Amalfi Coast or Sorrento Coast...any preferences??
 

I just booked a trip to Naples next May (using up some of my USAir miles ...flying on UAL)

We are planning on renting a villa/apartment as a base.

Is there any advantage or difference to staying on the Sorrento Coast or the Amalfi coast? We will have a car.

Thanks

They're not two different places. It;s all one contiguous coast - Sorrento and Amalfi are just two different towns. Sorrento is a larger town and is closer to Naples, Pompeii etc - with a quite good road. When you go farther down the coast to the much smaller towns - including Amalfi, the road is much narrower, more crowded and slower.

So where to stay depends on your plans (Pompeii? Naples, Capri, the smaller towns down the coast?) and your preference for bigger vs smaller towns.

Hi Dick,

Much depends on how long you will be there and what you plan to see.

nytraveler...I was under the impression that the coasts of Amalfi and Sorrento were on opposite sides of the same peninsula.

Ira....We'll be there for a 9 days with a week along the coast. We expect to see some of the local towns and ruins but have not planned anymore than that. I'm not sure if it will be warm enough for the beaches then.

Will the difference between staying in Amalfi or Sorrennto have that much affect on the sight we wil be able to see? After putting on 1500 km in Tuscany last year, I expect do do far less driving.

Hi Dick,

>Will the difference between staying in Amalfi or Sorrennto have that much affect on the sight we wil be able to see? <

If Capri, Naples, Pompeii and Hurculaneum are on your list, they are easier to get to from Sorrento.

If you are interested in Ravello and Paestum, they are easier from Amalfi.

Positano is about in the middle.

If you will be there in late May, you might find a car to be more hindrance than help. In season, parking is difficult to find and the Coast Road gets backed up with traffic.

You are correct about the difference between the Sorrentine Peninsula and the Amalfi Coast.

Maybe I'm being picky, but most would argue that Sorrento and Amalfi Coast are indeed "two different places". They are in different locations, although close to each other. Sorrento faces the Bay of Naples, the Amalfi coast faces out into the sea.

Patrick is correct, Sorrento is on the other side of the peninsula on the Bay of Naples and Positano/Amalfi is on the Amalfi coast looking out into the sea.
My pick is always the Amalfi coast, ether Positano or Amalfi or anywhere in-between the two - beautiful. Sorento is nice but very much like a city with traffic and without much charm. But the coast is stunning, charming and like no place anywhere. I came back in July from three weeks all over Italy with the last week in Positano......would go back again and again! (see my trip report dated 7/21/04 under "cassparker").
Have a great time.
John