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Sorrento is not a beach town and it is the best place on this bay to keep a boat waiting for you.
That is the honest shape of it. The town sits on a cliff above the water with a couple of small marinas below and no proper beach to speak of, and people who come here expecting one are always slightly disappointed. What Sorrento has instead is position. Capri is forty minutes across the water. The Amalfi Coast starts twenty minutes round the headland. Naples is an hour the other way. Almost nowhere in Italy is better placed for going somewhere else by sea every morning.
So the boat tours from here are not a day out from your holiday. On a Sorrento trip they tend to be the holiday.
Capri, which is the main event
Most boats leaving Sorrento are going to Capri, and there is a real difference between the ways of doing it.
The public ferry or hydrofoil takes forty minutes and costs very little, and dumps you at Marina Grande with several thousand other people. You then have to organise the island yourself, which in August means queuing twice: once for the funicular and once, at the end, for a boat home. That last queue is what ruins Capri day trips.
A boat tour instead takes you across, runs the island circuit, usually offers the Blue Grotto, stops for swimming, and brings you back. The exclusive Capri tour with the Blue Grotto option is rated 4.8 from over five thousand people, which is an enormous sample. The full day version with transfers is rated 4.9 and picks you up from your hotel, which removes the walk down to the marina and, more importantly, the walk back up at the end of a long hot day.
If you only want the island on foot, take the ferry. If you want the coastline, which is the actual reason to go to Capri, take the boat.
The Amalfi Coast in a day, from the right side
The second great trip from Sorrento goes the other way, round the Punta Campanella and east along the coast to Positano and Amalfi.
The advantage of doing this by sea from here is entirely about the road. The coastal drive from Sorrento to Positano is sixteen kilometres and takes ninety minutes on a bad day, on a bus, standing. The same distance by boat takes half an hour and you spend it looking at the coast rather than at a headrest. The Positano and Amalfi boat trip is the one to book, and there is a combined Capri, Amalfi and Positano trip if you want the whole thing in one very full day.
Most of these stop for free time ashore in Positano, and this is where I would say something slightly against my own advice: free time in Positano off a boat is about ninety minutes, and Positano is a town built on a staircase. You will not get far up it and back down again. Treat the stop as a swim and a drink at the beach rather than a visit.
Ieranto, the one almost nobody books
Half an hour west of Sorrento, at the very tip of the peninsula below Nerano, there is a bay called Ieranto.
It looks across at the Faraglioni of Capri, it is owned and protected by the Italian national trust, there is no road to it and the only sensible approach is by water. It is the clearest swimming in this part of Italy and there is no beach club, no sunbeds and no music. The water is cold and very deep and green rather than blue.
Boats from Sorrento and Nerano run there for swimming stops and many of the coast trips pass it. If you get a choice of swimming stop and Ieranto is on the list, take it over anywhere nearer the towns. Ask about it by name; some operators will detour if the sea is right and you are the one who asked.
Nerano itself is worth knowing about for one dish, spaghetti alla Nerano, which is courgettes, provolone del monaco and not much else, and which was invented in this bay. Several boat trips build lunch around it.
Which trip, by how long you have
- One day only. Capri, on a tour rather than a ferry, leaving early.
- Two days. Capri on the first, the coast to Positano and Amalfi on the second.
- Three or more. Add a half day west to Ieranto and Nerano, which is the one that will surprise you, and give an evening to a sunset run out of Marina Grande.
- A group of four or more. Price a private boat before you dismiss it. Split between four, a day boat comes out close to four shared tickets on a busy tour, and you go where you want.
Practical things
Two marinas. Marina Piccola is the commercial harbour where the ferries and most tour boats go from, and it is reached by a road down from Piazza Tasso or by the lift from the Villa Comunale gardens. Marina Grande is the older fishing harbour further west, prettier, with the small boats. Check which one your ticket says, because they are a solid fifteen minutes apart and the walk back up from either is a climb.
Prices, September 2026: a shared Capri day from Sorrento sits around eighty to a hundred and thirty euros a head; the coast trip to Positano and Amalfi about the same; hotel pickup adds twenty or so; a private boat for the day from roughly six hundred. The Blue Grotto entrance is extra and is cash.
Season: April to October, thickest June to September. Mornings are calm and afternoons are not. Everything cancels on swell.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it better to take a ferry or a boat tour from Sorrento to Capri?
The ferry is faster and much cheaper but leaves you to organise the island alone, including a long queue for a boat back in high season. A tour costs more and includes the island circuit and the caves, which are the real reason to go to Capri. For a first visit, take the tour.
How long does it take to get from Sorrento to Capri by boat?
About forty minutes on a ferry or hydrofoil. Tour boats take a little longer because they are smaller and slower, usually fifty minutes to an hour, and they generally start the island circuit on arrival.
Which marina do boat tours leave from in Sorrento?
Most ferries and tour boats leave from Marina Piccola, below Piazza Tasso. Marina Grande is the older fishing harbour to the west and is used by some smaller operators. They are about fifteen minutes apart on foot, so check which your ticket names before you set off.
What is the Bay of Ieranto and can you visit it?
Ieranto is a protected bay at the tip of the peninsula near Nerano, looking across at Capri, with no road access and no beach clubs. It has the clearest water in the area. You reach it by boat, or on foot by a long walk down from Nerano. Several Sorrento boat trips use it as a swimming stop if you ask.
How much do boat tours from Sorrento cost?
Checked September 2026: a shared Capri day is roughly eighty to a hundred and thirty euros a head, an Amalfi Coast day about the same, hotel pickup around twenty extra, and a private boat for the day from about six hundred. The Blue Grotto entrance is separate and paid in cash.
When is the best time of year for boat trips from Sorrento?
May, June and September. The sea is reliable, the boats run a full schedule and there is space on them. July and August are calmest but busiest. Very little runs between November and March.
Read also: Getting to Capri | The best things to do in Sorrento | The Complete Guide to Sorrento
