hnberlin

And one other thing. In Capri, we walked down the Phoenician Steps from Villa San Michele in Anacapri to Marina Grande. These are ancient steps laid down by the Greeks and used to be the only way to cross the ridge that divides Capri. We could barely walk the next day but would do it all over again. We were the only ones walking down and you pass a tiny church on the way down. It was lovely

Jim_Tardio

hnberlin...aren't those steps amazing?

We walked down to the marina from the same place. One of the most amazing hikes I've ever been on. I wouldn't want to walk up them.

They do do a number on your joints and muscles.

appletea

Hi all,

From which city - Sorrento or Positano is it best to travel to Paestum?

Do you think its better to stay in Anacapri or Capri? and how far are they apart?

hnberlin - i looked up minervetta, looks really nice, but unfortunately it looks unavailable. =( I am considering 4 nights now =) thanks for the rec.

Eks -great trip report. i really want to go to the mozzarella heartland now. is the mozarella city far from Paestum? would you do those are two different day trips? i love cheese and would love to experience that.

computer battery dying. will post more tmrw.

ekscrunchy

You would go to the mozzarella farm(s) on the same day as you visit Paestum as they are in the same area. The one we visited was only a few minutes drive from the ruins and I posted the details in my report. There is also a large concentration south of the city of Battipaglia which is also not far from Paestum. To visit the farms, you need to have a car.

Positano may be closer to Paestum on the map but public transport is likely to be easier from Sorrento. I had a car and driver so cannot help with those details. If you want to hire a driver, check around, as we were first quoted 300 euro for a full day to Paestum and around. We ended up paying 180 euro. You could combine a trip to Paestum with a tour of a few villages. We were mainly interested in lunching in Cetara, but you could do Amalfi, for example. If you want to overnight near Paestum, I think I gave you a few nice looking places on another thread. Salerno is also a pleasant city and you could overnight there (I am only mentioning this because you asked about overnighting near the ruins)

I don't think it matters much which day you arrive in the region; we often arrive in Europe on a Sunday when traffic is lighter to our destination, but that really has more to do with our own schedules. In the Amalfi Coast area businesses are open daily in season; some restaurants have a closing day but that is usually NOT Sunday.

The mention of the Hotel Minervetta reminded me of the hotel I stayed at the last time I was in Sorrento. I won't tell you how many years ago this was, but it was the Hotel Minerva; wonder if this is related to the Minervetta?

Again, I will mention that you might save money if you stayed in Amalfi and did your day trips to Positano. I liked Amalfi MUCH better but there are many who favor Positano; you can't go too far wrong at either!

We really are very fond of this place, after our stay there in May:

www.hotelfloridiana.it

appletea

hi all,

how is the weather in capri/positano towards the end of september? i am trying to figure out what dates all the different hotels are available and some of them look like they won't be available until the end of the month.

also if we take private transport from hotel la minerva from capri straight to the naples airport, do you think we will still have a difficult time getting there in time?

so now i'm thinking:
2-3 nights in sorrento
4 nights in positano
4 nights in capri . . .

are paestum or pompeii not open on a certain days of the week?

kja

Hi, appletea -

> are paestum or pompeii not open on a certain days of the week?

I believe that the ruins in both Paestum and Pompeii are open every day, but some specific buildings at Pompeii are closed on certain days and must always be reserved ahead. See:

www.arethusa.net

Also, I think that the fabulous museum at Paestum is closed on some Mondays.

Hope that helps!

appletea

for hotels, our budget, well we're not made of money, but i like a little bit of luxury and style. =) and my philosophy is that we're probably going to go this once, so i want to make the most of it. so approx avg $400-$500 is preferable, especially with the poor exchange rate

for hotels in capri - i am leaning towards hotel la minerva, but also considering caesar augustus and casa mariantonnia. does anyone have any opinions on the latter two? location-wise?

for hotels in positano - i sent in requests to hotel buca di bacco and albergo miramare. i've been reading tripadvisor. any others i should consider?

tdk320n

tt

appletea

all flights to naples require about 2 connecting flights and are averaging 17 hrs, therefore we have decided to fly into rome. much less headache from connecting flights. and we will then take the train to naples then to sorrento directly. therefore we have modified our itinerary a little and would like some opinions before we book.

3 nights in sorrento - (day trip to pompei)
5 nights in positano - is this too long? day trip to ravello, daytrip to paestum, mozarello farms, probably hang out at the beach, any other day trips?
5 nights in capri - blue grotto, tour around island - can both of these be done on the same day?,monte solaro chair lift and exploring the rest of the island, villa . . and gardens - i love gardens.
2 nights in rome - so we can take the morning flight back home - we love rome, so we'll probably just wander around for the day.

so i'm wondering if 5 nights in positano and 5 nights in capri will be a bit too long? i do want to do some day trips and i want to have a relaxing vacation so i think i definitely won't be rushed with this plan.

zeppole

Were it me, I would do Paestum as a day trip from Sorrento, using the train. I'd also want to go into Napoli to see the archeological museum (again!)

I don't know where your mozerella farms are, but would they be better done from Sorrento?

So what I would do is stay in Sorrento, and then go straight to Capri, and day trip to Positano from there. If you want to come in again for a lunch in Ravello and the gardens, that's doable.

But personally, I would find it fabulous to simply get out on the backside of that island, and turn my back on the world, espeically the touristy world of the Amalfi coast, and just be that historic island for 8 or 9 days straight. That's real relaxation.

If I got bored on Capri, I'd take a day trip to Salerno and visit Vietri sul Mare.

zeppole

In case it wasn't clear, I'd do nights/days of touristing from Sorrento. Then stay put on Capri until heading back for Roma.

Although I would strongly consider heading straight to Capri (with day trips to Positano and Ravello), following it with Sorrento and the antiquities toursiting, then packing up and going to Roma.

zeppole

I'm sorry I think I'm really finger-challenged at the moment. This is what I'm trying to suggest:

Arr Roma
Head straight to Capri.

Stay the bulk of your time there.

From Capri, visit Positano and Ravello as day trips on separate days for lunch/day trips. Perhaps a ferry down to Salerno to visit mozzerella farms.

Move on to Sorrento and because daytripping is much easier from there, visit Pompeii, Paestum, Napoli or farms on separate days.

(Or go first to Sorrento, then to Capri, but I'd rather get to Capri.)

appletea

capri hotel question: i'm not sure if i should post this on a separate post? for the same price would you stay at the hotel la minerva in capri or caesar augustus in anacapri? the views at the caesar augustus look amazing, but then i read somewhere people don't recommend staying in anacapri and that you will just have to keep travelling to capri? which location is more central to go to all of the activities (blue grotto, tour around the island, villa san michele, monte solaro chairlift, etc.) please advise.

i've also booked the albergo miramare for positano, so i'm very excited!

so it looks like we're doing:
3 nights in sorrento (day trip to pompei and paestum) - still looking for a hotel here . . .
4 nights in positano (day trip to amalfi/ravello, maybe mozarella farm)
5 nights in capri (all the activities above plus relaxing) would you do the blue grotto and the tour around the island on the same day? can you?
2 nights in rome to connect to our flight.

do you advise to take the train from salerno or naples to rome? also do you advise to buy the tickets ahead of time?

thank you all so much for all of your input.

appletea

hi all,
i'm still researching and i think i'm leaning towards staying at the la minerva vin capri vs caesar augustus in anacapri.

i've booked a budget hotel in sorrento, and the hotel in positano, thanks to trip advisor. thanks to all of you who gave hotel recoomendations and advice.

i saw another post regarding ravello festival concerts at villa ruffalo and i would love to see a concert in that beautiful outdoor venue. according to google maps, it takes 33 minutes to get from ravello back to positano. would that be difficult to get a taxi late at night after a concert?
also how can i tell if this concert is played outdoors? http://www.ravelloarts.org/concerti_a.htm
1229. Mercoledì 17 Settembre 2008, ore 21.30
RAVELLO – Villa Rufolo
Omaggio a Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Recital del pianista MICHELANGELO CARBONARA
Frammento di Sonata D.279
Frammento di Sonata D.625
36 Valzer D.365
12 Laendler D.790
12 Valses nobles D.969
thank you all for your help again. =)

zeppole

I've yet to meet the traveler who likes the naples train station, so I would be inclined to take a ferry from Capri to Salerno and got the train from there. I would buy the ticket in Italy. Perhaps while you are in Sorrento. Just go into a travel agency, who might also tweak this advice.

I think "33 minutes" on a concert night in Ravello is optimistic. No doubt taxis should be reserved in advance, the fare would be hefty, and there may be special buses.

zeppole

here's what you need to know about taxi costs:

http://tinyurl.com/postconcert

appletea

wow that seems pretty expensive. i really do want to see the concert but i'm not sure if it's worth all of that . . .

Jim_Tardio

Here's another potential twist for you:

Spend only 4 nights in Capri, add one more night to Rome, and take a day trip to Orvieto from there.

I think you have plenty of time on the Amalfi Coast...both for sightseeing and relaxation. Remember, this is a very small, compact area. The towns along the coast are tiny.

Jim_Tardio

Go to this site:

http://www.amalficoastweb.com/amalfi...s_ferries.html

It will give you an idea of how close things are, plus many transportation options.

hnberlin

Appletea, we drove past the Caesar Augustus and the location does look fabulous. However, it is a view you will see a lot of while in Sorrento. If I had to pick, I would go with La Minerva. We stayed at JK Capri which as a hotel is unbelievable and I picked it for the pool and the view (same view as Caesar but not as elevated) However, we spent a lot of time going to and from Capri Town. I decided that when we go back, we will stay in Capri town where it's pedestrianised. Have you been to Oia in Santorini? It's kind of like that - it's a strolling, meandering kind of place, stopping to look at the shops, the views, the restaurants, etc. It's just my 2 cents worth but it's where the action is (and staying at La Minerva means you can get away from all that action when it gets too much - no taxis, buses or funiculars needed!)