Naples To Sorrento, Italy Day Trip

Sorrento is one of those places that once you leave, you will forever be thinking about. Daydreaming about the beautiful scenery of the beach overlooking Mount Vesuvius. The gorgeous lemon trees and fresh breezes. The mouthwatering Calamari with a dash of lemon. The crisp delicious white wine you enjoyed while watching people walking on the marina. That’s just some of the experiences that we had on our recent trip to Sorrento. In this blog I’ll write about our day trip from Naples to Sorrento.

We woke up and left Rome around 8:30am on a Sunday morning in our rental car. Once we arrived in Naples, we found a parking garage to park our vehicle that was close to the Napoli Centrale on Piazza Garibaldi. Walk downstairs past the mall area to a ticket counter for the Circumvesuviana train. Just look up for the signs. In a corner you will find the ticket booth. We bought our roundtrip tickets, around 7 euros. We bought our three-year old’s tickets, but the man let me pass while I carried my daughter. I didn’t have to pay the 14 euros for them. The Circumvesuviana train stop at Napoli Garibaldi can be found on the lowest floor below Naples Centrale Main Train Station. There is a train that leaves every 30 minutes.

Tip #1- How do you ride the Circumvesuviana train? I read a lot of stories about how broke down, unsafe, and dirty the train was. To me, it wasn’t that bad. I’ve seen worse in New York City, Paris and maybe London. If you’ve taken the subway, tube or underground, you know they are not the best accommodations, but it gets you to point A to B quick and cheap. My advice would be to hide your valuables, don’t wear flashy jewelry, leave your expensive cameras at home. If you must carry a purse put it in front of your chest, with a hand on the zipper. That would be my advice in Naples, New York, or Paris. Don’t make eye contact, don’t speak to anyone and look out of the window. If you mind your business, people will leave you alone.

Once you’re in Sorrento, you will arrive by Piazza Tasso. Keep walking towards the sea and you will see the walkway to get to the bottom of the cliff. There is an elevator that was under 5 euro, but we decided to walk and take pictures. There is a public beach area that is not that big, but we just wanted to get our feet wet so that wasn’t a problem. The problem was that I told everyone to get their feet wet and everyone decided to jump in. Oh well, you only live once, right? When will they have another chance to say they swam in the Mediterranean Sea in Sorrento? Probably not for a long time.

Tip #2- Bring a small backpack with a change of clothes, unless you don’t mind walking around with wet clothes. As hot as it was, my kids were dry within the hour.

The water was cool, but beautiful. Our kids played in the water while I took in the view of the Bay of Naples, and Mount Vesuvius. There are very little to no waves. The deeper my feet got into the sand, the colder my feet became. I’ve never experienced that before. After about thirty minutes of splashing around I needed a snack, specifically Calamari. I asked a local for a good place to get some and he told us about Porta Marina Seafood. It’s located at Via Marina Grande.

We arrived at Porta Marina Seafood around 2:00pm. The waitress sat us close to the doors outside. We were right by the water, but in the shade enjoying the cool breeze. I just ordered a few appetizers, fries, and of course the calamari. I also ordered a glass of white wine that was so delectable refreshing, I regret not getting the name of it. The Calamari was fresh, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It certainly satisfied my calamari craving I had since we got here. After our appetizers the owner/chef came out to talk to us. We enjoyed the conversation and people watching for another hour. Before we left, the owner treated us to fresh Sorrento Limoncello. Limoncello is made from lemon zest, water, alcohol and sugar. Let me tell you, that was like nothing I’ve ever tasted. It was chilled, sour and sweet at the same time. I’m definitely a fan of Limoncello now.

On our way back to the train station, we stopped at Via S. Cesáreo to buy souvenirs. This street is filled with boutiques, café’s and souvenir shops. I picked up ceramic Limoncello glasses and hand painted wine stoppers.

Close to the train station we saw delicious pastries on display at Pasticceria Monica (Via Fuori Mura 26). I ordered a couple of cappuccinos’ and an assortment of pastries to enjoy on the train ride back to Naples. They had a large variety of pastries and Gelato. We ordered a few cornetto’s, cookies, and sfogliatelle. Let’s just say when we got back to Naples the pastry bag was empty. Every pastry was so fresh and tasty.

I’m so glad I included Sorrento in our itinerary. We had such a wonderful adventurous day. From riding the train from Naples, to relaxing on the black sand beach, to the best calamari I’ve ever tasted. Sorrento is at the top of my list of places I will return to. Do you have a city or country that stays with you long after you are home? Leave a comment below.