I had always planned to spend my honeymoon in Sorrento.

We would take long walks along the Corso Italia, swim in the turquoise sea in Marina San Francesco and eat superb Neapolitan cuisine.

Sorrento, a pretty little town overlooking the Bay of Naples from a considerable height, is the perfect base to see Pompeii, Capri and other treasures of the Amalfi coast.

Sadly, Mr Right and I have yet to meet. So I amended my plans and joined 20 other men and women in this sunny corner of the region of Campania on a trip organised by Just You, a leading operator for single travellers.

The company takes single travellers on escorted holidays worldwide. It plays down the romantic aspect, not least because 20 per cent of its clients are married or ‘spoken for’, with partners who like to holiday somewhere else.

At welcome drinks and dinner on our first night, our group, ranging from 30s to late-60s, bonded over our common love of Italy.

We got our bearings by exploring Sorrento: the Via San Cesareo – a shoppers’ delight since Greek-Roman times – offers a fine selection of hand-made goods including ceramics, coral jewellery, candles, sweets and embroidered linen.

A Sorrento speciality is cameos. At Bimonte, in Via Padre Reginaldo Giuliani, craftsman work in the shop and you see cameos being made.

Next door, at the Ristorante Sorrento, it was time to sample our first Limoncello – the liqueur is a local speciality.

On free afternoons, some of us headed for the picturesque Marina Grande, where the beach was regularly brushed clean and restaurants offered delicious, fresh seafood.

Pompeii is a definite must-see – the famous Roman town was destroyed by flying stones and black clouds of ash and poisonous gases in AD79, when erupting Vesuvius also buried the city of Herculaneum in mud and lava.

Excavated in 1748, Pompeii is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and shows how cultured and ‘modern’ the Romans were. The Forum Baths on Via delle Terme looked like a modern spa.

The Forum, Temple of Apollo, Basilica and The Grand Theatre still look imposing. Luxurious mansions in the residential area, including the Houses of the Faun, Vettii and Tragic Poet have large gardens, fountains, mosaics and frescoes.

The Roman influence is occasionally visible on the enchanting island of Capri, a ferry ride from Sorrento. A favourite for artists, writers and celebrities since Roman times, the island has two main areas – the town of Capri and Anacapri, located at the highest point of the island.

Towering over the island is Monte Solaro, at more than 1,800ft high. The chairlift from Anacapri swung us over rooftops and gardens to the top, from where we could see as far as the Bay of Naples.

A boat trip around Capri takes you past colourful grottoes, restaurants and villas and stops at the famous Blue Grotto, which turns the sea blue.

On the final excursion, we walked the rim of the crater of Mount Vesuvius with a local volcanologist. It was exciting being on top of Europe’s most dangerous volcano – even though its last eruption was in March 1944.

From holes in the rocks, steam constantly blows out and the ground is baking hot, indicating the volcano is still active.

More than 600,000 people live in 18 towns within the designated danger zone – resisting all attempts to move them.

Although travellers on solos holidays can do their own thing at any time, the excursions were too good to miss out on and, after a while, it felt strange to leave the group.

As for romance, one lady showed me a picture of her son and said that he works close to my office. She wants to introduce us, so you never know...

Travel Facts:

* Laura Wurzal travelled with Just You Holidays, which offer seven-night Sorrento escorted tours this summer from £970, including return flights from Leeds Bradford to Naples, B&B at Hotel Zi Teresa, five dinners, excursions, welcome drink, farewell get-together, transfers and tour manager.

* For reservations, call 0800 1123311 or justyou.co.uk.