Hello my traveling friends! We are in Italy for 2 weeks -- a week in the south, a week in the north. We're a family of 11 adults (25-58 years old) and 2 littles (9 and 10 years old). Our plan was to spend the first week in Positano, but between the high cost and the limited number of villas available within walking distance of the town, we're now looking at other places in the Amalfi Coast area.

There are a lot of villas in Massa Lubrense. Much cheaper than those in Positano, of course! But I don't know much about these towns. We'd like to have a town to go to for groceries and restaurants on our "down days" when we're not visiting other places (like Positano!). One villa we found is in Nerano. But I can't find much info on the town. Has anyone been there? Can you suggest other towns in Massa Lubrense? Grazie!!

I'd look on the Amalfi Coast side, but closer to the mainland on the peninsula--Minori, Maiori. Basically anywhere on the ferry route (operated by Travelmar)

I really like the Massa Lubrense area, but location dictates what you're able to do/see... esp. with that many people. I think it's a good choice only if you plan to spend most of your time there and not do much exploring to distant towns. Nerano to Positano by bus doesn't work, and driving would require multiple cars. You don't say when your trip will be, but driving on the AC in high season isn't easy or necessarily enjoyable. If you're talking about summer 2023, you may be late in searching for large villas anywhere near Positano.

Here's a link to the bus timetables for ML that will show travel times between main points. There are more stops than listed. Maps.google.com shows bus stops if you zoom in and hover your mouse over the bus icons. Look for the {5070} which is the route that runs throughout the peninsula between Sorrento and Amalfi.

Note, the timetables are effective Oct. 31, 2022, so they'll be replaced in the spring with timetables that will likely reflect more frequent service.

https://www.sitasudtrasporti.it/arch..._10_2022.pdf/0

Just a comment on large groups sharing a villa. If you haven't done this before, it can get tricky. The bedrooms are usually different in size, bed configuration, furniture, access to bathrooms, etc. Sometimes very different. You need to think about how you're going to share the cost with all those differences... not to mention deciding on who gets which bedroom.

Where is your northern base?

My favorite base for the Amalfi and Sorrento area is Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi, a wonderful town which sits between the gulfs of Naples and Salerno. We always rented a car, but also took the short bus rides to Positano (30 min), Sorrento (20 min) Sorrento is also reachable on foot, by a great scenic trail thru lemon groves in about 45 min to an hour. Although tough walk back, hiking up a lot of inclines and steps. But if anyone in your group enjoys a great hike this trail is perfect. There are also numerous hiking trails directly from the town including another strenuous, but fairly short hike down to the Fiordo di Crapolla which has a small beach area, some Roman ruins and a small chapel. This trail has incredible views over the Gulf. Massa Lubrense is 15 min by bus. Nerano and Marina del Cantone are 30 min by bus. There is a nice (although pebbly, not sand) beach in Marina del Cantone, wonderful sights, and great restaurants. We rented a small outboard motor boat from here for a very low price and ventured out into the bay towards Capri. Sant Agata is a quiet town, but has numerous restaurants, shops, cafes and a fairly large supermarket. There are specialty shops selling fresh made pasta and homemade sauces, lasagnes, ect.

Thank you, Jean! Very helpful information. I started looking at villas in Positano a few months ago, but they are so expensive. ML is half the price ... so good to hear that it's a nice area. Any specific towns or activities in ML that you would recommend for a visit? (Thanks, too, for the large group advice ;-) We did this 2 years ago in Spain and the rental that we've chosen (Villa Olga/Olga's Resort) looks to have very similar rooms. Hoping for the best!

Has anyone stayed at Olga's Resort/Villa Olga in Nerano before?

Haven't pinned that down yet, HappyTrvlr. Maybe you can help??? We have to , Monza on July 25 for a concert. We're getting to that area around July 22. We have about 5-6 days ... but we're flexible. (We don't leave for home until July 30. Any suggestions? )

Sounds great, mike1728. We had looked at a couple of rentals in Sant'Agata ... I wish I had thought to consult this forum because I couldn't find much helpful information on the town. My niece is an avid hiker so I will definitely share this with her.

For your northern Italy stay: Monza is near Lake Como which would be a wonderful area to stay in the north. We have stayed in Bellagio four times. Also look at Varenna, Mennagio, Tremezzo, Cernobbio, Lenno. Make sure the ferry stops wherever you are staying. However, it is late to be making reservations there. You also could look at Lake Maggiore, Stresa or Ranco. This is one situation where a travel agent may be helpful with such a large group.
Alternative locations could be Padua, Mantua, Parma, Modena,Bergamo, Torino.

Sant'Agata would be a little more convenient for exploring outside of the ML... closer to Positano, closer to Sorrento, etc. It's a bigger town and sits at a point where a few roads meet.

I don't consider the ML to be an area that begs for organized exploring. Our "exploring" there was focused on checking out different beaches and restaurants. We'd been to the Naples/AC area on previous trips and just wanted to be away from the crowds as much as possible.

Which Monza? I'm guessing near MIlan, but there is a Monza outside of Turin. Are you flying out of Malpensa at the end? Are you looking for a villa for that week also? Will you have cars?

Thanks for sharing so many great options, Happy Trvlr!!!! I will check them all out ... and hopefully be able to get a reservation. Are there any hotels or apartments where you've stayed that you could recommend?

Hi Jean, Yes, the Monza near Milan. We're actually flying out of Rome, so when we leave the Monza area, we're going to Rome for 4 days and then will fly home. I'm assuming we'll have to do hotels for the northern part of our stay because we're not staying long enough in any one place. Any recommendations about hotels or apartments? We're still debating cars versus trains or car service. Again, any thoughts you could provide on this are GREATLY appreciated!!!!