I'm planning a 12 night trip for my husband and I - we are both pretty active and plan doing walks/hikes - the last 2 weeks in Sept. We are flying into and out of Naples.
The order of stay is as follows:
3 nights Sorrento
3 nights Positano
2 nights Ravello (we would like to go as far out as Cetera)
3 nights Capri
1 night Naples (spend last day)

We are not renting a car so we figured that rather than going back to Positano and spending about 1 hour (??) each way to reach our places for the day to spend 2 nights in Ravello. We are also interested in seeing areas near the tourist areas.

Please advise. Thank you.

Boxer,

If your reason for staying 2 nts in Ravello is to make it easier to get other places, that's the wrong plan. Getting up and down to Ravello is ugly. The public buses are small and packed beyond belief, in fact unless you have very sharp elbows, you might not get in at all. That's if the bus even shows up! Then you have to transfer to the main SITA bus line in Amalfi. Just going up or down could actually take you 2 hours.

It would be MUCH better to stay in Amalfi, and just deal with the bus up to Ravello when you visit the town itself.

Other than that, I personally would stay only 1 nt in Sorrento just to visit Pompeii. I would use those 2 nts to Naples.

One important thing, be sure to have your hotel book (in advance) the earliest boat to Capri. They are always sold out and you don't want to wait around for the next one.

Buon viaggio!

Oh, revision! Add a nt to Amalfi so you have travel down to Paestum and see the Greek temples. Beautiful and very worthwhile!

Since you will visit the area in last September, the buses up and down Ravello from Amalfi shouldn't be too crowdy, as I found it in this January and March.

Second the stay in Amalfi, as it's a good base for walking around that area-to Maiori, Praiano or up to Valle delle Ferriere.

Third the stay in Amalfi. It is easy to take the bus to Cetara, etc from there.

My guess is that you will get Amalfi-bashers here on this thread. The first question you need to know before you take their advice NOT to say in that town is this: Have you actually stayed in Amalfi? If this were my trip, I might split the time between Amalfi and Capri.

Thank you all for the response. Amalfi sounds like the way to go.

bmarking

Hi B,

> Amalfi sounds like the way to go.<

Very good thinking.

You can get from Amalfi to Naples by taking the SITA bus or the ferry to Salerno. From there, you can take the regular Trenitalia train to Naples Centrale.

The boat ride is quite nice, and you avoid the Circumvesuviana on the Sorrento --> Naples route.

I love Ravello--and we just got back from 2 weeks on that coast--but I do agree that it is not a good place to base if you plan to day trip to other places. There are 2 bus options up to Ravello now---the normal SITA bus and a red topless commercial bus that runs often. It costs a bit more--I think 6E--but sure is fun. Both depart from the circle and not from the SITA lot. I like your overall plan but agree that staying in Amalfi may be better.

From my trip report of 2008, here is the link for the red sightseeing bus. Although I am not sure why you would use it to travel from Amalfi to Ravello when you can just take the SITA bus, which is cheaper and runs more often:

http://www.sorrento.city-sightseeing...g/percorsi.htm


http://www.sorrento.city-sightseeing...g/orari_ar.htm

Boxer,

My first visit to the Amalfi Coast was in March and the buses were no problem. My second visit was in mid-March and the buses were a nightmare. I had scheduled buses not show up at all (early am Praiano) and then had to wait an hour for the next one. Same thing happened in Ravello, bus never came and waited over an hour for the next one. People were jam packed in with no ac, waiting for 20 min while the driver had a cigarette break....sweating to death.

I would take a taxi or the red topless for sure! boat travel along the coast is the best option in my opinion. Great views.

Oop, make that second visit in mid-Sept. It was very, very busy along the coast.

We're thinking of 3 nights in Amalfi and 2 in Positano. Working in NYC, we don't mind commuting to Naples for a day trip, if we decide to so. We like the feeling of coming home to a more relaxed atmosphere.

I don't think there is any point in moving hotels between Amalfi and Positano; they are only about 30-40 minutes apart by bus-- an easy day trip.

Personnally, I would do all 5 nights in one location. If you really want to split it up, pick different places like Amalfi/Capri or Positano/Sorrento.

Hello Boxster,

Are you using a tour company or just booking everything separately? Flights, hotels, day excursions, etc? I'm planning a trip to the Amalfi coast in early October but am torn between using a tour company, a package, or doing it all on my own. It'll be my first time to Italy. Thanks for advising.

Hi there. We went to that area last year, and opted to stay at Hotel Aequa in Vico Equense at the very start of the Amalfi Coast, just 12km north of Sorrento - mainly because the tourists and traffic in Sorrento and Positano are immense. Vico is a lovely busy living village perched on a cliff looking over the Bay of Naples and Vesuvius. It has good restaurants & cafes, and it's on the local train line 50 mins from Naples (stopping at Herculaneum & Pompeii) or go south to Sorrento in 10 mins (from there you can ferry to Capri). You can also take the cable car up to Mt Faito which has great walking tracks and is very peaceful. It has a great restaurant called Pizza al Metro. Ravello is beautiful - the hotel organised a car to take us. But we found Capri a huge tourist trap!

Rosemary: If we can diverge for just a minute, please tell me about the Hotel Aequa. I am considering Vico for a base sometime, and in fact I wrote a long thread bout it. I never did get much information and I would love to read your comments about the hotel and the town. How was the pool at the hotel? Vico sounds like an interesting destination for a few nights.


http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nt-agnello.cfm

http://www.aequahotel.it/

Here's my take on your trip:

Sorrento is a resort town, so lots of bars and restaurants etc. It's a busy place but unless you have a pressing need to stay there longer, then perhaps I can suggest the following:-

Sorrento two nights, giving the chance to visit Pompeii and Herculaneum via the Circumvesuviana train.

Positano or Amalfi, using them as a base to explore the coast and towns, 6 nights. You may as well stay in just one place and use the buses. The last two weeks of September will not be too bad as Europe's school children will have returned to school by then.

Capri two nights. For me, Capri is a day trip and nothing more. There are many on this board who will opine the opposite but we all like different things don't we?

Then back to Naples for two nights to see something of the city.

Thank you all for the comments - still planning and is taking into account everyone's advice.

lafemmex - we are booking everything on our own

I swore that if I ever went back to the AC, it would be to stay in Ravello. Not as a base for the coast, mind you. Just to plant my butt in a lounger & enjoy that view for a few days.

Just sayin' . . .

Ian