Planning Sorrento, Pompeii, Positano, Capri etc

[Alistair]

Our ship is scheduled to arrive in Sorrento at 11am on one day and leaves at 5pm the next day so we will essentially be in port for 30-hours. I'd like to fit in as much as makes sense and am wondering if those in the know could tell us how they would set up an itinerary.

 

In that time I'd like to try and see Pompeii, Ravello, Positano, Sorrento and get over to the Island of Capri. Would it make sense to do Capri the first day since we will be arriving late morning and see Pompeii, Positano etc the second day with an early start? I don't know distances or how long it takes to get places so anyone in the know that can offer advice would be greatly appreciated. We would use a guide for the Pompeii day and probably do Capri on our own if that makes sense.

 

Thanks!

[jotabecu]

Our ship is scheduled to arrive in Sorrento at 11am on one day and leaves at 5pm the next day so we will essentially be in port for 30-hours. I'd like to fit in as much as makes sense and am wondering if those in the know could tell us how they would set up an itinerary.

 

In that time I'd like to try and see Pompeii, Ravello, Positano, Sorrento and get over to the Island of Capri. Would it make sense to do Capri the first day since we will be arriving late morning and see Pompeii, Positano etc the second day with an early start? I don't know distances or how long it takes to get places so anyone in the know that can offer advice would be greatly appreciated. We would use a guide for the Pompeii day and probably do Capri on our own if that makes sense.

 

Thanks!

 

 

You would of course be brushing the surface, but it is doable.

Ideal to go to Capri the first day, just in case the weather changes., for the second day I would advise goint to Positano, etc. first since the drive might hit a lot of traffic, thios will take you the whole morning, you might have a chance to visit Pompeii briefly in order to get back to the ship.

Hope you have a chance to walk in Sorrento the first day after Capri, it is a lovely town.

 

Enjoy!!!

[Alistair]

Jotabecu - Thanks for your insights, it'll give us a good starting point for figuring out how to best spend our time.

Connie

[kazganymede]

Our ship is scheduled to arrive in Sorrento at 11am on one day and leaves at 5pm the next day so we will essentially be in port for 30-hours. I'd like to fit in as much as makes sense and am wondering if those in the know could tell us how they would set up an itinerary.

 

In that time I'd like to try and see Pompeii, Ravello, Positano, Sorrento and get over to the Island of Capri. Would it make sense to do Capri the first day since we will be arriving late morning and see Pompeii, Positano etc the second day with an early start? I don't know distances or how long it takes to get places so anyone in the know that can offer advice would be greatly appreciated. We would use a guide for the Pompeii day and probably do Capri on our own if that makes sense.

 

Thanks!

Please note that the drive to Pompei takes ages through the slums of Naples. We even had a GPS and it was a long trip through the small streets after leaving the autostrada.

 

We drove the Amalfi road and I must say Amalfi was lovely and had much easier parking than Positano. You'll be lucky to find any street parking in Positano. Ravello has some parking along the road. I think you can take a quicker route back to Sorrento or Naples than along the amalfi road but we drove both directions.

With Capri you have to wait for boats and then there is the cruise over. This takes a lot of precious time.

[Susan-M]

Agree with the 2nd post above, that doing Capri on your first day, and then Positano, Ravello and Pompeii on the second should work out well.

 

On day 2 with a private driver from Sorrento, I think your itinerary could go as follows:

 

7:30-8 a.m. start

~ 3 hours in total driving time

1 hour in Positano

1 hour in Ravello (lunch)

2 hours in Pompeii

3:30-4 p.m. back in Sorrento

 

Map with driving times: click here

 

A guide book that we found very helpful for our DIY exploring on our port stops in Italy: Click here

 

Enjoy!:)

 

p.s. If you don't get to Capri on your first day, enjoy Sorrento...it's a lovely town!

[TLCOhio]

Our ship is scheduled to arrive in Sorrento at 11am on one day and leaves at 5pm the next day so we will essentially be in port for 30-hours. I'd like to fit in as much as makes sense and am wondering if those in the know could tell us how they would set up an itinerary. In that time I'd like to try and see Pompeii, Ravello, Positano, Sorrento and get over to the Island of Capri. Thanks!

 

You didn't say on your logistics. Car? Public transit? Private tour? Some combination? That makes a difference for doing the right plan. It is good that your ship will be docked in Sorrento, right? That's much easier than being docked in Naples. Sorrento is a nice town for walking around, dining outside, seeing wood crafts, etc. Below are some visuals samples for what is to enjoy and love there. I would rate Capri, Positano/Amalfi Coast and Pompeii was your top three "must sees". Fortunately, you've got time to be able to do all three of those in a reasonable manner.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Positano is uniquely built along the slopping mountain side. Here's an artist's view as he paints this scenic site.

 

 

 

On Capri, we are departing on a smaller boat to visit the famed Blue Grotto. It is a very charming island with much to see and do.:

 

 

 

As we approached Capri, here is one of the large rock formations with a boat shown circling the island:

 

 

 

Here are some samples of what we saw in Pompeii with our guide. There are a wide variety of buildings, interiors, art and architectural objects, etc. Very interesting and historic!!!:

 

 

 

 

 

[Susan-M]

You didn't say on your logistics. Car? Public transit? Private tour? Some combination? That makes a difference for doing the right plan.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Hi Terry, She mentioned this in the last sentence of her OP; I assumed she meant a private driver, hence my suggestions in my post above:

 

We would use a guide for the Pompeii day and probably do Capri on our own if that makes sense.

 

Thanks!

 

Love your photos!:)

[TLCOhio]

Hi Terry, She mentioned this in the last sentence of her OP; I assumed she meant a private driver, hence my suggestions in my post above. Love your photos!:)

 

THANKS for having great taste in pictures! Sorry I missed that item. A private driver makes a huge positive difference to make this plan work well. Doing Capri from Sorrento works perfect on that first day and then the private driver for the second one. Lunch at Chez Black on the beach in Positano can be super wonderful. Have the fabulous "fish stew" there. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Alistair]

WOW you guys are awesome! Thanks so much for all the really helpful information and even pictures :D. I feel like I have an idea of how to proceed. The other option we're considering is taking the train, but that would only get us to Pompeii and back to Sorrento which means we wouldn't be able to see Positano so that probably isn't the way to go, though it would eliminate the traffic concerns. I haven't explored the bus option yet and think in light of the short time we have a driver may be the best option.

 

Thanks again!

[TLCOhio]

WOW you guys are awesome! Thanks so much for all the really helpful information and even pictures :D. I feel like I have an idea of how to proceed. The other option we're considering is taking the train, but that would only get us to Pompeii and back to Sorrento which means we wouldn't be able to see Positano so that probably isn't the way to go, though it would eliminate the traffic concerns. I haven't explored the bus option yet and think in light of the short time we have a driver may be the best option. Thanks again!

 

THANKS for the nice comments on the pictures! You could do the train from Sorrento to Pompeii. That works well. BUT, then without a car or driver you would miss not only Positanio, but also the scenic and very nice Amalfi Coast areas. Lots to see and do in this great region of Italy. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[GeorgiaPeach51]

For what it's worth regarding the train, it is very easy to take the train from Sorrento to Pompeii. Get off the train and Pompeii is right behind the train station. That doesn't help you do Amalfi coast and Positano, etc., but THAT portion of what you'd like to see is easy and wouldn't involve traffic jams....

[Susan-M]

For what it's worth regarding the train, it is very easy to take the train from Sorrento to Pompeii. Get off the train and Pompeii is right behind the train station. That doesn't help you do Amalfi coast and Positano, etc., but THAT portion of what you'd like to see is easy and wouldn't involve traffic jams....

 

We've done this as well...and I agree it's very easy. I was tempted to suggest it in my post above, but after seeing the Amalfi Coast, it's difficult to suggest possibly missing it.

 

I would try to organize a tour with a private driver and perhaps recruiting some fellow CC members from your roll-call to do the Amalfi Coast/Pompeii combination.

[canuck.qc]

We did it in the following order with a similar time schedule.

Day 1:

Train to Pompeii (Oceania had a shuttle up to town) hired a guide at the gate (2-3hrs), train back to Sor. took a boat to Capri (hired a convertible taxi)...back to ship on the last boat back

Day 2:

Booked a driver from 'Benvenuto Tours' for an Amalfi drive,Posit, Ravel. etc....back to ship.

Have a great trip.

[Alistair]

Thanks canuck.qc,

Very appealing itinerary, but our ship doesn't get to Sorrento until 11am. Would it really be possible to take a train (1-hr?) to Pompii and back (another hour) and then make it over to Capri? Somehow as much as I like the idea especially how it fits with day two, I wonder if day one would really be doable. What time did you ship come in on the first day? :confused: