“Sorrento is the hinge of the coast: a town on a cliff with Vesuvius across the water, seven miles from Capri and five from Positano, and the easiest place on this coast to join a yacht.”
In short. Sorrento sits on the north side of the Sorrentine peninsula, 7 nautical miles from Capri and 5 from Positano. Yachts use Marina Piccola or the smaller Marina Grande, or anchor off and tender in. Naples airport is about an hour by road. A week on this coast starts near €80,000.
The town has been receiving visitors for two centuries and is comfortable about it: a clifftop grid of lanes above the sea, Piazza Tasso in the middle, lemon groves behind and the whole Bay of Naples laid out in front with Vesuvius on the far side. Torna a Surriento, which Elvis and Dean Martin both recorded, was written about this view.
For a charter it is a hinge rather than a highlight. Everything is close: Capri is half an hour, Nerano fifteen minutes, Positano twenty-five, and the transfer from Naples airport is straightforward. That is why our Naples round trip uses it as the last full day.
Must-dos in Sorrento
- Piazza Tasso and the lanes off it, an hour of shops, cafés and inlaid woodwork
- Dinner at Marina Grande, the fishing village below the cliff, not the ferry port
- The view across to Vesuvius from the clifftop terraces at sunset
- Lunch at Nerano, fifteen minutes round the point, for spaghetti alla Nerano where it was invented
- A limoncello tasting, in the groves the drink actually comes from
On this page: a day in Sorrento · what our brokers say · the town and Piazza Tasso · the two marinas · Nerano and the point · lemons, Vesuvius and the view · where yachts tie up · what it costs · distances · when to go
What a day in Sorrento actually looks like
Sorrento is a town evening attached to a day on the water, and most of our weeks use it that way.
Morning. Swim somewhere else. The coast under the town is cliff and the water off Sorrento itself is busy with hydrofoils; the swimming is round the point at Nerano or across at Capri.
Lunch. Marina del Cantone at Nerano, fifteen minutes away, where Lo Scoglio and La Conca del Sogno sit on the water and the spaghetti alla Nerano is the dish the village gave its name to.
Afternoon. Come in and go up. The lift or the road takes you from the waterfront to the clifftop, and the old grid behind Piazza Tasso is an hour of lanes, lemon stalls and inlaid-wood shops.
Evening. This is Sorrento’s hour. The terraces look north across the bay, Vesuvius goes pink and the town fills up pleasantly rather than oppressively. Dinner at Marina Grande on the water, or up top with the view.
Morning after. If the week ends here, the airport is about an hour by road, which is the shortest end-of-charter transfer on this coast after Naples itself.
What our brokers say about Sorrento
Sorrento is where we put a group that wants a town at the end of the week without the pressure of Capri or the steps of Positano. It is flat on top, it is walkable, the restaurants take bookings and the transfer to the airport is simple.
It is also the practical answer to a common problem: guests arriving at different times, or a late flight home. Sorrento has the hotels and the road links that the islands do not, so a group can gather here the night before and board in the morning.
What it is not is a swimming stop. The water immediately off the town is working water, with ferries and hydrofoils running all day. Plan the swim for Nerano or Capri and use Sorrento for the evening.
The old town and Piazza Tasso
The old town sits on the clifftop, a grid of narrow lanes that goes back to the Roman street plan, with Piazza Tasso at the centre of it. The shops are lemons, ceramics and intarsio, the inlaid woodwork Sorrento has made for two hundred years, and there is a museum of it worth twenty minutes.
The cathedral and the cloister of San Francesco are the two quiet stops, the cloister in particular, with its interlaced arches and bougainvillea. Everything is within ten minutes on foot, which is the appeal after a week of tenders and steps.
Beneath it all the cliff drops straight to the water, and the way down is the lift at Villa Comunale, the road to Marina Piccola, or the long stair to Marina Grande.
Marina Piccola and Marina Grande: two waterfronts
There are two Sorrento waterfronts and they are nothing like each other.
Marina Piccola is the working one: ferries and hydrofoils to Naples and Capri, the pier for day boats, and the berths a visiting yacht uses. It is functional rather than pretty and it is the one most charters touch.
Marina Grande, a little west under the cliff, is the old fishing village: a short beach, coloured houses, and a row of restaurants on the water that are the reason to come down. It is the better dinner and the better photograph, and it takes small craft only, so you arrive by tender or down the steps.
Nerano, Marina del Cantone and the point
Round the western point of the peninsula, fifteen minutes from the town, is Nerano and the bay of Marina del Cantone. This is the swimming and the lunch: a deep sheltered bay, clear water, and two restaurants on the shore, Lo Scoglio and La Conca del Sogno, that our Naples itinerary sends guests to.
Spaghetti alla Nerano, courgettes and provolone del monaco, was invented in this bay and is worth ordering where it comes from. Beyond the point lie the Li Galli islets and the run down to Positano; the whole stretch is a marine protected area, so the captain will pick the anchorage rather than the map.
Lemons, Vesuvius and the view north
The thing Sorrento has that nothing else on this coast has is the north-facing view. From the clifftop terraces you look straight across the Bay of Naples at Vesuvius, which means sunrise and sunset both work and the evening light is on the volcano rather than behind it.
The lemons are the other local industry. The groves behind the town grow the oversized Sorrento lemon the region is protected for, and a grove tasting, limoncello included, is the easy excursion when a group wants something to do ashore that is not shopping. Pompeii and Herculaneum are also within reach by road for a group that wants the ruins, about forty minutes each.
Where yachts actually tie up at Sorrento
- Marina Piccola is the main port and where a visiting yacht berths. Ferry and hydrofoil traffic has priority, so timings are arranged around the schedules.
- At anchor off the town with the tender in is common in settled weather, with the bay open to the north and the swell from passing traffic the usual complaint.
- Marina Grande takes small craft only. Use it as a tender destination for dinner, not as a berth.
If the week starts or ends here, our guide to where to start an Italy charter compares Sorrento with Naples as a base, and marina and anchor nights covers how crews plan the balance.
What a week around Sorrento costs
A crewed week on this coast starts around €80,000 for a motor yacht, with most weeks we book between €150,000 and €300,000 and the top of the market at €300,000 to €500,000 and above.
On top come an advance provisioning allowance of roughly 25 to 35 per cent, Italian VAT at 22 per cent and a gratuity of usually 5 to 15 per cent. Our Italy charter cost guide breaks it all down, with separate guides to APA and VAT.
Sorrento is one of the cheaper nights of an Amalfi week. The berths cost less than Capri or Amalfi, the restaurants are priced for a town rather than a resort, and the transfer saving at the end of the week is real. Our guide to why an Amalfi charter costs more than you expect explains where the money actually goes.
Fitting Sorrento into the week
Sorrento is a start, a finish, or the last town night of a loop.
| From | Distance | At 12 knots |
| Nerano / Marina del Cantone | 3 nm | 15 min |
| Positano | 5 nm | 25 min |
| Capri | 7 nm | 35 min |
| Amalfi | 10 nm | 55 min |
| Naples | 14 nm | 1 h 10 |
| Procida | 17 nm | 1 h 25 |
Our Naples round trip uses Sorrento as the last full day, after Amalfi. See also how long the week should be.
When to go
- June and September are the best weeks here as everywhere on this coast, with the town busy but not overwhelmed.
- July and August are full. Sorrento takes it better than Positano or Capri because it is a real town with the capacity for it, but the ferry traffic is constant.
- April, May and October work unusually well, because Sorrento is a town rather than a beach and the lanes, the lemons and the view do not need high summer.
Our month-by-month view is in the best time for an Italy charter.
People also ask about Sorrento
Can you start a yacht charter in Sorrento?
Yes. Marina Piccola takes visiting yachts, the town has the hotels for a night before boarding, and Naples airport is about an hour by road. For larger yachts Naples itself is usually the easier base; our guide to where to start an Italy charter compares them.
Where do yachts dock in Sorrento?
Marina Piccola, the main port, where ferry and hydrofoil traffic has priority and timings are arranged around the schedules. Yachts also anchor off the town in settled weather and tender in. Marina Grande, the fishing village below the cliff, takes small craft only and is a tender destination for dinner.
How far is Sorrento from Capri by yacht?
About 7 nautical miles, 35 minutes at 12 knots and around 20 on a fast motor yacht. It is a short crossing, which is why so many of the Capri day boats run from here.
Is Sorrento worth a night on a charter?
Yes, as the town night. It is flat, walkable, has the restaurants and the transfer links the islands lack, and the view north to Vesuvius is the one thing no other stop on this coast has. It is not a swimming stop; use Nerano or Capri for that.
What is Sorrento known for?
Lemons and limoncello, intarsio inlaid woodwork, Piazza Tasso and the clifftop position looking across the Bay of Naples at Vesuvius. The song Torna a Surriento, recorded by both Elvis Presley and Dean Martin, was written about the view.
Where do you eat near Sorrento on a yacht charter?
Marina Grande below the town for fish on the waterfront, and Nerano fifteen minutes round the point, where Lo Scoglio and La Conca del Sogno sit on the water and spaghetti alla Nerano was invented.
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