71. Sorrento and Isle of Capri. Travel to Sorrento and visit Capri on the Amalfi Coast, Italy.
As promised today we are taking you to one of – if not the most spectacular places in Italy.
Sorrento and the Isle of Capri. We are on days 4 and 5 of our small group tour from Rome to Amalfi with Intrepid Travel. We are loving the tour, especially the relaxing nature of this trip – no early starts, no rushing, and time to explore on your own, if you want to.
In this episode we will take you walking through the gorgeous lemon themed streets of Sorrento, through the piazzas and bustling shopping areas full of cafes, bars and restaurants.
Next we go to the most atmospheric, beautiful restaurant where we dine under the twinkling lights in the lemon trees of a citrus orchard. It was really nice.
One of our favourite days in Italy was taking a private boat to the Isle of Capri. Luca our guide arranged this for us – as it was an optional excursion – and it was magical. The sparkling blue water, jumping off the boat to swim in the Mediterranean, the views at the top of the Isle of Capri, and then singing and enjoying our trip all the way home.
To finish our perfect day we did a gelato making class – which turned out to be so much fun. We tell you all about the most popular and best gelato in all of Sorrento and the family who have been making it for generations, plus some of the weird – if not disgusting flavours that they have made.
Stay listening to the end to hear one of my funniest jokes – Lyle made me tell it – oh and I even sing a few bars of the song that will always remind of the fond memories of this tour, especially Sorrento and the Capri boat trip, plus the wonderful friends we made.
SHOW NOTES AND PICTURES BELOW
Sorrento
Sorrento is a stunning city on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. It is one of the most spectacular places you will ever see. The city centre is made up of pedestrian only streets filled with many designer shops, nice restaurants and lots of sun-loving tourists.
The town sits atop a 50m high cliff and has a population of 16,600. There is a stair case of over 100 steps that takes you from the central plaza - Piazza Tasso - down to the marina where you can catch private and public boats to Naples, Capri and other islands.
We stayed in a family-owned, centrally located hotel on the main street, called Corso Italia. The hotel is Hotel Del Corso. (see the map above for location and more info)
Ristorante La Limonella
This gorgeous restaurant is a 10 minute walk from the centre of Sorrento. It has all outdoor tables that are set under the lemon trees in the citrus orchard. It has a lovely atmosphere and our Intrepid Travel Tour group thoroughly enjoyed our evening here that our tour guide, Luca, organised for us. See the map above for more details.
Isle of Capri
Our group did an optional tour on a private boat to the Isle of Capri. The first part of the boat trip is along the coastline of Sorrento. You have a fabulous view back towards the city as you leave the marina on your way to Capri.
The Blue Grotto
One of the highlights of a boat tour to the Isle of Capri is to visit the Blue Grotto. Unfortunately this is only possible about 30% of the time due to tidal and ocean conditions.
There is a hole at the bottom of the cave, about 9 metres wide, directly below the entrance to the grotto. The hole filters sunlight from outside of the cave and combines with the entrance light to illuminate the sea waters which gives it its glowing effect. The cave extends 50 metres into the cliff at the surface and is about 150 metres deep with a sandy bottom.
Isle of Capri
Capri has a dramatic rocky coastline and covers an area of 10.4 square kilometres. The island is a solid block of limestone just over 6km long. The highest point is 589 metres.
Capri can be described as glamorous, exclusive, expensive, touristy with movie set views. There are a number of marinas where you can disembark and catch a bus or taxi to the top of the island.
We enjoyed a drink in one of the local restaurants at the main square and ate our lunch sitting on the steps of the church away from the crowds. There are many fabulous photo taking opportunities - all with spectacular views. Capri has some very exclusive, expensive private beach clubs that cost from 100 euro per person per day.
When it is time to leave the island you have to be ready to board your boat as each one has a small time slot in the port so the boats don’t line up and cause chaos with all the tourists.
Our boat ride home after lunch was so much fun. Our boat captain took us to some large grottos that had incredible rock formations and crystal clear water. We also were able to jump off our boat for a couple of swims in the Mediterranean Ocean which was an incredible highlight of our day. We sailed past many massive yachts and through a massive natural stone arch.
We would highly recommend doing a boat tour from Sorrento to the Isle of Capri. It’s a once in a lifetime experience.
After returning to Sorrento we had time for a quick shower and then we were off to a gelato making class. We weren’t that keen at the beginning, but once we arrived and met Mario, the owner of the best gelato shop in Sorrento we had an absolute ball. We loved the lesson and actually being able to be hands on in the process. The final product was absolutely delicious. Check the map above for the link to the gelato shop. Mario told us he makes between 200 and 300 kilo a day in the summer months and has made up to 300 different flavours including vegemite and parmesan cheese.
The Rome to Amalfi Tour we are doing with Intrepid Travel has been really enjoyable. We have had some amazing days, but not too rushed or busy. One of the best things though, are the friends we have made and the fun we have had together.
If you would like to hear all the stories from our time in Sorrento and Capri, or hear my famous joke and me singing the theme song of our tour group, then click one of the players above. If you would like to see any of the previous episodes we have covered in Italy then click the button below.