Sorrento
How to Get Around Sorrento
Getting Around
Sorrento’s centre is small and walkable, and a car is a liability rather than an asset: parking is scarce and expensive, and the coast road is often at a standstill.
The Circumvesuviana railway runs from Sorrento to Naples in about an hour, stopping at Pompeii and Herculaneum on the way. It is cheap and frequent, and it is also crowded, hot and unreliable — budget more time than the timetable suggests. A faster, dearer Campania Express runs seasonally on the same track.
SITA buses go over the ridge to Positano and Amalfi. The road is spectacular and narrow, and in summer the journey can take twice the scheduled time. Ferries and hydrofoils leave Marina Piccola for Capri, Naples, Positano and Amalfi, and are usually the better option when they are running.
Within the town, a lift and a set of ramps connect the cliff-top centre to Marina Grande and Marina Piccola.
Connections from Sorrento
How easily, and at what cost, can you combine the region’s main destinations?
| Route | Best option | One-way time | Travel Smart take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sorrento and Amalfi Coast | Bus | ~1 hr 15 min typical, not a timetable | Comfortable as a day trip. Sorrento works well as a base for Amalfi Coast. |
| Sorrento and Capri | BoatPublic ferry · Reduced in winter | ~25 min typical, not a timetable | Excellent day-trip connection. Sorrento works well as a base for Capri. |
| Sorrento and Naples | Train | ~1 hr 10 min typical, not a timetable | Comfortable as a day trip. Sorrento works well as a base for Naples. |
Cost compares the options for each route rather than quoting a fare: inexpensive means the price is not a factor in planning, moderate cost means a real line in the budget, and the expensive option is one worth weighing against the alternative. Fares change from year to year; the ranking between them does not.