Napoli. It's a quiet train station and a short walk from where the SITA buses stop. They'll take you to Amalfi, where you may need to change for Sorrento. The added bonus is the views of the amalfi coast.

Suggestions? Certainly the historical sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum are a major attraction, as is Mt Vesuvius. Slightly more mundane, I recall Sorrento has a funicular railway.

Positano may or may not appeal, but if it does, I'd recommend arriving or departing by ferry, which really shows Positano off brilliantly.

Other stuff? Amalfi lemons / granita di Limone frozen ice superb. Local fruits and veg likewise. Seafood can be superb.

 

[RachelP]

Thanks Ian!
If anyone has used a private driver for the Napoli - Sorrento journey and recommends them please mention!

 

[Ian Sutton]

I

Thanks Ian!
If anyone has used a private driver for the Napoli - Sorrento journey and recommends them please mention!

It's been too long since we've done this, but back in those occasions, we'd use a taxi company local to the destination, because a) it's easy to find an airport, less so an out of the way apartment and b) Should there be any issue, knowing that you could visit the taxi office the following day to resolve, felt better.

 

[Neil Gillis]

Gennaro Ruoco at Sorrentolimo.com Have used him several times and found him prompt and knowledgeable.

 

[ellen]

Daytime rates this season have been in the 110 - 130 euro range for three people with luggage.

There is also the Campania Express tourist train, which is capacity controlled (so not crowded like the regular local train). However, if your accommodations in Sorrento are not near the train station, a taxi from the train station will start at about 25 euro, at which point the ride from Naples starts to look like a bargain.

Campania Express EN

www.eavsrl.it

This year there is a new shuttle service between Naples and Sorrento, but again at 35 euro per person, the car service doesn't look so bad: https://www.sorrentocoastshuttle.com/

Here are some car services you can reach out to for quotes:

http://www.transferelax.com/our-services.html

http://sorrentocars.com/

https://www.guemartravel.com/

 

[Cda]

If you do not have reservations for a place to stay or you can cancel them,,

We went to Salerno instead of sorrento because of switching to the old train and sorrento appeared hard to get around.

Less tourist

You can take the Trenitalia directly to it from Naples

Easy to get around there, on the coast

Can take ferry up amalfi coast !!!

 

[ellen]

There are certainly good reasons to choose Salerno, but also for Sorrento and the villages along the coast itself, it comes down to what kind of atmosphere you enjoy.

Sorrento reminds me of a large British resort, more English seems to be spoken in town than Italian at this point.

Salerno is a city, not a big one (something like the 30th largest in Italy, about 125,000 people) but a city nonetheless, while Sorrento has one tenth of the population (about 15,000) and is really a big town, not at all a city.

 

[Cda]

Salerno does have St Matthew

Medieval Splendor in Salerno’s Cathedral of San Matteo

Cathedral of San Matteo in Salerno: Discover one of the most beautiful and important churches of southern Italy

www.charmingitaly.com