5 fantastic day trips from Sorrento that are great for families

Discover 5 of the best day trips from Sorrento you can take with the kids for a fun day out with or without a tour.

Sorrento is a beautiful coastal town, a place where you can settle, relax and enjoy stunning views, outstanding food and the unique type of hospitality you get in the bubbly region of Campania.

It is one of the most family friendly towns in the Amalfi Coast and also a fantastic base for day trips to discover the many attractions and beautiful sites of this corner of Italy, no matter how old or little your kids may be.

Thanks to rail, road and water connections to its surrounding area, options for day trips from Sorrento to surrounding areas abound, including many that are suitable for families with kids!

Due to this abundance of options, the issue you may encounter in Sorrento is picking the best day trips out of the infinite, tempting offers at your fingertips!

Today, I share my top picks and the best day trips from Sorrento for families with kids.

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Day trip from Sorrento to Pompeii with kids (3 ways!)

I open this list of the best day trips from Sorrento with the most requested destination by families with children: Pompeii!

The ancient city of Pompeii, with its incredible fate, is usually very high up on the list of must-see places as it fascinated kids and adults alike and it is very easy to visit from Sorrento.

This is a fantastic day trip from Sorrento for families interested in a unique Unesco work heritage site and kids fascinated by the story of the Vesuvius eruption.

There are three main ways to plan a day trip from Sorrento to Pompeii with kids:

Recommended Tour / Ticket	Age of kids
Private tour for families with optional transport	6-11 approx
Private Tour – kid friendly but not for kids (with or without transport)	Babies / toddlers just tagging along / teens and up
Ticket + Audioguide (self guided option, transport not provided)	All
Ticket only (no guide, transport not provided)	All

If budget allows, the best way to visit Pompeii as a day trip from Sorrento is by booking a tour that includes transport and a guide. I do not usually recommend tours for all sites, I am very much a self-guided type of person and I believe tours are, in most cases, a nice to have, rather than a must. However, I do think a tour in Pompeii is almost a necessity.

Pompeii is big and you are literally walking around a city so if you don’t know what you are looking for or what you are looking at, you can definitely marvel at its beauty, but have no clue about where you are or what you are looking at.

Also, the real fascinating facts about Pompeii are in the details, for instance the little thing that tells an archaeologist that we are in front of a shop rather than a house – things that area really easy to miss on your own. So for Pompeii, a guide for me is a well worth investment!

Ruins of Pompeii and volcano Mount Vesuvius, Italy. From Depositphotos, purchased with license.

When it comes to transport, the reason why I recommend private transport is comfort.

Sorrento and Pompeii are connected by train but not all trains area great.

The local commuter train has no reserved seatings and no air conditioning/ while this is not an issue at low affluence times and in the winter season, in the hot and busy season, it gets very tiring very fast. Also, it is notoriously unreliable, so if you are hoping to meet a guide there, you need to allow for extra time as the train may literally just to show up.

The tourist train Campania Express is better, yet it only has a limited schedule.

This, added to the huge size of Pompeii and the fact that the site is mostly under the sun, makes it my least favorite way to get to Pompeii from Sorrento with kids, unless I am on a tight budget.

The tours available however are wonderful.

Option 1: day trip to Pompeii from Sorrento with private transport

For me, the best day tour from Sorrento to Pompeii with transport is this one if you want one specific for kids with games, quizzes etc (perfect for primary and middle school age kids)

and this one Pompeii highlights tour , by the same company but for all other ages.

The tour includes the option of adding private transport in a vehicle with air conditioning and car seats for the kids.

Good to know: The difference between the kids tour and the general audience tour is that the kids one is specifically designed for kids of primary school age. Older sibling and parents learn a lot from it, but the focus is games and quizzes that can engage the attention of the younger visitor. These games are lost to a baby / toddler / very young child and are a little young for older teens so I recommend the standard one for these ages. Since the tour is private, they do personalise it to your family needs and ages anyway, they are wonderful at it, I have taken so many tours with them and we were always super happy.

Option 2: day trip to Pompeii from Sorrento, making your own way to Pompeii

If you are happy to make your way to Pompeii from Sorrento, you can save a significant amount of transport money yet still enjoy a top-quality tour with an expert and family-friendly guide.

In this case, I recommend the two following tours:

>>> Guided tour of Pompeii for kids by MariaclaudiaTours: this is a lovely tour for kids with an engaging and competent local guide. This tour is game-based and it is perfect for kids aged 6 to 11, who are at the center of the experience.

MariaclaudiaTours can be contacted on Facebook (their website is under construction) or by email mariaclaudiatours @ gmail.com tell them you found them on MamaLovesItaly and ask for Roberta as your Pompeii guide!

>>> Private Tour of Pompeii by LivTours: the same tour I recommended above, perfect for families who don’t need a game approach for the kids but want a family-friendly guide able to adapt to the needs of families with young kids and teens. Find info and prices here.

Option 3: make your own way and visit without a guide

The most budget-friendly way to visit Pompeii with kids from Sorrento is by taking the train and buying entry tickets without the aid of a guide.

The reason why I do not recommend this approach is that the site of Pompeii is huge and rather difficult to navigate on your own as there is limited information available about what it is you are seeing.

If you are happy to visit by yourself, you can get tickets here >>> Official Pompeii ticket site

How to get to Pompeii from Sorrento: the best way to get to Pompeii from Sorrento by publish transport is by taking the Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento station to Pompeii Scavi, then take the shuttle to the park entrance. Find transport info here (Italian only).

You can find here >>> all my tips for visiting Pompeii with kids

Herculaneum

Another fantastic day trip from Sorrento for families is a trip to Herculaneum, another stunning archaeological site on par with Pompeii with beauty and significance.

Just like Pompeii, you can visit Herculaneum with a tour or by train, however, the options are slightly less numerous than Pompeii and often you only see Herculaneum offered as part of a package with Pompeii so you often need to figure out your won logistics.

The good thing is that Herculaneum is smaller than Pompeii and, in many ways, easier and better to visit with kids.

The city shares with the Poempeii the fateful location at the bottom of Mount Vesuvius and, just like its bigger neighbor, saw life coming to an abrupt end when Vesuvius erupted in 79AD.

When the eruption happened, Herculaneum got covered in hot ashes, which brought life in the city to a halt but also created a cocoon that helped preserve the building in such an intact way, we can still see them today!

Due to its smaller size, you can visit Herculaneum with kids without a structured tour: you can get tickets + audioguides and these area good and budget-friendly option to learn about the site.

If you prefer a tour, a good group tour with transport that is family friendly (although not for families as such) is this one, while a good one you can join in Herculaneum directly is this one.

If you want to see both Pompeii and Herculaneum, there are tours that allow you to do so, such as this one. I recommend this option to families with older kids with a special interest in history.

Good to know: while the tours above are not for kids (I am yet to come across a great specialised kids’ one for Herculaneum), they all area family friendly. LivTours also offers car seats and is the same provider as the tours above for kids, you can be guaranteed they are excellent with kids!

Day trip from Sorrento to Capri with kids

Capri is one of the most beautiful islands in Italy and the Mediterranean in general and a fantastic day trip from Sorrento with kids.

Despite its fame as honeymoon and glamorous destination, enjoying Capri with kids is easy and there are several ways to go about it.

The most budget-friendly way to visit Capri is by going independently by ferry/hydrofoil and then explore on your own. Find here >>> sample hydrofoil schedule This approach is best for families on a budget and allows for free exploration; however, it comes from the drawback of crowds and unfortunately Capri gets pretty overrun.

If budget allows, the best way to enjoy a day trip from Sorrento to Capri in comfort is by booking a private or shared boat tour: the reason for this is that boat tours allow time on land but also take you away from the crowds for good chunks of time, so yin get respite (while enjoying stunning views from the water)

Excellent ones are:

>>> Salboat day trip from Sorrento to Capri and CapitanoAgo Capri day trip – both excellent

For a truly luxurious experience, look instead to:

>>> Semi-private day trip from Sorrento to Capri by LivTours

>>> Private day tour to Capri by LivTours

I know the price tag is significant, but the quality is excellent and the boat fantastic, so if you are in for a treat, this is very much one!

Day trip from Sorrento to Positano and Amalfi coast by boat (summer) or car

Boat tours are also the very best way to see the Amalfi coast: the tall coastline is breathtaking from the water, and you’ll quickly see why they call Costiera Amalfitana ‘La Divina’, the Divine!

My daughter on a boat ride along the Amalfi Coast

In summer, you can easily take a boat tour from Sorrento to Amalfi coast and see highlights such as the famous Positano and Amalfi itself.

Tries and tested yours that are great for families are:

>>> Amalfi Coast tour from Sorrento by LivTours, complete with bilingual guides, swimming stops, towels, snorkeling equipment, snack and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) on board.

>>> Amalfi Coast Tour from Sorrento (ask for Captain Luigi)

>>> Salboat Sorrento Tour to Amalfi Coast, the same excellent company I mentioned above for Capri

Good to know: if going outside of boating season, it is still possible to tour the Amalfi Coast from Sorrento, by car. In this case, we recommend this family-friendly Amalfi Coast tour by LivTour, which offer car seats as well as comfortable cars and English-speaking chauffeurs.

Day trip to Procida

Procida is a delightful small island in front of Sorrento, not far from famous neighbors Capri and Ischia.

Colorful houses of Procida island from the sea — Procida, the colorful harbour of La Corricella from Depositphotos, purchased with license.

The island is less known than its bigger sisters, yet it gained international fame after starring as the stunning backdrop of the movie ‘The Postman’ (Il Postino) and for being the Capital of Culture in 2022.

Procida doesn’t offer as many organized activities and tours as others and it is fantastic if you want a quiet day on a colorful and photo-friendly fishing island where to have a wander and lunch.

Due to its quieter vibe, Procida is a lovely place to visit with kids.

You can easily reach Procida from Sorrento in the good season. See a sample passage schedule here.

Read here >>> what you need to know about Procida Island.

I hope you enjoyed this quick overview of the best day trips from Sorrento for families and it helped you make plans for your visit to the Amalfi Coast with kids. Safe travels!

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All the experiences and tours recommended on this page come from the recommendation of real parents. Meet us all in your Italy with kids Facebook group!