Three Days in Sorrento, Italy, Sorrento, Italy

If you only have three days to spend on the Amalfi Coast, I recommend staying in Sorrento as it is a very good central location for seeing the area. Having said that, if you are looking for rest and relaxation on the coast, three days is not enough time. I recommend staying at least week midway along the Amalfi Coast so that you can avoid the crowds and visit the popular towns in the evening when the masses have gone home for the day. I thought I was going in the off season during September, and compared to August, apparently I was, but it certainly felt otherwise. This is what I learned during my time in Sorrento and on the Amalfi Coast.

It’s likely easiest to fly into Naples to eliminate two train rides, but the airline pricing from the USA encouraged me to fly to Rome. From Rome, it takes three train rides to get to Sorrento, but it is the most affordable route. The first is the Leonardo Express train, a non-stop service between the airport (FCO) and Roma Termini (the main station). The train departs every half hour from 6:23 to 23:23, and the trip takes 32 min.

Once at Roma Termini, purchase a ticket at one of the many kiosks (self-explanatory) to Napoli Centrale. There are a few train options. I used trainitalia. The high speed train takes 1.25 hours. The ticket prices vary based on car class are lower if purchased in advance online. Second class is perfectly comfortable. The reserved seat and car number are printed on the ticket. The train can be very full depending of the time and date of travel. I chose to wait until I arrived to purchase my ticket just in case my flight was delayed, and rode a somewhat empty train to Napoli on Wednesday, but my return train on Sunday was completely full. I felt lucky to get a ticket on same day travel. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).