Roads between Sorrento and Naples

[katiebeth]

We are sailing on Celebrity's Millennium on June 7th Barcelona to Venice. I am considering booking the excursion offered through Celebrity which tours Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii. According to the descriptionof the tour, after disembarking you take a hydrofoil to Capri and then from Capri another hydrofoil to Sorrento. After lunch and some shopping in Sorrento you board a motorcoach and drive to Pompeii and then back to the port of Naples. I have read reviews of others on these boards who enjoyed this excursion very much.

 

I am wondering about the condition of the roads from Sorrento to Pompeii and then back to Naples? Are they steep and winding? I am purposely not touring the Amalfi coast because I do not do well with heights and sharp curves. I found this out the hard way on a ship excursion in Geiragner, Norway where we drove through the mountains in a motorcoach. It was rather hair-raising and decided after it was too late that it wasn't for me!

 

Is anyone familiar with these roads? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Nancy

[wwinfl91]

I can't speak from experience about the road from Sorrento to Pompeii but from Pompeii to Naples the drive will be on a four or at times six lane highway. From what I have read the road from Sorrento to Pompeii is not as bad as some of the Amalfi coast roads but I suspect parts of it will be two lane with the ocean to one side and cliffs to the other side.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[Hlitner]

No.. the road between Sorrento and Pompeii is fine. It does get a little windy near Sorrento, but nothing to upset even a cat. The area you would probably fear is the Amalfi drive which is beyond Sorrento as the road goes towards Posiatano and Amalfi.

 

Hank

[katiebeth]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Hank-sounds like you are familiar with the roads. You have eased my mind.

 

We are looking forward to our trip and this shore excursion in particular.

 

Thanks again,

 

Nancy

[NHRedSoxFan]

I have more photos if you'd like me to send them to you, let me know.

We took this tour last year when we sailed the Galaxy.

Because we went from Sorrento to Pompeii, the left side of the bus is closest to the edge of the road. The seats on these busses are up high which makes the view more dramatic. If you sit on the right side - behind the tour guide, rather than the driver - you will probably have a much less dramatic view. This particular photo is the first big curve after leaving Sorrento. There isn't normally a lot of cars waiting, but our bus was making this turn so the cars were waiting for us to get out of the way.

 

[katiebeth]

Thanks for taking the time to post the photo. I would love to see additional photos if you don't mind. You may either post them here or e-mail me at nheffley@earthlink.net.

 

Did you enjoy the tour and would you recommend it? It sounds like a long day, but a great way to see Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii. I would really like to see Capri and Sorrento and my husband and children want to see Pompeii. I really don't enjoy the motorcoach part, but thought this tour would offer a "little something for everyone". If I understand correctly, we take a hydrofoil from Naples to Capri and then another hydrofoil from Capri to Sorrento. I am assuming the motorcoach is from Sorrento to Pompeii and then back to the ship.

 

Do you recall how long it took from Sorrento to Pompeii and was the road steep and curvy the whole way? It sounds like from Hank's post it is only for a short time. I can handle it for a little while, but don't want to be stuck on a bus for a long period of time on steep and curvy roads. We did this in Geiranger, Norway and I was pretty miserable.

 

If am viewing the photo correctly, it appears that from Sorrento to Pompeii the motorcoach is on the right hand side of the road with the water and cliffs to the left.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

 

Nancy

[Hlitner]

Nancy, Just forget about all your worries and have a great trip. And yes, we are pretty familiar with those roads. In fact, we will be driving down to the Amalfi area (from Tivoli) in a few weeks. I think you will find that the road North from Sorrento more beautiful than scarry.

Hank

[NHRedSoxFan]

Yes, the they drive on the right side of the road in Italy. The left side of the bus would be on the ocean side. We sat in the front row - we somehow got this seat right behind the driver. The driver's seat is two steps down so the view is over his head and because of this we took great photos through the glass.

Here is a picture that shows the bus windshield & a picture looking out the side window as we were leaving Sorrento. Sorrento is perched up high above the cliffs. I sent more to your email address.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[katiebeth]

Thanks again to all those who took the time to post. We are so looking forward to our cruise as well as our shore excursion in Naples. The pictures sent by Chris are beautiful. It makes me wish we were leaving tomorrow.

 

I am certain I will be fine. (the wine included in our lunch in Sorrento may help a bit!) But seriously, it all looks very managable! (nothing like our excursion in Geiranger, Norway with narrow gravel roads, steep drop-offs, and hairpin curves ...and it went on for several hours) Any way it looks great!

 

Thanks again!

 

Nancy