I may not be fully understanding your post, but I'll try to answer some of your questions. But to begin, you're saying you want to hop from town to town and stay overnight in each one?

If so, my advice is that you pick a base -- Sorrento or Positano -- and just make day trips to the other towns, such as Amalfi, Capri and Ravello. I don't see the purpose in packing up and moving from place to place. Public transportation is readily available to each.

Do I understand correctly that you're going from Munich to the the AC to Sicily, in that order? If so, regarding Pompeii, I believe you would train to Naples, then take another train to Pompeii. Normally, for most people, a day at Pompeii is sufficient, but I don't know what time you'd be arriving there. You could go to Sorrento first and then take a day trip to Pompeii.

<< where should we take the train to and how to visit Pompei? Is it advisable to stay the night in the vicinity of Pompei or go directly to Sorrento? >>

Pompeii is on the Circumvesuviana commuter train line. One of its routes goes from the (basement of the) main Naples train station to Sorrento. The stop is Pompei Scavi.

I'm with dtb. Minimize your bases. Pompeii is only a half hour from Sorrento.

<< stay one (or two) nights in Sorrento? On the day of arrival, would we have enough time left to visit Capri? >>

The return ferries from Capri stop running fairly early. On your day of arrival, you wouldn't have much or any time to see Capri, especially if you took the train. It's a long train ride from Munich to Naples. You could fly instead. There's a direct bus from Naples airport to Sorrento.

As for the Aeolian islands, the ferries from Naples stop at the beginning of September. You could take the train from Naples to Messina and catch a ferry there.

Working out the timing of all this will require accurate and up to date timetables. Which are not available yet.

My husband and I are close to your age - my opinion is pick a base, I like Sorrento, and daytrip - no way would I want to do all that packing and moving. Daytrips to Pompei and Capri are easy from Sorrento. Then there is a bus that goes down the coast but you may want to splurge and hire a driver for the day - I have heard the buses can be crowded. Or maybe you could do the coast by ferry - not sure about the schedules.

Sorry I was not clear, I thought the only two bases I had in mind (1 or 2 nights in Sorrento/from Amalfi to..) were Sorrento and Amalfi. It seems from your replies that I should not stay near Pompei for that visit, and go directly to Sorrento (now I know it's 2 nights). It looks like Capri is out for that day, so we will do that trip the next day.

We may have to look at flying Munich-Naples. The idea with the train was to take advantage of the views going through the Alps.

Thanks for the tip on traveling to the Aeolian Islands. It seems sensible, in this case, to take the train to Messina. Do I have to go back to Naples for that?
-gA

You are in the same age range as my husband and I. I don't know your general health or fitness, but I have been told that Positano is not a good base for me as I have cartilage tears in both knees and stair walking particularly and steep climbs are hard for me to navigate. If none of you have this problem that is great, but if you do perhaps you should consider Sorrento as it is much easier and the days will be filled with plenty to do. Someone actually told me they have shuttles and lifts in some Positano hotels which would be great, but I am not sure that is true.

Have a wonderful time We are using Sorrento as our base.

> where should we take the train to and how to visit Pompei? Is it advisable to stay the night in the vicinity of Pompei or go directly to Sorrento?

Pompeii is on the Circumvesuvius train line. You would probably want to catch that train in Naples. I believe there is luggage storage available at Pompeii, but be sure to check as my info could be out of date.

> On the day of arrival, would we have enough time left to visit Capri?

I doubt it! Pompeii is extensive and will take a chunk of time. (I think I spent 6 hours there, and felt that I only skimmed the surface. Be sure to bring sunscreen and water.)

Too, as I recall, ferries to Capri run mainly during the daylight and are dependent on weather. Capri has enough of interest to fill a day IMHO. If you can stay overnight, it might be worth considering, as Capri is one of those places that feels much different (and much more magical) after day-trippers have left.

> next day, move to Amalfi for another 2-3 days. Go by bus, ferry, or..?

Either, depending on whether you want to see the coast from the sea or the sea from the coast. Both are breathtaking!

> What could we do the rest of the day?

I found the Rough Guide, Frommer's, and Fodor's guidebooks particularly helpful for this part of the world.

> bus to Ravello and then walk down to Minori or Amalfi? Is this a good use of our short time?

Depends on your interests and your knees! I walked from Ravello to Amalfi and thought it well worth my time - the views were lovely. But not everyone would agree. I also found it a less well-marked path than I would have expected. My walk included at least one unplanned detour - about 1/2 hour before I realized I was on the wrong trail and then another 1/2 hour to get back on track. I know people who planned to walk to Amalfi and ended up in Minori instead. So if you go, be sure you get a good map and leave some extra time!

> finally, we would leave for the Aeolian Islands. From where?

If the ferries are still running (and I see no reason to doubt Mimar!), they would leave from Naples.

> take the train to Messina. Do I have to go back to Naples for that?

You could take a bus or ferry to Salerno and get the train there. Salerno is worth a few hours in its own right IMHO, and is the best place to get a train to Paestum, should you choose to try to visit it.


I strongly encourage you to invest in a good guidebook or two. I think you will have a much more fulfilling journey if you do!

Hope this helps!