mp413

My parents and I have about 7 days on the Amalfi Coast, May 27-June 3. After doing TONS of research this is what I came up with. What I like about it is that it is doable with or without a rental car (I consulted ferry/bus/train timetables), as we are still totally on the fence about whether to drive or use public transport. Any thoughts on that for this time of year would be appreciated! (FYI if we drive we will stay in Atrani, if we go with public transport we'll stay in Amalfi.) Also, is Pompeii an interesting town to spend the night in, or are we better off spending the second night in Naples?

Fri night 27th - Naples center
Saturday - visit Naples
Saturday night - Naples center (or Pompeii if we feel like a change)
Sunday - Pompeii, afternoon to Capri or Ischia
Monday - Capri or Ischia, afternoon to Amalfi/Atrani
Tuesday - Amalfi/Atrani, afternoon/evening in Cetara
Wednesday - Amalfi/Atrani, afternoon/evening in Ravello - outdoor piano concert Thursday - to Positano, night in Positano
Friday - day anywhere - Positano, Amalfi, Atrani, Ravello, Naples...wherever we want to spend more time
Friday night 3rd - night in Naples
Sat departure 4th

I'm not super stuck on visiting the islands but I think my parents might be so I included it. I would realy appreciate any advice - is it too congested, are we missing anything fabulous, is Amalfi/Atrani not the best base, etc. Thanks!!

mp413

Lifeman

Pompeii hasn't much to offer other than the ruins, however, you might want to see nearby Herculaneum (Ercolano)for a better preserved town from 79AD.

You are right to put in Pompeii on the way to the Amalfi coast, as it seems pointless to double back on yourself. At that time of the year, the roads won't be too busy and a car is perfectly do-able but I'm unclear where you are staying overnight. I assume (and we know what that did) that you are doing:

Naples 2 nights
Capri or Ischia 1 night
Amalfi Coast 4 nights
Naples 1 night

I don't believe that you need to stay in different places on the AC as it is all perfectly accessible from one base. It certainly saves constant packing and unpacking. I'd stay in Positano, use it as a base and wait for Peter in Ischia to pass judgement on Capri or Ischia, but I'd guess on knowing which way he'll jump.

kybourbon

I thought there were restrictions about taking cars to Capri during in summer.

jelopez33

mp413:
Here is what we did in a week at the A.C.Can be of interest to you.
Related to your itinerary:
-End of may and early june should be relatively easy on the A.C.
-We used(and still prefer) public transportation.
-I think(thats personal of course),you are moving too much.I prefer to stay in just one location(i.e. Aamalfi) and visit Pompeii,Positano,Capri,Atrani,Cetara and any other place you like.
-Please,ask anything if you think I can help.
-Enjoy your trip,the A.C. is gorgeous!!!!

jelopez33

mp413:
Sorry,I omitted the link to our trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...1-to-oct-3.cfm

ira

Hi mp,

I would use public transport.

I don't think that you can take a car to Capri.

Enjoy your visit.

mp413

Weird, when I see this in the list it says there are 5 replies, but when I open it there are none.

mp413

Hi everyone, now that I posted something I can see the replies! Yipee. Thanks a lot for the useful ideas.

Just one note, we would not be taking the car to Capri. If we bring a car, we would just park it in Sorrento overnight, ferry to and from the island, and then drive onward the next day from Sorrento. Knowing that, would the consensus still be to drop the car idea?

Lifeman you're right about the rundown of nights except it's 3 nights Amalfi/Atrani, 1 night Positano. My dad insists on the one night in Positano! I don't want to make Positano my base just because it sounds quite touristy, Amalfi/Atrani seem a little less congested and interesting in their own right.

jelopez, thanks a lot for your opinion. Just to clarify, except for a night on the islands and a night in Positano, we are staying put in Amalfi/Atrani & just doing day/evening trips to Cetara and Ravello. If we are going to the islands, I thought staying overnight would be more special than daytripping. You would suggest going straight from Pompeii to Amalfi, and then taking the ferry the next morning and daytripping to Capri?

Thanks again, this is very helpful!

jelopez33

mp413:
You can go from Pompeii to Amalfi,and next day go to Capri and still pass the night there(agree must be special,we intend to pass 1 or 2 nights in Capri in 2012 or 2013),the ferry from amalfi to Capri is fast and makes a stop at Positano,with good views from the sea.Of course your night in Positano is mandatory if your father ask for it.

cchia130

mp413:

yes, stay a night in Capri, it is an incredible island with so much to explore. Bring comfortable shoes as there is a lot of uphill walking!

I hate to throw another destination into your mix, but I stayed in Sorrento last year and absolutely fell in love with it. I think you should consider at least a day trip here. Also, do you have to stay in Naples? Naples was a bit seedy when I passed through and was told to be a bit more careful in Naples than other places on the AC.

Public transportation is the easier way to get around the AC, but the drive is gorgeous and adventurous with incredible views at some parts. You are literally driving along cliffs at some point though so make sure you are prepared for that!

Hope this helps!

mp413

Interesting cchia about Sorrento, I hadn't focused too much on it during my research, I guess b/c it isn't on the Amalfi Coast. It's true that with this itinerary we would only be passing through. It's just tough when we have so little time! However I am leaving the last day (Friday) open, so I will keep your suggestion in mind for where to go that day!

As for Naples, I had read some positive things, too bad it is seedy although I guess I kind of imagined that to some degree. We would be happy to only spend one night there, it just seemed to make sense to spend Saturday night there to get to Pompeii the next day. Maybe what we could do instead is get to Sorrento Saturday evening after visiting central Naples, spend the night there, take the train to Pompeii for the day, have a cpl hours in Sorrento and then ferry to Capri in the evening.

The huge deterrent for me with public transport is the luggage. We won't have that much, but lugging even a small suitcase around on cobblestone streets, hoisting them onto buses, up stairs...can be brutal, especially if it's hot. That's my big worry. I'm actually surprised so many ppl recommend it, especially in such steep terrain!

kja

> Sunday - Pompeii, afternoon to Capri or Ischia

I was a bit surprised by how much time I spent at Pompeii. I was glad that I visited as a day trip from Naples, because I could easily return there without worrying about catching a ferry. But ferry schedules change with the season, so maybe it won't be a problem for you.

> Sunday - Pompeii, afternoon to Capri or Ischia
Monday - Capri or Ischia, afternoon to Amalfi/Atrani

I was very glad I spent a night in Capri - it definitely has a more congenial atmosphere after day-trippers leave. I only spent one night and day there, but it was very busy. It depends on what you want to see and experience, and it sounds like you've checked your schedules carefully, but do keep in mind that there can be long lines for transit at that time of year, so it could take longer to do things than you might think.

> Wednesday - Amalfi/Atrani, afternoon/evening in Ravello - outdoor piano concert

This may be the one time when public transportation might be a problem. When I was there, the busses from Ravello all stopped running before the concert ended. As a solo traveller, I decided to stay in Ravello for the night. (Loved it!) I believe many people choose to take a taxi; I don't know if one needs to make arrangements in advance.

> Friday - day anywhere - Positano, Amalfi, Atrani, Ravello, Naples...wherever we want to spend more time

I like that you've planned a day to follow your hearts. At the risk of complicating things, another option would be a day trip to Paestum, perhaps with a brief stop in underrated Salerno on the way back.

> As for Naples, I had read some positive things, too bad it is seedy although I guess I kind of imagined that to some degree.

I'm one of the people who LOVED Naples. Yes, it was a bit gritty, but also incredibly vibrant and energetic and there is so much to see there! Of course it depends on what you want to see and experience, but if you are prepared mentally, I think it can be wonderful place to spend some time.

>The huge deterrent for me with public transport is the luggage. We won't have that much, but lugging even a small suitcase around on cobblestone streets, hoisting them onto buses, up stairs...can be brutal, especially if it's hot.

Been there, done that, hope to continue doing it as long as I can! Yes, it can be brutal, but it can also have many rewards. Again, if you and parents are prepared, I find many benefits to using public transportation.


I hope you and your parents enjoy the trip! You will see some wonderful things.

kybourbon

>>>then ferry to Capri in the evening.<<<

Ferries don't run late. You won't find many past 7 pm.

mp413

Well, I think my dad and I are both leaning in favor of renting a car. There will be 4 of us and after checking ferry/bus/train/taxi fares we would spend, we won't save much by doing public transport and we'll be much less flexible. The only places we would really need to worry about parking are Sorrento (1-2 nights), Atrani (3 nights), and Positano (1 night). I figure for Positano - unless we happen to get some magically perfect affordable hotel with parking! - we could just leave the car in Atrani and get there by ferry or bus.

We're planning to start Pompeii as early as possible to avoid long queues, so I hope that we would be leaving by 2-3pm, back in Sorrento by 4pm, and hopping on the ferry to Capri pretty much straightaway. So no later than 5pm I would hope. It is a Sunday so I was a bit worried about that too, but I checked some schedules and it seems that there should be a few options.

Spending the night in Ravello sounds lovely, but my parents were against staying in a different hotel every night. We're still moving around a lot but adding in a night in Ravello was too much! The SITA schedule seems to have buses leaving Ravello for Amalfi at 11:25pm and 12:25am, and that's the "winter schedule" - does the concert run later than that? In any case we'll probably have a car after all.

Thanks again for the advice!