Sorrento

Anyone been to Sorrento before ? Going in June for our 30th wedding anniversary. Staying at Admiral hotel, the white hotel at far right.

 

Many many years ago - I don't remember too much to help you other than we went to Capri and Ischia, did the full Amalfi coast trip with a stop off at Positano and went to Pompeii of course.
I remember it being busy and chaotic with tour buses and vespas and the like during the day, typical Southern Italian driving stylee, but very pleasant to stroll around in the evening when it had calmed down a bit.

I got the holiday for free as my wife was a tour guide at the time!

 

Looks like Scarborough.

 

"I must go down to the sea again,
To the lonely sea and the sky;
I left my vest and socks there -
I wonder if they're dry."

Spike Milligan, Return to Sorrento (3rd class)

 

Never been but looks stunning and know some that have and loved it. It’s on the list.

 

More like Llandudno. From the promenade looking towards the pier and Great Orme.

 

Yes, we loved it. You can do Pompeii very cheaply on the local train. Herculaneum is also meant to be very good, but we didn't go there, again I think it's a few stops further on via train.

 

Lovely area which comes to life in the late evening. Great food. My then wife had expensive tastes and would have lived on Capri if she could.

Only time I have ever come close to being seasick was on the flat calm crossing on a hovercraft from the mainland. Funny thing was, after a load of beer, wine and food, I was perfectly fine on the way back!

Enjoy

 

Went a few year ago and loved it. We stayed in the same Hotel! Very steep walk up to the town from the Hotel very narrow streets and mad mad driving, they use their horns more than they do their steering wheels or brakes! As already mentioned easiest way to see Pompeii, Herculaneum and Naples is by the local train, we actually prefered Herculaneum to Pompeii.

 

Our favourite place !! Ferries from the port to Positano. Amalfi. Ravella in the hills behind them is beautiful. Capri and Ischia also by ferry. Circumvensia train runs direct to Naples for about 5 euros with Pompeii and Herculaneum en route. Sorrento centre is nice and compact with Tassos Square at its core, so gorgeous at night. Looks like you’re staying close to 5 sisters restaurant on the beach. Be sure to visit, it’s top notch run by Rosa Enjoy.

 

I love Italy full stop, and the Amalfi coast is beautiful. When you’re booking your trips, budget a little higher for the day if you take a trip to Capri, as it’s not cheap.

We went to Rome for a few days before travelling down to Amalfi, and with impeccable timing we arrived just after Pope John Paul II died, so we couldn’t go into the Sistine Chapel cos they were busy choosing a new Pope (the Hitler youth one). We can say, however, that we were inside the Vatican building on the day the Pope was elected, as people were allowed in to see John Paul’s tomb. I certainly won’t ever see as many nuns and priests in one day as I did that day. The square was full of them. For this reason there was nowhere to sit, and with the wife being quite heavily pregnant we wandered off into the city. After we’d made it back to the hotel we saw on TV that they had chosen the new Pope, who was about to appear on the balcony. I said to the wife that I was sure you could see the Vatican balcony from the breakfast terrace upstairs, but she insisted you couldn’t, so we watched it on TV.

The next morning, at breakfast, sure enough we had a clear view of the balcony. Then the wife said she knew there was, but after doing so much walking that day she just couldn’t face two flights of stairs!

We then got a train down to Naples and were driven to Amalfi. We saw Pompeii and agreed we’d book a trip there. However, the driver was a typical mental Italian driver (I would say that about 8 of the 10 scariest times I’ve had in a car have been in Italy) and the roads through the mountains were very winding, with large drops at the side. We knew we had to make the journey the other way when we were going home, but we couldn’t face an extra two, so we struck Pompeii off the schedule.

There are some lovely towns along the Amalfi coast though, so if you get the chance to take a trip down there I’d recommend it. We went the other way, to Sorrento for the day, but there was some problem with the buses, so we only got a couple of hours there in the end. The first bus stopped for some reason, but I can’t remember why. We asked where we could get another bus from and a chap who didn’t speak English just pointed up the hill. Had we known how far up the hill we’d have just turned back. As I said, the wife was heavily pregnant and I was only 18 months or so post-spinal cord op, so walking up a ruddy great hill for an hour was not high on our list of activities.

We had problems getting back too and arrived in Positano with not much time to spare to catch the last ferry back to Amalfi. We were dropped off high above the town and had about a thousand sodding steps to get down. When we got to the beach they we just shutting the ferry up, so I told the wife to make a run for it whilst I bought the tickets. As I started off towards the ferry I saw about a dozen Italian blokes all grabbing at the wife to help her onboard. They love pregnant women in Italy. Strangely, they all disappeared when I wanted helping up!

 

Without the sun

 

Thanks for info

 

Don't drink too many sherbets pal, otherwise tha'll end up swimming wi' them fishes lol

 

I went there on honeymoon in 2023 - beautiful place, we really loved it.

Loads to do in the area. Highly recommended a bus/coach tour of the coast. Really nice to see it from that POV and you get to see some great places. We did Positano, Amalfi and Rovello on the same tour, all were really nice, especially Rovello up in the hills, the views were stunning. We did a small boat tour during our stop in Amalfi which was really nice.

Capri is nice, but we found it fairly pricey, we got the ferry over and then to get anywhere else we found you needed to book into one of these tour taxi things which looked expensive so we just stayed near where we got dropped off but we did head to the blue cave which was nice but again very expensive for what it was.

Pompeii was great, we got lucky and went on a bank holiday so entry was free but it is very easy and cheap to get there by train, on your way back to Sorrento on the train, you can hop off and go on a cable car to the top of Mount Faido which has amazing views.

Just keep your wits about you for the crazy drivers on those moped scooters, they go everywhere and are a bit mad but it is really an amazing place.

 

The Amalfi coast is great you'll love it. We've been going to Italy regularly for nearly 50 years and we love all the various regions. Apart from all the places around Sorrento that people have recommended on here I suggest you spend a day in Naples. It is the most quintessentially Italian place in the country. It is a mucky, vibrant and lively city, it's a bit like a European Hong Kong.

 

I got shot in the arse cheek by an air rifle from a passing car in Naples.

 

Thanks, plenty to think about there

 

From where you are, the town is a fair old climb so I hope you're fit. There's no beach so if you're the sunbathing type you'll have to stay around your pool. Town is stunning but very busy at night especially down the narrow streets The station is just behind the main road and Pompeii is only a couple of stops away and the train station is right outside the entrance. You'll need a full day there, it's a big town that's been unearthed with a town square, an amphitheatre and hundreds of dwellings. Herculaneum is more compact. Your hotel overlooks Capri which is just a short ferry away. A bit like ,Sorrento, the town centre is a fair old climb up the hill. There is a Furnicular which will take you up and down. Naples is raw Italy if you want authenticity it's worth a visit. Mount Versuvius can be covered in cloud but if its not, the view from the top across the Bay of Naples is amazing. Enjoy your holiday.

 

We stayed in the very same Admiral Hotel in May 2016. I know it was then because I missed the play-off final at Wembley against Millwall. I ended up watching it in a bar in the centre of Sorrento. To my happy surprise three other Reds turned up to watch it too! The hotel was nice enough though you will find that the terrace is in the shade during the day (which may be a good / bad thing depending on the temperature at the time). A trip down the Amalfi Drive is a must, as it a visit to Pompeii. We also went to Capri, which is a bit mixed. The cable car up to Annacapri is good for the views. Capri Town is generally over busy and full of designer shops.