A town for tourists, quintessential South Italy town of sun, sea and lemons. A great base to explore South Italy…
Our first day in Sorrento was a short tour with our guide of the town itself. It is a delightful town perched on a small cliff above a couple of small marinas full of bars and sunbeds. The main high street is filled with souvenir shops, small antique shops, leather work and art shops, ice cream and limoncello, all the delights of Italy. If you’re looking for a picturesque Italian seaside town then look no further.
On the morning of day 6 we set out from our hotel towards Vesuvius. A short (albeit steep) hike over fine volcanic rock and sand took us up near the crater. The climb was tricky and while there was no smoke rising from the crater, the views were spectacular. It is really interesting travelling up the volcano and seeing the devastating effect it can have, with scorched woodland and solid lava flows all around.
After Vesuvius we made a quick stop for lunch and then headed to Herculaneum, the smaller of the two main archaeological sites in the bay of Naples (the other being Pompeii of course). This was destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD, along with Pompeii however most argue that Herculaneum is the better preserved. This is because Herculaneum is closer to the volcano than Pompeii, as such Pompeii was hit by a lot of falling rock that was thrown up into the sky while Herculaneum was likely destroyed by the lava flows themselves, preserving more of the structures. The most emotional scene was the boathouses, where over 55 skeletons were found waiting to flee the city by sea.
Another day in Sorrento we set out on a ferry to the island of Ischia. Not as famous as the millionaires playground Capri but very beautiful and worth the day trip. We spent the first half of the day catching the ferry over and exploring the Island and the views from the top. Again these were just spectacular and the weather and scenery were beautiful. An interesting sight in Ischia is the houses which are often carved from the rock face on the hillside, rather than being built above ground, giving the impression of Hobbits or other fantastical dwellings.
Then we headed to Giardini La Mortella, a tropical garden developed by the wife of Sir William Walton, the British composer. If you like gardens or just fancy a peaceful place to relax then I definitely recommend exploring the gardens. There are lots of interesting species including an orchid house, some beautiful displays and water features, and a small aviary full of tropical birds.
The rest of our time in Sorrento was spent relaxing by the pool or beach, including a quick wander to the Baths of Queen Giovanna, a set of small ruins with a little picturesque blue cove.
