Amalfi Coast in October
 

Flying into Naples and going to AC (first time visitor) with my wife for 7 nights. Should I rent a car and drive to the AC? And then use bus transportation? Looking at a villa or hotels. Should I stay in 2 places? Would like to see Amalfi, Positano, Pompeii,day trip to Capri and relax! Is mid October less crowded? Thanks.

Been to all the places you mentioned.
Stayed ovet night in Positano.

Yes mid October is less crowded.
The weather is nice also.
I was lucky as I had a friend in Naples and he toured me around for three days.

Pompeii was very interesting ( had a private guide here for 3 hours), and the Almafi Coast drive a bit harrowing !!!
Capri is lovely for a day visit only...to just walk around, browse and sit and people watch a bit.

I used Naples as my home base.
Sorry I did.not rent a car so cannot help you there.

It all depends on your interests, but in general ...

I doubt you will need a car. I'm sure it would be an encumbrance in much of the area.

You can stay in 1 or 2 or even 3 places! Some people really hate one-night stops; I find much to commend them. You'll have to decide what meets your needs.

I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, note their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from the train/bus station or whatever, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.

It's a beautiful part of the world. Enjoy!

i agree that you will not need a car to rent but will need a car service to get to your first destintion. its convenient and affordable. of all the places, positano is the best island for me. it has very good restaurants and the pace is just right. stayed in the hotel marincanto and i still dream about this place. affordable and awesome service.

Must disagree about renting a car. On October the roads will be much quieter and getting around will be easier. Unless you're coming off a long overnight flight, hire at Maples airport and drive down, it's only an hour or so.

Again in mid October, the car will be very useful to get around and will mean you only need one base.

Renting a car does;t make a lot of sense unless you will be doing a lot of driving here - up and down the coast, to and fro Pompeii - and then taking the car on to another part of the trip.

Very few hotels on the AC have parking and street parking is not easy. So unless you will really need a car I reco sticking with public transit.

I would stay in Sorrento which is a good transit center - ferry/hydrofoil to Capri, buses down the coast to the various towns and local train to Pompeii - and from Naples.

Sorry - we have been in a May a couple of times and did have a car - that we used for the coastal towns and Pompeii. But out hotel had free parking and we were in the middle of a road trip - using the car for other places before and after.

Thank you. Any preference hotel vs villa? Or a combination of the 2- -3 nights in one accommodation and 4 nights in another? I am leaning on renting a car.

I would rent a car in midOctober. Bus and ferry schedules are limited at that time of year and parking can be found without too much trouble. Several towns now have municipal parking garages. And there are quite a few hotels with free parking.

I will be happy to recommend hotels if you offer a price range. With 7 nights I would probably lean toward two hotels,, although I have spent a week in one hotel and, on another recent vacation, split a week between three hotels.

Perhaps consider Amalfi for a few nights; from there you can visit Paestum, Ravello, Positano, Cetara. We were very happy with this small hotel, which offers free parking:

http://www.hotelfloridiana.it/?lang=en-EN


And then you might move to Sorrento, a good base for day trips to Capri and Pompeii. Even consider an overnight on Capri.

Thanks ekscrunchy. Am leaning towards 4 nights in Positano or Almalfi and 3 nights in Sorrento at Grand Hotel Ambasciatori . Our budget is @ $275 USD/night. Looking for sea view, 10 minute walk to city center and no hotel construction going on. Thinking that it would better to have a hotel with a higher elevation for the sea views?

I think it depends on the particular town and the location of the hotel.

In Amalfi, you might be able to get an off season deal at Santa Caterina:

http://www.hotelsantacaterina.it/en/index

These three have great views--make sure to stress that when booking, though:

http://www.ghconventodiamalfi.com/ (renovated convent; high on the hillside)

http://www.lunahotel.it/ (historic building; with all the pros and cons of that)

http://www.miramalfi.it/

...never mind about Santa Caterina. Even in October, prices are much above $275.