Best Bets in Sorrento, Italy: B&T Travel

Sorrento, Italy, is the gateway to the Amalfi Coast. For us, it is the perfect home base while visiting the area with better prices, fewer steep hills, and more transportation options. Here are our top picks from our recent trip!

Where to Stay:

Ulisse Deluxe Hostel https://www.ulissedeluxe.com/

Address: Via del Mare, 22, 80067 Sorrento NA, Italy

Phone: +39 081 877 4753

Ulisse Deluxe Hostel is beautiful, close to everything, and affordable. Our triple room was enormous for the three of us, with a cavernous bathroom and air conditioning. The hotel/hostel also has a spa with lots of offerings. We took advantage of the thermal pool package, and it was a great way to relax after our travels. The pool package includes a hot tub, warm pool, steam room, sauna, cold plunge, and foot massage pool, all tucked away underground in a soothing cave-like environment. The staff were extremely kind and helpful in booking tours and arranging transportation. You can walk to almost everything in town from the hostel, which is great because Sorrento is a wonderful place to walk!

What to Do:

Amalfi Coast Tour with Shared Tours Mondo Guide https://www.sharedtours.com/

Make sure to request Michellene as your tour guide when booking your full-day Amalfi Coast tour. She has lived in Sorrento for over thirty years and knows everyone and everything! Touring the picturesque towns was comfortable and enjoyable with Mondo Guide, recommended by Rick Steves. Having someone else do the driving on the thin coastal roads that hug the coastline is highly encouraged. You will be amazed at how little space there is to drive. We loved visiting, eating, and shopping in Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello, but we were glad we did not stay in these towns. They are very crowded with tourists, expensive, and the towns are steep!

Private Cooking Class with Chef Domenico Tulliano at Hortus Sorrento’s https://www.hortussorrento.com/

Ulisse Deluxe Hostel arranged for us to have a private cooking class at the gorgeous Hortus Sorrento, at “Villa Zagara Sorrento, with its centuries-old olive trees, lush Mediterranean gardens, and stunning views of the Gulf of Naples, is a true gem of the region. The villa itself dates back to the 18th century and has long been a symbol of Sorrento’s elegance and timeless charm. The villa enjoys lush botanical gardens, meticulously maintained and blooming with vibrant flowers, fragrant citrus trees, and rare plants, creating a perfect oasis where nature and history intertwine”. Angeleo was our host, and he translated between the boys and me and Chef. We all fell in love with Angelo, and you could feel his love and dedication to this magical place. He took such excellent care of us! We got to cook in the dreamy kitchen fresh pesto and gnocchi, fried pizzas called montanara, and a unique lemon tiramisu. Chef was a patient and delightful teacher and really allowed us to get in there and cook with him. When we finished cooking, we dined on our creations in the exquisite gardens.

***Get Lost in Sorrento***

Make sure to take at least one day of your stay in Sorrento to wander. The maze-like, narrow streets are jam-packed with treasures to discover. Browse the endless offerings of lemon-everything from ceramics to soaps. Make frequent gelato stops and don’t forget to eat lemon gelato from the half of a fresh giant lemon. Dine atop the cliffs leading down to the deep blue sea with Mount Vesuvius looming in the distance, ever watching over.

Favorite Place to Eat:

Taverna Sorrentina

Address: Via apo, 10, 80067 Sorrento NA, Italy

Phone: +390818075503

So nice, we ate there twice! Be sure to call and make a reservation, as they fill up for dinner quickly. Everything is homemade and delicious. Make sure to eat the seafood and fish; you cannot go wrong. I will dream about the lobster pasta I had on our second evening there. The staff is warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable. My favorite memory of the whole trip was eating here on our last night, and the song "Volare" came on the radio, and the whole restaurant broke into song, including the staff. You felt part of something rare and true.

Final Thoughts

Sorrento was probably our #1 favorite stop on our crazy two-month adventure in Europe this past spring. We are already talking about “when we return”. The scenery is jaw-droppingly beautiful. The food was some of the best we had on our trip, yet it is the warm and welcoming people we met that will stay with us as we go on. I know Sorrento is a high bar we will measure our future adventures against.

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