Bailey Turvey flew to Italy’s Amalfi Coast for a four-day work trip and took a boat to picturesque Positano – only to be “ripped off” when he bought lemon sorbet
A British tourist was left horrified after being charged £25 for two scoops of lemon sorbet at a dream holiday destination.
Bailey Turvey flew to Italy’s Amalfi Coast for a work trip in July and took a boat trip to Positano – a nearby picturesque village loved by celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, George Clooney and Kylie Jenner. Knowing the region boasts some of the best lemons in the world, the 24-year-old was eager to try its famous sorbet.
Bailey bought the dessert for himself and his pal 23-year-old mate Oliver Bashford-Squires. It was served in an elaborate eight-inch tall hollowed-out lemon, but the content creator was left stunned and “couldn’t believe it” when he was charged 30 euros (£25) – meaning each scoop was just over £12.
Taking to TikTok, Bailey recorded himself holding the dessert and looking baffled, with the caption reding “POV: you forgot to ask the price before ordering your ice cream in Positano and you get charged 30 Euros for two scoops of lemon sorbet.”
Bailey, from Brighton, said: “I was very shocked. I was expecting it to be expensive but I wasn’t expecting that amount of money. Positano is known for its lemons, we wanted to give it a go. We saw everyone walking down the streets and heard about how the lemons were from the region.
“We didn’t check the price on the menu. Walking down the street they don’t have any of the prices out, then you just buy it and they can charge you whatever they want. The shop owner didn’t even say how much it cost, he just held out the card reader.
“I didn’t say anything at the time, I was just quiet. When we walked away I said to my friend ‘guess how much they cost?’. I couldn’t believe it. I think they market it up because it’s inside a lemon but it’s the equivalent of a scoop and a half.
“They don’t even sell it as one or two scoops, they just sell it as ‘the lemon sorbet’ so they can profit off that a bit more. They make it look big with a massive lemon but you can’t eat the lemon. My friend was just as shocked. I was paying for everything so he didn’t have to worry, he didn’t have quite the shock to the bank balance as I did.”
Bailey admitted the sorbet tasted good, but says it wasn’t “worth the price”, and in future, he’ll be double checking prices before purchasing items. He said: “It’s definitely a tourist trap. It was good lemon sorbet but not worth that price. It was definitely a mind game to try and trick yourself into feeling less bad for paying that price.
“Holiday money is slightly different from normal money. If it was a day-to-day thing I wouldn’t be able to believe it, like if I was back home and spent that on a coffee. I’ll be checking the price next time I buy an ice-cream.”
