I have been invited to share a villa in Amalfi Town, I have not been in this area and wanted some tips please.

It will be in the Spring and we may rent a car, or if they don't I might rent it solo.

Is Amalfi directed mainly for tourists or is it a regular town? Books and maps don't show what the ambiance is.

Any good restaurants, bars? Thanks.

Somebody here at work just told me that Amalfi is the most touristy of them all! Really?

Is our work partner a little jealous maybe?

Name a wonderful place in the world that hasn't been discovered by the tourists.

It's touristy, the whole A.C. is a resort area, but so what. You won't need a car to travel on the A.C. but for that amount of time you may want to venture out in a car. Search this site for tons of A.C. info.

Thanks you two! Yes she is a little jealous, whenever I travel she tried to put a damper on it, but she does know Europe pretty well.

I like resort areas, so it should be fine. I will do a search here too. thanks.

If you prefer not to rent a car, there is hourly inexpensive bus service by SITA lines all along the Amalfi Coast, to Sorrento to the west and to Salerno to the east. There is also ferry service from Amalfi to both Salerno and to Positano and Capri.

Bus schedules: www.sita-on-line.it

Yes it is the most touristy, but you can't beat Amalfi for convenience! The ferries and busses are right there. The views are to die for. It's lively. Go and have a good time, mightyflighty! And yes, it's small enough that you'll discover all the good restuarants and bars in no time flat.

Hi mf,

Lucky you.

You can see Paestum, Ravello and the whole AC, Sorrento, Pompeii and Napoli.

See my trip report for things to do on the AC.
Ira?s Trip Report
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

Amalfi is not only good for busses, it's also a terminal for buses.

Thanks again for the replys, I think I will rent a car to visit further south on day trips and busses the rest of the time and vegging out the rest of the time.
Ira, great report, thanks.

Now my coworker said that Amalfi is just a one street town and that is it. That doesn't really matter to me, but I didn't realize it was that small and still a tourist hangout, odd.

The town of Amalfi is quite large in terms of geography, but your co-worker is correct that for shopping there is basically one main street. There are several smaller streets and alleys leading off the main street which leads from the pier uphill. The town centers around the cathedral and the pier. There are several good restaurants here as well, run a search here and also click on "Restaurants" above and scroll down to Italy and Amalfi which contains reviews of restaurants rated by Fodorites who have dined there.

Amalfi is a "regular" town, there is a post office and markets, etc, but as with the other major coast towns it survives on tourism. Amalfi does not get any more tourists than Positano or Ravello, but as it is smaller it may seem more crowded. As soon as you get away from the main street, you will not really find tourists. However, your villa may be up the hill or further along the coast and therefore you may not even be in the main part of town. It is very quiet at night, as most people come for a few hours during the day.

Amalfi is a good place to base yourself for bus and ferry trips to other parts of the coast. You can also swim in the Med on the rocky beach.

The coast is a great place for walking from strolls to serious hikes. There is a very good walking guide to the Capri & the Amalfi coast published by Sunflower books. I first read about it on this site, and thought it was very useful. Their website is http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk/walking_titles.htm. They rate hikes by difficulty and time it takes to complete all or each section, and give good directions on how to reach each walk. They publish many other walking guides to various places in Europe.

If you are going to rent a car, make sure your villa has parking. It is hard to find public parking, esp. in summer months.

Hi,
Don't listen to your co-worker....GO!
I went recently and drove from Naples (great drive), when we came over the mountain and the coast came into view, one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen! I'm glad we had a car to go out and explore all the small towns and discover a place to eat or shop one of the hundreds of ceramic shops (came home with a suitcase full!, great prices compared to buying in the U.S.). We were based in Positano, staying at Le Sirenuse, beautiful room, great bar in or on the terrace and great resturant with a full view of the town. Also the San Pietro has another great resturant (again with stunning views). We went to Amalfi (beautiful) and also Ravello (must see). There are expensive and inexpensive restaurants all over the place, look in all the tiny towns in between the Amalfi/Positano/etc. to find great small places to eat!
Enjoy!
John

Thanks again. It is just hard to envision a place and try to get a feel for it w/o knowing what it looks like.

I have been looking for pictures on the internet, but just see the area that is the port, I think.

We are supposed to be in town which will be nice to walk around at night, I guess. Anyway, I am very excited!

Hey MightyFlighty! I spent a month in the Amalfi area and got married in Ravello. You'll love it like everyone here says. Ravello is great! Take the bus up to see it.

I have photos of Amaili and Ravello and other surrounding areas. I'd be happy to email a few to you even though I'm jealous too!

Let me know! email me - [email protected]

At least a trip to the AC will get you away from your co-worker!!

Capt, good point, isn't it?
What I have written is only the tip of the co-worker iceburg!
I need time off!!!!!