01 August 2013

Day trip from Naples to Sorrento

I fell in love with Sorrento within 5 minutes of arriving there. I went there as a day trip from Naples but i could have easily stayed. It was exactly what I needed after the cool weather of Venice, falling ill in Florence and trying to stuff all of Tuscany in to a day. Sorrento was warm, sunny and relaxing.


To get to Sorrento from Naples I took the local Circumvesuviana (about 8 Euro for a return ticket) from NAPOLI P.Nolanan station. The train ride wound its way around Vesuvius, across valleys, through various small towns including Ercolano and Pompeii which I'd be visiting the next day and about an hour later pulled in to Sorrento. You can take this train from Napoli Garibaldi station which is the main train station in Naples and is only around the block from Napoli P.Nolana but you might not get a seat (timetable link).


Sorrento is a lovely town perched on cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Vesuvius in the distance. It’s not beach side town although you can go swimming or sun bake on the platforms in the bay. Its beauty is in the stunning vistas, the cobbled streets of the old town which are filled with little cafes and restaurants, shops selling everything from typical souvenirs to local produce to made-to-order leather flip-flops and inlaid wooden boxes. It was charming, inviting and very relaxing, it definitely slowed the pace of my trip a bit which was a refreshing change.


 



Dinner that night was at the Foreigners Club which I initially had misgivings about. It looked touristy, empty and promised stunning views which usually spells rip-off. But it was worth the risk, the views were indeed stunning! While having my yummy dinner, I had 180 degree views to watch the sunset trail purple and pink across the sky, I even saw the storm clouds over Naples and thanked my lucky stars I wasn’t there. The food was fresh (I love that they mark the menu where they use frozen food), generous and filling.




It was the perfect way to end my day trip to Sorrento before hopping back on the last train to Naples and it let carry me back through the night.
 

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