ms_go

We recently returned from another fabulous family vacation � this time, almost two weeks dedicated to the area around Naples and the Amalfi Coast.

A little background: we are in our early 40s and travel with our 12-year-old daughter (allie_go). We have been to Italy four or five times, but never to this area (okay, ms_go blew through Sorrento and Pompeii on a high school trip in 1978 but barely remembers it).

This trip was a bit different for us in some respects. We didn�t try to cover a lot of ground, for a change. We did not drive at all. And we rented a vacation apartment for the first time. Not quite slow travel, but a step in the right direction.

Our itinerary was as follows:

- Two nights on Capri, at Hotel La Minerva.
- Seven nights in Positano in an apartment rented through Summer in Italy. From here, we took day trips to Pompeii, Amalfi, and Ravello, in addition to enjoying Positano.
- Three nights in Naples at B&B Donna Regina.

<b>Activities and sightseeing</b>

With plenty of time to read and plan, we went into this trip with a very full wish list. We were able to accomplish much of it, but we could have used a couple of extra days in each location. There were some notable things that we did not have time to see: Paestum, Herculaneum, Caserta, the Capodimonte Museum, a full walk on the Path of the Gods, and so on.

Our top 10 highlights, in no particular order:

1. A boat trip along the Amalfi Coast with Gennaro e Salvatore (captained on this particular day by Salvatore). The epic lunch included with this trip featured a variety of Salvatore�s morning catch and was, by most accounts, the best meal of the trip.

2. Napoli Sotterranea, the tour of one small part of the 400 kilometers of aqueducts and caverns that exist below modern Naples and date to the city�s ancient Greek civilization.

3. Walking the small pathways away from the centers of Capri and Anacapri � offering a look at the island�s daily life as well as some stunning views of land and sea. Our favorite was the walk from the Arco Naturale back to the Punta Tragara Hotel.

4. And on the subject of walks, a small taste of Il Sentiero degli Dei, the pathway of the Gods that runs above the towns of the Amalfi Coast. The walk from Nocelle to Positano through olive and lemon groves was one to savor; we wished we could have done more.

5. Pompeii. How could it not be a highlight? Despite a less-than-enlightening experience with one of the local guides, it is still a fascinating and unique place. We spent more than five hours there and left only because we were hot and fatigued.

6. Discovering so many jewels, such as the small church with Caravaggio�s <i>The Seven Acts of Mercy</i> at its altar or the tiled cloisters of Santa Chiara, amid the clutter and chaos of Naples.

7. The view from the terrace of our apartment in Positano � morning, noon, and night.

8. The food and the local Campania wines. Let�s just say it was a good thing we walked so much. Even though we come from a town known for its pizza, there is nothing like the pizza here.

9. The gardens and views of Villa Cimbrone in Ravello, made all the more fragrant and magical after a passing rainstorm.

10. Just relaxing on the beach and in the water one afternoon in Positano, and renting a pedal-boat for an impromptu excursion.

11. (Just because it's hard to stop at 10) Waving to our Fodors friends on the Sorrento webcam.

We did purchase the seven-day Campania Artecard for 28&euro; each. This variation does not include any transportation, but it does include admission to a host of sites. We visited five of the sites, meaning that this was probably a break-even proposition. However, the convenience of having the card meant that we did not have to run around (particularly in Naples) with cash for admissions, and that alone was worth something.

ms_go

<b>Some overall observations</b>

Capri is touristy, but with good reason. The shopping areas are elegant (for the most part, if you exclude Marina Grande). The views, from all points, must be seen to be believed; the real pleasure is in taking the time to savor them. The fragrance of flowers follows you as you walk along Capri’s pedestrian streets, which are really more like narrow, garden-lined paths. The sense of history is never far from you, especially in and around the scenic Roman ruins of Villa Jovis. We found the clich&eacute; – it’s better when the day trippers leave – to be absolutely true. If you can get away from the towns and the prime tourist spots during the day, you’ll feel like you’re in a different world. By staying overnight, we were able to enjoy the relaxed, much slower pace of evenings in Capri.

Positano is a beautiful town from all angles. We probably took 200 photos of it and found that it is hard to make it look bad. True, there isn’t much to ‘do’ in Positano proper unless you like shopping and rocky beaches or unless your accommodation has a pool (which ours did not). We’d read varying reports of whether Positano would make a good base for the Amalfi Coast. Certainly Sorrento offers more connections, by more means. We stayed near the top of town, away from most of the hotels and near the bus stop, which made it very easy for us to get around. This also enabled us to get away from the shops and the masses when we needed to do so. We are not much into shopping, and we found the maze of shops and crowds near the beach part of town to be a bit of a turn-off in an otherwise charming setting. Speaking of ‘down’ by the beach, we didn’t find getting around Positano to be difficult at all, but you can certainly see more of it if your back and legs are in good shape. We prepared for this trip with some pretty intensive walking for several months, and it paid off.

The Amalfi Coast is simply beautiful, and the best way to see it is from the water. We were fortunate to do so twice during our trip, once at a very leisurely pace. Our only regret is that we went into this trip with so many things to do, and we simply did not have time – even with a week in Positano. In particular, we did not do justice to Ravello, spending only a few hours there one afternoon, and dodging a rainstorm for part of that time. While we’re not sure it would make sense to stay in both Positano and Sorrento, spending a night or two in Ravello probably would be a nice change of pace.

Naples was a real contrast from two very charming, tourist-oriented destinations – the ‘culture’ of our trip. It is dirty, gritty, and graffiti-littered, but vibrant and alive. While we so often hear that there isn’t anything to do in Naples except go to the Archeological Museum, we found so very much to see and do there. We spent 2 ½ days, but we could have spent four or five days and still have missed some things. Naples is unique in that it has been continuously settled since Greek times, and in so many places throughout the city you are able to see and feel this. Yes, you must be on your guard in Naples, and it is a little off-putting to feel the need for such a police presence. But if you are used to negotiating big cities, you will do fine in Naples. It was probably good to stay in Naples at the end of our trip when we were more relaxed. If we had tried to negotiate the city while jet-lagged, we may not have liked it quite as much.

All in all, the whole area is, as they say, a feast for the senses. Always have that camera ready. Don’t forget to bring binoculars to get an even better look (we forgot). And bring a big appetite.

ms_go

<b>Planning</b>

We booked this trip early (for us) – last August – since we were using frequent flyer miles. That allowed us even more time than usual to read, obsess, and add to our library of travel books. Among other things, we utilized a plethora of trip reports from Fodors and Slowtrav (kudos, especially, to Robert from Santa Monica for his detailed trip report on Naples), as well as these books:

-DK books for Naples and the Amalfi Coast; both the standard book and the Naples Top 10 book.
-Time Out Naples
-Sunflower Guide to walks along the Amalfi Coast

It is impossible to acknowledge everyone whose advice and experiences contributed to our planning, so we will suffice with a resounding “thank you!” to all. But we particularly would like to express our gratitude to Steve James, GAC, Ira and the others who repeatedly and patiently provide information about getting around the area via public transportation. We found this to be quite easy, and in large part that is probably because we were so well prepared with information about buses, ferries, trains, etc. And of course, thanks to Bob the Navigator for his advice, experience, opinions, and input.

ms_go

<b>Getting there and back</b>

Last August, we decided to dent ms_go's still sizeable bank of United Mileage Plus miles (thanks, Arthur Andersen) for two business class tickets on Lufthansa, traveling Chicago to Naples via Munich. We purchased a third economy-class ticket and intended to use 60,000 additional miles to upgrade it to business class. After a few months of trying, it became apparent that this upgrade process between United and Lufthansa was not quite the seamless affair that one would expect from an ‘alliance,’ so when we found an opportunity to buy up to a restricted/discounted ‘Z’ business class fare for only $300 more than the original cost of the economy ticket, we did so – and re-deposited the 60,000 miles for a future purpose.

Although it was several hundred dollars more expensive, we were very happy with our decision to fly into Naples rather than Rome, as it simplified our travel considerably. Our itinerary was a very clean one, with short, but doable, layovers in Munich – a very nice and efficient airport, even if they do insist on patting down (massaging? molesting?) everyone on their way back to the US. Munich has, in our opinion, one of the best airports for European connections.

A side benefit: the Lufthansa A340 used on the transatlantic routes has been equipped with Lufthansa’s ‘new’ business class, which includes flat sleeper seats (although it is ‘flat’ with a bit of an incline), a state-of-the-art entertainment system, and wi-fi had we been inclined to bring along the laptop (we did not). For the first time in his life, mr_go slept on an airplane. The food was okay, not great, and better ex-Munich. The service was top notch.

ms_go

<b>Getting around</b>

Unlike last year’s trip, where we put 1,300 miles on our rental car in eight days, we did no driving this year. We relied on virtually every other type of transportation to get around: ferries, funiculars, buses, limos, the Circumvesuviana, and of course, our own feet. From the looks of things around Positano, having a car would have been more a hinderance than a help. Driving on the coast road did not look to be so bad, although there were points where the traffic got a little backed up in Positano and other towns. Parking would have been the big issue.

We found the public transport system very easy to use. Buy your SITA tickets at a tabacchi. Buy your internal Positano tickets on the bus (and yes, the driver can make change). The Circumvesuviana is not scary at all. If you have ridden the El in Chicago, the subway in New York, the Metro in Paris, etc., you can handle this. We did find the buses to be jammed to capacity on occasion, although for the most part we were able to find seats. Be sure to validate your tickets when you get on the bus (or before getting on the train). In particular, we found the Unico day (‘giorno’) ticket to be a good value; 2.7&euro; on the Amalfi Coast or 3&euro; in Naples. Most everything seemed to run on (or close to) schedule. We even kinda, sorta got used to the distinctive sound of those horns honking every time a bus goes around a corner.

ms_go, who has a (not good) thing about heights, was a little tentative about those Amalfi Coast bus rides. Not an issue at all for her, or for allie_go who is prone to motion sickness. We even sat on the coast side and enjoyed the views down.

We’d considered taking public transportation from Positano to Naples, but we decided at the last moment to spring for a driver to cut down on the stress. It cost 90&euro;; a good investment, particularly as we had some trouble finding our Naples B&amp;B and the driver was able to help out by making some phone calls.

ms_go

<b>Accommodations</b>

<i>Hotel La Minerva, Capri</i>
We really wanted to stay on Capri for a few nights. Initially, we were a bit turned off by the prices but decided to stick a crowbar in the wallet and go for it. We researched a fair number of places in Capri town and were intrigued (almost to the point of being skeptical) of the almost unanimous ‘5’ ratings for this hotel on Trip Advisor (at the time of our trip and when writing this report, Hotel La Minerva was the #1 rated hotel on Capri). It is a three-star hotel, largely because it does not have a pool or restaurant. The location, in our opinion, is almost ideal. It is just a few minutes walk from Via Camerelle and the piazzetta, meaning that it is convenient to all the shops and restaurants of Capri town, but just far away enough to be nice and quiet – okay, the birds make a bit of noise as soon as the sun starts to poke up, but we can handle that!

La Minerva is about as clean as a hotel could be. We probably wouldn’t classify it a luxury hotel, but it is very comfortable – extra pillows, nice-sized bath with plenty of counter space, decent linens, a very large walk in closet to get all the ‘stuff’ out of the way, a sofa and sitting area (which we had to use as allie_go's bed), nice amenities in the bath, a quiet and efficient air conditioner, a large terrace with table and chairs and sunbeds (with pads), and on and on. We particularly thought the common areas were very tastefully decorated, with tile floors and nice ceramics all around. The view from our terrace (which includes privacy barriers to a point, but not all the way) included both sea and part of the Capri hillside. Breakfast is served either on your room’s terrace or on the rooftop deck and includes a nice selection of breads, yogurt, cheese, fresh OJ and coffee. Environment was very understated and relaxed; service was very friendly and helpful. We found it essential to stay on Capri, and at that price (in Capri terms) we’d say, yes, La Minerva did live up to the hype.

240&euro; for a superior triple.

<i>Residence Stefania B, Positano (booked through Summer in Italy)</i>
We had never rented a vacation apartment before, so this was a new experience for us. This was driven by a couple of needs. One was the ability to stay in a nice, but affordable place in Positano. Second, and more significant, was the need to have some room to move around, especially since we wanted to stay put and use Positano as a base for the whole week. We looked at the offerings of a few agencies, but in all honesty, we made our decision fairly quickly. For a number of months, ours was the only 2005 booking for this apartment (although it seemed to be fairly well booked during 2004, so not to worry). In summary, we were very pleased.

The location was perfect, in our opinion, for using Positano as an Amalfi Coast base. The SITA and internal bus stops were just a half-block away. Also within that half block are all the resources one needs – a tabacchi, public phones, Bar Internazionale (for cornetti and caf&eacute; in the morning and gelati at night, as well as bus tickets), a small grocery, a produce store, and a respectable small trattoria. It is about a 10-15 minute walk down to the beach via steps (hundreds of them), or you can walk down the Viale Pasitea in about 20 minutes, past other hotels, restaurants and shops. The internal bus runs every half hour from Piazza Mulini; we always used this to come back up. The apartment also is very close to the steps going up toward Montepertuso, if one is inclined to make this walk (we went part way one evening).

The apartment, itself, is very nice. It has two bedrooms, a very large bath, a full kitchen, a living room, and most significantly, a huge terrace adorned with flowers and with a stupendous view down over Positano. We found it to be very much as depicted on the Summer in Italy website. It was renovated just several years ago and has nice tile floors, modern appliances, and very tasteful decorating. Of particular benefit was the washing machine, which we used four times – but beware, Italian washers take much longer than we are used to (almost two hours), and there is no dryer; a drying rack is provided on the terrace. The apartment has air conditioning, although we did not use it. Stefano, the landlord, was very helpful during our stay, including hooking us up with a driver to Naples on short notice.

We brought along an iPod and a small portable speaker (cost, $40; small enough to be carried along with other things in a backpack). This added immensely to our enjoyment of the apartment.

The only downsides (since hardly anything is perfect!): the master bed is a bit firm for our taste (some extra pillows would be nice), and there are about 80 steps up from the street to the front door. This was not a problem for us; we’d been ‘in training’ before we arrived.

We could go on and on, but we really enjoyed this. Highly recommended!

About $1,500 for the week, plus electricity, cleaning, and linens.

<i>B&amp;B Donna Regina, Naples</i>
This was a bit of a crap shoot. We found it while searching many Naples options on the Internet and thought it looked very unique and interesting. Venere.com was the only site where we found customer reviews, which on balance were very positive. We were a little iffy about staying in the historical center, but none of the reviews mentioned anything of concern, other than that the street is closed due to some renovations and you need to look past the condition of the building entrance.

In a nutshell, this small four-unit B&amp;B is in a 700-year-old building that is part of the former Donnaregina Vecchia convent complex. The fourth-floor flat housing the B&amp;B is the former mother superior’s quarters. It is now owned by a family of artists (the grandfather apparently was quite famous), and paintings, statues and other objects fill (and we do mean fill!) the walls and furnishings throughout.

Each room is decorated in a unique manner. Ours – the blue room – has about 16 foot ceilings, with a circular metal staircase leading up to a loft that includes two additional twin beds (allie_go's hideout). It is equipped with TV and air conditioning, which came in handy. The bath could probably stand a bit of improvement – in particular, the shower was quite small and didn’t always produce hot water, but at least it had a door. Breakfast is served at a communal table and we enjoyed morning conversation with the other guests, all of whom were from France. Apparently, it is possible to arrange a home-cooked Neapolitan dinner, although we did not do so.

Dominic, the owner, was very helpful. He spent a half hour with us after we arrived to go over a map of Naples and to provide a variety of enthusiastic recommendations for dining and activities. We were able to try several of them.

Re the area: this B&amp;B is located in the historical center, in the area known as Decumano Maggiore. Although it is important to use good sense throughout Naples, we did not find this area to be particularly uncomfortable or seedy. As noted, the street (Luigi Settembrini, perpendicular to the Via Duomo) is closed off – thus, not a lot of traffic. The building entrance is a bit austere – huge wooden doors that are open during the day, and a somewhat grim common entrance way (there are a number of apartments in this building) leading to a teeny, tiny little elevator that, at best, holds three people; thus, the ground floor entrance feels as if you are entering an apartment building, not a hotel/B&amp;B. Moreover, this area does not appear to be a big ‘tourist’ area. There are a couple of other hotels a bit down the Via Duomo, but not a lot of restaurants in the immediate vicinity. It is about a 10 minute walk to the real heart of Spaccanapoli. We took all the recommended precautions, and did not feel at all unsafe here.

The location/setting is probably not for everyone, but it was appealing to us and we particularly enjoyed staying here. It was convenient for our plans in Naples and offered a very unique, home-like feel.

120&euro; for a triple.

ms_go

<b>Eating</b>

We ate well. How could you not. Some of our favorites:

<i>Capri</i>
Ristorante Belsito
da Gemma
Pizzeria Aurora
Buca di Bacco da Serafina (pizza)

<i>Amalfi Coast</i>
da Costantino, Positano
Lo Guarracino, Positano
Villa Maria, Ravello
Ristorante di Teresa, Conca dei Marini (lunch with the Gennaro e Salvatore trip)
La Grottina Azzurra, Positano (simple neighborhood trattoria with decent pasta)
Pizzeria Il Capitano, Positano (roof deck of the Montemare Hotel with a fabulous view)

<i>Naples</i>
Osteria Antica Pisano
Sorbillo (pizza)
Bellini

In particular, we found that we could eat very well in Naples without spending a small fortune.

allie_go discovered a new favorite on this trip: gnocchi alla sorrentina. She ate it darned near every day, and is still eating it back in Chicago (thanks, Trader Joe’s). mr_go and ms_go went nuts with the seafood and the local wines. We all enjoyed the pizza, although now that we’re home, allie_go is glad not to have to eat her pizza with a knife and fork.

We had only one disappointing meal – Il Ritrovo in Montepertuso – also the most expensive on of our trip. The food was okay, but we obviously hit it on a bad night. The service was terrible. Mind you, we are not averse to enjoying a long, leisurely meal. But we do not define that as having the wine brought to the table some 45 minutes after we ordered it, and 20 minutes after the antipasti dishes are cleared (and after reminding the staff several times that we’d ordered wine). Or as having our meals arrive close to a half hour apart.

ms_go

<b>Weather</b>

Historically, the weather here is generally dry and pleasant in June. Only once did the rain put a damper on our activity, unfortunately in Ravello, but even that was short-lived. In addition, we ended up with a fairly cloudy day for our Amalfi Coast boat trip. Otherwise, the skies were blue. It was a bit cooler at the beginning of our trip; the area was coming out of a brief rainy period. By the time we left, it was well into the 80s and humid.

One tip: don’t believe the weather reports. When they said it would be sunny, it was cloudy. When they indicated a chance of rain, we baked. There also are many microclimates in this area; what applies to Ravello may not apply to Positano.

<b>Telephones</b>

For the first time, we felt it was important to have a mobile phone along, particularly since we were staying in an apartment with no phone. Our primary concern was being reachable in the event of an emergency; secondarily, we anticipated making just a few local phone calls for reservations, but not enough to justify renting or buying a phone with local SIM card. Instead, we researched the international roaming service available from Cingular and, since we already had two tri-band phones, we signed on. Since ms_go is taking another trip later this summer that involves short stays in five other European countries, this seemed a more adequate solution.

Well, aside from being able to check messages from home (which was important), it was pretty much useless. We had reception most everywhere (through Vodaphone or IWind), but no reception in Positano. This wasn’t completely a surprise, as the map showed some uncovered areas along the coast, but…..it kind of defeated the purpose of having the service. We had to wait until we were in Ravello or Sorrento to check messages. The biggest inconvenience was when Gennaro e Salvatore had no way to reach us when they cancelled the trip for which we had signed up.

The bigger issue is that we simply could not make calls. We got error messages any time we tried to dial through to any other cell phone, and the several calls we made to land line phones were connected with the wrong numbers (even though we dialed correctly).

We’ll be circling back with Cingular on this one….

We ended up buying two calling cards – one for local use and one for international use. With public phones abundant, we found this very easy and inexpensive for making calls.

ms_go

<b>The nitty gritty</b>

<i>June 8/9: The longest day.</i>

For the second year in a row, our carefully plotted logistics for the first day were thrown awry by a significant flight delay and a missed connection....

Okay, sorry to be a tease here, but we are not quite done writing up the detail. For anyone who is interested, we will be putting our day-to-day journal on our website (www.onelittleworld.com) in the next few days. We'll let you know when it is there.

In the meantime, feel free to enjoy our photos:

http://community.webshots.com/user/go_family

And please fire away if you have any questions.

~ms_go and mr_go

bookchick

Brava, Ms. Go! Bravissima! The Italians have a saying that translates into &quot;Good blood does not lie&quot;, and you and Mr. Go are certainly delightfully true extensions of his blood line. It rather makes me weep that last fall my planned week on the Amalfi Coast got scratched at the last minute and traded for 4 days (although they were certainly splendid) in my old hometown of Florence. I want to walk about near Sorrento and smell the lemon trees for myself! However, I do thank you, Allie, and Mr. Go, for sharing your experiences so I could vicariously enjoy.

Best wishes,
BC

Grinisa

What do you mean you don't remember the Sorrento/Pompeii trip of '79? I was counting on you to tell me the name of our hotel in Sorrento, which I simply cannot recall and have no notes on. Wonderful report. Glad you enjoyed Da Costantino, one of our favorite places. We're doing the villa thing in the hills north of Volterra in two weeks--hope it goes as well as your experience.

ms_go

Grazie mille, Bookchick. Yes, you must get there sometime soon and smell the lemons -- and <b>see</b> the lemons that are the size of footballs! I know our trip overlapped a bit with yours. I'm sorry we weren't closer to Rome.

Grinisa - I remember a little about Pompeii from '79, but I don't remember Sorrento at all, including where we stayed. My trip journal only says that the hotel looked nice, but that we arrived there at 2am. That must be why. I blame it all on that 'interesting' ferry ride to Brindisi the night before. Where did we stay in Venice, BTW?

Yes, Da Costantino was wonderful. I wish we'd gone back a second time. It was actually walking distance from our apartment. Enjoy your trip to Tuscany. We haven't been there since 1991. I think it will be time to do that soon, although the front-runner for next year is the Dordogne.

SeaUrchin

This report should be required reading for those planning a trip around Amalfi Coast. I'm glad you appreciate it and were adventurous enough to take advantage of all the opportunities available around there. I keep saying there is alot to do on the Coast and you have proved it.

Glad your sweet family had fun!

TexasAggie

What a wonderful trip report!! Thank you so much for sharing. Now I feel even more ashamed for not finishing mine. Maybe it can be a weekend project for me ;-)
I'm so glad you found and liked da Costantino. We also enjoyed the restaurant very much.

sheila

Fantastic!

Are you coming back to Scotland next year?

bobthenavigator

Fantastico ! Required reading for any future travelers to the AC. I love the format---usable information but not a daily journal of what you had for breakfast.

mr_go

Actually, Sheila, next year is shaping up to look like a return to France. But allie_go is on record as saying that Scotland was her favorite trip so far, so someday we are sure to return.

And Grinisa, I have to say that as soon as we sat down at da Costantino, ms_go said to me, &quot;This place gets rave reviews...Grinisa likes it here, you know.&quot; And they didn't disappoint!

mr_go

For those who actually <i>want</i> the &quot;what we had for breakfast&quot; details, the full report will soon be posted to our web site, onelittleworld.com. With pix, of course.

Grinisa

Da Costatino's is a gem. Hope you got a table by a window. Well ms_go, in the search for the name of the Venice hotel, I ventured into deep storage in the basement to find the envelope of stuff from that trip. It was fun seeing the maps, hotel cards (no Sorrento alas)ancient London Tube tickets and Salzburg salt mine and marionette show tickets I had long forgotten. And in all that stuff was a little blue card saying &quot;Welcome to Venice&quot; from the Cori Hotels Corporation. It lists six hotels that the corp. owns and the Sceriman Residence Palace had a checkmark next to it so I guess that is the hotel that gave us these cards.

mr_go

&gt;&gt;Da Costatino's is a gem. Hope you got a table by a window&lt;&lt;

Oh, you can bet good money on that. But I have to say that the view from our apartment was just about that nice, as well. See our Webshots for reference.

You found a card from a hotel from 1979? Now that's what I call <b>deep</b> storage!