Still pondering itinerary questions...friends are suggesting Amalfi Coast over Venice, since we can't swing a workable itinerary to Cinque Terre. Any opinions? We could shorten Venice to a couple of nights, & spend a couple of nights in Naples or Portofino area, but it seems like that would waste a lot of time traveling. Thanks!

Hi Natalie-
The Amalfi Coast and Venice are extremely different environments, sort of like apples and oranges, Italian style. What are your main interests?

March will be cool to cold (mid 40s F to lw 50s F) and wet in Amalfi; it is like going to the beaches in New Jersey or the Hamptons in March. (To make you feel better, Cinque Terre would be the same and possibly even colder in March.) Most of the better restaurants in the area will be closed, and ferries to Capri run on quite an abbreviated schedule. If it is choppy, boats may not be running at all. I would not go to Amali before the middle of May at the earliest.

Venice weather will be much the same, but you aren't going there to admire the coastline, which is really the main activity in Amafli. Save Amalfi for a better time of year.

I'm horning in on NatalieM's thread. I'm also considering either the Peidmont or Amalfi for an early winter trip this year.

I'm leaning toward the Peidmont, but everyone keeps telling me how beautiful the Amalfi Coast is. Thanks for the honest assessment, Cicerone. Food is one of the most important parts of a vacation for me, so I would hate to have a limited choice of restaurants.

It is very, very beautiful, that is why you need to save it for when it is at its best, i.e. spring or fall. (Summer is nice, but much more crowded, esp July and August.) In March, much may be lost in the fog and rain.

I've been to both in March. Both were terrific--but in different ways.

The Amalfi Coast is a summer resort area. In March, some hotels and restaurants are not open yet for the season, but there are plenty that are. March is not yet beach or pool weather so if that is your interest, you won't be happy. But if you want to explore and doodle through the towns, spend a day in Sorrento or a day in Capri as we did, then you will enjoy.

Venice was delightful the end of March and beginning of April. There is so much to see--churches, museums, palazzos, etc. that any time of the year you would find more than enough to do.

Weather, as is true any time of the year, is unpredictable. We had glorious sunny days in both areas as well as grey and rainy or overcast days.

Natalie, I have been to Venice during Carnivale a few years ago and it was cool and misty and just wonderful.

I went to AC this last March and it too was cool, one day of rain off and on and it was wonderful. I stayed in Positano and I can't think of any restaurant I missed because it was closed. It is a sleepier time of the year for the AC but locals are there and very many tourists aren't.

I would jump on a plane any time in the winter for either of these two places. You will see another side that most tourists don't see.

In fact I am making plans right now to visit Calabria next March.

My experience in Sorrento in March is quite different...we went in 2002 and it was mid to high 60s every day, 70s one day. No need for a jacket during the day but a little cool at night. The day we were at Pompeii was downright hot for us in March (coming from Boston), high 70s and humid! So I'd be prepared for just about anything, because they had snow showers there the week after we came home.

I should explain, I had days of sun and days of cloudiness on the AC and the days were cool but not cold and not hot.
Of course Venice is good any time of year.

I took some photos of the AC so you can get an idea of what it looks like in March: http://www.pbase.com/seaurchin

If you take a look at the "Restaurant" listings put together by Fodors on this site (click above) you will see many restaurants in the Amalfi coast area are closed from November to April. Check guidebooks and the Frommers site as well as you will find the same. For example, the two best restaurants in Capri, Le Grottelle and La Fontelina are closed. Three of the better restaurants in Positano, Cove Dei Saraceni, La Cambusa and O' Guarracino are closed.

Others stay open, but for limited days. Two of the most popular restaurants on this site,
Donna Rosa Il Ristorante and Il Ritrovo, close for one or more days each week during those months. If that happens to coincide with the days you are there, you are out of luck. Finally, eating outdoors is one of the pure pleasures of dining out along the coast, and in March, even with heaters, it could be too cold and/or rainy to do that. That is one of the main reasons I would save the Amalfi coast for better weather.