4 days in Sorrento with @baileyturvey

The Amalfi Coast has always been on the top of my bucket list and this summer, I luckily got to tick it off with a trip to the gorgeous town of Sorrento. After doing some research, I knew I wanted to head to the Sorrento side of the coast, as it’s got fewer crowds, and I’d only heard amazing things about the town itself. We were spending four days in Italy and I think we perfected the perfect itinerary for this one, so let me run you through exactly what we did…  

Day 1 – Naples and an evening in Vico Equense  

To get to Sorrento, you have to fly into Naples International Airport, which is around an hour away from the town. As we had an early morning flight, this meant we arrived in Naples before midday, so we thought we may as well explore the city for the afternoon while we were there. I’ve heard different things about Naples, with it not being some people’s cup of tea, but the city really surprised us! It has such a vibrant atmosphere – the streets are so colourful and the pizza was by far the best I had in the world – no surprises there, I guess… Oh, and it only costs five euros for an entire pizza! We didn’t tick off any sites in Naples but instead, just decided to wander around the streets, eat that incredible pizza, and have a beer in the main square. It’s exactly what we needed after an early morning flight.  

We then made our way down to the Sorrento Coast to a town called Vico Equense, which is just 10 minutes outside of Sorrento and where we were staying. This took around an hour and we got a trusty Flix Bus down – the views through the window were incredible, it was like doing a sightseeing tour. You can also get a train down or fork out for a shuttle or taxi but trust me, these aren’t cheap. That evening we checked into our hotel which was the Domo20, a cute boutique hotel in the hilltops of Vico Equense and I’d highly recommend. The first thing we did was enjoy our welcome peach bellini on the rooftop bar for sunset. This was one of the most incredible sunsets I have ever seen and really set us up well for the trip. Afterwards, we headed into town for dinner. Pasta was the choice for tonight and we decided to call it an early-ish night, ready for arguably the most exciting day of the trip tomorrow. 

Day 2 – Positano and Amalfi boat trip 

Today, we headed on an iconic boat trip around the Amalfi Coast – probably the thing I was most excited about on this trip. We opted for a speed boat trip for this one and I’m so glad we did, as the boat was incredible and there were only eight of us on the trip, which made it feel kind of exclusive. To balance the boat, two people had to go to the front, so we kindly volunteered, and it was the best decision. We definitely had the best views, and it felt even more like a private boat trip. We cruised along the coastline for an hour, and I think it’s arguably the most incredible coastline I’ve ever seen in Europe. We stopped multiple times for a swim and the water here is just like nowhere else.  

It was then time for our first land visit of the day in the iconic Positano. The view coming into Positano was worthy of a postcard and everything I’d imagined from seeing the pictures. We spent two hours here, hiking up to viewpoints, wandering around the narrow streets, and picking up some pasta with a view over the coastline. We set sail again and also got to stop at the iconic Fiordo di Furore. This is a famous cliff jumping spot, known for being one of the top spots in the Red Bull World Cliff Diving challenges. Of course, we didn’t jump off with it being over 30 metres high, but we were lucky enough to see someone else brave the plunge. The next stop on the daytrip was to the town of Amalfi which is a lot smaller than Positano but arguably just as pretty. We tried the famous lemon sorbet here which did come at the big price tag of well over 10 euros for a scoop – ouch! But I can’t say it wasn’t worth it… I can confirm, it was the best I’ve ever tried. Finally, we headed back to Sorrento to finish the tour and got ready for an evening in the town that consisted of pizza, a couple or more limoncello spritzes and soaking up the atmosphere of the lively town.   

Day 3 – Pompeii daytrip  

We got up slightly later today after two pretty busy days and wandered downstairs just in time for breakfast before they stopped serving. We fuelled ourselves up for the day and then hopped on a train to Pompeii. I’m not a big history nerd but my friend and I felt like Pompeii is a must-visit either way. You can get there in 30 minutes from Vico Equense – the trains run pretty frequently and cost less than five euros for a return. We got tickets to explore the ancient city on the day and were very glad the queues weren’t long at all – 10 minutes tops. After the nightmares we had heard of Pompeii being jam-packed, we were a bit nervous but honestly, we didn’t feel this at all. We also went at the end of July, which is peak season, but Pompeii is huge so it’s still easy to get about.  

The trip was super interesting and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re going to the area. We grabbed some lunch nearby and then got the train back to our hotel, where we chilled by the pool for a couple of hours before getting ready for our staple sunset drink at the rooftop bar. Then, we headed into town for a wander around the streets and market stalls before trying out the famous Frankie’s Pizza Bar. It’s definitely one of the most popular places in Sorrento, so you do typically have to queue to get in. But the wood-fired pizzas were incredible here and, as we were travelling as a meat eater and a vegan, it was perfect as it was pretty much a 50/50 meat vs meat-free menu.   

Day 4 – Sorrento  

Today, we based ourselves in Sorrento, explored the town and went to a swimming spot called Bagni de Regina Giovanni, famous for cliff jumping. This swim spot is free, which is perfect because a lot of the beaches in Sorrento are owned by hotels, so you have to pay a fee or meet the minimum spend with a sunbed. It also had a much more natural feel about it than the beaches in town – I would 100% recommend it. We had some work commitments today, but heard a trip to Capri is also incredible, so if you have the time to do a trip over to the luxurious island, go for it. We finished off our last night in Sorrento at yet another rooftop bar for sunset and enjoyed our final pasta dish of the trip and a Peroni in the main street area.   

Sorrento is hands down one of my favourite destinations I have visited in Europe and the entire Amalfi Coast lived up to its fierce reputation. If you’re heading there anytime soon, I’m sure you’ll have the best time, and I hope our four-day itinerary has helped give you some ideas for what to do. 

If @baileyturvey’s trip sounds like a bit of you, have a look at our Italy holidays and you can find all his picks on our Insiders Hub.  

Keep an eye out for the ‘Insider pick’ tag when you’re browsing our best deals and in your holiday search results, too. 

Looking for more articles? You’ll find them on the Inspire homepage.  

Author: @baileyturvey
Last updated:28/08/2024