How do I get from the airport to Sorrento?

The Curreri Viaggi coach is the right call for most arrivals at Naples International. Exit the NAP arrivals hall and look for the Curreri sign at the bus stops outside the terminal. The bus drops you at Piazza Lauro in central Sorrento about 75 minutes later. Tickets cost €10 (~$11.60 at current rates), available from the driver or pre-booked online. The schedule runs 6-8 departures daily between 09:00 and 19:00 with gaps of 1-2 hours, so check the timetable before your flight lands. The route follows the A3 motorway south, which means no coastal views until the final descent past terraced lemon groves near Meta, where the sharp scent of citrus presses through even a closed bus window.

The cheaper alternative involves two legs. Take the Alibus from NAP to Napoli Centrale station for €5, about 15 minutes through the scrappy eastern outskirts of Naples. From the lower level of Garibaldi station, buy a Circumvesuviana ticket to Sorrento for €4.40. Trains run roughly every 30 minutes. The ride takes 65-70 minutes, with a stop at Pompei Scavi if you want to walk the Roman city buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD. The older Circumvesuviana rolling stock has no air conditioning. In September, with humidity near 90%, that is noticeable. From Pompei onward the carriages fill with day-trippers, and standing for the last half hour is common.

Licensed taxis from NAP to Sorrento carry a regulated flat fare of about €100. The ride takes 60-70 minutes via the A3, longer if you hit the bottleneck where the SS145 coast road narrows through Castellammare di Stabia. Pre-booking through your hotel is safer than negotiating at the rank. If your flight lands after 21:00, a taxi or pre-arranged transfer is your only realistic option since the last Curreri departure and the last Circumvesuviana both leave well before that. Mind you, the coastal road from Castellammare into Sorrento is tight, with switchbacks that can add 20 minutes when a tour coach blocks a bend.

One thing that catches first-timers off guard. Sorrento sits on a cliff, roughly 50 metres above the water. Piazza Lauro, where the Curreri bus stops, and the Circumvesuviana station on Via De Curtis are both at street level on top. Most hotels near Marina Piccola or Marina Grande sit at sea level, connected by steep stone staircases or the narrow Via Marina Grande switchback. Dragging a heavy suitcase down those steps in 28°C heat is miserable. If your accommodation is below the cliff line, ask about luggage service when you book. From Piazza Tasso, a 5-minute walk from the station, the centro storico fans out through tight pedestrian lanes where the smell of limoncello and woodfired pizza drifts from every other doorway by early evening.