Naples to Positano. Need advice!

Old Dec 2nd, 2015, 02:08 PM
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Naples to Positano. Need advice!

Hi, me and my partner are flying to Naples in June (he doesn't know it yet, it's a surprise
We will be staying for 8 days. I want us to stay in Positano and then visit Capri and maybe the surrounding areas if we have time, and a mountain Vesuvius. we arrive to Naples at 22:50 where can we stay? any cheap suggestions? How do we get to Positano, should we visit the mountain first? The accommodation in Positano is a bit out of our budget, so i saw some hostels in Sorrento. Is Sorrento far from Positano? Can we stay there and travel to and from Positano back to Sorrento every day? How is it like with transport other there, any night buses/ferries? Could you give any recommendations on how to spend these 8 days effectively, things to see etc.?
Would it be a good idea to rent a car and drive around and maybe sleep in a car? I want to visit as many places and don't really want to be attached to just one place,
Any suggestions are welcome
Thanks
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Old Dec 2nd, 2015, 03:05 PM
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By choosing Positano in June, you have picked a very expensive resort at high season. As you found, rooms are expensive.

Sorrento is a bit far for a daily commute. While there is bus service, it is slow and IMO, painful. I've stood, waited an hour, etc. There is ferry service but it is not frequent. Both Amalfi and Capri have more frequent boat services.

A possible option for you might be to look into staying in Praiano. This is just down the road from Positano and would be a better commute. Still not cheap.

But why would you want to travel to Positano daily? It is a resort where people go to relax, eat, shop and soak up the views. It's not quite a commuter destination with tourist sights.

By staying in Sorrento, you would have better transportation options, and could choose to visit a few different places on your daily jaunts. A day in Amalfi, Capri, Ravello, Positano, Naples, Pompeii, Heculaneum, and or a trip to Vesuvius would fill your eight days nicely.

No, you can not sleep in the car. The police won't let you. Of course, I suppose you could take your chances, but I can't even imagine it happening. Parking in the entire area is very expensive, and unless you planned to stay in the car 24 hours a day, you'd need to park. Parking is both costly and difficult to find.

Ferries and buses are mostly scheduled in the day.

Try viamicheline.com for driving times, and for Amalfi Coast buses, add an hour or two to any commute.

I really think your best choice would be Sorrento, with day trips to various towns and sites.

Another inexpensive option might be to sleep in Salerno. You could ferry to Amalfi and Capri from there. From Amalfi you could ferry to Positano. From Salerno, you could easily visit Paestum by bus. I have. Salerno is a much less expensive town, but of course, does not the same cache or atmosphere of Sorrento or the Amalfi Coast.

Do you have a guidebook? You can borrow one at the library.
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Old Dec 2nd, 2015, 03:18 PM
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Others have different opinions, but Sorrento is an excellent choice for a wide range of housing options and costs. Daily ferry service to Positano, Capri and Amalfi (the town). Easy local train to Pompeii. Great strolling during the passagiata. Some of the best gelato in Italy (Davide). On another subject, I strongly recommend taking local transportation (ferries, buses and trains) rather than renting a car. Driving along the Amalfi Coast can be hazardous to one's health, and you will always have an issue (and considerable expense) about where to park both day and night. Finally, there is a decent hotel with the word "Star" in its name extremely close to the Naples train station. Take a taxi from NAP to the hotel and walk 50 meter in the a.m. to the local train for Sorrento. Bonne chance!
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Old Dec 2nd, 2015, 04:18 PM
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It's kind of a pain to get from Sorrento to Positano. I've spent a few nights in Sorrento, and it's nice, but I wouldn't want to spend eight nights there. You might consider a split stay, with four nights in Sorrento, and then four nights over on the Positano side.

If Amalfi is cheaper it is only a 30 minute ferry ride from Positano, and it's a lovely place in its own right, although I confess to having only visited for an hour.
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Old Dec 2nd, 2015, 04:29 PM
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Consider the lesser known Amalfi Coast villages like Atrani, Nocelle, Scala or Montepertuso. You are still on the coast but the prices are cheaper.
I don't like Sorrento at all - it is too crowded especially in June and has English pubs and places selling fish and chips which I find quite bizarre but that is the sort of tourist who goes to Sorrento and what they demand. If that is your thing then you may love it. There is one ferry per day from Sorrento to Positano - otherwise you are relying on the SITA bus (good luck with that as it is more crowded than the Tokyo subway at rush hour).

However...Sorrento would suit you as you wish to sightsee and getting to Capri from Positano is expensive (18 euro one way) and a real tedious chore to get to Vesuvius from there as well.

Vesuvius in June is something I would never do due to the heat but if you choose to walk to its crater, then do it first thing in the morning when it opens at 9am otherwise it's like a furnace and very unpleasant.
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Old Dec 2nd, 2015, 04:55 PM
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OK - driving on the AC in summer is a really bad idea since there are so few places to park and the extremely narrow and twisty coast road has an average speed of about 10 mph due to both traffic and the fact that there are some places where 2 trucks or buses can't pass - so one has to back up - and this can take awhile.

So if you want a resort then stay in Positano and enjoy the resort.

If you want to do a lot of sightseeing stay in Sorrento, which has way more lodgings and restaurants as well as much better transit:

Local commuter train to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Naples
SITA bus down the coast to the various small towns (mobbed and SLOW)
Ferries and hydrofoils to Capri, Naples, Amalfi and I think even Positano

Renting a car is a complete nonsense at that time of year. And no, you can't sleep in your car. Would you try to leave it in someone's driveway? Park on the street for the police to find you and haul you in for vagrancy?

When you land in Naples they may well ask you for the name of the hotel you will be staying in, as well as showing that you have a return ticket home and enough money to pay for your visit (they do NOT want people who can't afford a place to stay or transit and meals).
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Old Dec 2nd, 2015, 08:14 PM
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We stayed a week in Positano last year. Capri as well as several other towns along the coast are easily accessible by ferry. I recommend staying in Positano if possible. The best way to get there from Naples is to book a driver with www.transferelax.com. They will pick you up at the Naples airport and drop you off at your hotel in Positano for 90 euros.
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Old Dec 2nd, 2015, 09:07 PM
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"The best way to get there from Naples is to book a driver"

That is only "best" if money is no object. The OP made it quite plain that they are on a low budget. The "best" transport for them is the Circumvesuviano train plus a ferry or the bus from Sorrento.
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Old Dec 2nd, 2015, 09:28 PM
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Actually the 'best' way to get to Positano from Naples is to take the train to Salerno and then take a ferry. That way you avoid the sardine can Circumvesuviana followed by the worse sardine can SITA bus.
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Old Dec 3rd, 2015, 12:30 AM
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oh WOW! didn't know it's going to be such a pain. Thank you for all your replies!
So we would like to take daily trips to different places, but also lye on beach for a couple of days. Is Salermo far from Vesuvius?
Maybe it would be best to stay in Naples? Do they have nice beaches?
Thank you!!
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Old Dec 3rd, 2015, 12:40 AM
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I found a flat in Masse Lubrense which is quite affordable. Is it a good location??
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Old Dec 3rd, 2015, 12:42 AM
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Naples has beaches - here is one - but they are not *in* the city. The one in the photo is on the northern edge just past Mergellina.

http://tinyurl.com/ja6854h

I think Sorrento suits what you need to do. It has a little beach on Marina Piccolo and cheap hotels but what it has that you really need is good transport to Vesuvius and Capri. You can still visit the Amalfi Coast as a day trip.
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Old Dec 3rd, 2015, 06:52 AM
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For good transport links you want to be in Sorrento, sort of in the middle of the things you want to see. Naples and Sorrento are at the far ends. Take a look at a map.

I don't think of the AC as a place people visit for the beach, but I suppose you could. More a place people go for the views.
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Old Dec 3rd, 2015, 11:26 AM
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Massa Lubrense is a lovely spot but it's nowhere near the Sorrento train line - you would need to take a bus into Sorrento, then the train/ferry to see your sights. If that doesn't bother you and your apartment is good value, then book it. One bonus about this little town is its lack of stifling crowds as you find in Sorrento.
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Old Dec 3rd, 2015, 02:47 PM
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Salerno is far from Vesuvius.

Naples does not have nice beaches.

If I were you I would look at Sorrento. Also read a guidebook.
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Old Dec 3rd, 2015, 10:00 PM
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it is too crowded especially in June and has English pubs and places selling fish and chips which I find quite bizarre but that is the sort of tourist who goes to Sorrento and what they demand. If that is your thing then you may love it.>>

I was there for a week about 18 months ago on a language course and I must have missed the chippie - shame. What we did find were lots of local shops, a nice rosterceria just off the main street where we could get a lovely cheap lunch, several gelaterie, an interesting and vibrant town and a small beach which must get quite crowded in the summer.

one way of solving your transport problem would be to split your trip up a bit. I suggest spending 3 nights in Naples [as you are arriving there so late on the first night] so you can spend one day in the city and another visiting Vesuvius, then getting the boat from Naples to wherever you decide to stay.
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Old Dec 4th, 2015, 12:42 AM
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Tuscanlifeedit

<Naples does not have nice beaches>

Says you - and please tell me how many of Naples beaches you have visited and what made them 'not nice' - according to you? Please explain exactly which beach you saw so we can clearly understand this.


Annhig - so glad you saw the 'real Sorrento' and loved it.
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Old Dec 4th, 2015, 04:27 AM
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Is there any beaches in Massa Lubresse?

How about Castellammare di Stabia?? They have nice beaches? Would it be easy to travel to Capri, Positano?

Thank you!
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Old Dec 4th, 2015, 04:55 AM
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Also, How about Agerola?? It's near Tovere, Conca dei Marini. Would this be a good location? Nice beaches, easy access to Capri, Positano?

We will visit Vesuivus on a first/second day, so the rest would be nice to relax by the sea and go for nice walks.

Thanks!
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Old Dec 4th, 2015, 05:22 AM
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and Atrani? Which one is better to choose for spectacular beaches and transport to Capri?
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