Thanks for replying to my first post about 4 day visit to amalfi in July. New questions now....
1. Recommendations for which town to stay in at amalfi coast-not visiting Pompei etc as we only have 4 days -my 16 yr old daughter prefers nice pools over beach. -1 beach day maybe.
2, Ravello- less crowded so thinking about staying here-pros and cons??
3. Pros and cons of visiting Capris?
4. Looking for more recommendations on high end Inns.
Thanks !

Hello jdurham,

We stayed in Ravello for four nights. Loved it. Our hotel was Hotel Garden, located on the edge of a high cliff overlooking the sea. There is a bus stop for buses linking to Amalfi below.

Great views especially from your bedroom balcony or the bar terrace at dusk as the sun was setting over the Mediterranean and the lights were coming on all over the coast below (Amalfi and Atrani are immediately below). There is also a swimming pool on a grassy terrace of the hotel, very relaxing to take a swim in mid-afternoon after hiking, then wrap up in the big robes they give you and sit back in the rocking lounge chairs.

The "pros" of Ravello for some people may be the "cons" for others, it all depends on the kind of visit you are looking for. For us, here is our list:

Pros:

--high up on the cliff, so it takes a long walk up or a 20-minute bus ride to go from the seaport of Amalfi up to Ravello
--great views (see above) and also lots of hiking paths (they used to be mule paths for the farmers to haul their produce to market; many are paved a little with stone, some are well marked, others not)
--speaking of hikes: since you have a probably active 15-year-old, this might be a big pro; there are several very good ones, including a one-hour hike down to Atrani and then over to Amalfi; another one goes through one of the valleys which used to have paper mills a couple of centuries ago; another is the Sentiero degli Dei, the Path of the Gods, a long well-marked path high up several miles long, like a miniature Appalachian Trail; do as much as you want
--there are two five-star sights in or near Ravello: the Villa Cimbrone and the Villa Rufolo; there's a lot of information about them on the web
--because Ravello is high above Amalfi, on the coast below, the tour buses generally leave Ravello by mid-afternoon, which means you can wander around Ravello's main piazza and the side streets without crowds; Ravello has several good cafes and little restaurants

Cons:

--(this is the same as the "pro" above): high up on the cliff, so it takes a long walk up or a 20-minute bus ride to go from the seaport of Amalfi up to Ravello
--it's smaller than Amalfi, so it has the feeling of a quiet little village, especially in the evening; we liked that, others may not
--con: no beaches, obviously, in Ravello. The beaches in Amalfi and elsewhere on the coast are small, not like the long, wide white sand beaches you might find in parts of Florida for example.
--can't think of any others

If you want to go to Capri, you will have to go from Ravello down to Amalfi and then catch a ferry. Amalfi ferries stop at several points along the coast.

Capri: pros and cons: it's very very very beautiful. That's a pro and a con. The main village of Capri is mobbed with day-trippers. Get away from the center of the village of Capri, go up to Anacapri, up to the mountain top, walk out to the ruins of the emperoro Tiberius' palace, etc., and you will enjoy it. Keep in mind that you ferry back to the mainland will be jammed with day-trippers going home. Especially in July.

BTW, you can just ask further questions by posting to this thread. You do not need to create another thread--that might confuse people who would like to add comments. The Amalfi coast is splendid and you and your 15-year-old will have a great time!

Ravello is beautiful, but out of the way for every town except Amalfi.

With only four days, and for ease of getting around to other cities and Capri by boat, I'd go with Positano. Positano has two beaches: town beach, and Fornillo, which is about a 1/2 mile walk from the town dock.

Go on one of the booking engines to find out what's available, then come back here to ask. There's no point in recommendations since so many hotels in the summer months get booked up to a year ahead!

BTW, for a day trip to Capri, try to get an early boat out of Positano to avoid summer crowds and heat!

Thank you so much EYWandBTV! I have booked Ravello.

We are there 5 nights. Looking for any must dos now please!

Also driver recommendations?? Specifically from Naples to Ravello. Thank you.

Someone recommended Procida as an alternative to Capris. Thoughts?

Thanks again!

We loved the Path of the Gods/walk of the Gods. We did a wine tasting in Tramonti with Swirl the Glass that we loved. I heave heard positive things about Le Vigne di Raito, as well.

Can't help with Capri but many say you want to stay at least one night. It is supposed to be so nice and quite different once the day trippers leave.

We used Francesco Marrapese for car service and were happy with it.

I have stayed twice at Quisisana in Capri and always recommend it.

Luna is an alternative.

There is very high-end shopping in Capri, JP Tod's is right in the Piazzetta Umberto.

I loved walking from Quisiana to the Faraglioni Rocks and back.

Gore Vidal, by the way, said Ravello has the most beautiful views on earth. He had a house there--Villa Rondinaia.

Thin aka JoAnn Gucci

I used www.amalfi-drive.com last summer to take us from Naples to Ravello. I <i>think</i> I found the recommendation of that particular company here on Fodor's, but in any case our driver was excellent. We had been staying in Napoli and we arranged to stop in Pompeii for 4 hours on the drive down. Not enough time, really, but then to arrive in beautiful Ravello made up for it.

As Thin aka JoAnn Gucci and Gore Vidal note, the views from Ravello are truly breathtaking. And the walking/hiking from there is excellent. In town, the duomo, Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone are all quite interesting. The music festival will be going on while you are there. We saw the St. Peterburg Philharmonic perform Tchaikovsky last summer, and it is worth a look to see what will be on while you are there. Who knows, you may find something a teenager would enjoy.

http://www.ravellofestival.com/html/
http://www.yiannisgabriel.com/2016/0...onics-all.html

Getting to & from other sites (aside from Atrani and Amalfi, which are dead-easy) on the AC is more of hassle, I suppose, but to be removed from all cares, high up in your perch in Ravello, is divine.

"Looking for any must dos now please!"

Here's my trip report for Ravello, also Naples and other places, from a couple of years ago. It's got info about sights, cafes, restaurants etc.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

We enjoy taking trains, so we took the train from Naples to Salerno (we stopped along the way for an overnight in Paestum to see the Greek temples). After staying in Salerno for a couple of nights we took the ferry to Amalfi. Some people like to use the buses along the Amalfi coast to go from one place to another. But the buses can be jammed with tourists in the high season. We preferred the ferry (love boats too). The views of the sea and the coast with its high cliffs and little villages perched all over are very beautiful.