Italy Sorrento Travel - Cruisers' Tips on Getting to Sorrento Italy

"Italy Sorrento Travel - a must-read for you who want to make an informed decision on how to get to Sorrento from Naples cruise port

Sorrento abounds with great souvenir shopping opportunities!

Adequately situated on the famous Sorrentine peninsula, Sorrento Italy is one of the most visited locations in the Bay of Naples.

Being so close to other places of interest in the area, it is very easy to combine Sorrento with at least one more destination… whether it's:

Capri Italy
Pompeii Italy and Herculaneum
Amalfi, Positano, Ravello
or Naples itself... it will all depend on your personal preferences.

We do suggest you combine it with at least one more destination to make the most of your time here.

Sorrento is a smallish town and Sorrento attractions don’t abound… it’s more about enjoying the atmosphere: having a coffee on one of the terraces of cafes in Piazza Tasso, enjoying the vistas and great Sorrento Italy weather, tasting a superb pizza, doing some great souvenir shopping…

Find out more: Where is Sorrento in Italy? How far is it from all the mentioned attractions?

As with most ports in the Mediterranean, Sorrento is easy to reach either by means of local transportation, through the cruise line organized shore excursions or tours booked online.

In this article we will provide you with all the options when it comes to Italy Sorrento travel.

Italy Sorrento Travel from Naples

Most ships will dock in the city of Naples and this will be your starting point for Italy Sorrento travel.

If you’re wondering how to get from Naples to Sorrento, here’s a few options:

1. ITALY SORRENTO TRAVEL: TAKING A TRAIN – This is definitely the most cost effective way of getting to Sorrento, perfect for those who don’t mind venturing out into ports of call and interacting with the locals.

You can read more about taking a train to Sorrento, cost of the tickets and getting to the train station in Naples in our article Italy Sorrento train.

2. ITALY SORRENTO TRAVEL: TAKING A TAXI TO SORRENTO – Once you get outside of the cruise terminal building in Naples, you will immediately be surrounded by taxi drivers eager to take you for a half-day tour around the Bay of Naples.

Most of them would rather take you to Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano or Pompeii Italy and bring you back at the end of the day, than just one way to Sorrento - it would be such a waste of time and money for them.

In my opinion, negotiating the price of transportation to Sorrento, or any other port in the Bay of Naples, with the taxi driver that you see for the first time in your life puts you in risk of getting ripped off.

Today, when there are so many trustworthy online platforms for booking shore-excursions and activities in port, there is no need for doing business in the street.

That is why, if all you want is trasfer to Sorrento and back, here's exactly what you need:

Considering it really is better to combine Sorrento and one of the other popular destinations in the Bay of Naples, we suggest you check this private transfer from Naples to Sorrento and Amalfi coast. At 120 euros for a group of three, this is a fantastic deal!

3. ITALY SORRENTO TRAVEL: NAPLES TO SORRENTO FERRY HYDROFOIL – Taking a ferry hydrofoil from Naples to Sorrento is quite enjoyable and exciting as you will have great views of the Bay of Naples and Vesuvius Volcano from the sea. Read about how to go about taking a hydrofoil to Sorrento in our article Sorrento ferry.

Walking to the end of the pier, to catch the town bus

4. ITALY SORRENTO TRAVEL: BOOKING A PRIVATE SHORE EXCURSION ONLINE - When booking private tours online you definitely get:

more flexibility with regards to the itinerary than with the ship shore excursions (cruise lines only operate with one tour operator)
an authorized guide that will treat you like royalty
and the more people there is in your party, the price drops considerably!
Most of the online booked shore excursions will include more than just Sorrento in their itinerary - as I have already mentioned, Sorrento can be seen in the matter of an hour of two and then you should proceed to one of the other attractive destinations in the area.

Here's the most common combinations and the best-buy shore-excursions:

a) Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii

b) Sorrento and Pompeii

c) Sorrento and Amalfi

d) Sorrento and Vesuvius

5. ITALY SORRENTO TRAVEL: TAKING A CRUISE LINE ORGANIZED SHORE EXCURSION TO SORRENTO – 10 years ago, this was pretty much the only option when it came to booking your activities out in port. Today, it's so far from that.

I suggest you check your cruiselines shore excursion prices before booking with them.

Italy Sorrento Travel: Ships anchoring in the Bay of Naples, right in front of Sorrento

If you are taking a Mediterranean cruise on one of the smaller luxury ships, your ship might anchor in front of Sorrento. In that case, you will take the ship’s tender boats ashore.

Your ship’s tenders will land in the area called Marina Piccola, which is the port of Sorrento from where hydrofoils and ferries to Capri Italy, Naples and Positano leave.

Sorrento Marina Piccola ticket booth

If you wish to visit the town itself and visit some of the Sorrento attractions or take a train further to Pompeii Italy, Herculaneum or Naples, you will need to get to the top of the Sorrento cliff, which is where they are situated.

To reach the top of Sorrento Italy cliff you can either:

Walk 200 steps up for which you need to be perfectly healthy as it’s very strenuous. It will take you about 10-15 minutes.

The little bus takes you from Marina Piccola to the town or all the way to the train station

Take the small town bus. The port bus stop/pick-up is on a little square just a few steps from the docks of Marina Piccola.

You will get your €1 tickets in the little kiosk by the square. The only problem is these buses don’t follow any particular timetable.

They leave when they fill up so you can wait for 10-15 minutes before your bus leaves. The ride up to the top of the cliff (get off at the second stop for Piazza Tasso, the main square of Sorrento, one of the Sorrento attractions) takes only about 5 minutes.

If Sorrento is the point of departure for your daily shore excursions in the Bay of Naples, take a look at some fantastic tours you can pick from: