3 days in Sorrento itineraryThe Coast at Your Feet

5 stops · 13:00 to 21:30 · about 750 m between stops, in a straight line

1. 1

   13:00about 45 min

   Arrive & Check In

   Drop your bags at your hotel in central Sorrento and let the lemon-scented air do its work. The town's elevated terrace position, perched on tufa cliffs above the Bay of Naples, announces itself the moment you open the shutters.

2. 2

   14:00about 90 min

   Wander the Old Town & Marina Grande

   Spend the early afternoon walking the tight grid of Sorrento's centro storico — medieval archways, inlaid woodwork shops, and the Sedil Dominova loggia — then follow the steep path down to Marina Grande, the original fishing quarter where painted wooden boats are still hauled up on the pebbles. It feels a world away from the clifftop town above.

3. 3

   18:00about 60 minDrinks

   Aperitivo at Bar Syrenuse

   Return to the top of town for the golden hour. Bar Syrenuse is the place to ease into the evening with a Campari soda or a local limoncello spritz while the Bay of Naples turns amber below.

   More about Bar Syrenuse

   About 750 m to the next stop

4. 4

   19:30about 90 minDinner

   Dinner at Trattoria da Emilia

   Head back down to Marina Grande for dinner at Trattoria da Emilia, one of the harbour's most long-standing family kitchens. The menu follows the sea and the season — think spaghetti alle vongole eaten within earshot of the water.

5. 5

   21:30about 60 min

   Nightcap in the centre

   Walk back up from Marina Grande and end the first evening with a drink at one of the bars around Piazza Tasso, the main square in the centre of Sorrento.

7 stops · 09:00 to 21:30 · about 800 m between stops, in a straight line

Highlights: Amalfi Cathedral.

1. 1

   09:00about 120 min

   Ferry or Bus South to Amalfi

   In the main season (roughly April to October), take a morning boat on the Sorrento–Positano–Amalfi route from Marina Piccola, Sorrento's port. The first sailing usually leaves around 9:00 and the crossing to Amalfi takes roughly 1 to 1¾ hours. Out of season there are only a few sailings a week, or none, so take the SITA bus from the terminal at the Circumvesuviana station instead: about an hour to Positano and roughly 45 minutes more to Amalfi, with fewer departures in winter. Check the current timetable the day before.

2. 2

   11:00about 75 minSight

   Amalfi Cathedral

   The Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea dominates Amalfi's main piazza from the top of its broad staircase. Its Arab-Norman-style façade of striped marble and gold mosaic was rebuilt in the late 19th century, after part of the old front collapsed in 1861. Inside, the crypt holds the relics of the apostle Andrew, and the 13th-century cloister, the Chiostro del Paradiso, is one of the most serene courtyards on the entire coast.

   
3. 3

   12:30about 75 min

   Lunch in Amalfi

   Eat in Amalfi rather than heading back toward Sorrento, so the afternoon can go to Positano on the way home. Take your time after the cathedral and find a table in town before moving on.

4. 4

   14:00about 60 min

   On to Positano

   Head back west along the coast to Positano. In season the ferry from Amalfi takes about 20 minutes. Out of season, the SITA bus toward Sorrento reaches Positano in about 45 minutes.

5. 5

   15:00about 90 min

   Explore Positano on the Return

   Spend the mid-afternoon in Positano on its narrow stepped lanes, at Marina Grande, the main beach at the foot of the town, and at the church of Santa Maria Assunta with its majolica-tiled dome. Head back to Sorrento by late afternoon: about 30 minutes by ferry in season, or about an hour on the SITA bus out of season. SITA buses do not run at night, and the afternoon return from Positano often has long queues.

6. 6

   19:30about 90 minDinner

   Dinner at O'Puledrone

   Back in Sorrento, walk down to Marina Grande for dinner at O'Puledrone, a seafood restaurant on Via Marina Grande in the old fishing quarter. The menu centres on fish and seafood.

   About 800 m to the next stop

7. 7

   21:30about 60 minDrinks

   Evening drink at Fauno

   Fauno Bar sits on Piazza Tasso, the main square, and is often called a Sorrento institution. Order a digestivo and watch the evening crowd go by.

8 stops · 07:30 to 21:30 · about 32 km between stops, in a straight line

Highlights: Pompeii.

1. 1

   07:30about 30 min

   Morning coffee & breakfast

   Start the final day at a slow pace — a cornetto and an espresso at a neighbourhood bar before heading out on the mountain road toward Ravello.

2. 2

   08:00about 60 min

   Drive up to Ravello

   Hire a car or a driver for today. Ravello is about 37 km from Sorrento by road, roughly 45 minutes to an hour, and longer in summer traffic. The last stretch leaves the coast road near Atrani and climbs through terraced lemon groves and hairpin bends, with a wider view of the coastline at every turn.

3. 3

   09:00about 135 min

   Villa Rufolo & Villa Cimbrone, Ravello

   Ravello sits high above the sea, and both its great villas turn that height into theatre. Wagner visited Villa Rufolo in 1880 and pictured its gardens as Klingsor's magic garden in Parsifal; its terraces look straight down the coast. Villa Cimbrone's Terrace of Infinity, lined with marble busts, hangs over the drop at the far end of town. Both villas open at 9:00, so arrive early and take your time between the two.

4. 4

   11:15about 90 min

   Back down to the Sorrento peninsula

   Walk back through Ravello's car-free centre from Villa Cimbrone to your car or driver, then take the coast road back toward Sorrento. It is about 37 km, roughly 45 minutes to an hour of driving, and 20 to 40 minutes more on busy summer weekends. On many days from spring to autumn the Amalfi coast road runs alternate number-plate days from 10:00 to 18:00, and the calendar is set again each year. Self-drive hire cars are not on the exemption list, but cars with a hired driver (NCC) are, so check the dates before you drive.

5. 5

   12:45about 45 minLunch

   Lunch at Il Capanno

   Back on the Sorrento peninsula, stop for lunch at Il Capanno on Corso Marion Crawford in Sant'Agnello, the town next to Sorrento, across from the Hotel Corallo. Listings describe Italian and Mediterranean cooking. A simple meal before the afternoon trip to Pompeii.

   About 15 km to the next stop

6. 6

   14:30about 120 minSight

   Pompeii

   Drop the car and take the Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento station to Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri. The ride is about 30 minutes, trains run roughly every half hour, and the Porta Marina entrance is opposite the station. This is an out-and-back trip toward Naples, so arrive before last entry: 15:30 from 15 October to 15 March, when the site closes at 17:00, and 17:30 in summer, when it closes at 19:00. The site is vast, so pick one quarter to explore in depth rather than racing the whole grid, and look for the plaster casts and frescoed rooms of a Roman town buried in the eruption of 79 AD.

   

   About 17 km to the next stop

7. 7

   19:30about 90 minDinner

   Farewell dinner at Porta Marina

   End the trip back down at Marina Grande, where Porta Marina Seafood on Via Marina Grande serves fresh seafood with views over the water.

8. 8

   21:30about 60 min

   Last drink at Marina Grande

   Stay down by the harbour after dinner for a last drink at one of the places along the water at Marina Grande, then walk back up to the centre of town.