For a July Holiday:

(a)re: suggested Amalfi Base for 3-4 days - Positano (Hotel Pupetto on the beach) vs. Praiano (Margherita Hotel)?

(b)re: bus/train travel between the towns - If we want to visit Ravello, Amalfi ,Positano, or Praiano in the afternoons, do the buses and/or trains run through to the late nights in the summer?

(c)re: Pompei/Sorrento - if we arrive in Sorrento (Hotel Cesare Augusto)the night before our evening flight to Florence (7:30 pm from Naples), will we easily be able to go to Pompei and Vesuvius for the day, and make our evening flight well in time?
- should we try to spend a full day in Sorrento, when taking into consideration that to do so may reduce the time spent in the coast towns (3-4 days) by a day, or is an evening enough?

(d) re: Capri - If we arrive in Naples airport from Milan at noon, how difficult is it to go by boat directly to Capri (Hotel Weber), and by what time should we probably arrive?
- How often and usually when do the boats go from Capri to Positano, and how long is the ride?

(e) re: hotels - can anybody comment, positively or negatively, on any of the hotels referred to above?

As always, many thanks for any advice or comments.

Hi N,

> do the buses and/or trains run through to the late nights in the summer?

As best I know (from the SITA site) the last bus from Amalfi to Praiano/Positano is at 22:00.

SITA bus schedules are at http://tinyurl.com/ybe6xk

>will we easily be able to go to Pompei and Vesuvius for the day,

Definitely one or the other. I think both would be too much.

You could leave your luggage at the hotel and take the Circumvesuviana train to Pompei Scavi and back.

The 16:30 Curreri bus from Sorrento gets to NAP at 17:45.

See /www.curreriviaggi.it/

Hi Never -

a) Others may disagree, but I think Positano makes a nicer base.

b) Schedules for SITA buses between Positano, Amalfi, Ravello and Sorrento are at:

http://www.sitabus.it/sitabus/campan...ROXV_inv_4.pdf

They don't run very late, even in summer.

c) '... will we easily be able to go to Pompei and Vesuvius for the day, and make our evening flight well in time?'

Yes.

d) ... 'how difficult is it to go by boat directly to Capri'

Easy. You can expect to be in Capri by mid afternoon.

There are 2 bus services which run between Capodichino airport and the Molo Beverello port area (Piazza Municipio) :

- Alibus Airport shuttle
- ANM regular bus 3S

Both run about every 20-30 mins. Here are the links:

http://www.gesac.it/en/alibus.html

http://www.gesac.it/en/links/anm.html

Hydrofoils/ferries to Capri from Molo Beverello run throughout the day. For timetables see:

http://www.capri.net/salsa/lang/en/page/transport.html

Hydrofoils takes about 45 minutes, I think ...

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Ira - as always, thank you for your quick response.

Steve - many thanks for your info, and I do think that I am leaning towards, as apparently do so many others,Positano as a base.

For anybody else - any comments on the hotel selection or advice as to time to be spent in Sorrento?

Anybody?

I'll bump your message to the top!

We stayed in Amalfi last summer and if I were to go again, I would either stay in Positano or Praiano. Between the two, I think that Positano is probably more central in terms of getting around and visiting other places (mainly because more tourists stay there), and I think that Praiano is probably quieter. I can't remember the name of it, but the hotel that Ira often writes about looks pretty lovely - it's in Praiano - I would look into it.

Have a wonderful trip!
Sally

Hi Never,

On my last trip, I stayed in Praiano and it is much more my type of place than Positano is. Unfortunately, if you stay in Praiano, you are stuck with the SITA buses - not a good thing during peak season.

My trip was in Sept and even then, the SITA buses were jam packed, very late, or just didn't show at all.

If you stay in Positano, you have the option of getting around by boat - much better! Important note: boats from Positano to Capri need a reservation at least 24 hours in advance. If you don't have a res, you may find yourself waiting 2 or more hours for the next boat. Check with your hotel and have them make a res for you. Don't know about boats to other Amalfi towns, probably not quite as busy.

The hotel in Praiano I stayed at, on Ira's recommendation, was Le Sirene. Loved it!

Buon viaggio!

If your staying on the beach in Positano I hope you don't mind cats.In Italy there are many strays but nothing like Positano.There is a resturant call Chez Black on the beach,no doors wide open people tend to feed these cats while your eating when you ask them please don't feed the cats they can't understand all the reasons why they should not be feeding these cats.So if you don't mind cats you will love being on the beach.By the way Positano it is absoutely .beautiful.

ok - so I've decided to put up with the cats (which I not only despise, but am totally allergic of ) and make Positano my base.

Next question - does anybody know of Hotel Pupetta or Hotel Vittorio? They both have good reviews on tripadviser.

Finally - do I spend 1 complete day in Sorrento?

Thanks.

>the hotel that Ira often writes about looks pretty lovely - it's in Praiano -

www.lesirene.com

topping up for the week-end.