What's a good 3-day itinerary for Sorrento?

Start Day 1 late. If you took the Circumvesuviana from Naples, the hour-long ride through graffiti-tagged stations probably left you frazzled. Piazza Tasso by 10 AM is fine. The square sits at the edge of a gorge where you can hear water moving below if the Vespa traffic pauses. Walk south along Via San Cesareo. The smell of lemon soap and dried oregano hits at every shopfront along this narrow pedestrian lane. The Sedil Dominova, a 15th-century loggia about 200 metres in, is one of the last of its kind in southern Italy. It still operates as a working men's club, so you can peek inside but not sit down. Drop downhill to Marina Grande by 12:30 PM for lunch at Trattoria da Emilia. Spaghetti alle vongole runs about EUR 14. The clams are small and briny. The real afternoon move is the 2 km walk along Via del Capo to Bagni della Regina Giovanna, a natural rock pool inside the remains of a 1st-century Roman villa. The water stays cold enough to shock your ankles even in September. Return to Piazza Tasso by 6 PM for a Spritz at Fauno Bar, EUR 8.

Day 2 goes inland. Catch the 7:30 AM Circumvesuviana from Sorrento station toward Naples and get off at Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri, a 30-minute ride costing EUR 2.80. Enter through the Porta Marina gate before 8:30 AM. The morning light inside the Forum is worth the early alarm, and you'll have the frescoed rooms of the Villa of the Mysteries nearly to yourself before 10 AM. Pompeii was first settled around 600 BC and covers 66 hectares, so do not try to see all of it. The House of the Faun, the Lupanar, and the amphitheatre are the three stops that matter most after the Villa. By noon the volcanic stone radiates heat you can feel through your shoes. Eat at Ristorante Presidente, 200 metres from the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance, where seafood pasta runs EUR 15. After lunch, take the Busvia del Vesuvio shuttle up to the crater rim. The national park was established in 1991 and the crater walk takes about 45 minutes on loose gravel. Return trains run every 30 minutes until about 9 PM.

Day 3 belongs to the water. The first hydrofoil from Marina Piccola leaves at 8:25 AM and reaches Capri's Marina Grande in 20 minutes, EUR 22 one-way. Head to the Blue Grotto ticket booth at the marina. The sea cave measures roughly 60 metres long and glows phosphorescent blue when sunlight refracts through an underwater opening. Rowboat entry costs EUR 18 on top of the EUR 14 cave ticket. Get there before 10 AM or expect a 90-minute floating queue. Mind you, the grotto closes whenever the swell rises above half a metre, which happens maybe one in three September days. After the grotto, take the funicular from the marina up to Capri town and walk through the Piazzetta, EUR 2.20 per ride. Lunch at Raffaele Buonocore on Via Vittorio Emanuele, where the caprese sandwich with buffalo mozzarella runs about EUR 6 and tastes nothing like the rubbery supermarket version. Afternoon, bus to Anacapri for EUR 2.20 and ride the Monte Solaro chairlift, EUR 12 round-trip. On clear days the views stretch south to the Cilento coast. The 6 PM ferry gets you back by 6:25.

September temperatures in Sorrento tend to hover around 28°C with 89% humidity, so the volcanic-stone paths at Pompeii will feel hotter than the number suggests. Bring water and a hat for the inland day. A three-day SITA Sud bus pass for local routes costs EUR 7.60. The Circumvesuviana to Pompeii and Naples runs on a separate ticket. Budget roughly EUR 80 to EUR 100 per person per day for meals and transport, excluding Capri's premium ferry and entry fees. Sorrento scores 7.2 out of 10 for solo-traveler safety (see the TTDI Solo-Safety Index). The walk from Piazza Tasso to the Duomo is under 500 metres, so you might not need a taxi after dark.