A First Timers Guide to Day Tripping in Sorrento, Italy

A First Timers Guide to Day Tripping in Sorrento, Italy

May 7, 2023 ctn_admin

A recent one day visit to Sorrento and Pompeii, on a Viking Neptune World Cruise – by Ruth E. McBride

The south of Italy, in the spring! What could be better? More time as it turned out, since our first time to Sorrento was on a very compact half day itinerary.

From Naples the best way to reach Sorrento is to take the train. The scenic 1 hour and 20 minute train ride, at 8 euros, is a ‘downtown to downtown’ trip along the stunningly beautiful Bay of Naples coastline.

Springtime in Italy is delightful; fresh ocean breezes, 21C temperatures, sunshine, and beautiful citrus groves everywhere. The famous Sorrento lemon groves were overflowing with large, juicy lemons as we arrived in Sorrento. The locals were making the most of the lemons as the small, quaint shops hidden away in cobblestone laneways in the Old Town were selling every possible version of lemon product from: limoncello and limoncello cream liqueurs, to lemon gelato, and lemon marmalade. Sorrento was an explosion of lemons in this ancient town and even the clothing and purses were overwhelmingly covered with lemon motifs!

A local pottery shop doubled as a Cooking School and oh what I would not give to be able to spend a few more hours in Sorrento learning how to make the delicious, traditional ‘Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina’, made with homemade fresh gnocchi, juicy tomatoes, fragrant basil and melting mozzarella.

Wandering through Piazza Tasso and the streets of Old Town Sorrento, looking at the turquoise waters of the Marina Piccolo Bay and thinking of homemade Italian food made me hungry for an outdoor cafe and a serving of the region’s traditional wood fired pizza. The many outdoor sidewalk cafes were doing a booming business as tourists and locals alike sat with Aperol spritzes, and Peroni beers, enjoying a stunning spring day in paradise!

After lunch it was time for gelato! The creamy, ‘gelato artigianale’ or gelato made from scratch, has only fresh, local ingredients. Gelato shops were everywhere in Sorrento and sampling is suggested before settling on the perfect flavour to enjoy.

I wish we had more time to explore from Sorrento to neighbouring towns, which would have been pretty simple to organize without a car because of Sorrento’s close proximity to many of Southern Italy’s beautiful, scenic locales. From the Piazza Angelina Laura train station in Sorrento, Pompeii is only 30 minutes away and the train conveniently arrives just outside the old ruins of Pompeii. The Amalfi Coast and the Instagram worthy city of Positano as well the Islands of Capri with its beaches; Ischia with its thermal spas, all await in less than an hour on a local ferry boat from Sorrento.

With flights daily from Canada to Rome, and a short 50 minute connector flight to Naples, Sorrento is a must see place to visit for a wonderful, laid back getaway and preferably much longer than our short half day visit.