The cheapest trip of them all
A Sorrento day trip from Naples costs €9.20 per person: two NA5 tickets at €4.60 on the Circumvesuviana, 72–77 minutes each way, trains every 30–40 minutes from 5:36 to 22:11. No other trip on the gulf comes near that figure, and none has so many alternatives: a hydrofoil at €19, a shared shuttle at €40, a private transfer from the airport from €49 per vehicle.
Which makes Sorrento two things at once: half a day in its own right, and the hub from which the quickest links to Capri and Positano leave. This page settles the transport first and the day itself second.
The day, hour by hour
Napoli Porta Nolana: NA5 ticket, direct train for Sorrento
Into Sorrento, out of the station onto corso Italia
Piazza Tasso and via San Cesareo before the tour coaches open up
Cloister of San Francesco and the Villa Comunale: the balcony over the gulf
Down to Marina Grande by the via Marina Grande steps
Fish lunch at the marina, away from the corso circuit
Vallone dei Mulini and the Museo Correale if the heat allows
Last stop: limoncello where it is made, not in the corso shops
Train home from Sorrento
Into Porta Nolana, and you are in the centre
If Capri is the real target and Sorrento is the means, the second plan uses the short crossing from Marina Piccola.
Do-it-yourself variant
Train from Porta Nolana for Sorrento, NA5 ticket
Sorrento: station to the harbour at Marina Piccola, 10 minutes downhill
SNAV fast craft to Capri, a 30-minute crossing
Capri: funicular up to the Piazzetta and a walk round the town
Back from Capri towards Sorrento
An hour in Sorrento for the Villa Comunale at sunset
Train to Naples, into Porta Nolana at 19:43
Getting there: five ways compared
| Way | From | Duration | Fare | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circumvesuviana, direct train | Porta Nolana / Napoli Garibaldi | 72–77 min | €4.60 (NA5) | every 30–40 min, 5:36–22:11 |
| Campania Express | Porta Nolana | 73 min | €15 · €25 return | suspended until further notice |
| Alilauro hydrofoil | Molo Beverello | not stated | €19 · children €14.80 · residents €8 | 5 sailings, 09:00–17:15 |
| NLG hydrofoil | Molo Beverello | not stated | €18.50 · €37 return | 2 sailings: 10:00 and 18:25 |
| Shared shuttle | Naples station or airport | about 2 hours | €40 | fixed time, by booking |
| Airport–peninsula shuttle | Capodichino airport | 75–90 min | €25 | scheduled departures |
| Private transfer | Airport or city | 60–90 min | from €49 per vehicle | on request |
A note on the duration column: neither Alilauro nor NLG states how long the Naples–Sorrento crossing takes. Their timetables publish departure times only, out and back, and nothing else: if you find a figure in minutes, it does not come from the company.
The train, in the detail that matters
The line is EAV’s Circumvesuviana Naples–Pompei–Sorrento and it leaves from two city-centre stations: Porta Nolana, where the train starts and you get a seat, and Napoli Garibaldi three minutes later, under the central station. Board at Porta Nolana whenever you can.
Useful departures from Porta Nolana: 5:36, 6:17, 6:48, 7:24, 8:05, 8:41, 9:13, 9:53 and then at much the same interval until 22:11. The train calls at Ercolano Scavi, Torre del Greco, Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri, Castellammare and Vico Equense: Sorrento is the terminus, so you cannot miss your stop. Coming back: 5:30, 5:50, 6:26, 7:02 and on until 22:02, which reaches Porta Nolana at 23:13.
Two warnings that are honestly necessary. The trains are not wheelchair accessible, as EAV states in its own timetable, and at peak hours they are full: with large suitcases the Circumvesuviana is hard going. Bicycles can only be carried with authorisation requested at least three days ahead.
Campania Express: what it is and why you cannot find it
It is EAV’s tourist train: fewer stops, air conditioning, guaranteed seats, €15 each way and €25 return. When it runs it leaves Porta Nolana at 8:22, 11:22, 14:22 and 17:22 and covers Naples–Sorrento in 73 minutes, with returns from Sorrento at 10:20, 13:20, 16:20 and 19:20. The service is currently suspended until further notice. If you find tickets on sale on a platform, check the state of the service on eavsrl.it before you pay: the difference against an ordinary direct train is a few minutes and €10 each way.
Hydrofoil: when it is worth the €19
Alilauro links Molo Beverello to Sorrento with five sailings a day all year, plus a sixth at 19:30 on Fridays, Saturdays and public holidays in the peak summer months. Adults €19, children aged 2 to 12 €14.80, groups of 15 €14.30, luggage €3.50 a piece. NLG works the same route at €18.50, but with only two sailings: from Naples at 10:00, from Sorrento at 17:00.
The hydrofoil costs four times the train and neither company states how long the crossing takes, so do not buy it for speed. Take it for three reasons: you avoid the Circumvesuviana at rush hour, you arrive at Marina Piccola already in the harbour if Capri is your target, and you see the gulf from the water. With a rough sea, on the other hand, the train is never cancelled.
From the airport, without going through the centre
Anyone landing at Capodichino and sleeping on the Sorrento peninsula has the direct shuttle at €25 per person, serving Sorrento, Pompei, Meta, Piano di Sorrento, Vico Equense, Sant’Agnello and Castellammare di Stabia in 75–90 minutes. A private transfer starts at €49 per vehicle, so with three or four people it pays. On public transport you need two tickets and a change: the Alibus to Napoli Centrale at €5, then the Circumvesuviana at €4.60. The fixed municipal taxi fare Naples–Sorrento is €125.
These are the four products that cover transport to Sorrento, the Campania Express ticket among them: before buying that one, check that the service has restarted.
What the day costs
By public transport
- Circumvesuviana Porta Nolana–Sorrento, returnunicocampania.it
- €9.20 (NA5 €4.60 each way) · 72–77 min each way
- Alternative: Alilauro hydrofoil Beverello–Sorrento, returnalilauro.it
- €38 (€19 each way, children 2–12 €14.80)
- Alternative: shared shuttle from Naplesgetyourguide (prices checked regularly)
- €40, about 2 hours, fixed meeting point
- Extension to Capri: Caremar TMV Sorrento–Capricaremar.it
- €17.40 each way plus €5 landing fee in high season
- Total per person by train
- €9.20 · 6–7 hours door to door
With a tour
At €9.20 Sorrento is the cheapest trip of all, and the train is also the most frequent way to travel. The €40 shared shuttle only makes sense with suitcases, or when the last evening train has already gone; the hydrofoil is paid for with the view and for avoiding the Circumvesuviana at rush hour.
What to do in Sorrento in four hours
Sorrento has no single monument that fills half a day on its own: it has a compact centre and a view. With four hours the circuit is this.
- Piazza Tasso and via San Cesareo, 1 hr. The square is where everything meets; via San Cesareo is the covered shopping street, lovely at 9 in the morning and unbearable at 16.
- Cloister of San Francesco, 20 min. Fourteenth-century arches, bougainvillea, silence thirty metres off the corso. One of the few places in the centre where you can sit without buying something.
- Villa Comunale, 20 min. The balcony over the gulf with Vesuvius opposite. The lift down to Marina Piccola starts here, useful if you have a boat to catch.
- Marina Grande, 1 hr. The old fishermen’s quarter below the town, with trattorie on the water. Ten minutes downhill to get there, and back up the same flight of steps.
- Vallone dei Mulini, 15 min. The gorge with its abandoned mill is looked at from the parapet on via Fuorimura. You do not go down into it.
- Museo Correale di Terranova, 1 hr. Decorative arts and porcelain in a villa with a garden, on the east side of town. Hours and prices on the museum’s own site.
On limoncello: in the corso shops it is a souvenir, in the workshops behind via degli Aranci it is a product. You can taste the difference.
Three rules about timing that matter more in Sorrento than on other trips. Go in the morning: between 11 and 16 the town absorbs the tour coaches and the cruise passengers, and the corso becomes impassable. If you can pick the day, avoid Monday, when some of the museums and craft workshops stay shut. And if all you have is an afternoon, aim for the Villa Comunale at sunset and Marina Grande for dinner: that is the part of Sorrento the groups never see, because by then they have already left.
Who should pick what
Sorrento as a base: Capri and Positano half an hour away
This is where the real value of the trip lies. From Sorrento the crossings are short and frequent, far more so than from Naples.
Sorrento–Capri, 30 minutes. SNAV covers it with the fast craft that carries vehicles: departures at 08:20, 10:35, 14:05 and 16:35, returns from Capri at 07:35, 09:15, 12:05, 15:55 and 17:40. Alilauro works the same route at €19 in the regional band and €21 in the tourist band, with six sailings each way. Caremar does it on a fast motor ferry at €17.40. On top of all of them comes the landing fee on Capri: €5 from 1 April to 31 October, €2.50 the rest of the year. The full comparison of ways to the island is in Capri in a day.
Sorrento–Positano, about 40 minutes by hydrofoil. Alilauro runs it from 1 April to 31 October with eight sailings a day from 09:15 to 17:35 and returns from 11:35 to 18:19, at €19 each way. By land the SITA Sud bus costs €2.40 and the first service from Sorrento leaves at 6:30. All the coast sums are in Amalfi Coast in a day.
Sorrento–Amalfi, €3.40 by bus. About an hour and forty on the SS163, first service from Sorrento at 6:30 and last at 19:50.
One combination we do not recommend: Sorrento and Pompeii on the same day. They are on the same railway line and the temptation is strong, but the excavations ask for at least three and a half hours and you end up with an hour of Sorrento at sunset. Better to give Pompeii in a day its own slot.
Same product, platforms compared
Prices refreshed from the GetYourGuide, Tiqets and Headout feeds.
| Platform | Price | Rating | Duration | Cancellation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GetYourGuideSorrento, Positano & Amalfi Premium Tour & Boat from Naples | €58.50 Lowest price | ★ 4.8 (1,276) | 8 h 30 min | Free | Book on GetYourGuide |
| GetYourGuideFrom Naples: Amalfi, Positano & Sorrento tour with boat ride | €60.99 | ★ 4.8 (1,593) | 9 h | Free | Book on GetYourGuide |
| TiqetsAmalfi & Positano: Day Trip from Naples By Boat | €89.10 | ★ 4.5 (25) | 10:00 | — | Book on Tiqets |
The ferry ticket for Sorrento and Capri from Naples (€76) puts the two stops together in one purchase and is the only product that covers the whole day by sea. Partner prices are checked regularly.
The local operators at the harbour
The boat trips closest to Positano and to the Bagni della Regina Giovanna leave from Marina Piccola and Marina Grande. Sorrento Boat Excursions works gozzi and half days along the Sorrento coast; MISAL Boat Charter is in skippered hire, with per-vessel prices that beat the per-person cost in a group. Our reading of the shipping companies, with seasons and cancellation policies, is in the review of the gulf ferries; the railway line, with reliability and peak hours, is in Circumvesuviana.
To find your way among the boat-trip formats, and to work out which prices are per person and which per boat, see boat tours in the Gulf of Naples. City tickets, lines and first and last services inside Naples are in getting around Naples.
In short
A Sorrento day trip from Naples is settled with €9.20 and a Circumvesuviana train every half hour: it is the gulf trip with the best ratio of cost to return. The €19 hydrofoil is paid for with the view and the convenience of the harbour; the €40 shuttle and the private transfer from €49 per vehicle earn their place with luggage or from the airport. The Campania Express remains suspended until further notice, so do not count on it. And if you have a whole day, use Sorrento as a springboard: Capri is thirty minutes away, Positano forty.
Questions people ask
How much is the train from Naples to Sorrento?
€4.60 each way on the Unico Campania NA5 ticket, so €9.20 there and back. The journey takes 72–77 minutes on the Circumvesuviana Naples–Pompei–Sorrento line, with departures from Porta Nolana and Napoli Garibaldi every 30–40 minutes.
Is the Campania Express running?
No: EAV lists it as suspended until further notice. When it does run it costs €15 each way and €25 return, stops only at the tourist stations and covers Naples–Sorrento in 73 minutes with four services a day. In the meantime the ordinary direct trains make the same journey in a few minutes more.
Is there a hydrofoil from Naples to Sorrento?
Yes, from two companies. Alilauro leaves Molo Beverello at 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:05 and 17:15 at €19 for adults and €14.80 for children aged 2 to 12, with returns at 08:15, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:25. NLG runs just two sailings, at 10:00 from Naples and 17:00 from Sorrento, at €18.50 each way.
How do you get from Naples airport to Sorrento?
The direct shuttle from the airport to the Sorrento peninsula costs €25 per person and takes 75–90 minutes; a private transfer starts at €49 per vehicle. On public transport you need the Alibus to Napoli Centrale (€5) and then the Circumvesuviana (€4.60), with one change and the station stairs. The fixed taxi fare Naples–Sorrento is €125.
How much time do you need to see Sorrento?
Four hours are enough for the old centre, the cloister of San Francesco, the Villa Comunale and Marina Grande. Six or seven hours, luggage aside, also cover the Vallone dei Mulini and a long lunch at the marina.
Is Sorrento worth using as a base for Capri?
Yes, if you have a full day. From Marina Piccola you reach Capri in 30 minutes with SNAV or Alilauro, against 50 minutes from Molo Beverello, and there are four to six sailings a day depending on the season. The Caremar ferry Sorrento–Capri costs €17.40 each way.
What is the last train from Sorrento to Naples?
The last useful train leaves Sorrento at 22:02 and reaches Porta Nolana at 23:13. The first of the morning is at 5:30. If you are coming back in the evening on the Circumvesuviana, pick a service with at least an hour of margin on whatever comes next.
Official sources
Read next
- CapriHydrofoil or ferry to Capri, what the day costs, whether the Blue Grotto is on and which tour pays. Verified timetables and prices compared.
- Amalfi CoastMinivan, boat, ferry or train plus bus: what an Amalfi Coast day trip from Naples really costs, with verified timetables and tours compared.
- PompeiiPompeii from Naples: €26.60 on your own or a tour from €45.50. Train, time bands, named ticket and the hour-by-hour plan. Check availability.
- Boat toursGozzo, shared boat, yacht or kayak: capacities, departure quays and verified prices per person or per boat. Pick the right format and book your trip.
- Getting aroundMetro, Circumvesuviana, ferries, Alibus and high-speed rail: lines, stations, minutes, fares and last useful services. Check tickets and transfers.