A SUMMER IN SORRENTO

Keeping up my tradition of drip feeding you posts. Consistency is obvs not my strong point. So I'm home from my vacay (I can't get away with vacay, can I?) and as usual it's like I never left. Nothing like early teen temps and sorting out your recycling to take the wind out of your sails. I started this post when I got home and it was literally turning into the longest post in the history of blogging. So I've decided to break it into 3 parts, a mini series if you will - but like a Netflix one so you can totally binge read - they're all up now!

This one is about where we were based, info about Sorrento and Piano and I'm answering some of the questions I was asked on Instagram. Then I have a post all about our beautiful Airbnb and finally the last one will be delving into all the day trips we took and which ones are suitable if you have children and more importantly would I rather stay in one of those places over Sorrento?!

Right, get your tea, park your arse and lets go! 

So last year we went to Rome and Florence and instantly fell insanely in love with Italy. I mean, what's not to love? The food. Check. The people. Check. The weather. Check. The beautiful surroundings. Double check. Did I mention food? So when deciding where we would go this year, it was a no brainer. Whereabouts in Italy though involved some "debating".

We LOVED Rome so let's go back there right? - but this time we were going to go for 3 weeks and I definitely did not fancy hanging out in a city in the searing heat for that length of time. We have little Tomo to think about, he needed space to run around, water to splash in and sand to throw at people, so we just had to head for the coast. Once we came to that conclusion we knew that there was only one place to go and that was somewhere along the beautiful Amalfi coastline. For weeks we spent hours every day online researching the best places to stay and then deciding not to go because of expense, inaccessibility, the temperature and so on and so on. Then deciding to go because... "sure how do other people do it?" We went over and back on it for weeeeeeeeeks! Then before we knew it we just hit click on Aer Lingus and there was no going back.

So we needed a base, somewhere that had a beach within walking distance, to be really close to transport links to the rest of Amalfi and not too secluded but not crazy busy either. Where was this imaginary place that was in our heads? That was the million dollar question. 

I had really wanted to stay in Positano because I have heard nothing but amazing things about it but every time I started reading up on it, people kept saying that it was a nightmare with a buggy. Then I looked at prices of accommodation and that just made our minds up for us. It's really expensive, so it wasn't a runner. Especially because we were going for such a long period of time. So where were we going to go?! 

Then, whilst scrolling through Airbnb yet again, I stumbled upon a pretty little apartment in Piano Di Sorrento.  The reviews were INCREDIBLE, like, the best reviews I've ever read for anything, it ticked all the boxes and the price was manageable so even though we didn't know much about the location we just went for it! 

PIANO

We needn't have worried, we absolutely loved Piano, there were literally no other tourists there. Every morning we'd saunter out and get delicious espressos and the most amazing pastries filled with hazelnut chocolate. The Italians just nail even the simplest of things - such passion goes into everything.

There was a beach close by, it was a 15 minute walk or a shuttle bus that left practically outside our apartment every hour and it brought you straight to it. There were lots of great restaurants all within minutes from where we were staying and all were really family friendly. Another great thing about Piano, it's flat, making it easy to walk around. This might seem like an odd statement but when you start travelling around the rest of Amalfi and see all the steps you will really appreciate staying somewhere that is easy to get around. 

Read all about our Airbnb here.

SORRENTO

Ok, so lets pretend Dublin City is Sorrento then I suppose Piano is like Rathgar in distance. We walked one day and it took 50 minutes but it's not a pleasant walk. It's a very busy road with virtually no paths but fear not, the train was only a 3 minute walk from our apartment and you were in bustling Sorrento in 4 minutes (only 2 stops) for €1.60.

Eating out...

Now, Sorrento itself is beautiful, very busy, but very beautiful. We had dinner down at the marina a few nights and it is just so magical. I can recommend Trattoria De Emilia for food down there, great atmosphere, delicious food and right on the water. All the restaurants are seafood (but you should be able to get shteak if that's not your thang), and everything has been caught that day. The fishermen are usually family members of the people who run the restaurants. After your meal have a drink in Nonna Emilia, the seats are literally at the waters edge, it's just beautiful there. 

We only ate a couple of times in Sorrento as we were either in Piano or on one of our many day trips. Any of the restaurants that we did go to at the Marina were lovely and great value. For a casual but delicious bite to eat head to Da Francos Pizzeria on Corsa Italia. 

The beach...

The beach in Sorrento is like a step back in time, it's beautiful with all the quintessential Italian striped parasols and changing huts but it was way too crowded for me.  For beach days I preferred to stay around Piano. The beach in Piano was small but tourist free apart us three polar bears. The Italians got some laugh when we walked in. Really wish I had followed through with my planned spray tan. There are lifts down to both beaches making access easier than others along Amalfi. 

Transport...

Sorrento is basically the gateway to everywhere else you would want to see. So if you're looking to go to Positano, Ravello, Naples, Capri, Amalfi etc. then once you get to Sorrento, you'll find all the buses, trains and boats to all these places and more. The buses and trains are really great value but the boats are pricey enough if you plan on doing a few. Tom was free of charge everywhere and I think most children are, up to 4 years of age. 

The SITA buses were incredibly crowed especially the Amalfi one that stops in Positano. The queue was always miles long but Sabina (our Airbnb host) gave us the best piece of advice EVER. She told us to get the Sightseeing bus (It's the red hop on, hop off bus) It meant we could buy tickets to Positano or Amalfi for €15 return. You would always have a seat, the buses were air conditioned, no queues and you'd be guaranteed a seat on the way home so you didn't need to worry about waiting and queuing for the public bus. It honestly was one of those pieces of information that saved the holiday. It leaves right outside the train station in Sorrento and you're in Positano in less than 40 minutes. It's €10 one way (so you could get the boat there and the bus back) or it's €15 return (to both Positano or Amalfi, which is strange because Amalfi is an extra half an hour from Positano). Lastly, you can get a ticket for €21 which enables you to get off in Positano for a few hours, get back on the bus and go to Amalfi, spend a few hours there and then get the last bus back to Sorrento. It was the best money we spent on the holiday because it was just so easy and stress free with Tom. Another tip for that bus is to sit on the right hand side if you are going from Sorrento to Amalfi. All the views are to the right! 

We did trips every few days, read about all of the places we went to here. 

Here are a couple of the questions I was asked on Instagram....

Would you go in August again? 

No, I don't think I would. The heat was too much most days and the crowds made everything more stressful with a child. It's not just crowded with international tourists but most Italians escape the hot cities in August and all head for the coast to cool down. It meant that queues were long for everything. So it was just way too busy (and hot) for us. 

Is it as expensive as everyone says? 

I was getting a little worried before we left that we actually wouldn't have enough money to last the 3 weeks because everywhere I looked online just kept saying how expensive it was - but of course if you wander into the first restaurant you stumble across on some main square it's going to be overpriced, that's just the way it is. We found that once you just walk a little bit away from the crowds that everywhere is really affordable, actually not just affordable but cheap. I think the soft drinks are so ridiculously expensive in some of the restaurants that it makes you think the whole menu is but that's not the case. The only place that was consistently expensive was Capri.

I do think sometimes it's nice to splash out for the experience. Like one evening we went to this really fancy shmancy hotel overlooking the Sorrento harbour and it was €40 for 4 drinks (one of those drinks was a 7up and one was a small bottle of beer) My poor Dad is still not the better of it. He brought the receipt home and it's now behind the bar in his local! Lol. Saying that, I've paid more than that for a round of drinks in Templebar. If we were going for a week and I had no kids I would want to be in the thick of it and eating in all the nice places but I think it's such a waste of money with children. Imagine asking for chips and red sauce in a Michelin Star restaurant? No thanks.

Bottom line is, when you've lived, worked and socialised in Dublin very few places will shock you price wise.

Is it accessible with a children/buggy? 

Sorrento and Piano Di Sorrento definitely are accessible. It's flatter than the rest of Amalfi, making it easier to explore with the buggy. Plus both of them have elevators that take you right to the beach eliminating any unnecessary steps. In the day trip post I'll talk about each place individually but on a whole would I go back there with children? One child was definitely manageable but somehow I think that if you had more than one under 5 years of age that it would be a little tricky. It could have been the fact that it was August and the heat and crowds made everything seem a little bit tougher but I think it's all down to your location and accommodation. We're not massive pool people and I'm not that into "resorty" kind of places but maybe if we managed to get an apartment/hotel with a pool and had the option of staying put for some of the time then it would be fab but having to walk everyday to get anywhere was sometimes a biiiit of a drag. 

Are there amenities for children?

If you are going to Italy, don't expect childrens clubs and waterparks in the same way as they have them in Spain. In Italy it's all about the beach and swimming in the sea. The Italian families didn't seem to leave the beach until late. I actually found it really old school, in a good way. They all seemed to have sandwiches with them but instead of soggy ham and cheese, they were big crusty baguettes with juicy, beefy tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella and instead of a packet of custard creams being shared around it was crunchy biscotti. (I just laughed when I re-read that because my friend Evelyn always says that I'd make a mouldy slice of bread sound appetising.)

We did get a sight seeing train ride around Sorrento one day and Tom loved that. It leaves from the bridge in Piazza Tasso and cost about €6 per person, Tom was free.

TO FINISH...

If I was to go again I would consider finding somewhere with a pool or to be practically on the beach so that you didn't have to trek somewhere everyday if you didn't want to. As I said, Piano and Sorrento are accessible with buggys and there is such a family vibe in Piano and I was so in love with our Airbnb.

There are so many beautiful places in Amalfi that it's just so hard to decide where to stay. When you read my day trip post I'll tell you which places I think are a definite no go with buggys. 

So many people have asked me would I return and my answer is YES! Yes, yes, yes. Maybe not in August though. At times it was really difficult, the steps were testing, the heat was tough and the crowds were annoying but yes I would go back because I'm now just completely addicted to Italy (like actually strung out) and I don't want the methadone. I want the pizza and wine and pizza and Nutella and deep fried pizza and more wine. Get the picture?

I hope you find the other posts helpful! 

J x