Amalfi Coast in Summer: Salerno, Sorrento and a Day on Capri

Our time on the Amalfi Coast was short – just a few hours in Salerno and two nights in Sorrento – but it gave us a taste of one of Italy’s most famous stretches of coastline.

After our time in Puglia, we were heading west toward Ischia, so Sorrento made sense as a stopover. Its easy ferry connections to the island meant we could enjoy a little of the Amalfi Coast without adding another complicated travel day.

It also gave us a chance to experience two very different sides of the region. For our entire Italian itinerary, see this post.

A Few Hours in Salerno

Our first stop was Salerno, where we spent a few hours exploring before returning our rental car at Naples Airport.

I wish we could have stayed longer.

Salerno had a beautiful waterfront, a lovely beach and a noticeably more relaxed feel than what we would experience in Sorrento. We also had one of our memorable meals at Matta Pasta Bar. The pasta was excellent, but strangely, what our kids are still talking about is the bread. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that become the lasting food memories.

After our short stop in Salerno, we drove to Naples Airport to return the car and then traded four wheels for a coach bus to Sorrento. We also got some great views of Mt Vesuvius.

Arriving in Sorrento

The bus ride from Naples to Sorrento took about an hour, and I was very happy to be sitting back and enjoying the scenery rather than navigating the roads in our rental van. The roads along this part of the coast are famously winding. We had expected much more traffic, and fortunately it wasn’t as bad as anticipated.

The views as we arrived in Sorrento were spectacular.

Sorrento sits high above the water, and the combination of cliffs, sea and colourful buildings makes quite an entrance. It was exactly the kind of view that makes you stop and think, yes, this is why people come here.

We were staying right in the heart of town, which meant we were immediately immersed in the energy of Sorrento.

And there was a lot of energy.

Sorrento in Summer

Sorrento in the summer feels like one big party.

The streets were packed, restaurants were busy, shops were buzzing and there were people everywhere. It was fun and lively, but it was also noticeably more touristy than the places we’d visited earlier in our trip.

The other surprise was the heat.

I had somehow convinced myself that being beside the water would mean cooler temperatures. I was very wrong.

We experienced temperatures well over 40°C, and the humidity didn’t disappear when the sun went down. Evenings remained hot, so wandering around after dinner wasn’t exactly the refreshing experience I had pictured. Still, we made the most of it.

We wandered the streets, did some shopping, took in the views and, naturally, tried all things lemon. Sorrento takes its lemons seriously, and one of my favourite finds was homemade lemon gelato served inside a giant lemon. It was both delicious and a great dessert. I also brought home some beautiful lemon soap to share with family.

In Sorrento, we picked up some grab-and-go food from local bakeries, including a chicken sandwich that made an easy dinner for the kids while we were exploring. We also enjoyed an aperitivo with local snacks, and I made another stop at Amorino for its flower-shaped gelato that we first tried in Paris.

A Day on Capri

The next day, the majority of our group took the ferry from Sorrento to Capri. The crossing takes about 30 minutes, making it an easy day trip – and one of the reasons Sorrento worked so well for our itinerary.

I didn’t make it over to Capri myself, so I’ll let the rest of the group tell this part of the story.

They took the funicular from the ferry terminal up to Capri and stopped for breakfast and a drink before taking a taxi to Anacapri.

The taxi ride turned out to be part of the experience, with the driver sharing local history along the way. From Anacapri, they headed straight for the chairlift, arriving at opening time.

The single-person chairlift was a big hit. The ride up Monte Solaro offered incredible views, although it was cloudy at the top that morning. They took the chairlift back down and spent some time wandering around Anacapri before returning to Capri by a very hot bus ride.

Back in Capri, they explored the shops and perfumeries before catching the ferry back to Sorrento.

They skipped the Blue Grotto and a boat tour because we had other water activities planned later in our trip. Given how much there is to do in this region, you really have to choose what matters most to you.

One thing they did notice: Capri is expensive. Transportation, food and shopping all came at a premium.

See the Amalfi Coast From the Water

If we were doing this region again, I’d make sure to see more of it from the water (and yes, the ferry counts).

You can appreciate the coastline from the road, but you don’t really understand the dramatic cliffside towns until you see them from the sea. Even taking the ferry between towns gives you a completely different perspective.

That is one of my biggest recommendations for this area: get on the water if you can.

We also didn’t make it to Pompeii. With only two nights in Sorrento and our next stop being Ischia, there simply wasn’t enough time. Pompeii remains firmly on our list for another trip.

Would I Return?

The Amalfi Coast is beautiful – there’s no arguing with that.

But in the middle of summer, it is also incredibly busy and incredibly hot. For me, those two things changed the experience more than I expected.

If I returned, I’d aim for the shoulder season. I think the scenery, food and charm would be even easier to appreciate without quite so many people and with more manageable temperatures.

That said, I’m glad we included Sorrento in our itinerary. It was a practical stop between Puglia and Ischia, gave us easy access to Capri and let us experience the famous Amalfi Coast for ourselves.

And then we were off to the ferry – and our next Italian island adventure.

For more on Italy, enjoy these posts.