Is Sorrento Worth Seeing?

[NattilyAttired]

We will be docked from 8a-6p on Silver Wind in Sorrento. Having never been to Italy, we will follow everyone to Capri and Anacapri. The question is, should we leave enough time to walk around Sorrento a bit before reboarding the ship? Is it worth seeing? Everyone seems to head over to the island rather than stay in Sorrento... just trying to decide whether we need to leave enough time for Sorrento, too. We will be on our own, rather than taking an excursion, so time would not be an issue if that's what we decide to do. Thanks for your help!

 

Kort and Laurie

[CintiPam]

Not being a shopper, when our ship anchored off Sorrento in mid-June, we headed immediately for the train to Pompeii for a lovely visit. We returned to Sorrento and had a very late lunch at the recommended Da Franco pizza place on the main street just past the train station before heading back to the main square, Piazza Tasso, for a look around. To be frank, its a nice relaxed place from which to visit other parts of this coastal area, but nothing special there to see and do (unless you are fascinated with inlaid marquetry pieces).

[RJHNorthyorks]

We got hydrofoil over to Sorrento last year and just wandered around for a few hours and had a leisurely lunch. Beautiful place with stunning views across bay and versuvius. It really depends what you want to do.

[samavarcruiser]

We love Sorrento :D

 

Learn more

http://www.webtourist.net/italy/sorrento/tourist-information.phtml

[bardstowntraveller]

We rented a house in Sorrento for a week a couple of years ago. It is a charming town but has no "must see" attractions. With that said, neither Capri or Anacapri have any "must see" attractions either, just beautiful scenery and lots of people. We were there in May and the streets were packed. It will be even worse if you are travelling in July or August. If you haven't been to Pompeii you might consider a trip there instead. It was the highlight of our trip

[Keith1010]

Yes, I would leave some time (hour or more) to just stroll around Sorrento. It is a quaint and lovely town.

 

We have visited there several times over the years.

Keith

[dbh62ark]

We stayed in Sorrento a couple of years ago and had time to fall in love with Sorrento. I would also recommend that you leave some time at the end of the day. If you need some ideas on timeline in Capri, I was there last month, so you'll see some info in my post history. We were on the Royal Princess so also tendered in to Sorrento, so I'll be glad to answer any questions that you have.

 

Happy travels,

Donna

[corvettelover]

Sorrento is a really nice place worth seeing, particularly if you can take a bit of a ride and get up on the coast road for a little perspective.

[cberge]

We will be docked from 8a-6p on Silver Wind in Sorrento. Having never been to Italy, we will follow everyone to Capri and Anacapri. The question is, should we leave enough time to walk around Sorrento a bit before reboarding the ship? Is it worth seeing? Everyone seems to head over to the island rather than stay in Sorrento... just trying to decide whether we need to leave enough time for Sorrento, too. We will be on our own, rather than taking an excursion, so time would not be an issue if that's what we decide to do. Thanks for your help!

 

Kort and Laurie

I did a SS cruise with a stop in Sorrento and did a walking tour and really enjoyed it..we also went to the Amalfi coast for luncheon in same day...did not do Capri(no big desire to do on a cruise).We came back to Sorrento and walked around and throughly enjoyed the town for as much as we say.I believe you tender there.

[JPO]

Tours of Capri do not usually include the Blue Grotto which is one of the most wonderful places I have visited. I took a standard ferry from Sorento to Capri then a local tour around the island including entering the Blue Grotto (that does depend on sea and tide conditions).

http://www.capri.com/en/grotta-azzurra

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Grotto

[hylasgirl]

I think Sorrento is one of the best towns along the Amalfi Coast. I could definitely vacation there. It is gorgeous!

 

I cannot believe anyone would recommend you miss Sorrento if they've been there. Now Naples... sure... miss it. But Sorrento... It's such a great town.

[H2Otstr]

We spent 7 days there on a land tour in June and it was wonderful. Never got tired of walking the same streets. Lots of shops and restaurants, and plenty of places to just walk around and enjoy the scenery.

[robbinsca]

We just returned from Sorrento. We were there as part of a day that included Pompeii, Positano and Sorrento.

 

Sorrento was wonderfule for a couple of hours, but I wouldn't miss Pompeii if given the opportunity. We definitely preferred to Sorrento to Positano- but both were beautiful. We had some friends that went to Capri via the ferry from Naples and it sounded as if we had a much nicer day of it.

[deniuh]

We stayed in Sorrento a couple of years ago and had time to fall in love with Sorrento. I would also recommend that you leave some time at the end of the day. If you need some ideas on timeline in Capri, I was there last month, so you'll see some info in my post history. We were on the Royal Princess so also tendered in to Sorrento, so I'll be glad to answer any questions that you have.

 

Happy travels,

Donna

 

Donna,

Can you please send me a timeline for doing Capri and Sorrento in a day. We dock at 7-7pm. We would like to do the Blue Grotto (weather permitting) and Faraglioni Rocks etc in Capri. Thanks.

[stew77]

I think Sorrento is one of the best towns along the Amalfi Coast. I could definitely vacation there. It is gorgeous!

 

I cannot believe anyone would recommend you miss Sorrento if they've been there. Now Naples... sure... miss it. But Sorrento... It's such a great town.

 

I completely agree.

 

I visited Sorrento when I was 18 with my family for 2 weeks. 2 years ago I took my wife there for a week and she thought that it was lovely.

 

In June 2010 my wife and I are going cruising with her parent and when we dock at Naples we will be heading straight over to Sorrento.

 

I've just been googling sorrento have have discovered that google maps stree view now has sorrento and the amalfi coast covered.

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=sorrento&sll=40.610401,14.389536&sspn=0.012315,0.027874&gl=uk&ie=UTF8&layer=c&cbll=40.626436,14.376308&panoid=A_IxrXqV2hiNgGeTdJ5LMg&cbp=11,243.54,,0,1.4&ll=40.626437,14.376308&spn=0.002769,0.013937&z=17&iwloc=A

[dbh62ark]

Donna,

Can you please send me a timeline for doing Capri and Sorrento in a day. We dock at 7-7pm. We would like to do the Blue Grotto (weather permitting) and Faraglioni Rocks etc in Capri. Thanks.

I'll be glad to, and I just have one question--are you docking in Naples? Or will you be tendering in to Sorrento?

 

Donna

[CintiPam]

I was not suggesting that anyone "miss Sorrento" but responding specifically to the original poster's question about leaving time to see Sorrento after spending a day at Capri on the OP's first-ever trip to Italy on their one day in this area!:) I am a slow sightseer and definitely believe in quality over quantity when touring.

 

I still believe that it is a very lovely, pleasant relaxed place, but there simply are not any do-not-miss sights there if you only have one day in the area. I certainly would put a visit to Pompeii ahead of a wander in Sorrento. But then again, I would put a visit to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Archaelogical Museum in Naples ahead of a day in Capri. Guess one's perspective simply depends on one's interests.

[cruisemom42]

But then again, I would put a visit to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Archaelogical Museum in Naples ahead of a day in Capri. Guess one's perspective simply depends on one's interests.

 

I'm with you!

 

Did you get to any of the special houses in Pompeii on your trip?

[JPO]

... Capri ... there simply are not any do-not-miss sights there if you only have one day in the area. I certainly would put a visit to Pompeii ahead of a wander in Sorrento. But then again, I would put a visit to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Archaelogical Museum in Naples ahead of a day in Capri. Guess one's perspective simply depends on one's interests.

I guess I agree for a first time one day visit to the area but if you have ever seen the Blue Grotto I think you would not say there are no not-to-miss sights in the area.

http://www.capri.com/en/grotta-azzurra

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Grotto

[CintiPam]

I guess I agree for a first time one day visit to the area but if you have ever seen the Blue Grotto I think you would not say there are no not-to-miss sights in the area.

http://www.capri.com/en/grotta-azzurra

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Grotto

 

Please re-read my two posts. I was talking specifically about there being no do-not-miss sights in the town of Sorrento, not anywhere else!:)

 

P.S. I certainly would love to visit Capri, but I spent my first day in this area while my ship was anchored off Sorrento last month in Pompeii.

[CintiPam]

I'm with you!

 

Did you get to any of the special houses in Pompeii on your trip?

 

Spouse did not want to pre-book any 30-minute period to be at a certain location because we really did not know our itinerary in such a vast area. We spent about five hours at Pompeii, and only left when he started stumbling on the streets. It really is difficult to walk there.

 

Fortunately for me, there was a lovely breeze that day, and the only crowds were at the brothel!:D (Actually, we ran into few tour groups at all in Italy in mid-June, mostly high school groups. Guess the economy has had a large effect.)

 

Pam

[rrobynec]

I think Sorrento is one of the best towns along the Amalfi Coast. I could definitely vacation there. It is gorgeous!

 

I cannot believe anyone would recommend you miss Sorrento if they've been there. Now Naples... sure... miss it. But Sorrento... It's such a great town.

 

I completely agree--Sorrento and the Amalfi coast are beautiful--if this is your port, do not miss spending some time there.

 

If you have never been to Pompeii and have any interest in history, make sure you visit! To me, this is one of the places to be visited in your lifetime.

 

Forget Naples......

[smlake60]

Sorrento is not to be missed. Go to Piazza Tasso which has lots of shopping and restuarants. Sorrento is famous for it's inlaid wood boxes and one reasonable store is La Botteguccia down the street from Piazza Tasso. Also there is a wonderful leather handbag shop called L'Artigiano. There are stores that sell Lemoncello and everything lemon from candy to soap. Great restuarants for people watching. Stayed 13 days last year on the Amalfi Coast. Spent one night in Capri, three nights in Sorrento, one night in Positano and 7 nights in apartment in Priaiano. Expect Capri to be very, very crowded with day tourist and stores to be expensive.

[CruzinFamilyof5]

OMG, Sorrento is beautiful. They also have excellent souvenirs and gifts. There's a gift shop off one of the main streets (photos on our flickr) that has jewelry made from Murano, necklaces for 15 euros, charms for 8. On the main street through town, there are lemoncello bottles and scarves for 3 euros. We arrived in Capri about 2pm and it wasn't crowded at all. There are shops at the top of Capri that have very reasonable gifts and a deli with sandwiches for about 3 euros. It was wonderful! If you want specifics, check out our flickr pages. :p By the way, as soon as you arrive by hydrofoil, you'll see the boats to the Blue Grotto for 11 Euros.

[chriskwarren]

I was there with work a couple of years ago. I thought the 'valley of the mills' was very beautiful, and just up the street from the main town plaza:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=sorrento+italy&ie=UTF8&ll=40.625048,14.376581&spn=0.002019,0.004823&t=h&z=18&lci=com.panoramio.all,org.wikipedia.en

 

In the night, they shine lights of many colours on the sides of the mills. You look down on them from a high bridge...it was amazing.