Tropical Italy - Sorrento

Sorrento is one of the most beautiful towns in Southern Italy. It is located about one hour south of Naples, with beautiful views of the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, and of famous Mount Vesuvius.

Sorrento's claim to fame is its lemon groves, which supply much of the lemons for Italy's famous limoncello liqueur. The town also has a lemon grove garden for the public in the centre of town.

The national train line ends in Naples, and then you can take the slow (and extremely hot in summer) Circumvesuviana train about an hour and a half on the circuit to the Sorrento stop. There is a bus that runs from the station up the hills to nearby hotels, and continues on to the small town of Sant'Agata, and then to Amalfi. Sometimes, it can be more convenient to take an air conditioned taxi, since the buses can be packed, and run only about once every half hour - hour.

The hotels with the best views can be found on the way to Amalfi, but there are also nice reasonably priced hotels in the town as well. Sorrento is an excellent base to explore other towns on the coast, like Amalfi, Positano, and the island of Capri. The town is considered safer than the notorious Naples.

Quick Tips:

If you are visiting in the summer, go during the mornings and afternoons to see attractions. It can get very hot in Southern Italy. Make sure you go on a few side trips from Sorrento if you are staying there for a few days. There are many amazing towns and attractions within the region.

Keep an eye on your valuables if you are traveling on the Circumvesuviana train. In the station and on the train it is known well for being thief-ridden. Women travelling on the train should stay in a car where there are more people.

Check out these websites for more information:

www.sorrentotourism.com

www.capritourism.com

www.aziendaturismopositano.it

www.amalfitouristoffice.it

Best Way To Get Around:

A taxi is the most convenient way to get around to the hotels that are farther up into the hills. It can be a lifesaver during the summer heat!

If you have less cash, or don't mind the heat, the SITA buses travel around Sorrento and into the hills. Check at your hotel or the train station for schedules.

If you are arriving by plane or train to Naples, you can take the Circumvesuviana train which only costs about per person. It is a great deal for budget travellers, but stops about 20 times between Naples and Sorrento, and has no air-conditioning.

If you would like to be in something a little more comfortable, or are travelling in a bigger group, taking a transfer service can be just as convenient. The price is about 90 euros between Naples and Sorrento, and they usually have 8 or more person vans to travel in.

The Hotel Residence Le Terrazze is located about a 15-minute cab ride up the winding roads from the Sorrento train station. The view is awesome. From the many balconies and the breakfast room you get a pristine view of the Bay, the town, the hills, and a distant Mount Vesuvius. The view is most brilliant at night, with all the lights shining and reflecting onto the water.

When we arrived we were delighted with the beautiful location. Unfortunately, the hotel did not have a lift as at July 2006, so we had to lug our heavy suitcases down the neverending stairs to our room. You access your room from the outside, where there is the great view, and you get your own private enclosed porch area, with vines growing up the gates, and a nice little patio set, clothes hanger, and tanning beds.

Some of the rooms are two stories as you may see on the website. We requested a three person room and ended up getting a very small room with a small kitchen. (150 euros per night). There was one double bed and a small wobbly single bed shoved in. If you are booking for a triple or quad size room, make sure you confirm with them that it is an apartment style room! The lights didn't work when we arrived so we called the front desk and they said they would send someone down. In the meantime, we walked to get some groceries at the small town of Sant' Agata (you can get a map at the front reception, but we did get lost anyways...) and when we returned almost 3 hours later, the light was still not fixed. We called again and they sent someone down with a new lightbulb.

Breakfast at the hotel was one of the best throughout Italy. There were the usual pastries, cereals, jams, and yogurt, and then there was fresh juice, and a delicious fresh fruit salad with watermelons and pears and tons of other good fruit. Mmmm!

The hotel has a nice sized pool which we used frequently in the hot sun. Tanning beds are also situated around the pool. The main lounge and breakfast room has a computer which was about 5 euros an hour to use. At the reception you can also get all sorts of information about the surrounding areas, and you can buy your bus tickets here.

Upon departure, the hotel arranged for a transfer to the Naples train station for about 80 euros.

The best part of this hotel is the cutest tail-less cat that roams around. He is so cuddly and adorable!!

Capri is a beautiful small island in the Mediterranean Sea, about a 30 minute ferry ride from Sorrento.

The easiest way to get to Capri is to take a ferry from Naples or Sorrento.
Return tickets cost about 25 euros each person from Sorrento.

Once you land in Capri, you have to take the funicular up to Capri Town, or you can take a bus right from the port to the other town on the island - Anacapri, and the famous blue grotto. As another option you can board a motor boat to go around the island and access the blue grotto from there.

We took the bus straight from the port to Anacapri, switched buses and headed to the Blue Grotto. You must purchase your bus tickets at the ticket booth at the port, or you can buy them on the bus. The buses are quite small which is necessary because the roads going up the hills to the other towns are quite treacherous! The roads are narrow and very often you have a view of the ocean or hillside off the edge of a steep cliff...
In the buses, you either have to sit or stand. You will be lucky to get a seat because the driver likes to pack on as many people as can be squished onto the hot bus.

If you do not want to be crammed in like sardines, you can hire one of the convertible style white taxis to take you to your destination. The fee can be high.

Once we arrived at the Blue Grotto stop, we had to wait in line on the stairs for about an hour before getting a boat to take us. There are manager type guys at the docking area who assign a boat to the next group in line. Once you get in the boat, you pay around 8 euros each person to enter the grotto. Then, your guide casually says to you that you can tip whatever you want, 5/10 Euros... Make sure that you tip him after the trip, because if he thinks the tip is too skimpy he may limit the amount of time you get to experience inside the grotto!

To go into the grotto, everybody has to lay down in the boat because the opening is very short. Inside, the water sparkles a brilliant blue, and you can hear the echoes of the guides as they sing away. You get paddled around in the grotto a bit as you marvel at the azul waters. Once back out, you must climb back up the stairs and wait for the next bus to take you back.

In Anacapri, we transferred to the Capri bus and took it to Capri Town. It was another white knuckle ride on the bus, but we did arrive in one piece. Hanging around in Capri Town, we ate a gelato as we gazed into the amazing view and had one of the best slushies ever. It is a little stall near the balcony overlooking the hills and sea - we had a slushie with fresh squeezed orange juice and lemon ice, it was the greatest ever.

Capri is a wonderful island, a world all its own.