Compare Taormina and positano
 

We are 4 young women heading to Italy for 2 weeks july into August. I've been to taormina 2 summers in a row and love the fact that its small charming and easy to walk around, get to the beach take a stroll through curso umberto, bars, lounges lots of restaurants etc. It was crowded but mostly with italian vacationers.
We were thinking of basing ourselves in Sorrento but it seems to be big and full of tourist. I'm thinking Positano might be nice, but wonder if it feels anything like Taormina. We are looking for beach easy access to daytrip to other sourounding areas and some nightlife at night. we loved that at night taormina was still busy full of people going out to cafes and taking a stroll. What is positano like? is it mostly geared to honeymooners?

I think they are somewhat comparable, with one big exception---Positano is vertical. It will be good for your legs. Do not stay in Sorrento at your age. And, Positano has more options for day trips---Ravello, Capri etc.

I've been to Taormina four times and love it. I've been to Positano once and didn't like it much. Yes, the view is stunning. But there are no interesting sights to see as there are in Taormina. The centre of town just consists of clothes shops aimed at tourists. Although we normally always eat out at night, on this occasion we were lucky that our hotel had a brilliant restaurant : there weren't all that many restaurants and the one night we went out, to a restaurant recommended in the Michelin guide, the food & service were very poor. There also weren't the nice bars with lots of outdoor seating that there are in Taormina, probably because the centre consists of very narrow alleyways & not much in the way of squares. I know Taormina is very touristy too but somehow it's nicely touristy IMO and Postano isn't. The beach in Positano also isn't very nice - big but stony & with big boats coming in & out all the time, the water's not very nice. Although you can get a boat to a nicer small beach a few coves along.

I'd recommend you stay on Capri instead, which to me has more of the same feeling as Taormina, with more to do & more nice restaurants and bars. It's not very nice visiting as a daytripper but lovely to stay there.

Hi M,

I've been to Positano, but not to Taormina.

From your description, I would either go to Capri or go back to Taormina.

((I))

I've spent time in both places and I would suggest that Sorrento might be closer to Taormina in style. Positano is more of a resort, Sorrento more of a city like Taormina.

There are alot of things for a young woman to do at night in Sorrento, there was a trip report here a few months ago by two young women who had a blast in Sorrento and over in Positano too, see if you can find it.

Matildas would be fun to go to, as well as the Forno Bar and some other places. Late at night is when the young people come out in droves, you'll have fun.

Positano is probably one of the honeymoon capitals of the world. It's absolutely beautiful, and-- to disagree with another poster here-- has plenty of places to sit out and enjoy the scenery, as well as trattorias/cafes and hotels with excellent even outstanding food.

However, I think for what you describe, Sorrento is a better fit. When we stayed there two summers ago, the streets were full of people ( and yes, many of them in their 20's and 30's) until the early morning hours. There was a party feel to the town that is missing in Positano, where I think most people have dinner and go home to sleep off the Prosecco!

Also from Sorrento, you have many more transportation options to vist Pompeii, Capri, and the towns of the Amalfi Coast.

As for Capri itself, it's a beautiful island, but very expensive, especially in the summer months. I don't know if you're familiar with the NYC suburbs, but to me it felt at times like Scarsdale in Italy-- lots of designer duds, gold bling bling, and disturbingly oversized sunglasses. Not my kind of thing, and hard to find the natural beauty of the island with all the plastic that was being flashed, if you know what I mean!

Anyway, have a great time!

I have stayed in both and loved them both! Taormina does have a more interesting night life, but my children (25-29) enjoyed the cave nightclub in Positano, and made some friends. Positano is much smaller than Taormina. The beach in Positano does not compare to the beach in Taormina if you are planning to get in the water, so if you are going for beach, I would go back to Taormina or Capri.