Isabel

I am planning a trip for early Apr when 4 of us will meet in Rome, rent a car and spend 3-5 days on the Naples Pompeii Amalfi Coast route before driving up to Florence area to meet the rest of the family. How much time would you suggest I plan on for this trip? What days (or parts thereof) should I allow for which key locations (e.g., Naples, Pompeii, Amalfi, Capri, Positano, Sorrento), and in which of these should I plan to stay overnight? With only one driver among us & with a 3-5 day program, would it be more advisable to join a coach tour from Rome or Naples?

dan

Isabelle:

Five days is not enough time to see all the places you listed unless you want a hurried and harried trip. But it's a tough list to narrow too, but that's what I would suggest. Of your list we visited Pompeii, Naples, Sorrento and Positano. Naples really needs 2-3 days, and the others at least a day each. We did not visit Capri, that is a full day trip itself from Naples via ferry. IMHO Pompeii and Positano were the highlights. We were in the area five days and didn't see all you listed. Of your list all is good to great for overnight except Pompeii, go there just for the ruins.

Good luck and Buon Viaggio.

Dan

Daniel

We had a very similar itinerary to yours, leaving Rome early in the morning and driving straight to Pompeei. We bypassed Naples because of the crime we'd read about and because we had a car with all our luggage, so I can't really comment there. From Pompeii, we went to Positano where we stayed at the lovely Villa Rosa. We primarily relaxed in Positano, renting a boat to catch the views from the water, but did drive down the coast to visit other villages. Of those, I would especially recommend Ravello. Although it was not directly on the water like Positano, it was probably the most beautiful place I've ever visited.

I should also tell you that we bypassed Sorrento, since we were interested in the less populated spots on the coast, so I can't comment there either.

Originally, we had planned to drive down to Paestum, but read that the ruins were covered in scaffolding for restoration, so nixed that idea.

Be aware that the drive from the Amalfi coast up to Tuscany is LONG. We stayed in Lucca, and got there quite late as I recall.

Jim Tardio

We thought we had a schedule planned for a similar trip through those areas but it kept changing once we arrived. There's just so much to do and see, we ended up staying longer everywhere.

So I'm guess I'm saying to try and be flexible. Pompeii takes about a half a day to see. Naples and Sorrento are larger and while they are definately worth a visit, I'd go straight down the coast to Amalfi, Positano and Ravello...maybe a day trip via ferry to Capri or Ischia.(Ischia is wonderful!)

If you'd like to see some photos of those areas, as well as other parts of Italy, visit my website: www.jimtardio.com/italy.html

Isabel

Thank you everyone for your quick & helpful responses. I did look at Jim's website, it is lovely.
Our plans have now changed and it's only my husband & me, no drivers, so I am now thinking of training down to Naples in mid-April for 1-2 days for Naples & Pompeii, then 3 days for Amalfi Coast. Are there local tour buses that cover the first or second itinerary? Should I stay in one place (Positano, Ravello, Amalfi or Sorrento) and take public buses or taxis or local tours from there? Thank you!

arlene

Isabel,
Did you get any replies to your last posting because I basically have the same questions. Also, where will you be renting a car out of? We too are hoping to go to Almalfi and then off to Tuscany. The logistics of this all is driving me crazy and I haven't even started to try to book hotels yet.

Celeste

If you're set on seeing Capri and you're going to apend a day or more in Naples, it's no big deal to catch the SNAV hydrofoil from Mergellina port in Naples to Capri. We took the 11:10 there and the 15:10 on the return, $10 each way for a 45 minute ride.

Sarabeth

I have planned a surprise trip for my husband's bday..we leave March 9th...3 nights in Naples. Visit Pompeii on the way to Positano for 2 nights and then Amalfi for 2 nights with day trips and ending up at the airport Holiday Inn in Naples the night before departure....i hope it will all work out...

Pam

I took a bus tour from Rome that covered the Amalfi Coast. It did not stop in Naples (except to stretch our legs), but went to Pompei (a must!), then on to Sorrento, where we were based several nights. It took us on a trip to Capri, and we also visited Positano and Ravello. We didn't want to drive, so it was perfect for us and we felt it covered a lot of ground. As I recall there were several tour companies that have this tour, and we didn't book until we were actually in Rome. I would recommend it, though my first choice is always driving and going where you want, when you want. Sorrento was a convenient place to stay and had a charming market, open at night. But the other towns (Positano, Ravello) were more beautiful.

Alyson

Does anyone know how much the ferry is to Capri?

carol

Alyson,

I don't know how much the ferry is, but it's no more than a couple of dollars and a lot less than the hydrofoil!

Celeste

The hydrofoil from Naples to Capri is only 20,000L each way (less than $10 right now) and takes 45 minutes

Betsy

My 2 Cents,
I was at all the places you want to visit in July.
Sorrento and Amalfi are about the same size, Amalfi is more village like. Sorrento is high up and Amalfi at the coastline. If I were to pick an Amalfi town to stay in and only got one, it would be Positano. Small, with great views, more village Italy and there are great hotels.
You can get to Capri from Sorrento. I don't know the schedule but it seems to me it leaves twice a day. You can also take a boat to Naples from Sorrento. The train station is right in town in Sorrento to perhaps consider using that town as a base to see Naples and Pompeii. Street crime is higher in Naples than other major italian towns and you'll need to be vigilant but not frightened. Your hotel can tell which areas to avoid, especially at night. FInally, if you decide to drive after all, be very careful if your car suddenly has a flat tire or other similar problem pointed out to you in the Naples/Pompeii area. One scam is to induce a flat tire, offer to help and while you're doing that your things are being taken from the car. Poverty is greater south of Rome and street crime increases as a result.

Vinny

Train or car? We are spending three nighte in Sorrento,to visit the
province of Avallino the the town of Nusco. Would any one recomened taking the train from Rome to Napoli, or renting a car? We are spending a month in Italy using Rome as a home base.
Vinny