Capri, Positano, Sorrento

Old Mar 12th, 2009, 09:52 AM
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sweet....thanks for the suggestion! car rental is one less thing to book =)
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Old Mar 13th, 2009, 07:26 PM
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hi appletea...how do u suggest i book the hotels...directly from the hotel website, or a site like orbitz/europeandestinations/etc?
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Old Mar 13th, 2009, 08:01 PM
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also, here's what im thinking...can u let me know ur thoughts?

2 nights rome
take the train from rome to naples. how do we get from naples to positano?
3 nights positano - visit amalfi, ravello
should we spend 1 night in sorrento to visit pompeii, paestum? or can we spend 1 more night in positano and visit pompeii, paestum from there? if u think we should spend 1 night in sorrento, how should we go from positano to sorrento? or if u think we should spend 1 night in sorrento, should we do that straight from rome? in that case...would we take the train from rome to naples, circumvesuviana from naples to sorrento? if we do that, how would we get from sorrento to positano?
2 nights capri - do we take a hydrofoil from positano or sorrento? how do we purchase tickets for the hydrofoil? in advance from the US or when we get there?
and then how do we get ferry tickets from capri to naples so we can catch a train from naples to rome? do we get train tickets from the US for rome-naples/naples-rome or do we just get them the day we want to take the train?
thanks for the help =)
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Old Mar 16th, 2009, 12:12 PM
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hi dtph, we booked hotels through venere.com for rome. check venere or booking.com for rates and compare to hotel website. also check tripadvisor for reviews. with the positano and capri hotels, we booked through email correspondance with the hotel.

naples to positano - would be through circumvesiana to sorrento and then bus from sorrento to positano, i believe.

i prefer to not stay in too many different hotels (i hate packing and unpacking, checking out and checking in, it feels unrelaxing), so i would stay in positano and take the bus or train to circumvesuviana in sorrento and then to pompeii (might take at least 2 hrs? i'm guessing). you will not be able to do pompeii and paestum in the same day.

capri - for capri, you take hydrofoil from positano directly to capri. you purchase tickets at the dock, and your hotel will be able to direct you. it's very easy and you don't need to purchase it in advance.

capri - naples - ask your hotel, and you can purchase tickets directly from them. ferry from capri to naples. taxi from naples port to naples train station and then we bought train tickets at the station. we bought all our tickets at the stations, nothing in advance.

have you ever been to rome? 3 days in rome is probably pretty hectic, just fyi.
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Old Mar 16th, 2009, 12:49 PM
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i've never been to rome, but my husband has. i know 3 days in rome is totally not enough, but that's all we have time for this time! it's kind of even worse for us b/c we have 1 saturday and 2 sundays! any suggestions on how best to maximize our time in rome and trying to visit all the must see tourist attractions?
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Old Mar 16th, 2009, 12:53 PM
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actually, here's our itinerary so far...
day 1 - Rome (Saturday)
day 2 - Rome (Sunday)
day 3 - Rome-Naples-Positano -- Get settled in
day 4 - Day trip - Amalfi/Ravello
day 5 - Day trip - Paestum
day 6 - Day trip - Naples/Pompei/Herculaneum
day 7 -
day 8 -
day 9 - Return to Rome (Sunday)
day 10 - depart Rome to US

we still want to visit capri in there. do you think we should extend our stay in rome in the beginning by 1 more day and then end in capri...so...

day 1 - Rome (Saturday)
day 2 - Rome (Sunday)
day 3 - Rome (Monday)
day 4 - Rome-Naples-Positano -- Get settled in
day 5 - Day trip - Amalfi/Ravello
day 6 - Day trip - Paestum
day 7 - Day trip - Naples/Pompei/Herculaneum
day 8 - Capri (overnight)
day 9 - Return to Rome (Sunday)
day 10 - depart Rome to US
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Old Mar 16th, 2009, 01:37 PM
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bookmarking
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Old Mar 16th, 2009, 02:01 PM
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Day 7 is too full. Do one of these, not all three!
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Old Mar 16th, 2009, 02:15 PM
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i think it really depends on what you would like to do? rome is magnificent and hectic and a super busy city. it's full of excitement and you'll want to run from one wonderful landmark to the next and by the end of the day, you will be exhausted, but happy.

capri, on the other hand is so relaxing and peaceful. it's a quiet remote island great for hikes with beautiful landscapes and sceneries. there really isn't a bad view from anywhere on the island.
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Old Mar 16th, 2009, 02:16 PM
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ok....then i think i pick pompeii for day 7 b/c i've read on a lot of threads that it's incredible =)
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Old Apr 4th, 2009, 12:43 PM
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Hi Everyone,
I'm looking to visit Capri, positano and Amalfi, and have about one week. I will fly into Naples airport. I wonder how it will be if I stay on Capri most of the time, and take hydrofoils to Positano and Amalfi? Also if there are other places that I should consider? I do like the relaxing sound of Capri, but also some of the ancient ruins sound compelling. Should I do the other places as day trips?
Is it easy to get from Naples to Capri?
Also, wondering how "light" I need to travel to manage the hydrofoils?
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Old Apr 22nd, 2009, 05:19 PM
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Hi,

Caroline, I'm really sorry. I have been feeling really tired and a little stressed with planning for my trip. Between working two jobs and finding time to plan my trip, I probably read your message while experiencing other stressful feelings and moments at the time. I took you’re message the wrong way. I do apologize. Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.

Lexma90 - I read on a travel post that airline employees travel for free in first/business class so that's the only reason why I mentioned it. I didn't realize that you also had to pay for them. It’s easy to believe what you read but unfair b/c we don’t know the whole story. . I hope that you weren't upset about what I said. I wasn't trying to be sarcastic about it or anything like that. When I said, 'how nice', I really meant, 'how nice'. I didn't mean it in a bad way.

If you want a break while visiting your grandmother, consider going to Tropea, a picturesque town with a lovely beach.
Thank you for your suggestion. I will look into it.

There is no way on earth that you can get from Scigliano to Sicily and back in 3 or 4 days and get anything at all out of going to Sicily. Forget Sicily.
I originally didn’t plan to visit Sicily. I had other members from another forum suggested I visit Sicily since I was in the south already visiting my grandmother. I added it to the list but there was a part of me that wasn’t sure if I really wanted to go. I think this is where some of the stress has been coming from. I was adding or deleting a city based on recommendations from other people. For example: Rome, Florence, Milan and Naples. There were quite a few people who questioned why I didn’t want to visit these places. I didn’t want to be in a busy or fast-paced environment. Also, I have been to Rome twice (age 13 and 25) and Florence (age 25). I went on a Contiki tour when I was 24 (turned 25 in July). I traveled for 2 months and visited 15 countries including England, Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Germany and Hungary. It was nice to see a lot of different places but it was very go-go-go some days with only 1-2 days per country. I traveled with 53 people on a coach bus.

I already had taken Sicily off of my list b/c it wasn’t a place that I really wanted to go to right now. I thought about where I wanted to go and stuck with places that I really wanted to explore. Venice was included in my list (5 days) but I was told that this was too long and that 1-2 days would suffice. I eventually deleted from my list b/c I was feeling overwhelmed with the responses I was receiving.

I have come across some good deals through Air Transat but b/c I didn’t know where I was flying into and out of, and I wasn’t 100% with the dates so I didn’t book it. I went from 1 month to almost 60 days. I could go longer b/c I have the time. I’m not happy in my career and want to explore other opportunities but before deciding to go back to school or look for another job that is related to what I am interested in, I decided to take the time to travel and visit my family. This trip is also very significant for me b/c I have experienced a lot of pain and upset in the past few years. I went through a painful break-up with my ex-bf (second time – he came back into my life 3 years after getting married and having a child with his now ex-). He realized he made a mistake and that I was the one all this time. However, I decided that I didn’t want to be with someone whose morals and values were very different from mine. More importantly, I didn’t want to be with someone who I didn’t trust.

A few months later I lost a friend to cancer. A month after my friend’s death, another friend committed suicide and three months later, a family friend was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Through a series of events (which I won’t get into), he ended up going back to his home town (Formia) with his wife. I’m like a daughter to her b/c they don’t have any kids. I used to visit them often when they lived here in Canada, and have lunch or dinner with them. It will be difficult to see P (husband) b/c I haven’t seen him since he left last year. It may be a bit tough but I hope that I can enjoy my time with him and his wife, and cheer her up. Unfortunately, P has been in a bed since last year. He can’t walk and is hooked up to a lot of tubes so I am a little nervous of how I will handle that part of my trip.

About a month ago, a family friend passed away from cancer. She had 3 brain tumours that she lived with for 5 years. She was only 35, married 6 years and had a 5-year old adorable girl. Needless to say, I had a very hard time dealing with everything. I also live at home with my parents, and my relationship with my dad is probably typical of any relationship b/w an Italian father and his oldest daughter. It can be difficult. I plan to look for my own place once I return. After all of these experiences I decided that I didn’t want to wait until I had a full-time job to do things. I didn’t want to continue just living through the motions of life and waiting for something to happen.
So, one day while talking to my ‘aunt’ in Formia, she asked me to visit her. I thought about it and then decided to visit my grandmother as well. Before I knew it, I decided to extend my trip to 7 weeks, then 8 weeks. It may even reach 9 weeks! lol. I just want to have fun, explore places, meet people, relax, meditate, take walks, sit at a café and watch people go by. I would like to go dancing but since I’m traveling solo, I’m nervous to go to a club on my own. I thought that if I meet someone at a B&B, then I will ask him/her if they would like to go.

I shared this b/c I wanted to give you an idea of where I am coming from and what I am looking for in this trip. I’m not big on touring churches, museums, and renaissance or medieval buildings. I will go to a few churches and museums but I don’t want to see every piece of artwork or historical building in each city. I think that’s one of the main reasons I didn’t want to visit Rome and Florence and why I chose Provence. However, I have since removed Provence from my list b/c I read that you need a car to visit the area.

Forgot to mention that when I traveled alone in Italy I stayed at these places and had no problems at all.
Thanks for the links.

I agree with previous statements that 2 days in Rome is not nearly enough. I also would recommend you forgo Sicily and perhaps cut a day off Venice to add to Rome.
I’m curious to know why a lot of people don’t want to stay more than 2 or 3 days in Venice? I have only been there once (Contiki tour) but I think we were only there for 2 days. I don’t remember a lot but I do remember it being a nice trip.

Do you have a plan to move around from place to place. In many places you will do well with public transport but places like Tuscany require a car to get from town to town.
I planned to take the train and bus. Someone mentioned to me that if I go to France first, I can buy an International Train Ticket for traveling in Italy. She told me that this would be cheaper as it would allow me to travel through a few cities without having to pay point-to-point. She also said that it’s cheaper than a Euro rail pass.

I read somewhere that you can take a train or a bus to a certain destination. Do I really need a car when traveling through Siena, Umbria, etc.?

Is there any particular reason why you're going to Provence and what part of Provence will you visit? I'm asking as I notice you're not including Florence in your itinerary and may want to remove Provence and add Florence for the 4 days. From Florence you can make easy day trips to Lucca and Siena and use the time in Tuscany/Umbria to visit other small towns.
As I mentioned before, I read about Provence and it sounded like a place I would enjoy. As well, I read that there are not a lot of tourists there during the summer so it wouldn’t be crowded or hot compared to Paris or Rome. I read that the weather in Provence is “summer-balmy.”

I was looking at St. Remy, Aix-en-Provence, and Marseille or Maussane-les-Alpilles. However, I took it off my list because I read that it’s best to travel there by car. I don’t want to drive in Europe. I’m nervous about it so I’m going to stick to the train and
bus.

There’s a lot of travelers suggesting or encouraging me to go to Rome and Florence and questioning why I’m not going. I’m starting to doubt myself and wonder if I should put it on my itinerary.

Look also at renting apartments rather than staying in hotels.
I was considering doing this in Paris. I wasn’t planning on staying in hotels. I am planning to stay in B&B’s because I am traveling alone and would like to meet people and have some company around. Also, I like the feel of being at a B&B vs. a hotel. However, I read some great reviews on small hotels that are owned and operated by families.

With respect to your flight, I would personally just fly economy and save the money for something else. I'm not sure any flight experience is really enjoyable these days.
I’m going to do that and save my money for accommodations or for other things on my trip. It would be great to travel business class one day but there is a lot to know with regards to the miles, upgrading, etc. and I don’t want to stress myself with it right now. Plus, I don’t have enough points to use for upgrading.

I highly recommend you look into Air Transat and their Club Class seats. I'm pretty sure they fly between Toronto and Paris on during your dates, and possibly Rome as well (maybe you could look into an open jaw into Paris and out of Rome).
For the majority of my searches, I have been using multi-city to book an open jaw. I’m trying to decide whether to fly into Paris or Rome first.

They will definitely be flying into London if you're open to that possibility as well.
I’d rather not. I would prefer a direct flight but I know with BA, there is a stop-over in London. The problem with is that depending on your flight, you will land in Heathrow and may need to transfer to Gatwick to fly to Europe. I was told that they are on the opposite side of the city. Plus, you need to find your own transportation to that airport.

The cost of AT's Club Class is cheaper than a regular airline's business class. What you get is bigger, more comfortable seats with fairly generous leg room (but not flat bed seats). You get a menu to choose from and meals are served on real plates with real cutlery. The food is much better than Air Canada's Executive First and the service is quite good.
Thanks for letting me know.

I'm not sure if that many airlines flying out of Toronto to Europe offer premium economy. British Airways does. Air Canada does not and neither do its star alliance partners as far as I know.
Air France and British Airways is the only one that I know too. Air Transat has the club seats.

I definitely agree with the others about slowing your itinerary down. With 7-8 weeks I would think about spending an entire week in some places and renting an apartment.
I didn’t think it was a lot for 8 weeks b/c some of the towns in Tuscany were day or half day visits. I thought that I was giving myself plenty of time but I will go over it and figure out what I want to do for sure.

Has anyone here stayed in an apartment in either Italy or France? Do you have any good sites or suggestions? Also, does anyone know how much it would cost to stay an apartment for a week in Italy or France?

I have been wondering whether I should wait and in September/October or to just go at the end of May until July. I know that July is crowded and hot. I have been feeling somewhat stressed with the planning of my trip. On days like today, I don’t feel as excited. I feel overwhelmed and wonder if I will be able to enjoy my trip? I’m thinking that once I put everything together and it’s confirmed, then I won't feel so anxious. Has anyone traveled to Italy and France in September and October? I read that it’s nice too but the temperatures are cooler and the days are shorter. I also read that it sometimes rains during these months.

It’s a long message. I have been on it for a while. I just wanted to get back to everyone. I didn’t get a chance to write back sooner.

Thank you.

P.S. I highlighted your comments in blue to separate it from my comments but I haven’t a feeling that it won’t show up when I paste this into the forum.

No, it didn't.
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Old Apr 22nd, 2009, 05:21 PM
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SHOOT! I posted this in the wrong forum. How do I delete from here?
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Old May 11th, 2009, 07:52 AM
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Appletea,
I just would like to let you know that I so enjoyed reading your posts here. I too and planning my trip to Italy and have the same questions you had planning your trip. I did read the whole post and on other websites as well but I have a few more...
Three Days in Almalfi
1. Sorrento/Positano??? We will have a car driving from Rome. I understand that Sorrento is more convenient to stay at rather than Positano. This is said quite often but since we have a car (dont have to takes trains/buses etc.) do you think we should stay here? I am leaning towards Positano because I think it will be more quaint seaside town. I cant seem to find info about Sorrento besides it being more convenient. I love Hotel Poseidon but will check out your fav Albergo Miramare.

2. I read that Positano has "little to do in the evening" and that sorrento has more to do. Would you please comment of this

3. How far drive from Sorrento-Positano? I heard 40 minutes. So, to me thats not too far to base my day trips.

4. Day trips....we arrive in sorr or posi after drivign from Rome. Prob arrive around 3ish. Next Day is 1/2 day Naples then Pompeii and maybe Herculeaum (sp?). Second day...beach, maybe ravello, almalfi drive, just relaxing in the towns.
5. Third day leave for Capri. We are planning on staying one night. Your posts and the posters that helped you were very helpful in the fact that I should stay in capri town instead of anacapri. After taking the 8 am ferry, we plan to do circular/blue grotto tour with private driver as was suggested. Do you know how long this takes? What company did you use? Will I have enought time to walk around town and such? I also need to find Hotel Moragna. I am not sure if its still exists but my Nana stayed here on her honeymoon and I ahve been dreaming of it since I was a little girl hearing her stories. Ok...went off on tangent here. Sorry! Thanks for all of your help and again it was agreat joy to read your post and all of the people who helped out! I look forward to hearing from you all
Stephanie
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Old May 13th, 2009, 09:19 PM
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gaiaworld,
i think if you have one week, i would split it between capri and positano or sorrento. we used sorrento as a base for pompeii and a bus tour to paestum. from positano you can you day trip to ravello. from naples to capri - you take a ferry. as far as luggage goes, i would try to travel light, since there are a lot of stairs. otherwise you can have your hotel pick up your baggage for you from the ferry if you pay them.

travelgirl09,
1) are you set on having a car? we thought it was really convenient to travel without a car especially since the roads seem pretty small and hard to park. i would refer to tripadvisor for hotel reviews. i'm sure poseidon is really nice too. it sounds like you are learning towards positano. however, it depends on what you want to see and do? we felt sorrento was great for our train to pompeii and bus trip to paestum. positano is great, especially to to go to ravello.

2) i guess it depends on what you think is "little to do"? we like to enjoy a wonderful meal and then stroll around town. so i think you can do that in either town. positano is smaller, but still certainly enough to explore. there are dance clubs/bars in both cities too but we didn't go to any.

3) i think about 40 min. it's a windy drive though and hard to find parking i think?

4) i think 1/2 naples and pompeii and herculaneum - that is a little to ambitious. what are you planning on seeing in naples? unless there is something you want to see in naples, i'm not sure if stopping there for 1/2 day is going to let you really experience the city. i think pompei deserves at least half a day in itself at least. are you considering taking train from rome to naples and then to sorrento instead of driving? i don't remember the beach being easy to access in sorrento? but it was pretty easy for positano - lots and lots of stairs though

5. we really loved capri town but i believe other ppl do like anacapri as well. depending on how the weather is, the blue grotto may or may not be open. when the winds are too choppy, no entrance was allowed. we didn't get to go, but we still loved our experience on the island. i think you will still have time to explore the island as i don't think the whole blue grotto experience lasts too long but i'll defer to the other posters on that question.

hope you get to find hotel moragna. i would also check tripadvisor just in case good luck planning!

not sure if i was helpful, but hope a little bit at least!
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Old May 16th, 2009, 01:12 PM
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Hey appletea - you are so kind to keep up with this thread. I would lOVE your opinion on something...

My husband and I (ages 37 & 40) are headed to Italy in July for 2 weeks. The first week we will be spending in Tuscany with family for my in-laws 50th anniversary. We expect this first week to be a very busy time seeing lots of sites. We are then have 7 nights on our own and will want to relax! We are currently scheduled to leave Lucca and go straight to Capri for 5 nights at La Minerva. So glad to hear you liked it! We then leave and spend 2 nights in Rome bfore heading home to Boston.

Question: should we consider going to Sorrento for 1 or 2 nights either on the way to or from Capri? As input on our taste, we spent part of our honeymoon on Santorini and wished we stayed longer (had 4 nights there).

Thanks!
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Old Jun 9th, 2009, 06:38 AM
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Thankyou appletea!
There has, however, been a slight change of plans, for which I need to alter my itinery. Which has brought up more questionsbr /> Firstly, how long does it take to get from Naples airport to Capri? What is the best way to travel for this transfer? I like the idea of a hydrofoil once at the marina, but how to get there? And how to best organise tickets? Before or at the time? How long does this journey take?
Thanks for the idea to travel light. Will do!
Secondly, I'm now looking at 2 days max in Capri - arrive one day - spend 2 days there - and leave the next. What excursions would be good to do from Capri? Will there be time? or is there enough to do in Capri/Anicapri anyway?
How much does it cost to use the Cable car up the mountain at Anicapri?
Any advice on souvineer shopping in Capri? Good things to look out for? Place names? How much time to allow for this?
What places would it be great to visit before or after Capri, and to extend my holiday that way?
I'm also wishing for some time to just take in the beauty of the land and to relax.
Are there nearby islands that are "must see"?
Thanks!
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