The Best Day Trips From Sorrento, Italy

The famous island of Capri is a short ferry ride from the main port of Sorrento with plenty of departures in the months between the Easter holidays and early October. You can also take a private boat and schedule your day to your liking. Once in Capri you can have a coffee in the famous piazzetta, shop for designer duds on the luxurious Via Camerelle and take the chairlift to the top of Monte Solara for a bird’s eye view of the island and back towards Naples.

Positano is the first Amalfi Coast town coming from Sorrento and is a short ferry or bus ride away. Spend the day in the pastel vertical town shopping for beach coverups and made to measure sandals. Swim at one of the chic beach clubs and have a long leisurely lunch near the sea. Before you head back, make sure to stop and have an ice lemon granita from the small cart in the Piazza Mulini.

Naples is a chaotic, noisy, ravishing city and well worth the trip from Sorrento. For the archaeology buff, the National Archaeological Museum is filled with many of the most important artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum. At the other end of the historical spectrum is MADRE, an art museum filled with three floors of contemporary art. For the food lover, Naples is home to some of the world’s best pizza, pastries and coffee.

Paestum was an ancient Greek city that was known as Posidonia. The remains of this rich empire are still visible today. Visit the remarkably intact remains of three temples dedicated to Neptune, Athena, and Hera in the Archaeological Site of Paestum. The museum holds more fragile items like ancient urns and the magnificent painted Tomb of the Diver from 470 BC. There are several water buffalo farms nearby where you can try gelato, cheese, and salami all made from rich creamy buffalo milk.

One of Italy’s active volcanos, the last major eruption was in 1944. Of course, the mountain is most famous for the eruption that destroyed Pompeii in 79 AD. There are nine hiking trails to choose from on the slopes of Vesuvius; the four mile Monte Somma climb from the trailhead to the 4,000-foot summit is reached by foot along a wide flat ashy covered trail. From the edge of the crater are views over Naples, Pompeii, and the sea, and you might even see smoldering depressions.

One of the world’s most famous archeological sites is a 30-minute drive from Sorrento. Arrive early to beat the crowds and summer heat as there is not much shade inside. Pompeii is vast so it really makes sense to book a guide so that you really get some context to this amazing Roman city. There is so much to see here; highlights include temples, frescoes, salacious graffiti, Roman roads with ruts made by ancient carriages and ghoulish plaster casts of citizens who did not escape the volcanic eruption from nearby Vesuvius.