So, Sorrento then

[E10 Rifle]

Any advice on places to stay, cheap flights/packages/places to book, where to eat and drink etc. Going sometime in late September.

Though I'm beginning to think all these threads should be bundled into an all-purpose "Plan my holiday for me why don't you" thread.

[ursus arctos]

So, Sorrento then

You will need to fly into Napoli (or perhaps take a train from Rome) if the flights are much cheaper.

I really like Napoli, but realise that it isn't to everyone's taste. How long are you going for?

BTW, you picked just about the perfect time of year.

[ad hoc]

So, Sorrento then

Didn't Caliban get married in Sorrento? She's probably a good source of info.

[E10 Rifle]

So, Sorrento then

How long's the train from Rome? Flights seem a bit more plentiful to there.

[EIM]

So, Sorrento then

It's a restaurant in Grantham.

Ace choice for a holiday, though you may wish to travel a bit to The Pizza Place across the square.

[ursus arctos]

So, Sorrento then

At best, 1h10 from Roma Termini to Napoli and then an hour to Sorrento, with a change of trains (and railways). Add to that 30 mins for the train from the main airport (FCO) to Termini. If you fly into Ciampino (the smaller Rome airport), I think you will need to take a cab to Termini.

[Anton Gramscescu]

So, Sorrento then

I thought that there was a train or a train/bus from Ciampini to Termini?

Anyways, Sorrento is pretty small. You can walk the whole thing in about two hours.

Get out and see the towns on the other side of the peninsula, the Amalfitana. It's a 45-minute bus ride to Positano, 1.25 hours to Amalfi and 1.5 to Ravello. (less by boat, but I'm not sure there is a direct service - you might have to go via Capri or Naples, which would be a wate of time). If you're in the area, you should take the time to see all three (especially Ravello, which is fucking stunning, plus you might wander into Gore Vidal).

Drinking Limoncello is mandatory in all of these places.

Capri is also worth a trip, although the high level of glitz and density of tourists can be off-putting (if you do go, go to the grotto azzurro, which is also quite spectacular).

I envy you. The Amalfitana is one of the most beautiful places in the whole world.

[WOM]

So, Sorrento then

I'm convinced I wandered into Vince Clarke while I was on Capri. The only reason I thought I was mistaken was because he was with a woman who he was clearly with, and I've always laboured under the mistaken belief that he's gay.

[ursus arctos]

So, Sorrento then

There are buses from Ciampino, but no train at the airport. There are also buses to the closest metro stop (which is still quite a way from the centre).

[West End Zuma]

So, Sorrento then

I think Gore Vidal lives in LA now.

[ursus arctos]

So, Sorrento then

Here is a good website (in English) with quite a bit of basic travel information, including links to ferry and railway schedules and the like.

I second Gramsci's recommendation of the Amalfitana in general. It can be a jaw-droppingly gorgeous place.

[wingco]

So, Sorrento then

Yes, I had a great holiday in Amalfi a few years ago. Lemon country.

[bovril]

So, Sorrento then

there is this amazing cove just outside Sorrento where (I think) Augustus used to bathe.

I spent a lovely afternoon there way back sometime.
Well worth a visit.

Also - visit Pompeii if you like your history and want to see the worlds first kebab shop

Totally agree with the others about the Amalfi coast - stunning

[ursus arctos]

So, Sorrento then

E10, PM for you.

[Caliban]

So, Sorrento then

Oooh, I can so help you with this.

Travel:

By bus: The easiest way to get to Sorrento and is by bus from Naples. Six buses a day, run by Curreri Bus Service, depart from directly outside the arrivals area of Naples Airport. The bus goes via several towns before stopping at Sant’agnello, and terminates at Piazza Tasso in the centre of Sorrento. The trip takes a little over one hour and costs around €6 per person.
Timetables can be found at www.bus.it/curreri/autolineee.htm

By train: Take a bus from Naples airport to the Napoli Centrali Station (Piazza Garibaldi). At Napoli Centrali take the stairs to the underground and head for the Circumvesuviana line. Trains to Sant’agnello and Sorrento depart every 30 minutes, take just over an hour and cost around €2.60.
See www.trenitalia.com/it/nazionali.shtml and www.vesuviana.it/infoeng.htm for more information.

By taxi: A cab from Naples airport to Sorrento via Sant’agnello will cost around €90

By boat: Take a bus or taxi from Naples airport to Piazza Municipio and walk to Mergellina port. There are several different hydrofoils and ferries linking Naples and Sorrento, and with a 40 minute journey it is quicker than the train or bus, although it costs double. The boats arrive at Sorrento Port, which is a steep 500m climb from the town centre. However there are shuttle buses from the Sorrento Port that run to Piazza Tasso, and buses from Piazza Tasso to take you to Sant’agnello.
See www.metrodelmare.com/inglese/home.htm and www.sorrentotourism.com/eng/ for more information.

Another option is to fly to Rome and take the high-speed express train that connects to Naples in an hour and a half. From the main platform at Napoli Centrale, turn left and walk along the platforms until you get to the entrance for the Circumvesuviana line and the trains to Sorrento.
Timetables can be found at www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

I can PM you some places to stay if you want.

[E10 Rifle]

So, Sorrento then

Thanks Ursus (have PM-ed back) and Callie. Yeah, any info on places to stay would be good.

[Er Liquidatore]

So, Sorrento then

If you fly into Ciampino (the smaller Rome airport), I think you will need to take a cab to Termini.

For once Ursus is wrong, wrong, wrong. The bus from Ciampino airport to Anagnina (the bottom stop on the Metro line) is about 15 mins and it's 30 mins to Termini on the metro. It'll cost you 2.20 to get there as well, much better than the overpriced bus to the centre. PLus, you go through Colli Albani, where we are. Which obviously makes it the better way to go.

[Er Liquidatore]

So, Sorrento then

Oh, and it will be fucking hot out there, if Rome is anything to go by.

[E10 Rifle]

So, Sorrento then

Callie, PM

[the cantering captain]

So, Sorrento then

I stayed here in a campsite bungalow. I thought it was great, way cheaper than the hotels and because it's a bit out of town ( 10 minutes on a regular bus ), isn't as manic. Has its own bay for swimming, leaping off the rocks into the med after a days trekking about was fantastic.

The bungalows are fairly basic, but they're clean, you get your own toilet, and they're well spaced out in the greenery on the hill, making them fairly secluded.

Lots of kids and groups obviously, but everyone seemed to follow the 12.00 curfew.

[ursus arctos]

So, Sorrento then

E10, our Sorrentian friend is travelling and probably won't be able to get back to me before the time you were thinking to book. He may well have restaurant tips for the fall, though.

And as Liq notes, I really hope that it cools down for you by then. This week has been brutal all over the country.

[E10 Rifle]

So, Sorrento then

You talk of 12 o'clock curfews as if they're a good thing, Captain, which strikes me as somewhat contrary to the whole point of going to southern Europe

[the cantering captain]

So, Sorrento then

Should have been more specific, it's not a 'stumbling home' curfew, or 'going to bed' curfew, or even a party curfew, just a 'stop having a massive teenage party right next to my hut with fireworks and a speaker system the size of mount etna' curfew.

[Sundeporino]

So, Sorrento then

Jeez E10 Rifles having the same holiday as Ms Raff and I and at the same bloody time of year as well!!. (Rome flights then train was our choice as the prices are astronomical).
Will the last person to leave Walthamstow please turn off the lights.

[E10 Rifle]

So, Sorrento then

Well thanks for the advice all. The Amalfi Coast is indeed the jewel of the region - absolutely breathtaking, though Christ there's some serious wealth round there isn't there (Capri, for example, lovely though it is, especially the caves, seems to exist to suck money from you). And we were there at a time of year when yer ageing middle-class Mail/Telegraph reader absolutely dominates the tourist demographic.

Did the Pompei and Herculaneum ruins too, and can concur with Urus on Napoli, based on the day we spent there. Bustling, scruffy, easy to get lost in and poor though it is, I rather liked it and didn't really feel especially threatened, though to overhear the hysterical way some tourists talked about it ("don't go there", "my wife thought we were going to die when we went there") you do wonder whether these people have ever been to any sort of city of any description. Beautiful region has poor people in it too. Deal with it.

Great, great food too, though it's easy to get ripped off. And Limoncella's fucking horrible.