Ahhh, Sorrento….it captured my heart and made my soul sing. I know that may sound a bit dramatic but you may have felt that same thrill before when you go somewhere new – yet if feels familiar, like you belong here. The energy of the place matches your own. You feel more alive, as well as, centered and content. It just feels like your happy place.
For me, Sorrento was my favorite place on the trip (Palma de Mallorca would be my second). Honestly, Sorrento might be my favorite place that I have ever been to – It resonated with me that much.
There are not many details that I can provide about Sorrento because our time here was pretty short (due to an accident delay on the way to Sorrento from Naples where our cruise ship was at port). The exursion we chose through Royal Caribbean was a few hours in Sorrento (A set lunch included at a specific restaurant), a short demonstration from a woodworking artisan, and then free time to stroll the streets near our meeting point location. I took the most photos here because everywhere I looked, I simply wanted a photo to remember it.
Sorrento is vibrant, full of color, flowers, breathtaking coastal views, an abundance of lemons (everything lemon flavored or lemon decorated), charm galore, and the best gelato we had on the entire trip (We tried gelato in every location even in Barcelona). They do not have a website but here are images and reviews on TripAdvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187782-d3345257-Reviews-Gelateria_Il_Duomo_Sorrento-Sorrento_Province_of_Naples_Campania.html
Since I have already sounded on the dramatic side with my love for Sorrento, I’ll go ahead and sound overly romantic as well (I am a romantic at heart). I don’t know anything about destination weddings or great honeymoon locales. However, if I were in that industry, I would put Sorrento top on my list of the most scenic, romantic, and beautiful places to have a wedding and/or honeymoon. It has a quaint and intimate feel to it, but also so much to explore and to do.
Next, our excursion plans were to drive along the Amalfi Coast until we arrived in the town of Amalfi where we would then board a boat to sail along the coastline to a town called Salerno where we would then board our bus back to Naples to return to the ship.
The beach town of Amalfi is only 19 miles away from Sorrento. However, on a good day, with no Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend (which ours happened to be) the 19 mile journey would take at least an hour because of the extremely narrow-very winding-soaring on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean road needed to get there. For us, the journey took over 2 hours.
Because of the traffic delay earlier in the day, and the additional drive time to Amalfi, the part of the excursion we were looking forward to which included a walk around Amalfi and then boarding a boat to Salerno had to be canceled. Our guide blamed the disappointing news on choppy water but in reality, we think we were just running too behind schedule.
We did pass through multiple beautiful coastal towns on these steep cliffs which offered stunning views up close of this very famously photographed part of Italy.
We wound up stopping in Maiori so that we could have about an hour to stretch our legs, get a bite to eat, and find some restrooms. Jerry and I would have loved to have had pizza or pasta on our last night in Italy. Unfortunately, we could not find anything nearby. With little time to eat before we got back on the bus and headed to Naples, we encountered a very kind bar and restaurant owner who promised us he would have fabulous hamburgers and fries made quickly with enough time to sit and eat them. He went out of his way to be very accommodating and hospitable so we, of course, decided this was going to be our last meal in Italy – burgers and fries (Which actually were indeed very yummy)!
We were back on the ship pretty late into the evening. The rest of our group had opted for another panoramic bus tour that day for Naples since they enjoyed the one in Rome so much. They said it was ok – not nearly as scenic or exciting as Rome had been. Jerry and I were so grateful to see the iconic Amalfi Coast but if we were to do it all over again, we would have opted to spend the entire day in Sorrento. I think the others in the group would have enjoyed that as well (and not done the Naples bus tour).
Had the bus trip through the coastal towns not been so arduous and taken longer than anticipated as well as having been able to do the scenic boat ride along the coast, the Amalfi Coast part of the excursion would have been very much worth it, however, all of this is subject to traffic, weather and water conditions, etc.
So, my recommendation for this part of the itinerary (Naples port) would be to choose any of the excursions that allow for a day in Sorrento. I don’t think you would be disappointed with that choice at all.
My final installment for this series will highlight some of the things we did on the Symphony of the Seas. Additionally, I will mention a few tips on what to expect when doing a cruise overseas, in particular, the Mediterranean.
Thank you for sailing along with me!
Thoughtful Travels 