Sorrento in April — Honest Tips on Getting There, What It Costs and Why to Watch Your Limoncello
- Apr 26
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 27
Let me start with something that might surprise you. After seven nights in Sorrento in April, I came home thinking it was a genuinely brilliant destination — and I'm still slightly annoyed about that, because "genuinely brilliant" doesn't make for very entertaining reading.
So let's talk about the bits that do.I also filmed our time in Sorrento, you can watch it here if you'd like to see it rather than just read about it.
Getting to Sorrento from the UK — The Relaxed Way
We took the train from our local station to London Euston, the tube across to Victoria, and then Southern Rail down to Gatwick. One night at the Premier Inn A23 before the flight — which, if you haven't done the "stay near the airport the night before" thing, is one of those travel decisions that makes you feel unreasonably smug in the morning.
The journey was straightforward and genuinely relaxed, providing you can manage your own luggage. No white-knuckle dash through terminals, no 4am alarm from home. I'd do it again without hesitation.
On the way back there was a tube strike, which had the potential to be a complete disaster. By some miracle the Victoria line was still running, so we got through fine. I'm choosing to call that good planning rather than luck.
Naples Airport in 2025 — Allow Extra Time
Naples Airport is where the relaxed vibe temporarily evaporated. The EU has recently introduced new biometric scanners, and the queues on both arrival and departure were substantial. Factor in extra time. Seriously. Don't be the person sprinting to their gate because they assumed it would be fine.
We'd booked a private transfer from the airport with Transfeero partly because we were arriving in the evening and partly because navigating an unfamiliar city at night with luggage didn't appeal. The hotel owner was waiting for us, everything went smoothly, and it was worth every penny.
On the return, the bus from Sorrento bus station into Naples is worth knowing about — it's conveniently located, very cheap, and we'd happily have used it. The catch in April is that they don't run a full timetable, and given the time we'd already lost at passport control on the way in, we decided the private transfer was worth the extra cost for the peace of mind. If your flight is later in the day and you're not cutting it fine, the bus is a great option.
First Impressions of Sorrento — and Where to Stay
Good. Really good, actually.
The hotel — Diamond Suites — couldn't have been better located. Within ten minutes on foot you've got the port, the marina, the bus station, the train station and a supermarket. For a base, it's pretty much perfect.
The hotel itself is a collection of rooms in a lovely gated area — you get your own key, it feels private and secure, and it's spotlessly clean and comfortable. The owner isn't on site but is immediately available by phone or WhatsApp and genuinely helpful. The bathroom is excellent and I may have spent an unreasonable amount of time in the steam shower. My only wish would have been a small kitchenette — somewhere to keep drinks cold and throw together a snack in the morning — but that's a personal preference rather than a criticism.
By day one we were already out doing a coastal walk. Sorrento has some beautiful walking routes along the clifftops with Mediterranean views that justify every cliché ever written about the Amalfi Coast. The walk out towards Bagni Regina Giovanna — ancient Roman baths set into the rocks — is well worth the effort and a good way to shake off the journey.
How Touristy Is Sorrento — and When Is the Best Time to Visit?
Sorrento is unashamedly a tourist town and the prices reflect that. Most restaurants charge 15–20 euros for a pasta dish, and a bottle of wine will set you back 20–30 euros. There's a certain sameness to the menus and the pricing that suggests the restaurants know exactly what they can get away with.
A few things worth knowing before you sit down anywhere:
There's usually a cover charge of around 2 euros per person just for the privilege of being seated. Service charges appear. And if a waiter materialises at the end of your meal with two glasses of limoncello and a warm smile — enjoy the limoncello, but know that it will appear on your bill at around 4 euros a glass. It's not offered. It's sold. Charming, but sold.
We visited in April and I'd strongly recommend it. The weather was good, the crowds were manageable, and we could actually get on a bus. In peak summer I imagine Capri, Amalfi and the local transport routes become a particular kind of hell. April felt like the sweet spot.
Where to Eat in Sorrento — Skip the Famous Places
My best meal in Sorrento was at Marina Grande, which sounds grander than it is. It's not the smart marina — it's the scruffier, older, more local one, and it's absolutely worth finding. A little seafood restaurant Porta Marina Sea Food served us two pasta and fish dishes, half a litre of local wine in a carafe, and threw in two glasses while we waited for a table. Total bill: 59 euros. The local carafe wine is around 15 euros a litre and it's perfectly decent.
Compare that to dinner at one of Sorrento's most famous restaurants — set in olive gardens, historic, popular, two sittings a night, the whole theatre of it. The food was fine. It was also exactly what I'd expect from a decent cruise ship buffet. Perfectly pleasant, completely forgettable, and not cheap.
Sometimes the most famous place in town is famous for the wrong reasons.
How Much Does a Week in Sorrento Cost?
All in — flights, hotels (including the Gatwick night), transfers, food, drinks, buses, taxis, the odd gift — Sorrento cost us around £340 per day for two people. For a week in Italy in a well-located hotel with decent food and wine, I think that's fair. You could do it cheaper with a kitchenette and more self-catering. You could also spend considerably more if you ate at the wrong places every night.
Prints from this trip and my other travels are available in my Etsy shop.
Coming up next: the day trips — because Sorrento is really a base rather than a destination, and what you do from it is where it gets interesting.
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