A brief weekend on the peninsula of Sorrento

The Sorrentine peninsula forms the southern part of the Bay of Naples as it juts out into the Mediterranean sea, framing, and at the same time limiting, the urban sprawl of Naples itself.

This unusual position creates all kinds of interesting things to see and do, all within a very small geographical area.

The drives along the coast are probably some of the most beautiful in Europe. As the roads wind along the coast, the play of light on the rocks and the blue sea makes for a constantly changing landscape, and no two trips ever look quite the same. The towns are very charming, and have a suprisingly good amount of quality products, along with the usual tourist souvenirs. If you feel you could do with more intellectual stimulation,the archeological digs at Pompeii are among the world's most important and famous. The local cuisine is excellent, boasting some of the best pasta in Italy and one of it's most famous liquers: the Limoncello, made from the lemons which grow everywhere in the area, along with sugar and pure alcohol. And of course, just a few miles north lies Naples with all the bustle of a big city.

Quick Tips:

If you're really pressed for time,the best way to see as much as possible is to visit Pompeii before even getting to the peninsula.

The site is located on the way to Sorrento, making it very easy to stop on the way in, both by car and by train, and this will avoid any time consuming back-tracking later on.

The afternoon should be spent exploring the town of Sorrento, or relaxing on one of the beaches located beneath the cliffs, while the evening can be spent in one of the cafes, people watching with the locals.

If you're traveling without a car, you can return to Naples via Capri. By catching an early boat out you can spend some plesant hours on this green island, but beware of some of the more touristy establishments, particularly in the old harbour.

Best Way To Get Around:

Public transportation is frequent and reliable. A train line, known as the Circumvesuviana, conveniently links the peninsular villages with the mainland and Naples. Passages are frequent, and the prices are cheap. There are also a series of buses doing local runs along the coast and into the rugged interior as well.

Driving in this region can be a real headache. Space is extremly limited so the roads tend to be quite congested and narrow, while the drivers themselves behave as if traffic regulations had never been invented. It's worth pointing out that the Bay of Naples has the highest car insurance in all of Italy!

Just like many other establishmments in this area,the Klein Wien (Little Vienna)is, and always has been, family run. However, several features differentiate it from the many choices available on the peninsula.

It's a great location to begin with, far removed from the main road, and perched right on the cliffs that make up the coast line. The rooms are fairly spacious, especially by local standards; some have sea views and balconies of varying size, and they all boast that most unusual of commodities: air-conditioning.

Due to a mixture of traditional habits and plain old economics, A/C is hard to come by, even in the four star hotels located in this area. In the lower categories it's almost unheard of. However, along with my key at the reception, I was handed a remote which, to my surprise,activated a small A/C unit in one corner of the room.

Not that you should spend much time indoors. A ten minute walk below the hotel, and plainly visibile from its windows, is a long sandy beach; again unusual, since most of the beaches here tend to be gravel or stones. It's easy enough going down but can take a while to get back up.

A five minute walk from the hotel,the station for the Circumvesuviana train sells round trip tickets to central Sorrento for 1.80 euros, or 1.70 US dollars. Passages are very frequent, every half hour and less during peak periods, and the trip only takes five minutes. The final train from Sorrento departs at 11:30pm, making it possible to have dinner in town.

Eating at the hotel is another possibility, and the cozy, glassed-in dining room located on the sixth floor doesn't make you feel as if you're missing out on anything: you can watch the sun go down, as I did, along with a great dish of pasta and a glass of wine.

There is plenty of good shopping on the peninsula. Even the smaller villages usually have a few elegant fashion stores, while the bigger ones have an assortment of brand name shops, such as Benetton or Sisley.

More local products consist of woodworks made from the chestnut trees which grow on the mountains in the interior. Some stores also double as workshops, holding demonstrations for groups, showing how much craft is involved in the construction of even a single artifact. One of the better demonstrations takes place at the Notturno factory, just up the way from the central Piazza Tasso in Sorrento. They sell all manner of items as well, ranging from cheap keychains to music boxes to large furniture.

Cameos, small lacquered medallions which have been in existance since the Roman Empire, are also ubiquitous. As with the wood crafts, demonstrations are available, and the larger stores are located in and around Pompeii.

Finally, the Bay of Naples is home to some of the most traditional dishes associated with Italy. Pasta is said to have originated here, as is pizza, so while it might turn out to be impossible to load a few steaming bowls of spaghetti marinara in your suitcase, you can always buy all the necessary ingredients to make it back home from the very elegant food stores in Sorrento, or even from the local grocery stores. No old-fashioned neapolitan dinner would be complete without a glass of Limoncello, a local liquer made from fermented lemon peels, alchol and sugar, and it can be found just about anywhere. It's bottled in every possible shape and size, often with very classy looking packaging, but you can still find tiny stores which display the old rough hewn bottles of yesteryear.

Only a thirty minute train ride from Sorrento lies one of the most famous archeological sites in the world.

The thriving resort town of Pompeii was completly smothered by ash and lava in 79AD after the massive explosion of the volcano Vesuvius, which looms above the town. For centuries, nothing was known about the existence of these remains, until a renewed interest in antiquity led to the first artifacts being dug up in the eighteenth century. It was only in the nineteenth century, however, that digging began in earnest, and by the early twenties of the last century the site was already a major tourist attraction. Today the digs are at the center of a big operation involving hundreds of people, from custodians, to souvenir stands, hotel staff, and more. The revenue produced by all this could not come from anywhere else in this economically underdeveloped region.

Reaching the site is simple: it's just a few minutes walk from the train station, or just off the highway going to Naples and Salerno. The ticket office is located at the Porta Marina,on the other side of the main tourist area. An adult ticket costs 10 euros. Credit cards and travellers cheques are not accepted, but there is an ATM right by the gates.

As interesting as the ruins are,this can be a very tiring excursion. Temperatures can be extremly high as early as May, and there is hardly any shade once inside. Bottled mineral water, sold everywhere, is a must. You should allow at least two hours around the site; twice that if you care to see the entire area at a reasonable pace.

It is worth considering hiring out a guide for the visit. Travel agencies along the Sorrentine peninsula can arrange one, otherwise you can hire one right at the dig itself.

Surprisingly, there are very few places where you can eat, and, not so surprisingly, they tend to serve tourist-type food. It's probably better to wait until you get somewhere else, but if you want a full meal, the Hotel Vittoria, on the main square right in front of the site, is your best bet. They usually offer some kind of fixed price menu for 12-16 euros, and have a cafeteria type restaurant as well.

Remember to buy one of the books on Pompeii with the plastic overleafs showing you how things were and how they are now.

If you are really interested in antiquity,it's definitly worth considering a trip to the Museo Capodimonte in Naples, where many artifacts taken from the dig are on display.

If you only have one night to spare in Sorrento you can still cover a lot of ground.

From Rome, start early by catching one of the first trains for Naples; once there, you can go to the Circumvesuviana station close by, which is where all trains going to the peninsula depart from. Stop at Pompeii about thirty minutes after leaving the station, and spend a few hours there before proceeding on. If you have not got a hotel, go straight to Sorrento proper and contact the local tourist center there. They have contacts all over the area, and will usually make the necessary calls themselves. Campgrounds are also present outside Sorrento town, but it can be quite a trek to reach some of them.

Little villages such as Meta or Piano di Sorrento can be excellent value for money, and are very well connected to Sorrento proper by the Circumvesuviana train.

The trains run all day, the last departure from Sorrento being at 11.30 pm. Once you've settled in, you can do some shopping or relaxing on some of the beaches. If you have a vehicle you might want to consider driving dowm the southern side of the peninsula, along the famous Amalfi coast, but be warned that the drive is the most notorious in Italy, even worse than some Alpine roads, and it can take a fair amount of time due to traffic congestion.

The next day you can return to Naples via Capri, by catching a hydrofoil from the port of Sorrento, located at the bottom of the gorge in front of Piazza Tasso. After spending some time on the island, another fast hydrofoil ride will get you back to Naples in about forty-five minutes.

From the dock, the easiest thing to do is simply use a taxi to get back to the station; it's only a five minute ride from the port. Alternatively, if you've got a car with you, you can spend some time in Naples itself, as private vehicles are not allowed to disembark on the island of Capri.

The Italian goverment is currently building a fast train link between Naples and Rome, which should reduce the travelling time to roughly two hours, and which should (hopefully) be running by next year.