cohy

Hi All
We are a group of 8 (4 travelling from Ireland - 2 from SanFran and 2 from Seattle - brothers, sisters, nieces and nephew).
Our itinerary is:
23rd May Arrive Rome
27th May Depart Rome for Amalfi Coast
1st June Depart Amalfi Coast for Sutri (North of Rome) area (another relative lives there)
3rd/4th June Depart for home
I have just booked the Rome accommodation and very pleased with central accommodation booked (Dopodomanie Suites via delle Carozze). We've done Rome twice since 2017, SanFran travellers did it once in 2010 and the Seattle travellers have never done it. I reckon we will all do our own thing and then meet up for dinner in the evenings.

I am the one who is doing all the discovery work. I was fairly confident with my locations for Rome, but am anxious about picking the right spot for the Amalfi Coast.
Which of the very pretty towns would give us a good base / nice restaurants a bit of shopping etc - we are good walkers, but I like the idea of being not too far from a bus route. Is hiring a car (well it would have to be a mini-van for 8) and driver expensive? I am beginning to get a bit overwhelmed with looking at Positano, Amalfi, Atrani, Ravello etc. I think I am going to give it a break for a while, but said I would ask on the Forums first. Has anyone done the train/bus etc from Rome to that coastline. How long did it take? I think I read on another thread that you can get the train from Rome to Salerno and get a boat to the towns from there. This will be all new to me and any advice from previous travellers would be very welcome. Thanks.
Many thanks

bon_voyage

For eight people, it would be worth checking out private transport, which would also maximize your time on the Coast.

I used Sorrento Cars, https://sorrentocars.com, for a transfer from FCO to Sorrento and two additional transfers in 2015 and was very pleased with the experience. You can check my trip report for details. The website shows that they offer a van but it’s not clear how many it seats.

cohy

Thank you bon_voyage. I will have a look at your trip report today. I may be back with some more questions. I am also wondering about whether I should consider Sorrento as the base. But my sister is leaning more towards Amalfi side.

AJPeabody

Our trip to Rome and Sorrento was in 2012. (There is a trip report here, The Peabody Papers: A Mostly True Tale of AJ and Mrs. P's Visit to Italy if you are interested.) We chose Sorrento for a base rather than one of the true Amalfi Coast towns due to the excellent travel connections to Naples, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast towns (train, bus, ferry) and the plethora of restaurants, plus the trappings of a real town. Getting desirable lodging was also easy there.

Jean

It's unclear whether any in your group have previously visited the Naples/Amalfi Coast area. Also unknown is what you want to see/do during those 4 full days. If Pompeii/Herculaneum, Naples (esp. the archeology museum), Capri and possibly Caserta are on the list, Sorrento is pretty hard to beat for convenient travel. If you'd rather spend the days relaxing and wandering streets, hiking, shopping, etc., then staying on the AC makes more sense. It takes more than an hour to travel from, say, Positano to Pompeii... two hours to Naples. If you're taking the bus from, say, Positano to Sorrento to catch the train to Pompeii/Naples and you're able to get all 8 people on the same bus, it's possible some of you will have to stand the entire way, esp. as your days include Saturday/Sunday.

zebec

Cohy, Amalfi town would be a prime location for reasons of logistics: buses, taxis, ferries and other town-based services. As Chief Organizer, it might serve you well to place everyone in such a setting, one that could meet a wide variety of needs.
Good Luck--we might just see you all there!
I am done. The end.

Sassafrass

What is the age range for your party?
What are they hoping to do and see while on the AC? Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples, Capri, Positano, Paestum, Amalfi?
Are some wanting a bit of hiking, just chilling on a hotel terrace or mostly sightseeing? Do they want the entire group to stick together every day or do their own things and meet for dinner?
For a tour of the AC, consider renting a boat and captain rather than a van and driver. Views from the water are spectacular. It is easy to dock in different towns. You won’t be stuck in traffic on roads that can be very scary for some.

If you all want to see Herculaneum and or Pompeii, consider a van and driver hire from Rome. Stop to see those places on your way down to the Coast. That way, luggage will be safe with the driver in the van while you tour and it would matter less where you stay.
If you do not do that, but most want to see Pompeii, you can’t beat Sorrento for a base as far as logistics. From there, you can take either ferries or busses down the coast and the train to Pompeii.

To actually stay on the coast, the train to Salerno works well.

For hotels, will you need family rooms?

annw

Another resource car/driver is Positano Car Service. Agree a van/shuttle might work out well for your group for the main legs of transport or day trips to archeological sites. Wouldn't recommend driving oneself if possible (we've done it but enjoy the trip so much more not driving).

A great transportation resource is Rome2Rio.com.

Yes, you can take the train to Salerno and then a boat from there to Amalfi etc. (The bus takes the usual tickets from Tabachi shops etc. and validate when you board. We usually buy a bunch at a time.)

We've stayed in Amalfi, Positano, and Ravello and strongly prefer Ravello. Buses get you from there to the other towns easily. Actually we kind of enjoy taking the big blue SITA buses around.

However, Amalfi is central for transport by boat and bus (and taxi, for that matter)--they are across the road from the town proper.

In Amalfi people have recommended Santa Catarina; we stayed at Luna Convento and liked it.

In Ravello we *love* our small b&b, Casa di Vania; only two rooms, but upstairs is more lodging, La Dolce Vita. Incredible views of the water! In May you may be early for the Ravello Concert Series but worth checking. These b&bs are 5' from town and the bus/taxi stop.

cohy

Unfortunately I made a mess of replies that I thought I sent to everyone this morning as I cannot see them in the thread. Can’t explain it. Anyway, here goes a response to everyone and hopefully this posts:



Bon Voyage – thank you for your recommendation for Sorrento Cars. I was on to them yesterday and they quoted €800 for the trip from Rome to Amalfi (I said Amalfi as I am still not sure what our final location is going to be). When quoting Ugo stated that per Covid restrictions he would have to use two vehicles (4 passengers each plus 1 driver). That is current restrictions which hopefully will have all lifted by next May. If I even entertained the idea that we would still be living with restrictions next year I think I would give up. If/when restrictions are lifted then he could do the trip with a mini-van and the cost would reduce to €400 approx. I think for eight this is a fantastic price given that we could be collected from our location in Rome and delivered to our location on the AC without the pulling luggage through train stations and then probably buses and more taxis. So thank you very much for your recommendation.



AJPeabody – I have been hugely entertained by your trip details. I had to read it in chunks as I was working yesterday, but I couldn’t wait to get back to it. I have opened up a OneNote section and put in all your details of restaurants. I love to see the restaurant recommendations. We were recommended a restaurant the first time I went to Rome with my husband 2017 and we went there again the second time we went in 2019. In fact we went back twice in both trips. Sorrento sounds really nice and your pictures are lovely. We had originally thought about Sorrento, but my sister has it in her head that the other side is a better bet.



Jean – We have never visited this part of Italy before. We have some different ideas as to what we want from the time there. I know my brother and daughter and sister and husband will probably want to go to Pompeii or Herculaneum and Capri. I’m not sure if we could fit in Paestum – it does seem a good bit further away than Pompeii. I’ve read about the buffalo farm/dairy I think I would like to see that – just watching Stanley Tucci’s Italy adventures – eagerly waiting on Episode 2. I know I will want some just chill time and being in beautiful surroundings will be enough for me and my husband. The chance to maybe hire a sunbed on a pebble beach for a day would seem like heaven. I am not sure that my idea of a vacation there would include madly trying to catch buses to and from tourist sites. But then the group will be very democratic – I often say the reason we all get on so well is that we live so far apart. So each one will do as they wish and if some don’t want to do that then we wont fall out. I think my preference for location would be Sorrento – as I do like to have somewhere to stroll in the evenings with a little bit of shopping. But I can forego that this time ……..



Zebec – thank you for suggesting Amalfi. I was looking at Atrani for accommodation as it is so close to Amalfi. Ideally it would be great not to have to go too far to catch a bus, ferry etc. Haven’t decided on accommodations yet. What we know we do want is something with a spectacular view – why travel there and not have it. What we don’t want though is something too far back and too steep. Not sure if that is achievable. Google Earth/Map doesn’t really give an idea of the severity of the climbs to some of the accommodations.



Sassafrass – Myself and husband are the oldest in our early 60s. My brother is late 50s, my sister and husband in early 40s (the baby) and then a 28yo, 26yo and an 18yo. We are all fairly good walkers. Only problem for my husband would be climbing (duh I know not the best locations to avoid that). He will put up with it for a few days – says she hopefully. I think we might end up doing our own thing as we will have different ideas of what is a good day out. Meeting for dinner in the evening will be a definite yes – hopefully getting reservations for 8 will not be too difficult.

The one thing my brother wants to do is rent a boat (and we are all in agreement). I can only imagine the views from the water. Have you had any experience of renting like this and what the cost might be?

I love your idea of stopping in Pompeii/ Herculaneum on the trip down from Rome (if we went with private transport). Pompeii is not something I would have been particularly eager to see, but if it could be done on one of the travel days that would make it more appealing. We had basically written off the travel days at either end of the AC stay.

We are looking at renting accommodation for all of us as we felt that it would be more economical. I haven’t even looked at hotels because I just felt cost would be outrageous. But I have made some savings on the Rome accommodation (already booked) so we did discuss last weekend whether we would spend extra on the AC coast. Our room allocation either with hotel or renting would probably be 4 double rooms – 2 x couples then I would put brother and son together, and daughter and niece together. The renting sometimes gives the option of some sofa beds which means people can spread out a bit. The other alternative was to get separate accommodation, but that defeats the purpose of us all coming together – mind you by about day 5/6 or 7 we might be sick of each other.



Well thank you all for your very valuable input so far.

AJPeabody

I am glad you appreciated my trip report. I will have to caution you about using it for specific restaurants. I just checked Osteria Baberini and Re Foods and found both websites gone to the land of 404-site not found. Well, it's been 9 years after all

zebec

Cohy, de nada. Just an update here that the recent-ish episode of 'Gino's Coastal Italy' that focuses on the Amalfi coast is worth a watch. He covers Minori, Cetera and Positano. As he hails from Naples, his input could be seen as local. Stanley Tucci's slightly longer recent episode in that area was very similar in approach. For instance, they both pose on the Minori pier.
Good Luck!
I am done. the end.

cohy

No worries. I hadn't looked up Re Foods, but Osteria Baberini is still on the go per their website and there was a review on TripAdvisor about 3 weeks ago. I'll keep an eye on it over the next 9 mths. Having some good recommendations takes the uncertainty out of dining. We had a good recommendation when we went in 2017 and went back twice on that visit and twice again on our visit in 2019. Some of the other restaurants were only "so so" and I will not be making return trips in 2022. Thanks Again.

bon_voyage

Cohy, you’re welcome. I love the idea of this trip with your siblings and kids and look forward to following its progress.

cohy

Thank you annw.
We are looking at the other towns including Ravello - but accommodation is very far back from the waterfront. But we've only just begun our investigation. Does the Sita bus run late a night - ie if we went to one of the other towns for dinner, would we be dependant on taxis to get back to Ravello, or does the bus run late 10-11pm ish.

cohy

Hi I am not sure I am using this thread correctly. Firstly it takes several attempts before I can post something. I have received a notification email on 1st July that someone called PatriciaL22 replied to my thread, but I cannot see it on the main thread when I go to it. So apologies to anyone I haven't replied to. I will get the hang of it eventually.

Jean

cohy, it's not you, it's the website...

You really wouldn't be able to dine much beyond Amalfi if you're returning to Ravello by bus.

You can look at the various SITA timetables at the link below which appears to be current ("from 14th June 2021") but probably won't apply to your dates in May/early June 2022. You'll have to recheck the timetables early next year.

https://www.ravello.com/sita-bus-schedule/

Ravello is charming and views are stunning, but I would find it too remote if I wanted to do the usual sightseeing, esp. in a fairly short stay. Also, FYI, if any in your group have a tendency to get car sick, the bus rides can be tough.

zebec

Cohy, the seaside section of Ravello is called 'Marmorata' and it can be rather pricey. If your goal might be to situate your group somewhere that'd amount to a kinda 'jack-of-all-trades', one size fits all location, dunno but Ravello might not suit. Just thinking aloud here, maybe you'd benefit from a base wherein person A could get their sunglasses replaced; person B could see a dentist about that chipped tooth; person C could catch a taxi up to that remote vineyard that no-one else in the troupe cares about; person D could buy some more sun lotion; person E could shop for souvenirs etc etc.
I hope that it all works out.

Again, there's a very real chance that we may be there at the same time!
I am done. the sardine bus

AJPeabody

In other words, zebec, Sorrento.

cohy

Zebec - thanks for that. I am due a "conference call" with the other interested parties today - but I think 4th July festivities might come between us - or it is too early to reach them - one or the other.

I have found some really nice accommodations in Atrani - while separate they are all in the same building - so just wanting to put that to the siblings. I'll keep you all updated as to our findings etc. Got a quote for a 4hr private boat trip today also - but I am sure I could do better. The suggestion above of visiting Pompeii on either the trip down from Rome or going back to Rome is €60 per hour extra - so also have to put that to the guys as well. Thank you all again.

zebec

Atrani? Maybe check our Scogliero ('the cliff') family B&B---fantastic views and they apparently have a current reno update. Wonderful couple that own it.
I am done. The AC