Bagni Regina Giovanna is one of the best places around Sorrento. A place which you must not miss when you travel to Sorrento. Overlooked by ruins of a roman villa and sheltered by trees, this is a great little enclosed swimming spot. Waves are put to a minimum due to the water coming in from the sea through a tiny gap between the rocks. Overall Bagni Della Regina Giovanna is an amazing swimming spot and even a great area to lounge around and take in the views. Whatever you want to do here, we will tell you the best tips and tricks for it below.
Bagni Regina Giovanna – Video Highlights
Bagni Regina Giovanna – How to get there ?
The best way to reach Bagni Regina Giovanna is by bus from Sorrento. Bus stop for Bagni Regina Giovanna is called Capo di Sorrento. The bus will leave you close to where Via Capo turns sharp left and the road with the name Via Calata Punta Capo goes to the right. The bus stop is right in front of a small Hotel Villa Igea. From here you need to walk about 10-15 minutes to Bagni Regina Giovanna.
Ask the bus driver to give you a shout when Capo di Sorrento comes. Or look out for Hotel Spicy Sorrento to your left and press the red button on the bus to stop after that. Start walking on Via Calata Punta Capo and keep following the main path and it will take you to Bagni Della Regina Giovanna.
Once you reach right on top of Bagni Della Regina Giovanna, there is a fork in the path, the path going left and down goes to the Bagni Regina Giovanna. The path to the right goes to the ruins of Roman Villa. If rather than going straight to a flat area on top of ruins, you keep slight to right and then go through the ruins, you will emerge upon a large rocky area.
At this point, you can decide whether to sit there for a bit and take in the coastal views or turn left and scramble further down the rocks to reach the sea at which point you will have a small nice area between the rocks to take a dip. It is called St Salazar cove. Here the floor is smooth rock and there will be barely anybody in sight, a nice desolate secret spot to chill and relax for a while. From the ruins, please note that this area will only be accessible by scrambling to it with no proper path.
From where to catch the bus in Sorrento
From Sorrento train station you can ask for return tickets to Capo di Sorrento from the newsagent. It costs around 3 Euros. Now find the road Via Degli Aranci (once you get out of the station you have to walk left and then left again ). Don’t cross Via Degli Aranci. Look for the EAV bus stop (Fermata) on your side of the road itself. Catch the Linea A bus (‘A’ displayed on the front of the bus).
From Marina Grande: Walk all the way up to the hospital. Move to Via Degli Aranci road and find a stop on the side where buses going away from Sorrento centre. There is stop opposite side to La Fenice Pizzeria.
From Porto di Sorrento: There is also bus from Porto di Sorrento to Capo di Sorrento. Wherever you are in Sorrento, you ask anyone that you want to go to Bagni Della Regina Giovanna or Capo di Sorrento and find out the nearest bus stop to catch the bus.
Once you are on the bus, as advised above either ask the driver to tell you when the bus stop Capo di Sorrento comes or look out for Hotel Spicy Sorrento to your left and press the red button on the bus to stop after that.
Can you walk from Sorrento to Bagni Regina Giovanna?
Bagni Regina Giovanna is about 3 km from the Historic centre of Sorrento. It will take around 45 minutes to 1-hour walk. From the centre of Sorrento, keep walking on Via Capo for about 30-40 minutes and you will come across Hotel Villa Igea to your left. Soon you will find a road Via Calata Punta Capo turning right from Via Capo. Take Via Calata Punta Capo and keep walking till you get to Bagni Della Regina Giovanna. We advise you to take a bus from Sorrento because part of the road doesn’t have a footpath on side of the road. If you walked one way to Bagni Regina Giovanna but want to come back to Sorrento by bus, then on your way back, where Via Calata Punta Capo ends, there is a shop where you can buy one-way bus tickets to Sorrento.
The walk from Bagni Della Regina Giovanna to the road (where you catch a bus or park a car), is very steep and the path is not level. So if you are not a good walker then you might find it hard to go up and down to Bagni Della Regina Giovanna.
What is the best time to visit Bagni Regina Giovanna?
As Bagni Regina Giovanna is very popular and well renowned, in peak season it will be extremely crowded. Although the best time to swim would be peak season, we think the best time you should visit Bagni Della Regina Giovanna is in April, May, or late September/October. This is because there are very few crowds these months so you can explore the area in peace. But in those months, as we said before the water will be a bit chilly, although for whatever reason it isn’t too bad here in Bagni Della Regina Giovanna.
Even if the water is a bit chilly and you don’t want to swim, it’s more important to go exploring there and take in the amazing views rather than come there solely to swim and not really see much of the surroundings due to the number of people there in peak season. In fact, during July and August, you will struggle to find any spot to put your towel down or sit in Bagni Regina Giovanna. If you still decide to visit Bagni Della Regina Giovanna in July / August then try either to visit in the morning ideally before 10 am or late in the evening after 5 pm.
We visited in mid-April, as you can see from photos and videos, hardly anybody was there. We loved our time here and although the water was a bit cold, we still enjoyed a nice swim.
If its too crowded, head over to the little cove next to the Roman Villa Ruins. Read the second heading to know how to find this cove or see the map below for a rough idea.
Golden Tip: Carry Swimming/beach shoes if you got a pair
In some places around the cove and Bagni Regina Giovanna, you might find pebbles / sharp stones under your feet. This might be uncomfortable for some, so carry swim shoes with you if you got a pair.
Is there any beach near Bagni Regina Giovanna?
You can either swim in the Bagni Regina Giovanna itself or you can try a small cove next to Bagni Regina Giovanna. To get to the cove, you come up via stairs and turn left towards ruins, then you keep slight right and go through ruins to emerge onto a large rocky area. From here easy scramble through small rocks to your left and you will reach a small cove with the name St Salazar cove.
What is the history of Bagni Regina Giovanna?
Historically Bagni Regina Giovanna was part of Roman Villa from 1st century, known as Pollio Felice. Once it was an impressive Roman Villa, today only ruins are left to see. There is still a,lot to be discovered about history of this villa. Pollio Felice was a historian, a poet and rich enough to afford such a luxury villa.
Bagni della Regina Giovanna as it stands would have been the villa’s pool. This name came from Queen of Naples: Giovanna who visited the place frequently.
If you are interested to know more about the history of Bagni Regina Giovanna, click here
Where to park your car near Bagni Regina Giovanna?
When you turn right from Via Capo onto Via Calata Punta Capo, the car park is right there. You can use this address “Via Calata Punta Capo, 18, 80067 Sorrento”. A car Park is right in front of this address.
Are there any shops or bars or toilets near Bagni Regina Giovanna?
There is a shop right where the bus leaves you. Take right from Via Capo onto Via Calata Punta Capo and the shop is right on the corner. You can buy drinks and some snacks from there. In peak season there is also usually a bar open if you keep following the wooden patch ahead from St Salzar Cove. See the image below about the rough location of the bar. Please note the bar is usually only open in peak season June/July/August. When we visited in April, the wooden path also was damaged and there was no way to walk across it. So just check when you visit if its path is safe to walk to the bar.
Finally, this area has no shops, cafes, toilets or lifeguards and isn’t really run by anyone. That is the exact reason it keeps its natural beauty – man hasn’t modernized it yet. But that means two things: Firstly, don’t litter or destroy any wildlife. Secondly, swim safely as there are never any lifeguards on duty in the area.
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