Positano & Ischia Itinerary Help...

Before you agree with crazy..no we will fly to Naples!!

Yes, you are crazy !
Forget the car---taxi to Termini and train to Naples---ferry to Ischia. After X nites there, ferry to Capri and on to Positano. Fly home from Naples. Use a driver to the airport in Naples. A car makes no sense.

thank you and agree

Agree that you should fly into Naples and forget the car. Any interest in spending time in Naples to sightsee? Are you set on Positano?

Not sure why you need to visit Positano twice; just fly to Naples, take the bus from the airport to the ferry dock, and board one of the frequent ferries bound for either the port at Forio or Ischia Porto, depending on the location of your hotel on the island.

If you decide to rent a car for the day, you can arrange a Smart car rental on the island at the last minute; we were quoted about 60 euro for the day but you can shop around. (We ended up changing our minds because the bus system is so good). After visiting Ischia, you can either go to Positano, or spend a day or two in Naples; I would do the latter.

I do not know the length of time that you have for this trip,but I will tell you that we had planned to split our week (September, 2009) between Capri, where I had been before, and Ischia. Once we got to Ischia, we quickly cancelled our plans for Capri. Prices on Ischia are very much lower than those on Capri, if that makes a difference.

I will be happy to help you with planning the Ischia portion, based on my albeit very limited experience there. There are several posters here with extensive knowledge of the island and we even have one poster who lives there--lucky man! Your biggest decision will be to decide upon your base location,, as there are many appealing choices. You should give a price range and tell a bit more about what you are looking for so we can advice on that aspect....for example, are you looking for a resort hotel where you can relax much of the time, or do you want to get around and sightsee? Looking for beach time? Do you care if you are surrounded by English-speakingn tourists, or do you want to head off the tourist trail a bit? Want a pool? I am sure you already know of the wondrous thermal pools on the island; many hotels actually encompass one or more of these.

Here is my (alas, unfinished) report on my visit to Ischia in 2009:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/return-to-campania-ischia-casts-its-spell.cfm



An here is a thread that contains an abundance of valuable info from people who know the island well and who were an enormous help to me in planning the trip:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/ischia--best-base-on-the-island.cfm



Trip report from another poster who loves the island and has visited several times; this is but one of her reports on the subject; note the very lengthy time of her journey from Ischia to Positano!

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/trip-report---naples-ischia-amalfi-coast.cfm

ps. From the NYC area, the best routing, and one that I have taken several times, is Iberia from JFK to Madrid with a quick connection to Naples. You will often find good pricing and the overall experience has always been good for me. Go to the Iberia website to investigate:


http://www.iberia.com/us/

Sound advice to focus on 2 destinations.
Also, are you planning trip for this Sept (9/2011) ... or next year (9/2012) ? If it's for this year, you'll need to hustle to book accomadations, especially the more affordable hotels in Positano.

Agree no car and agree to limit to 2 destinations...skipping the going to Positano twice..so now we have to decide if we will go from Naples to Capri and then Positano..or Ischia then Positano..

I have said this in the past, "if this is my biggest problem, I shouldn't complain" : )

Ischia OR Capri??? hmmmm

We just returned from Italy. The first leg of our trip was Positano. We flew JFK to Dublin: Dublin to Naples, Aerlingus. We had a driver pick us up at Airport. Www.tourofitaly.com. €85.

We stayed at the Hotel Savoia, which we thought was perfect.

John: I think it would be much more efficient to keep your question on the same thread rather than beginning a new one to resolve the final details. I also think that you ought to investigate the ferry schedules before making a final decision as to which of the 3 locations to choose. Logistically, visiting the 2 islands would be easier, I think, as you could ferry from Naples to Ischia, then to Capri, then back to Naples, without having to use the roads or an expensive private driver to reach the airport.

On the Ischia vs Capri topic, it is really personal preference. Capri is almost totally devoted to tourism while on Ischia you will get much more of a sense of being in the "real Italy" where people go about their daily lives. Ischia is much larger than Capri and has better beaches (Capri really has no beaches). Ischia is much more economical; for example, we stayed at one of the island's best hotels for 220e per night a few years back. That price will get you a moderate hotel on Capri. Meal prices are likewise quite reasonable on Ischia. You will hear almost no English on Ischia. Inch for inch, to me, Capri would probably win the beauty contest, but I would much prefer to vacation on ischia, having been to both islands.

Www.hoteldelfino.com

Otel.com sea view room romantic with views over Capri and Ischia

Under$100 for me in May best view food of my trip

Fly into Naples circumvesuviano to Sorrento 4 euros free shuttle with hotel from there

Car expensive a hassle but doable if budget is good have done it

Tigercarrentals.com generally prefer to train

The more time u can make for this the better