Been to Jesolo three times, and always enjoyed it

It's a resort remember, not olde italy, but it's a great base for getting to the venetian islands

It's a few years since I visited either but I'll try and give you an idea of what I remember.
As Cider Monster said Lido is a lively modern resort, a large one with a long beach, lots of shops, restaurants and cafes. It's only a short distance from Venice and quite a few other places are within easy reach. It's a good destination for a beach holiday.
Sorrento is different, there isn't a beach as the town is situated on cliffs high above the sea, so any sunbathing would have to be done around the hotel pool. The town has a much more old Italian feel with narrow alleyways and older buildings. It's easy to get to other places as there are ferries and hydrofoils that will take you to Naples, Amalfi and Capri. Pompeii can also be visited easily from Sorrento.
There are a quite a few luxury hotels in Sorrento that attract some really wealthy people which is often reflected in the prices (not cheap) in the town.The scenery on the drive to Sorrento from Naples is beautiful.
I prefer Sorrento but I don't like beach holidays, Lido de Jesolo would probably suit me if I wanted to laze on the beach and stroll around town visiting the bars and cafes at night.

Thank you both for your replies. I am definately going to visit both. I probably will not manage both next year but I'll get saving now just in case.

I have to admit that i'm in no way a beach person, but i still loved Jesolo (even though i do quite like the private beach idea when there! ) Enough to do visiting Venice, Murano, Burano, Torcello, etc, to keep you off the beach. Also, although it's a LONG resort, it's only ever really three streets deep in Jesolo, so you never really feel stifled

My parents always loved Sorrento even though i haven't personally been, so i don't think you can lose either way. In fact, you can't lose ... it's Italy, and it's lovely

CiderMonster, How long is Jessolo - is it possible to walk from end to end ? The hotel I have my eye on has its own stretch of beach and is next to Piazzo Mazzini, is this area central to shops or do shops etc. run the full stretch. ? Thanks in advance.

As luck may have it, the nearest sea-adjacent piazza to us when we stayed there WAS Piazza Mazzini. You are perfectly situated for the shops and restaurants, and although the main pedestrianised shopping area does stretch a good distance, it is clearly better in the western half of the resort where you would be. Which hotel are you looking at?

Jesolo is around 13km long, and yes, it's possible to walk it all, most of it you can walk right along the beachfront on a cracking new path they had built when we were there. This is a good site that may help:

Jesolo Online (English language)

There is a live panning webcam on that one, note where it is situated Also, check out the panoramic map, gives you a good idea of the area. (we've walked from Faro - 0km - to the Malibu campsite - around 10.5km - on the map ... phew!!)

Hi,

Have been to both and for us there is no contest --- Sorrento every time.

The scenery, days out to Capri, Ischia, Amalfi, Ravello and Pompeii and Vesuvius (plus the option of a weekend in Rome) win hands down.

We have stayed at the Admiral which is quite reasonable.

We find Southern Italy the 'real' Italy --- am sure the Northern Italiens would hate to read that, but it does have more atmosphere.

To be fair to Lido de Jesolo we didnt have a good hotel and were not near the beach. The weather was gloomy too (August).

I suppose it all depends what you are after in a holiday -- can see the good in both. Any questions re Sorrento please ask. (Just to confuse you even more - we have also stayed in Riva del Garda on Lake Garda. That does all of the trips you can do from Lido but is more scenic --- stunning infact!

You don't find the scenery of zipping around the venetian islands spectacular then??
From watching my parents vids of Sorrento i have to admit it looked nice, but don't let the look of old italy fool you ... regardless of which resort you go to, they are tourist towns and therefore consist of much tourist tat!

Ambasciatori Palace Hotel with being adjacent to the beach and having its own stretch of beach attracted me (I like a Sea-View room) I do like to look into where I am booking and read the various reviews and upto now have been lucky with where we have stayed. So plenty time to keep looking.

For Sorrento a family member has recently stayed at Hotel La Solara, on the outskirts but they have a free courtesy bus running into Sorrento every hour and return journey also. However the Hotel Bristol is only a 10 minute walk into Sorrento but looks to be expensive.

It looks like it will have to be the Hotel Le Soleil now - Cosmos are the only ones that fly from Newcastle Airport to Venice, and there are 6 hotels to choose from and this is the only one on the beach.

Still a cracking looking hotel .... had a look at their website

I remember it from my many walks past, hard not to with those colours

Thanks CiderMonster, it looks nice from the photos. None of the hotels I have looked at seem to get 100% top reviews, but I suppose you cannot please everyone !
I am totally frustrated with the Cosmos website, their flights to Venice are on a Sunday and everytime I put down a date for a Sunday next Summer flying from Newcastle - it only brings up the details for Gatwick and Manchester grrrrr. I have phoned Cosmos twice and have been no help with the problem

That's a pain!!

If you do end up deciding Jesolo and you need any more info about the resort, i'm happy to help .. once i've casted my mind back 5 years!!