How to spend 4 days in Sorrento with kids: tips, itinerary and all you need to know

Our day by day itinerary to spend 4 days in Sorrento with kids and make the most of your time without rushing. Best kid-friendly things to do in Sorrento, where to stay, eat, play, and the best Sorrento tours for families.

Sorrento is one of my favorite towns in the Amalfi Coast area to visit with kids of any age.

The town is an absolute delight, the views from its terraces are jaw-udrappingly beautiful, its food is out of this world and it offers that quintessential Italian summer vibe summers in Italy are famous for in such as what that both parents and kids can enjoy.

Unlike other destinations in the area, more suited to honeymooners (Positano, I am looking at you!), Sorrento is perfect for families: it has dramatic cliffs, but it is stroller friendly; it is elegant but not stuffy; it is local but well used and equipped for international visitors.

It is also a great place to relax and a fabulous base to explore the area, meaning you can set a nice pace with calmer days and more adventurous ones, so that you have younger kids, you don’t have to overwhelm them and yourself with crazy long day trips.

I love Sorrento and visited again with my children this summer. This is my guide, trip and 5 day itinerary to visit Sorrento with kids, based on what we did and learn over the course of our several trips to the area.

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Why 4 days in Sorrento with kids?

I chose this length as I believe 4 days are a good amount of time to give Sorrento the attention it deserves, while still fit into the realistic timeline of an overseas visitor.

While the town itself can be seen in less time, this is the amount of time needed to also see Capri, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast at least briefly. If you can stay longer, even better!

If time is at the essence, depending on your plans you may be able to see Pompeii on the way to Sorrento too (for instance from Rome or Naples), which would allow to shave a day off this itinerary.

Why visit Sorrento with kids

Sorrento is a beautiful, lovely, family friendly town with mellow vibes and excellent hospitality offering (hotels, restaurants, tours, playground etc).

It is perfect for families with kids on many accounts:

>>> Unlike many other towns in this area, vast parts of Sorrento are stroller friendly. The town center has all the shops, pharmacies, restaurants, cafes, gelato places etc you may need

>>> Sorrento is safe and even has a hospital, for peace of mind

>>>> Sorrento is well located to take easy day trips to Pompeii, Vesuvius, Capri, Amalfi Coast and more, all easy to enjoy with kids

>>>> Sorrento does not require a car

>>>> Sorrento is a great destination in itself but also an ideal base to discover the Amalfi Coast with kids since it has ferries, car service and buses connecting it to the most famous localities in the area

Why not visit Sorrento with kids

Sorrento is very much a good weather type of place, especially for kids.

It is not a place for indoor entertainment, indoor playgrounds etc, so I recommend to come to Sorrento with kids in the good season (spring to autumn) so you can make the most of what it does offer: swimming and boating.

In spring, you can make the make the most of a visit to Pompeii and Vesuvius (out photos in this post for that day are from an April trip, while the others are from July!) which get excessively hot in summer.

Sorrento is not a place of vast sandy beaches, so I recommend it to families who want to relax and sightsee with beach time on the side, rather than to families looking for a pure sandy beach vacation.

Where to stay in Sorrento with kids

It took us a while to find family accommodation in Sorrento as we discovered rooms for 4 are not super common. But they exist, and now we have several excellent family hotels in Sorrento we can genuinely recommend for families with children. They are:

Hilton Sorrento Palace – a fabulous hotel for families, with an excellent pool and kid friendly atmosphere super close to Sorrento city center

Hotel Antiche Mura – a great family hotel just steps away from Piazza Tasso, the heart of Sorrento city center, it has lovely rooms, a great breakfast and a pool

Grand Hotel Cesare Augusto – a few steps after Hotel Antiche Mura, this is a large, modern hotel with spacious common spaces, interconnecting rooms, rooftop pool and a fantastic buffet breakfast

Hotel Conca Park – wonderful modern 4 star hotel with family for up to 4 people and outdoor, in a great location in Sorrento city center, with kids buffet and kids meals

5 days in Sorrento with kids – day by day itinerary

Day 1 – Sorrento

I always like to start my stay in Sorrento with a day in Sorrento itself.

If you have a full day, a wonderful way to enjoy the first day here is a leisurely stroll around the town, a playground stop, a time at Leonelli’s beach and then hopping on a late afternoon bot tour with limoncello tasting.

The one we took is this one, and it was wonderful – easy, beautiful, not tiring, it was the perfect way to see Sorrento from the water, get some fresh air and be in lovely Marina Grande for sunset.

Lunch idea: Semola Pasta Bar or Leonelli’s (if you’re already at the beach)

Dinner idea: Bagni Delfino, just beside the boat docking area

Day 2 – Town hopping along the Amalfi Coast

Sorrento is perfectly positioned as a jump off point to visit the Amalfi Coast – one of the reasons why I recommend Sorrento with kids is exactly how easy getting to the Amalfi Coast is from here.

There are many ways to go about it and you can opt for simply taking the ferry – which is wonderful and cheap, or get a boat tour. Over the course of the years we have done both and both options are wonderful, just suited to different budgets and travel styles.

If you go by yourself, you can usually buy ferry tickets on the day and explore as your leisure. Positano is not too far from Sorrento but more often than not overrun with mass tourism, so I tend to recommend to see it from the water, rather than planning time in it.

Amalfi is also busy but lovely while further away towns like Maiori and Minori are wonderful – the distance however is significant so I recommend to study the logistics of this option well before committing to it.

A lovely way to go town hopping if opting for a tour is with Capitano Ago or also with SalBoat, both excellent and family friendly.

Dinner at Osteria del Popolo back in Sorrento is a great way to end the day.

Day 3 – Day trip to Pompeii and Vesuvius

Another great reason to choose to base yourself in Sorrento with kids is how easy it is to get to Pompeii from here.

Pompeii is wonderful for kids, a place of wonder on many accounts: kids (and adults) tend to come here due to the dramatic ending of the city but rally, what makes Pompeii incredible is what it tells you about life, the incredibly rich, complex, fascinating and ever surprising ancient Roman life that happened here.

There are many ways to visit Pompeii from Sorrento with kids. Specifically:

You can get the train and visit Pompeii with or without a guide. This is an excellent budget option, and my only reservation about this is that Pompeii is easier with a guide, so even if you decide to come here by train, I do suggest you get one. A fantastic guided tour for kids you can get with or without transport is this one

You can get an inclusive tour that also takes care of transport by car – my favourite tour is this one, the same as above, but selecting the full chauffeur service.

Another great way is to combine Pompeii with Vesuvius – in this case, I highly recommend you do it with a tour as the coordinating the train, the guide, the bus up and down, the Vesuvius tickets etc is a good bit of work! A great group tour for this option is this one, while if you prefer a private option, I recommend you ask LivTours (same recommended above) to tailor make a day trip for you – you can put it as a special request in the box when enquiring

Back in Sorrento, dinner in Nduli

Day 4 – Day trip to Capri

Capri is juts in front of Sorrento and while it often gets mixed reviews due to the high crowds it gets, it is wonderful island I recommend you visit!

The best way to visit Capri is to mix time on the water with a boat tour and time on land. The boat tour is wonderful for views and swimming – it also means you can be away from the masses for large parts of the day!

Staying on land exploring Anacapri and Capri is just lovely as the towns are a delight: just avoid the main drag with all the designer shops if you want to escape the worst of mass tourism. Depending on your level of comfort, the kids may enjoy getting the chairlift up to Monte Solaro however, I don’t like heights I would never get onto it, so if you are like me, maybe look at it before marrying this plan!

Fabulous Capri tours from sorrento are with Capitano Ago or with SalBoat or LivTours – different price points and boat specs but all excellent.

If you prefer not to take a tour, you can also easily come to Capri by ferry and explore by yourself.

Good to know: I know this is potentially controversial but I do not recommend visiting the famous blue grotto. While stunning, it is so popular you now often wait for ages to get in and since you cannot swim in it, you may end up feeling that the cost and endless wait are not worth it (I did. I loved it back in the day, when you could almost casually go in and be surprised by it. Now, I find it skippable. I also do not recommend it with babies or toddlers because of the long wait and how awkward it is to get in – you need to lower yourself on the bottom of the boat not to hit your head when entering. Not great at all with littles.

Dinner back in Sorrento at: Trattoria dei Mori

Where to eat in sorrento with kids

Sorrento has lovely restaurants at different price points.

La Cantinaccia del Popolo > https://tripadvisor.tpk.lu/IU55rfAV

Nalu Trattoria > https://tripadvisor.tpk.lu/pLh5gQCy

Nduli (super casual, many not be to everyone’s taste for atmosphere but the fish and seafood is amazing) >> https://tripadvisor.tpk.lu/K4yMb66p

Trattoria dei mori > https://tripadvisor.tpk.lu/yz8H2DJz

Bagni Delfino > https://tripadvisor.tpk.lu/Ab2wuCyK

Storico 8 Focacceria > https://tripadvisor.tpk.lu/nQLQrgch

For pasta specifically: Semola pasta bar > https://tripadvisor.tpk.lu/Yu3ANm5n and Mamma che pasta > https://tripadvisor.tpk.lu/1XkXS8yt

Kids Playgrounds In Sorrento

Villa Fazzoletti – nice small outdoor playground in the center Map >>  Corso Italia, 41, 80067 Sorrento NA, Italy

Don Luigi Verde – with a small area with inflatables too map >> Via Aniello Califano, 2, 80067 Sorrento NA, Italy

Other things you can do in Sorrento with kids

Additional lovely things you can do in Sorrento (only not making the main list because I know visitors tend to want to do day trips, but these are favorite of ours!)

Pizza making class in a local farm at Agriturismo Prima Luce, an adorable local family farm where they teach you to make pizza the real way (Pizza is from Naples, so it makes cultural sense to learn it here)

Kayaking or Supping to Bagni Regina Giovanna – depending on the age of the kids, kayaking or supping can be great fun for them. I did this one with my teens (find here my >>> Sorrento with teens guide) and we loved every minute. The activity is also suitable for younger kids but not toddlers or tiny kids just due to the logistics of the kayaks.

Take a fishing trip – friends who love fishing took this tour and told us wonders. The provider is the same I recommend above and it is excellent, so I wasn’t surprised to hear this option also was valid, so I feel confident suggesting you look into this activity, should fishing be something your kids enjoy.

Using a stroller in Sorrento

Sorrento is a city built on a cliff and parts of the town are blow it, parts at the top. This means that while each area is relatively flat, the town has a whole has steps so the stroller will be usable in parts, but not always everywhere.

The area of Piazza Tasso for instance, with all the shops etc, is easy and lovely with a stroller and perfect for an evening stroll. The area of Marina Grande itself is also ok with a stroller, although it is already narrower and busier. The route in between is likely to have moment when you will want to fold it and lift it, so I recommend you bring a light one – no wagons or bulky strollers you cannot easily carry when needed.

I hope you enjoyed this quick guide and it helped you plan your stay in Sorrento with kids. Safe travels!