Should we stay in Sorrento or Positano?

Hi Shannon,

I visited the Amalfi Coast last summer and stayed in both Sorrento and Positano.  I loved them both, but Positano definitely has your more dramatic, beautiful scenery.  It's the Amalfi Coast you always picture.  It's harder to get to (bus only and very narrow, long, windy roads), but it's an absolutely breath taking location.  Positano could be more expensive than Sorrento though.  I stayed in the Nocelle area which was awesome because it had incredible views since it's so high up, but it's a little bit of a pain to access the center and the beach from there.  The bus came sporadically and was never on time.  The taxi rides are ridiculously expensive too, but my airbnb in Nocelle was precious.  Most of the restaurants and shops are in the center or close to the beach.  There are some great options, but maybe not as many as Sorrento may have.  Staying in Sorrento was great too.  I found the city to be very charming and they had plenty of fun restaurants.  I think the major difference is if you want a more secluded, romantic, different than any place you've ever been setting choose Positano.  If you want the feel of being in a small Italian city, then choose Sorrento.  When I was there (late June), I felt that I was in Positano with only Americans and other tourists.  In Sorrento I felt like I was a tourist in a small city of Italians.  I'm not sure when you're going or if that would influence your decision, but I appreciate having more natives around than other tourists.

Buon viaggio!

P.S.  This is a piece of additional advice that I give to anyone traveling the Amalfi Coast: once you get past Sorrento, or Salerno if you're coming through the opposite direction, it's bus only travel through long, windy roads so bring medicine or something to suck on to avoid car sickness! I've never felt so car sick in my life while I was there!  It's well worth it so you can see all these beautiful places, but there was one day where my friend and I climbed 1000 stairs to get back to our airbnb instead of taking public transportation to avoid car sickness.  I wish I had known this before I went there.

I stayed in Positano 2 years ago with my twin sister, we stayed at Villa La Tartana Positano and has the best time ever! It was the cutest place ever, wonderful people and service! We had the best time ever! The hotel was able to recommend delicious places to eat and we defiantly had some of our best meals yet in Positano! Let me know if you have any other questions, I would be happy to tell you about my experience :)

Best,

EJ

Positano by far. The town is smaller, more cousy and it was an awesome view. Try Hotel Marincanto, you will remember it for the rest of your life.

Happy trip.

Staying in Sorrento will definitely provide you more (and cheaper) options- and Positano is just a bus ride away in the morning. Positano has a wonderful day scene - whether you are hiking up and down the beautiful stairways and visiting the shops or laying out on the beach with some gelato. I would say Sorrento has a better night scene- in the right parts, there is a fantastic energy in the evening and plenty of people out walking the streets.

Positano! We stayed in Sorrento the first trip and Amalfi the second time. We liked staying in Amalfi much better. We would choose Positano over Sorrento as well. Had our best meal in the 22 days we were in Italy high up on the mountain over Positano.

Shannon, 

I would highly suggest staying in Positano, it's less touristy, calmer, and quieter in my opinion. I would actually stay in nocelle which is just a 5 minute bus ride to the center of Positano. We stayed in Casa Cuccaro and had amazing views from the terrace. I loved the b&b and the location was perfect! Make sure you try the 2 restaurants in Nocelle - pizza place and a seafood one. 

Enjoy!

Positano for sure. The scenery is amazing.

Definitely Positano. If you stay in Sorrento you will find you will want to spend more time in Positano.