After spending two days in Rome, hubby and I took a train down to the beautiful, one of a kind Amalfi Coast by way of Sorrento. From the Roma Termini station in Rome, you can take a train down to Naples, and then transfer to the Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Sorrento. Once in Sorrento, you’re about 25 minutes’ drive away from the Amalfi Coast, but the accommodations are much more expensive in Amalfi and Positano, and dare I say, accommodations in Sorrento are much more reasonable, and the views are still incredible!

We stayed at Hotel Cristina, a 4-star hotel that overlooks the Sorrentine coast. We used Booking.com to get a great rate, and it was easy and safe! One thing I love about this hotel is that the staff were so friendly and accommodating. I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a little over the top, so I contacted the hotel just about every month before our arrival to ensure we had a balcony room and that our booking was secured. I’ve heard too many horror stories of booking through third-party sites and only to not have a room upon arrival, so I wanted to be sure we were straight. Our concierge Francesca was more than willing to answer all my questions and help us book a taxi or scooter/Vespa if we needed one, recommendations for a rental car, as well as our Capri excursion. She also made sure we had our choice of room with a view, so our experience was all the better. They also offer daily breakfast which definitely helps the pockets when you’re traveling.

We hilariously thought we would rent a scooter on our visit and ride around the coast but the rental company required previous experience, which neither of us had. Even when bae test drove the scooter, I gotta be honest, I didn’t feel too safe as a first-time rider (bae would drive) and he didn’t feel comfortable either. It actually worked out better to rent a car instead.

I would suggest an experienced driver take the lead, the roads along the coast and throughout Sorrento are very, very narrow! There were times we’d take a corner and you couldn’t see what was coming, and when you cross paths with the buses along the Amalfi coast, it gets a little scary! Thankfully bae and all his experience driving the narrow roads in London made him feel like a boy racer and we sped through with no problems (I was terrified, he was in heaven).

A basic summary of our itinerary for the Southern Italy leg of our trip included our first day in Sorrento, day two in Positano, day three in Amalfi, and day four in Capri. We made a few adjustments, including going to Amalfi first and then Positano, as well as going to Marina Grande Positano beach instead of the Arienzo beach club. This change was simply because we got a later start to the day than we had hoped and wanted as much beach time as possible. You can check out the full itinerary below.

One of my favorite memories from the trip was our dinner at Le Sirenuse, which is an immaculately perfect hotel with 5-star dining and a 5-star view. Dinner was expensive, small portions, as any 5-star restaurant would, but we like to treat ourselves to something lavish at least once every vacation. If you decide to venture here, make sure to have a reservation booked in advance-I booked about two months prior to our trip.

For a full recap of our trip to Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, and Capri, check out my video here!