We have started thinking about a week on the Amalfi coast in February 2010. Yes, I know this is looong range planning, but that’s school vacation week (President’s Day) and I hope to use mileage points for tickets, so I need to get them well in advance. However, some comments on this forum have me wondering whether this makes sense. I am most concerned about the degree to which stores and restaurants are closed during that time of year. I don’t expect it to be beach weather, and we’re more interested in hiking and sightseeing anyway. And we don’t like a busy tourist scene anyway. But if it’s like a ghost-town, and most of the restaurants are closed, it won’t be much fun. Is this more of an issue in some towns as compared with others? Based on what I’ve read here, I am leaning towards the town of Amalfi as a base. And we are thinking about renting an apartment or villa (we will be two couples), not a fancy hotel. Any advice would be much appreciated.

I've been to Amalfi in the winter and very much enjoyed it. The towns of Amalfi and Sorrento on the nearby coast are regular towns where people live all year around so things are open and running. It is a quiet time of year to be sure and you have to hope for good weather but if that is the best time for you to go I would go. The storms that time of year are very dramatic so hiking may not be an option. I would rent an apartment like you are planning to do.

Hi js,

It could be clear, cold and nearly untouristed.

It could be cold, rainy, foggy, windy and nearly untouristed.

We went in Sept and loved it...not sure if I would like it in Feb.

But we rented an apartment in Positano and used www.summerinitaly.com and found them to be fantastic. Lots of selection, very easy to deal with, very helpful.

Quite a few restaurants and hotels will be closed - but quite a few will also be open. The bigger risk is that is the seas are rough - fairly often in winter- the ferries don;t run and you won't be able to get to Capri. Also not see the views of the coast from the water - which are very dramatic.

Also - if you check I think you'll see Pompeii (which it would be madness to miss) has shorter opening hours.

This is a great area - which we love - but we go in May - so beautiful flowers and gardens, warm enough for pool swimming - and you can see Capri and take ferries along the coast - and drive the Amalfi coast - which is a lot of fun.

In Feb I would stick with cities and save these resorts for warmer weather.

I would go. You could have bad weather, true, but you could also have bad weather in May, or in September.

Why not write to one or two hotels and ask a few questions about restaurants being open, etc. I agree with SeaUrchin that you want to zero in on Amalfi (my choice) or Sorrento. I also think that many restaurants will be closed, but that more than a few will be open.

Amalfi in February? Well . . . . I wouldn't do it. And I can see already there are differing opinions. At least it will be quiet.

Thank you all for the input, and it is interesting that there are diverging opinions. I was under the impression that the Amalfi coast has the best weather in Italy; is that not the case? Are there areas more suitable for traveling in February? What kind of "dramatic storms" did SeaUrchin have in mind?

If the ferries are not operating in February to Capri, what do the people living on the island do to reach the mainland? Are they island-bound for the winter?

No - they are not island-bound for the winter. the ferries may not run for a few hours - or for a day or two if the weather is bad - much more common in midwinter than the rest of the year.

No Amalfi does not have the best weather in midwinter.

The best weather in midwinter would be much further south - in Sicily - but it still won;t be beach weather. No place in europe has beach weather in mid winter. You need to go to Asia or the Carib for that.

The winter storms are thunder, lightening, rain, wind, very dramatic in the setting. I sat at an oceanfront restaurant one winter day watching the fury over the sea, waves crashing very dramatically.

I have also experienced mild weather in the area in winter, it is a gamble and you may experience various weather patterns in your stay.