sguglielmo

Hello,

Last month I went to the Amalfi Coast and Rome for my honeymoon. I did a lot of research before the trip, and received lots of good advice from these forums, so I wanted to pass on some of the things I learned and hopefully help other people.

General:

Our trip was from June 2 - 15. It was a perfect time to go. We really didn't have any issues with crowds to speak of. We went right in to tourist destinations such as the Blue Grotto in Capri and the Collesseum in Rome. Part of this was also due to tips I had learned on how to avoid lines, i.e. buying tickets for the Collesseum at Palatine Hill, but the crowds were not bad at all. The most crowded was the Vatican museum, but we only waited in line for maybe 10 minutes.

I'm not going to get into all the food we had, because I could go one for days I will mention the names of the restaurants we liked. We were very happy with the restaurants we went to - we almost exclusively went to places that were recommended by various sources, because we didn't want to waste our money or time in Italy on crappy food.

Amalfi Coast:

We flew from Boston to Naples, and immediately went to Sorrento. On the recommendation of this board, we took the Cuerri bus, which couldn't have been easier. We walked out of the departure door outside, and the bus was right there. It took us to the bus station in Sorrento, from which we walked to our hotel. It was an easy 15 minute walk, but I should have looked up exactly how to get there, because the map we had wasn't good and we had to ask a local for the street we were looking for. The person we asked was very helpful though, and we found the hotel without issue.

We stayed in the Hotel Savoia. This was a bed and breakfast with a private bathroom and a balcony. It was very clean, the room was nice and a good size, the staff were nice, and the breakfast was good. We don't stay in hotel rooms much - this was perfect.

That night, we went to Trattoria da Emilia. This was a small, family-run place right on the water with very good prices.

That night and the next day, we hung around Sorrento, walked around, did some shopping, had gelato. There was a very nice cloister that we went to near the center of town. We liked Sorrento a lot - it was nicer than I thought it would be.

The next afternoon, we took the SITA bus to Positano. We had been planning on hiring a driver, but since the bus from Naples to Sorrento was so good we decided to save some money. I would recommend showing up at the train station early. There was a long line for the bus, and in general Sorrento was not crowded, so I can only imagine how long it gets in peak tourist season. We ended up missing one bus, but we were first in line for the next bus. Because of this, we got the best seats - first row, right side. We had a great view because of that, but I don't think I would have enjoyed it if my seat wasn't good. The ride was amazing - we couldn't stop gasping. It was a little hairy but not bad - the driver was fine.

We were absolutely blown away by Positano. I could go on for days about it, but we absolutely loved it. It's my favorite place out of everywhere we travelled.

After we got off the bus, we thought we'd walk to our hotel. MISTAKE! Hire a cab or a porter if you have big suitcases.

We got to our hotel - another bed and breakfast called Pensione Casa Guadagno. This place was fantastic. I would highly recommend it. The room was very big and so was the bathroom - it had a full tub too. There was a balcony that overlooked the Mediterranean. It was family-run, and the staff was very nice. The breakfast was great every day.

Some restaurants we went to were Ristorante Da Vincenzo, Il Fornillo Pizzeria, Donna Rosa, Ristorante Da Constantino. The last two are above the town - in and on the way to Montepertuso (the village above the town) but very good. Donna Rosa is expensive but worth it for a splurge.

We also liked this cafe on the Fornillo beach called Pupetto. A few times we made our our dinner with ingredients from Delikatessan Positano and ate on our balcony.

We took a day trip to Amalfi on the ferry, which was great. There, we went to Pizzeria Guisseppe - very good. We saw the Duomo there.

One of my favorite experiences was our walk up to Montepertuso and Nocelle. I belive this was about a 5K walk, so it took us awhile, but the scenery was unbelievable and a whole different perspective. We only did this because it was overcast that day but it turned out to be one of my favorite things.

We went to Capri for a day and a night, taking the ferry from Rome. We stayed in Anacapri at Hotel Loreley. I would NOT recommend this place. It was old, dingy, and dirty. The only good thing about it was that it was near the center of Anacapri.

In Capri, we walked from Anacapri to the Blue Grotto. This was a beautiful walk, one of the highlights. The Blue Grotto was great - very beautiful. That night we went to dinner at La Rondinella. It was great!

The next day was our one bad day. We had all sorts of issues travelling from Capri to Rome via Naples. I did a lot of research on this part because I thought it was going to be confusing, but it didn't help much. My advice to people who are taking Tram 1 from the ferry to Piazza Garibaldi - (1) the ferry stop is in the middle of the busy street that is parallel to the port. If your back is to the port, you will need to walk to the right a little bit, and it's in the middle of the road. Buy your tickets at the newspaper kiosk that is on the way. (2) There are 2 Garibaldi stops. Take the second one!! Don't take the one for the Circumvesuvia - it's the local train, not the train to Rome.

Also, the trains have assigned seats in certain cars, which we didn't realize.

I'll spare all the rest of the gory details - but suffice it to say next time I will take a cab from the port to Piazza Garibaldi. It would be completely worth it.

We arrived in Rome without trouble. Our hotel was another B&B run by an Italian and his America wife called the Nicolas Inn. Our room was great, very big, with another big bathroom and a full sized tub. The staff was beyond accomadating - they gave us a map and pointed out all the sites and gave us tips, recommended restaurants, had phone cards for the guests to use, even left a bottle of wine in our room. The location was great too - we were on Via Cavour, about a 5 minute walk from the Collesseum.

We did a lot of sight-seeing in Rome: the Collesseum, Pallatine Hill, the Forum, Mamertime Prison, Pantheon, Trajan's Market, Appian Way, Catacombs, Borghese Gallery, St Peter's Basillica, Vatican Museum, Campo di Fiori, Piazza Navona, Trastevere. We also went to several smaller churches, and did a lot of wandering around. We loved mostly everything! Rome is an amazing city.

Just a few thoughts. The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel is the greatest work of art I've ever seen. The sculptures in the Borghese Gallery were incredible, and it wasn't crowded in there at all thanks to the reservation system. I made my reservations online before we left. We weren't impressed by the Spanish steps.

Some restaurants we enjoyed: La Taverna Imperialla, Okibo (amazing mozzarella bar). Unfortunately I don't remember any of the names of the others. We went to a great pizza place near our hotel.

We took a cab from the hotel to the airport. It was about 40 euro - well worth it.

It was really the trip of a lifetime - we had such an amazing time. And thanks to anyone on these boards who provided tips. Feel free to ask me about anything more specifically.

isabel

Thanks for writing the report, it was very informative, and short and to the point, I liked that. I'm thinking of the same trip for next March. Do you have websites for the hotels/B&Bs your stayed at? It looks like you had about 13 days, is that right? The trip I'm planning will only be about 8-9. How would allocate that number of days, and would you cut anything out and if so what. Thanks again.

sherhatfield

Nice report! I'll be doing a similar trip this September, so thanks for the tip about the taxi from the port in Naples.

We stayed at Nicholas Inn a few years ago and loved it! Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay.

Marija

Glad you had a great trip. In Rome is the restaurant you're referring to Tavern dei Fori Imperiali at via Madonna dei Monti 16? If so, we had two wonderful meals there recently. It was one of our favorite restaurants. We went to Obika, the mozarella bar, too.

dcd

Super report!! The Amalfi is high on our list and you've given us some great info. Thanks!

sguglielmo

isabel, here are the websites for the hotels we stayed in that I would recommend:

Hotel Savoia, Sorrento: http://www.savoia-hotel.com

Pensione Casa Guadagno, Positano: http://www.pensionecasaguadagno.it/index.html

Nicolas Inn, Rome: www.nicolasinn.com


Yes, we had about 13 days. If you are only going for 8 or 9 and want to see both the Amalfi Coast and Rome, I would skip Sorrento and go straight to Positano (or wherever else you choose to stay) from Naples. Then I would spend half the time there, half the time in Rome. If you leave early in the morning for Rome from the Amalfi Coast (or vice versa) you will still have about half a day in your destination.


Marija, yes, thank you! The restaurant was Tavern dei Fori Imperiali. It is managed by a very nice gentleman who I believe was named Aldo, and his father does the cooking. The food there was unbelievable - we ate their twice too. They gave us free limoncello at the end of both meals too.

chris1999

great info. thanks for the report. i'll be there in less than a week!

debrad149

Thanks for the trip report. I am planning a trip to Italy next year and I had thought about cutting out a trip to the Amalfi Coast but now I think I might have to visit!

TAW

Thank you for a great report. I have a question...were the beds comfortable where you stayed? Were they queen, king, or double? Reason I'm asking is that in looking for lodging I keep seeing "double bed" and I wonder if it really means a double sized bed. We need a queen or king since double is too small.
Thanks

bugleybugley

sguglielmo,

I'm wanting to fly from Boston To Naples in April. What airlines did you consider, and which did you use? Was it non stop, etc.

Thanks,

Feel free to email me at work

[email protected]

sguglielmo

Hello again,

Hopefully these replies aren't too late.

TAW:
All the beds we had were comfortable. I believe they were larger than doubles - at least queen-sized.

If you want to take a look, I took pictures of all the hotel rooms except for the Capri one, and the beds are included (not sure why the link is posting twice but it works).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyl...7605806310350/


bugleybugley:
Our flights to and from Italy both had one stop. We flew Swiss Air from Boston to Naples with a layover in Zurich, and we flew Lufthansa from Rome to Boston with a layover in Munich. We had no issues at all and I was happy with the airlines.

I would have preferred non-stop but having a layover was a less expensive option.

Freitagfan

In April we are going from Rome to the Amalfi Coast and doing a one night trip. Train to Salerno and then the ferry system from town to town all the way back around to Naples.

My question: Should I pre-book all tickets for the train and ferries? Wondering if this is something that is usually sold out (guessing not).

tamarat

Congratulations on your marriage!

I recently posted that I was surprising my husband with a trip to Greece and I received replies indicating that Santorini is the best-voted island for its beauty and spectacular views, which we love. I was pretty convinced to decide on that when I all of a sudden thought of the Amalfi Coast and decided maybe that would be better.

Have you been to Santorini, and if so which would you choose between the two, Santorini and Amalfi, if you had a one week holiday? Also, if you had only one week, would you just go to Positano which sounded like your favourite or would you split it up? (We've been to Rome, Venice and Florence but never the Amalfi Coast).

thanks, tamara

loc5000

Hi fellow Bostonian sguglielmo!

Thanks for your report. We will be up north in Lucca/Tuscany with our family for a week in early July then are planning to spend 3 or 4 days on Capri.

Do you have any input on travel logistics from Capri to Rome? Is that the best way back to Boston - versus some other airport closer to Capri?

Also, when you suggest taking a cab from the ferry I'm assuming that is in Naples, but wanted to make sure.

How long did it end up taking to get to Rome from Capri?

loc5000

Hi again - I realize the question about getting back to Boston from Capri was a little silly. Of course you could have flown back from Naples. Still wonder how long it took to get to Rome as we are debating whether we just fly home from Naples or take the time to spend a day or two in Rome as well.

sguglielmo

Hi all,

Responses below:

Freitagfan: I didn't pre-book any train or ferry tickets. It wasn't necessary, there was always room. I would just suggest getting to wherever you buy the tickets a little bit ahead of time but buying that day should be fine.

tamarat: I haven't been to Santorini so I can't really comment on what would be better. I've heard it's beautiful, but as I've mentioned the Amalfi Coast is breathtaking. I think you would probably be good either way!

You can definitely do more than Positano if you have a week, and you can do more than just the Amalfi Coast too. I would probably pick another place that wasnt' too far away, that you wouldn't have to fly to anyway.

loc5000: as you said, the easiest way to get back to Boston from Capri is through Naples. I was talking about Naples when I suggested taking a cab to the train station.

Besides our issues getting to the train station, going from Capri to Rome was fairly easy. You can just take the ferry from Capri to Naples, a cab or the tram to the Garibaldi train station (NOT the Circumvesuvia train line or however you spell it), and take the train to Termini station in Rome. Termini station is somewhat in the middle of Rome too, not way out like the airport. I forget exactly how long it took but it was a few hours, maybe 5 or 6 all together from Capri.

If you have a day or 2 and are in Capri anyway I would definitely suggest going to Rome and flying home from there.