Ira,

Thank you for your advice. I enjoyed reading about your trip.

Amy

we stayed abit longer in capri - hiked/walked much of the island - its pretty lush with wild flowers hanging over mysterious stone gates (no doubt leading to lovely villas) -its very nice and you get a better non touristy flavor if you stay longer and wander more. there are many beautiful hotels there - ours- punta tragara overlooking the faraglioni, hotel scalinitella, grand hotel quisisana, and villa brunella. i just read about a new place JK Place hotel(?) highly rated. we had wonderful meals there -at villa brunella for one, and in a lemon grove at da paolina... excellent! as far as positano goes- have drinks or stay at san pietro - another beautiful hotel.

awesome Lake Como trip report:

http://www.travelswithdiane.homestea...5LakeComo.html

We've been to Amalfi and Lake Como. My vote goes to Lake Como for the beautiful views and food. Thought it was more relaxing than Amalfi coast.

One advantage of Lake Como is the hiking - it is, after all, in the Alps. There are nice walks from various lakeside towns. From Lecco you can take the cable car up the Resegone and then hike to that peak. There's the Sentiero del Viandante above Varenna... and so on.

best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

living & travelling in Italy:
www.beginningwithi.com

bookmarking

I haven't been to the other two, but Lake Como was very relaxing in May. I was surprised at the lack of tourists. Taking the ferry across the lake to the towns and just wandering the alleys was really nice.

Have been to SML, CT, Lake Como and Bellagio. While the views are great at Lake Como, I did not think the food was very good. Bellagio, where we stayed is cowded but Varenna, which is recommende highly by many on thei website appeared dead and too isolted for my tastes.

The CT is great for a visit but again very one dimenisionl (the views)

SMLis very nice but again the food was only OK and it was less interesting than we wanted.

Amalfi Coast 9 we stayed in Positano) was beautiful, good food and many interesting sites and town sin the area (Pompeii, Ravello, Capri, Sorrento, Naples, Paestum) I would absolutely recommned this area even during the height of the season when we went.

To the OP: did you decide where to go? If you haven't yet, I vote for the Amalfi Coast. There is so much to see and do there, and you can visit all the towns (Sorrento, Amalfi, Ravello, plus Pompeii). I'd spend 4 nights in Positano (Hotel Poseidon is a nice choice) and 2 nights in Capri. Good sightseeing, unbelievable views, fantastic food.

I will be in Varese on Saturday for the week... I have Sunday to myself. last year I took the bus to Como (it was long but nice to go through the cities)- is it worth going to Como on Sunday? Are there shops, restaurants or tours open? I only had an hour to walk around last year and I would like to spend more time there. Thanks for the advice.