First time in Sorrento...advice needed
 

I've been to Italy, but have never been south of Rome (despite the fact that my family is from Naples and Sicily!)

I've been trying to visit for years, and now it is FINALLY happening! We are going in September 2010. The weather will still be warm, and it won't be as crowded as August...

Anyway, here is the itinerary I am looking at:

4 or 5 nights in Rome, at the end we will rent a car and drive to Sorrento where I am looking at apartments to rent for the week.

This is the property I am looking at:
http://www.summerinitaly.com/eng/ren...596!italy_.htm

I think Sorrento is a good base, but I'd love your input! I want to visit Naples, Pompeii, Capri and the little towns along the Amalfi coast--especially Positano! Sorrento seems like a logical choice since it is in the middle of everything. Would renting a car be a stupid idea? My partner and I like to drive around. Obviously we wouldn't drive to Naples, (I'm from NYC and she is from DC, so we are city people!), but is it ok to drive to Amalfi, Positiano, etc? Is their parking? The apartment says "car needed" and there is also a parking space available. Would it be wiser to just park our car somewere in Sorrento to catch public transport to the other places?

From Sorrento we will likely head to Sicily for a week, but that part is pending--we have to see what our budget looks like!

>> My partner and I like to drive around. <<

No doubt there will be those who say No Car! Not me.

Having a car enables you to get off the main road and explore the hills and shoreline where the buses do not go. You'll be able to stop and hike and picnic as you please. You'll find parking. Don't be intimidated - follow your instincts!

(We stayed for a week at place similar to yours, above Sorrento. We left our car with them and went for an overnight to the Isle of Capri. Unforgettable!)

Thanks, TuckH! My partner and I are the same way--we love to drive around, get off of the highways and mainroads--just explore and find the most wonderful things!

I agree. I would rent a car if you plan to stay at that cute place. I think you would waste a lot of time depending on buses from that location.

Sorrento is a great base for visiting Pompeii, Capri, and the Amalfi towns. You should not have a problem finding parking along the Amalfi coast. The only place we had trouble was Ravello, which was so busy that it was closed to parking. It might be best to try it early in the day. The roads are very winding and sometimes narrow, but no problem for a careful driver.

For a special treat go for lunch or dinner at Quattro Passi
http://www.ristorantequattropassi.com/

I wouldn't stay at that villa unless you want to cook your own meals and are just going to chill out for the week. It's too remote (not Sorrento at all and probably at least 45 minutes away). It would be a good drive to get anywhere from there.

I will look into that, kybourban. The site says that the villa is 3.1 miles from Sorrento, which I didn't think was too bad. We're looking for something relaxing, but not too remote...

With all due respect for kybourbon, I do not agree.

As I've said, we stayed a few kilometers from there and the distances are all close by.

MissZiegfeld, another thing we did was to drive up to the Vesuvius crater on a day separate from our all-day visit to Pompeii. Had a picnic lunch there...

Definitely rent a car. We stayed not too far away from there in a villa between Sant'Agata and Sorrento. There is a large parking lot in Sorrento not far from the center where we parked and took the train to Pompeii, and the hydrofoils to Naples and to Capri.

There are many small food shops in Sorrento and a large supermarket. We sometimes cooked in after a long day or had dinner in Sorrento. You can also drive the other way, down the coast to explore Positano and Amalfi. I would highly recommend going to Paestum, as well.

We drove from Rome but returned the car in Sorrento at the end of our trip and had a car service drive us to the airport in Naples.

Positano is only a little over 11 miles from Sorrento, but the travel time is much longer than a normal 11 mile trek. It appears this villa (address says Torca) is on much less of a major road than the one between Sorrento/Positano/Amalfi. I've stayed near Priora before which is 1/4 the distance to Sorrento than Torca is and it took a good 15 minutes to get there from Sorrento.

I have been to the area of the apartment many times too and would definitely advise you to rent a car. I have driven the roads and they are easy, same as driving anywhere, if you have driven country roads. It does seem isolated and out in the country which will be relaxing after touring all day in places that you will drive to. Since you are a couple it would be a little romantic at night, in your little oasis in the country.

If you are not country people and are city people, stay closer to town. You are not close to Sorrento and I think the first paragraph is a little misleading where it says one mile from sea.

Actually, I've been doing more hunting around and came across this one:

http://www.summerinitaly.com/eng/ren...627!italy_.htm

It's $200 more for the week than the other place, which isn't TOO bad. I think it may not be as of remote of a location, and a car is not required, though there is a parking space available. We will still rent a car, but at least public transport will be more readily available for when we go to Naples, etc.

Thoughts?

You know that this in on the Amalfi Coast? It looks great, bright and cheery. Praiano is a small town but you can use a car or public transport to get around. Since it is right in the town and closer to the sea views, it has my vote.

I think this one is better since you will not have to drive quite so much--you will have a choice of shops and restaurants within an easy walk. There will be a bus stop nearby, if you feel like taking a break from driving one day. And you can use the car to go further afield..

Talk to the people at Summerinitaly--Luca and his gang---and let them tell you what is best. They are excellent and have a tool free phone line.

Thanks so much, everyone. I am super excited, even though it is a long ways off, and we have two trips planned before that :-) we are going to Amsterdam (we've both been before and love it) in March, and later this year to Disney (I was only there once when I was very little).

Driving on the Amalfi coast is fine except for midsummer - when the averge speed is about 5 mph due to traffic. We've been a couple of times (May) and drove and had no problems. Parking is like NYC - too many cars and not enough spaces so you drive around looking for a place and park in one barely bigger than the car. We never had to look more than about 6 or 7 minutes. (It's more a problem for people used to driving only to places with parking lots and spaces big enough to park a 747.)

Somehow I can picture you tooling around in a cute little convertible more easily than chugging along the roads in a lumbering SITA bus!

I think having a car is fine, particularly since you enjoy driving and stopping where you like. However, the road on the Amalfi Coast is two lane, with one sharp curve after another, and the driver would have to concentrate only on driving and miss the incredibly beautiful scenery. It isn't a road that scares me (it does some people), but I would feel bad for the driver for these reasons. Elsewhere driving would be just fine.

I agree the second villa looks like the better choice. Since it has two bedrooms can we come with you? LOL We love Sorrento and that entire area. Be sure to include Herculaneum in your visits, not just Pompeii. They are very interesting but different and we loved seeing both.