Sorrento Weekend

Before studying abroad, I knew one of my top priorities would be traveling while abroad. It’s such a cool feeling to have so many amazing destinations at our fingertips in our early 20s. While I have done various day trips during my time abroad so far, I just took my first full-weekend trip to Sorrento. Early Friday morning, myself and three others from my program headed to Roma Termini to get on a train.

Traveling to Sorrento was a journey, but it’s definitely doable for a weekend trip. Our first leg was from Rome to Naples. This was our longest section, and it took just under three hours. After an hour at Napoli Centrale, our second leg was a train ride from Naples to Sorrento. This train was about an hour and a half. This train went around the base of Vesuvius, and it was super interesting and honestly a little eerie to see in real life. Even though it hasn’t erupted since 1944, having an active volcano in eyesight was a new feeling for me. When we finally arrived in Sorrento, we got in a taxi to travel about a half hour to Marina del Cantone, where we would be staying for the next two nights. Our tiny Airbnb was right next to the water. We could see the water from our windows and balcony. 

Once we settled in, we headed straight to the beach. The town of Marina del Cantone is essentially made up of a tiny market, a souvenir shop, a few hotels, and a few restaurants. Because of this, it had a super cozy vibe. At the beach, kids were running around barefoot together. There were dogs running around that belonged to people in the town. It had a very local feel, and many of the visitors seemed to be Italian. The beach itself had a few sections. Some parts were clear for people to sit wherever they wanted and others had umbrellas and chairs we could rent. On either side of the rocky beach, there were mountains. My favorite part was, of course, the water. It was a beautiful blue color, and it was pretty clear. The water here was much warmer than it was at the beaches around Rome. We stayed at the beach for the entire afternoon, reapplying sunscreen and swimming every half hour to 45 minutes. It was the perfect break from the city atmosphere of Rome. 

For dinner, we went to Maria’s Beach, a family-owned restaurant right on the beach. They had many options and lots of seafood. It definitely lived up to its reviews. For dessert, we ordered tiramisu and lava cake. As a huge lover of tiramisu, there wasn’t a more perfect way to end the night. As we were finishing up at the restaurant, fireworks started going off from the water. We still are not sure exactly what they were for, but it was such a fun memory.

The next day, I woke up and immediately swam. Living near Lake Michigan at home, a morning swim is one of my favorite ways to start my day in the summer, so I was glad to have the opportunity to do a morning swim in Italy. It was so peaceful and refreshing. We all spent most of the morning and early afternoon on the beach before heading to Sorrento via bus. In Sorrento, we walked around, checking out the town. Sorrento was beautiful, cliffy, and filled with tourists. After being away for almost one month, I must admit that there was something almost comforting about hearing English everywhere. Walking through the little streets, I got a magnet to add to my collection and gelato. After a couple hours, we found a shady bench to sit on near the water until we had to meet for the main event of the weekend: a sunset boat tour of the Sorrento Coast.

We met at a port at 6:30 to head out with Captain Sal and his assistant, Lorenzo. On the boat, Lorenzo pointed out multiple locations on the coast, giving us a little history along the way. Studying art history in Rome, we were all especially excited about former-emperor Tiberius’s villa on the edge of a cliff. We stopped early on to jump off the boat and swim in the deep water. One of my biggest goals for this trip was to jump off a rock or boat into the water, so I’m glad to have checked that one off this weekend. From our swimming spot, we continued boating along the coast. The tour ended with a homemade dinner with ingredients from Sal’s family farm. We ate bread and pasta salad, and we drank prosecco and limoncello, which, according to Sal, was made using lemons from his farm. Of course, the sunset was perfect, and I felt so lucky to be watching it from the water.

Once we got off the boat, we headed into town to attempt to take the bus back to Marina del Cantone. Unfortunately, our Google Maps research failed us, and there was no bus that would take us all the way there at night. None of us were willing to risk being trapped at the top of the mountain with no taxis in sight, so we bit the bullet and took a taxi the entire way. While that was 140 euros we did not budget for, it was super nice to have a half hour ride instead of an hour ride. When we got back to our Airbnb, we all crashed immediately.

The next morning, we packed up our things and headed back to Sorrento to catch our train back to Rome. Overall, this trip was a perfect break from classes. I loved swimming, laying on the beach, and jumping off the boat. As promised, I will end with three words to describe my time. This time, they are refreshing, blue, and flexibility. We may have had some last minute expenses when it came to taxis, but it was the perfect break away from the city. I highly recommend taking a weekend trip while studying abroad. As I mentioned in the beginning, so many cool places are at our fingertips while studying in Europe. You will not regret going to new places, even if it might feel a little out of budget in your early 20s. These experiences are absolutely invaluable.