megan13

Ciao -

My husband and I will be adventuring in France & Italy for a month in September. We plan to spend the last part of our trip in the Amalfi Coast and fly out of Naples.

Amalfi, Ravello, & Praiano look awesome! Can I afford to stay in one town and do day trips? What about Pompeii....am I trying to squeeze too much in?

Also, anyone been to Naples? Any reccomendations on where to stay? And, best way to get there from the Amalfi coast?

I appreciate your help!

Happy travels!
Megan

ira

Hi M,

Sorrento to Salerno is only 35 mi.

Find one hotel and stay there.

Best way to get to NAP is with a private limo.

There is bus service out of Sorrento
www.curreriviaggi.it

If Pompeii and Naples are important, I suggest staying in Sorrento.

cindyeo

We always stay at the Hotel Paradiso when in Naples. It's up on the hill above the port of Mergellina. The view is phenomenal, you can see the whole bay of Naples and Mt Vesuvius. They do have rooms without a view, so you must request a view room. And breakfast is in the roof top restaurant, same view. The staff can be a little aloof, and the rooms are not luxurious, but we just love the place. You can walk a little further up the hill and take the funicular down into the port area. From there to see the sites in downtown Naples you'd have to take a bus or cab, it's too far to walk.

I wouldn't drive in Naples, crazy drivers. We always use a private driver, Carmine Foggia. He has taken us to Pompeii and the Amalfi coast. If you are staying a few days on the coast, he could probably pick you up and bring you to Naples. You can reach him at [email protected], he speaks perfect English.

Midnightsun

First question is how long you plan to stay on the Amalfi Coast. If you have a week, you could easily rent an apartment in Praiano and drive to Amalfi and Ravello (as well as Positano and Sorrento). Driving along the Amalfi Coast is not a major problem; we were there last summer and drove up and down the coast with no difficulty, except for the need to stop frequently to admire the lovely views. Having a car was a great benefit to allow travel to small towns as well as Pompeii and Herculaneum. Travel to Pompeii and Naples took about two hours. We drove only to the Naples airport, but that was no problem. I expect that downtown Naples would be a bit wild (as is true for Rome and Florence), but I am sure you could find a reasonable parking spot and then use public transportation if you are venturing into the city for day trips. We were with two other couples, and our rental (in late June) cost about $1100 per couple per week. Some friends stayed at an apartment for two and spent about $1300 for the week. Rates may be a bit lower in September than June-July-August. E-mail me if you have further questions.

caroline_edinburgh

IMO Amalfi is the best location on the Amalfi coast for doing day trips to other towns, and the nicest town to stay in.

I also highly recommend a stay in Naples - we stayed there for a week in 2006 and will go back.

I spent a long time choosing exactly where to stay in Naples (including buyinga large scale street map) and was very pleased with the location of my choice, the Hotel Executive - on the edge of the historic centre so good for strolling around there & seeing most of the sights, a 5 minute walk from a street where most of the buses stop so handy for further flung attractions like the catacombs of San Gennaro, & a 10 minute walk from the opera house, the ferry/hydrofoil dock & the airport bus stop. The area to avoid is near the main railway station on piazza Garibaldi.

How long do you have in total ? If it's say, 8 days, I'd do 4 in Amalfi (maybe 5 if you want to do several day trips) then 4 (or 3) in Naples.

Steve_James

Hi Megan - Caroline and I always differ on this one. IMO the jewel of the Amalfi Coast is Positano.

For me nowhere else comes close ...

Ferries/hydrofoils serve both Positano and Amalfi, and day-tripping to the main sights - e.g. Pompeii, Capri etc. is viable from either.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

P.S. Ravello is less convenient for day-tripping as all excursions involve going via Amalfi.

megan13

Sorry for falling off the map and THANK you for all the great responses. I will be in that area for 5 or 6 nights. Thanks again!

Oscar_James

We stayed in Sorrento and took the circumvisuvana a small rr to Pompeii and Naplse. We took the local bus to Positano, it was a great trip. I have a short video of our bus trip to Positano on my web site. It takes a while to load but you will see why i decided not to rent a car. emilyandjim.info