gillybrit

RWe have booked a hotel in praiano for four nights arriving on may first. We don't plan to do much the first day, although I understand there is a festival there that day so we will wander in to the town center to investigate that. So basically we have three full days. We would like to do the following so I am looking for help organizing the various things....
visit pompeii...half Day? Hike from praiano to positano. Visit amalfi. Spend some time on the water somehow, to experience the view. Relax.
Also looking for inexpensive restaurant recommendations. Nothing fancy.
we plan to travel using public transportation. I would consider an organized tour to pompeii or doing it by ouselvea. Oh, and I understand ravello is not to be missed. So little time and so much to do

bobthenavigator

Which hotel?
We spent a week there last May--here are the pics:

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=4481

Eat at Le Brace.

jelopez33

gillybrit:
Some comments to some of your questions:
-IMO Ravello is a must(Villa Ruffolo and Villa Cimbrione cannot be missed;easy to complement your visit to Amalfi(Amalfi is a few km from Praiano); just take the bus to Ravello in front of themomument to Flavio Gioia(all public transport line start/stop here).
-In the main square,just to the left of the stairs leading to the Duome,ristorante pizzeria Sant'Andrea makes good pizza an serves a superb antipasto di terra or antipasto di mare; not expensive and superb people watching.
-In the very short street that conects the bus terminal area with the "main square" of amalfi is gelateria and dolceria Savoia; very good gelatto and unforgettable "dolcci"(cannoli,baba al rhum, an endless list).
-If you continue from the bus terminal going south(direction to Atrani),you will find many restaurants in all level of prices(I remember at least two of them have tables along the street, pizza and bruschetta are good).
You can find more information in my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...1-to-oct-3.cfm
Have a nice trip and please,let us know yo do there.

Jillyperk

We stayed in Positano with our teenagers. If you wait on the docks by the beach, small boats come up. The one we took had a fish on the mast and was called, "De Adolpho". They take you to a private beach with a small family run restaurant. Renting a beach chair is required. You can swim, jump off rocks, etc. This is one of our favorite memories of our stay.

We did go to Pompeii. We felt that a half a day was plenty there. Unless you have a tour guide, I think it would be very difficult to know what you are looking at and make sense out of things. Make sure that your tour guide's English is easily understood.

ekscrunchy

JLopez has given you good tips.

Restaurants in the main coastal towns tend to be expensive compared to those off the foreign tourist trail. You should find better value if you head for the places up in the hills.

For example, this place has been on my radar and is quite close to Praiano:

Il Barilotto di Nonno on the main road in the hamlet of Laurito. No website. Ask your hotel for directions.

gillybrit

Thanks for the tips.
A few more questions- would finding a boat at the beach in Positano make sense in early May, since it's not beach weather.
How would I get to Il Barilotto without a car?
Can you give me a price range for meals at La Brace and Il Barilotto?
How much time do I need to allow for Pompeii including travel time? Will that basically cost me a full day.
If so - does it then make sense to do the following with the other two days ..
One day hike to Positano, spend some time in Positano, then bus back to Praiano - any time to fit in some time on the water here?
One day in Amalfi and also to Ravello.
Thanks again for everybodys help
jelopez - can you tell me where you booked the tour to Pompeii. I know we can do this via public transportation, but thinking it might take less time to do an organized tour. What time did you leave? Great trip report with lots of info. Thanks
Bob - great photos!
Sorry if this is a bit disjointed.. I keep thinking of more questions

Dayle

gillybrit,

What hotel have you booked for Praiano? The festival will probably be held in the church courtyard, as it's the only relatively large and flat place in town. The last time I stayed in Praiano there was a community party there in mid-Sept. I have no idea what it was! I was so tired upon arrival I fell into bed and slept like the dead - AFTER dinner at Il Brace - excellent and seemed moderate me, but it's been 6 years since then. Great food, service, owners, dining room all glass with a view.

Big, important hint: If you are going up to Ravello after getting off the SITA bus in Amalfi - note how crowded the bus stop is! The buses that go up to Ravello are small and believe me you don't want to be packed into one - been there, done that! Run into the tourist office, bus office, or a hotel and call a taxi if there are lots ofpeople waiting. Share it with others going up. Same with the return. Honestly - the pushing, shoving, sweating, with no A/C while the driver has his ciggy break is not a fond memory.

packed

If you are doing the Walk of the Gods, it is a great hike. It really helps to have walking sticks, even if you pick up a stick on the trail. The hike takes you to a tiny village high in the mountains, Nocelle. From Nocelle you can walk down many steps or walk on the quiet road down to the next town, Montepertuso. On the road down, almost when you reach the town is a fun, local, good restaurant, La Tagliata, http://www.latagliata.com/ Their grilled meats are really good and they also have a good lunch sampler that includes several courses of all kinds of local dishes. We have stopped here three times on our hikes. They are moving nearby and I think that your teenagers would like it. They have nice views, and I hope that the new location also has the view. Montepertuso is above Positano and you can continue to walk or take the bus to Positano. From Positano, you could take the boat instead of the bus to Amalfi, so that you can enjoy a ride on the water. From Amalfi, you could take the bus back to Priano.
By the way, we have had lunch at La Brace, and were not overwhelmed.

Although we always have a car, we do take the bus even to Ravello sometimes because parking is so difficult and expensive. I have to say that we enjoy riding the bus with the local people, especially in the morning when the kids are going to school--it gives us a local feeling.

ekscrunchy

You can probably take the bus to Laurito, or walk there, and then walk up to the restaurant I mentioned. You can also take the bus up to places like Agerola which is a "real town" with restaurants geared toward locals.

The comment above is the second negative one I read about La Brace recently. As I said, you will pay a big premium to eat in any of the restaurants along the coast. Sure, some are more reasonable than others. But ALL of them are priced much higher than those you will find away from the tourist towns on the coast, in towns accessible by bus.

Cetara is a great eating town, for example. Try Il Convento. I wrote about it, and about every restaurant we tried that week, in my trip report about Amalfi and Naples. My notes say that dinner with a bottle of wine cost us 38e for two people.

To get an idea of the price variations, just compare the price of a pizza from one town to the other.

jelopez33

Gillibrit:
You are most welcome,ask anything you want to know.We booked our tour to Pompeii with the lady at the front desk in our hotel in Amalfi;I think the cost was less than 30 euro per person,and included transportation and the guide service(very good).I think that any hotel can do the booking for you,and I am sure there will be many options regarding to cost.We really preferred the tour instead of going ourselves.We started (as always) from piazza Flavio Gioia at 8.30 and returned around 2.30 or 3 pm; we even had lunch in Pompeii(may be you saw the details in my report).One more thing,we went from amalfi to Pompeii in less than one our,and we even started going south,through Atrani,Minori,Maiori and Vetri sul Mare,before reaching the highway to go north to Pompeii.So,we even have a look at those other charming towns.We were at Pompeii site some 2 or 3 hours,enough to see everything relevant and we were even shown the infamous cobblestone pointing towards the"lupanar".
Please,feel free to ask if you need any other tip.Regards