Learn how to spend 3-5 days in Sorrento, Italy– one of the most beautiful places in the world. Before I visited, I dove as deep as possible into my travel research, and we worked with an excellent travel agent. The results were utterly worth it, and now I’m here to share the best of the best with you. Let’s plan the time of YOUR life in Italy!
3-5 Days in Sorrento, Italy: An Overview
Sorrento is best known for its stunning coastal views of Mount Vesuvius, lemon groves, and delicious limoncello. It also offers easy water transit to popular Italian attractions.
A 3 to 5-day stay in Sorrento is ideal because it offers ample time to explore the town, eat local food, and visit nearby attractions like Capri, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast. It’s perfect for both relaxation and sightseeing.
I consider Sorrento to be nicer than Amalfi because it has fewer crowds in a similar location. Amalfi can be more expensive and crowded, especially in peak season.
- Where to Stay: Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria (a 5-star hotel)
- Where to Eat: L’Antica Trattoria, Ristorante Fuoro, Ristorante Bagni Delfino
Where to Stay: 5 Star Luxury Accommodations
The Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria is a 5-star hotel ranked third in all of Italy. It is a member of one of the “Leading Hotels of the World,” has a Michelin-starred restaurant, and was the #1 best travel experience of our lives.
PROS
The Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria is on a vast private property, which allows you room and space to breathe amongst the otherwise very small and crowded Amalfi Coast.
Tourists regularly try to get onto the property but are whisked away. This means guests can better relax and enjoy all of the hotel’s amenities in tranquility — which is hard to find in Southern Italy.
Our spacious, clean, and elegant room had a sitting area and a large bathroom, which we very much appreciated and enjoyed. It also had a breathtaking balcony overlooking the Gulf of Naples and Mount Vesuvius.
We loved the private pool, with delicious poolside drinks, food like Neopolitan pizza and spritzes, and the elegant inclusive breakfast in a decadent room filled with delectable Italian delights.
Even our simple Caprese salad room service was one of the best dishes in Italy, thanks to carefully grown, on-site produce and the most luxurious olive oil.
The best experience at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, however, is watching the sunset with a cocktail on the patio while listening to nightly live music.
It’s been traveled not just by us but also by celebrities and royalty throughout time. (We saw their pictures there!)
CONS
This is not the place to find a great deal. It’s one of the best hotels in the world, and the price reflects the amenities and service.
Pro Tip: The Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria has a private elevator that quickly transports you straight up and down a large cliff several stories to reach the water. In the 100-degree summer heat, we were extremely grateful not to climb several steep stories of public stairs.
Where to Eat: Lemons, Seafood, and More Delicacies
What to Eat in Sorrento: limoncello, local seafood, Neapolitan pizza, eggplant, baked gnocchi alla Sorrentina, and Lacryma Christi (tears of Christ) wine, the modern wine that most resembles Ancient Roman wines, which is still made on nearby Mount Vesuvius.
L’Antica Trattoria
Via Padre Reginaldo Giuliani, 33, 80067 Sorrento NA, Italy
L’Antica Trattoria is a higher-end, renowned restaurant with foodie-quality dishes. It caught my attention because they have a beautiful garden and a vegan tasting menu I wanted to try. While it’s pricy, we loved testing out some more creative and elevated Italian dishes in the pretty atmosphere.
I recommend booking several hours or a few days ahead and asking for garden seating.
Ristorante Fuoro
Via Fuoro, 23, 80067 Sorrento NA, Italy
Ristorante Fuoro is a restaurant right in the heart of the main street for shopping and tourism, so I had doubts that it would deliver an authentic Italian meal, but it ended up being one of our favorite meals in Italy.
Hands down, the eggplant was the best I’ve ever had, and the octopus was the best my husband has ever had. We still talk about this meal.
It’s also very charming inside. We did not book ahead, and we easily got a table.
Ristorante Bagni Delfino
Via Marina Grande, 216, 80067 Sorrento NA, Italy
Ristorante Bagni Delfino is a popular, highly-rated restaurant. Our hotel advised that it may be “hard” to get a reservation, so I recommend you book a few days ahead. They scored one for us on the same day, and it was my husband’s favorite dining experience in Italy overall.
It’s located right over the water, so sunset is the perfect time to visit. It’s known for its fresh local seafood, especially the seafood risotto, which my husband and many others ordered while we were there.
HOW TO GET TO RISTORANTE BAGNI DELFINO
The image below shows a yellow building and a white building on the lower right side, with a dock jutting out from them. That dock is Ristorante Bagni Delfino.
What to Do: Shop, Sail, and Relax on the Coast
Shop and Explore
There are two main streets: one is more high-end with luxurious items like jewelry. The other is more touristy. You can buy anything and everything “lemon” themed, hand-painted art, hand-crafted wooden boxes, and more.
There are some pretty churches and streets that lead in maze-like directions. It’s a fun place to explore!
Get On A Boat and Relax
You can charter a boat or take a ferry to the nearby Positano Coast, Capri, and/or Ischia.
The ferry we took left from the base of our hotel, the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, and we did not buy tickets in advance. The rides were short, and it was easy to do for a day trip.
They’re incredibly beautiful and worth visiting, but also small and crowded.
We also loved hanging out at the pool and on the balconies of our hotel. The views are nothing short of breathtaking.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
The My Brilliant Friend book series by Elena Ferrante is a popular quartet of books set in Italy, named the #1 New York Times best book of the 21st century. Post-WWII, two deeply complex female friends in Naples impart themes of education, class, and violence.
Season 2 of the HBO adaptation has scenes filmed at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, recommended above.
Sorrento Map
Spend 3-5 days in Sorrento, Italy, at a luxurious coastal hotel, dining on local wine, lemons, tomatoes, seafood, eggplant, and more. Relax and take a day trip to nearby Positano Coast or Capri!
You can find all the specific recommendations I made on this map:
