ties333

Is it suicide to go to Amalfi Coast with a very 'active' 2.5 year old toddler?
We currently have the following planned and looking forward to your feedback;

Day 1; Arriving at Naples airport and checking in our Agriturismo 'Barone Antonio Negri' in Gaiano, which will be our quiet base for the week.
Day 2: Positano (feasible with a toddler?)
Day 3: Amalfi/Ravello/AtraniDay 4: Amalfi Coast Boat Tour (best option with a toddler?)
Day 5: NaplesDay 6: CapriDay 7: PompeiDay 8: Salerno + departure to airport

Sassafrass

I would not plan on much walking around in Positano with a toddler. They could not handle all of the steps and I do not think you would want them on your back for all the steps.
Day three seems like too much.
Capri is questionable with a toddler.
Pompeii would, IMHO, be pretty awful with all the big stones to walk around, on and over. Consider Herculaneum instead. It is beautiful, interesting and flatter areas with easy walking. It is a bit of a hike from the train station, but you could use a stroller there.

dreamon

Although it might be possible to manage Positano, my first reaction is that it's not very toddler friendly. If they are in a stroller, you'll have to carry it up/down stairs. You probably don't want them trying to manage the stairs themselves. You could try a baby carrier but I wouldn't put it on your front (as you won't be able to see your feet) - maybe on your back would work. Same comments if you decide to walk from Ravello to Atrani or Amalfi (lots of stairs).

The bits we saw of Capri would have been fine with a toddler (for the most part).

A car in that part of the world is a total pain (traffic is difficult and parking a nightmare) but I don't know what transport there is from your 'home'. Of course, things may not be as busy as usual.

Lastly, I would be nervous about them catching covid. The Delta strain is just as virulent and infectious for kids as it is for adults. But maybe that's no worse than your home country - I've no idea.

Having said all that, I can see how tempting it would be. I would kill for a holiday and yours does sound great.

ties333

Thanks for your replies! I was wondering instead of a day in Positano and/or Amalfi, would it be a better option to take e.g. a 4 hour boat trip from Amalfi and just do a quick stop in Positano (for pictures and atmosphere rather than walking a lot of steps)? My toddler might enjoy the boat trip (if not too long) and seeing those cities from the water might be the best way?

john183

Given that you are staying in Gaiano, I'm wondering how you are planning to get to and from the different places you want to visit each day.

ties333

The plan was to travel by car...

Jean

Gaiano is pretty far from AC sights if traveling with a toddler. Having a car gives you somewhere to retreat to for a nap or change of clothes. Otherwise, you need a stroller (or carrier) plus backpack, but as others have mentioned a stroller doesn't really "work" in towns like Positano and Amalfi. But having a car also means needing to find parking which is difficult unless you arrive very early, particularly if your trip is in the first half of October rather than the second half of the month.

IMO Pompeii wouldn't be impossible. Most of the central area around the forum is paved and flat for a stroller but using a child carrier that day would allow for more extensive exploring. As you'd be arriving by car, you could take both the stroller and a carrier and switch between depending on where you go in the excavation area. I also think you could definitely see parts of Capri. But not every toddler does well on boats. And just FYI, if the seas are rough, the boats don't run.

Looking at your daily schedule, I think I'd drop a couple of things and have some do-nothing days spent at or near the agriturismo. Otherwise, why stay in Gaiano? Will the adults and/or the toddler have jet lag on arrival?

ties333

We'll be there late October and traveling from Amsterdam, so no yet lag. The only reason for Gaiano is that we found a lovely agriturismo there and it seemed that 30-40 minutes driving to AC would not be too bad.
No idea how the toddler would react to a boat - it will be his first time. But it seems that a lot of people say the boat trip is the highlight of their holiday.

ties333

I definitely agree some days in and around the agriturismo would be a good idea. What sights/cities would you 'give up' in that case?

Jean

But it's not a 30-40 minutes' drive to the AC... Gaiano to Amalfi is about 90 minutes. To Positano, at least 2 hours. Then there is time to find parking, get out of the car and organized, and then walk to whatever you want to see. The drives to Salerno and Pompeii are probably under an hour, and the drive to Sorrento probably under 2 hours. All of these times are one way.

What to consider dropping? First, I'd keep checking weather forecasts after you arrive and be ready to change plans if necessary. Pompeii in the rain would be miserable. Second, a day trip to Capri with a toddler sounds like quite a trek, especially as you don't know how the child will do on the boat. If rain is in the forecast, forget it. Driving into Naples can be quite a challenge, and I might choose a day at the palace and gardens at Caserta instead. The palace obviously has stairs (although you could easily skip a lot of the interiors), but there is a free baggage check room for the stroller which you'd probably want to have for walking the gardens. There is a shuttle bus and bicycle rentals, and in pre-Covid times there were horse-drawn carriages. You'd have to check if the carriages are available this year. Picnics are allowed.

2idocs

To be honest, I don't see anything on this list my toddlers would have liked (other than playing on the farm).
Maybe a few hours at the beach?
There's a lot of travel in this itinerary, & most of the sites would require being carried, neither popular activities for toddlers.

macdogmom

When my kids were that age basically we rented a house at a lake or the beach and stayed put. They don’t really want to sightsee and between napping and eating and running after them we wanted it to be as easy as possible. A 4 hour boat trip with a 2 year old sounds a bit stressful! Delta variant would also be a concern with an unvaccinated small child and going to places with probably minimal health facilities.

ties333

Very valid points and it may be wise to reconsider this trip. We may only go the Amalfi Coast once in our lives, so it would be a pity to miss the highlights (or not enjoy them as much). Any other ideas for a nice family vacation in Italy in October? We have been to Tuscany and Puglia.

Sassafrass

Now that you are reconsidering, which IMHO, is a good idea, have you been to Spain? In the evenings, plazas are filled with families and little ones.
In Tuscany, I assume you went to Lucca, Siena, etc. I love the small towns there with places to play and carousels.
Austria is another great country to visit with little ones, tons of playgrounds.

dreamon

My observation of toddlers is that they are usually happy if they are in the care of loved ones, can run around and play when they want to, and rest when they want to. At that age, they don't necessarily need special activities that an older child might need. So I wouldn't plan a holiday which is centred on their activity needs, such as beaches and playgrounds. Soon enough you may need to consider those things a bit more so I'd take the opportunity to visit somewhere that you'd like to enjoy. I do think that staying longer in each place is a good idea, and you'd already planned to do that. Day trips can be decided upon on the day, depending on how everyone is feeling.

I don't think you need to abandon the Amalfi coast entirely. For example, you could stay at a place in town with great views. Then one of you could enjoy a few hours of leisure on the terrace while your child rests and your partner can go off on their own, and then you meet up for an aperitif - staying centrally means you're less likely to feel that you have to be glued at the hip. Positano has a road running through it which can be used to access parts of town (although you will inevitably encounter steps once you leave the road). I don't recall other towns being as steep at all so you could consider staying somewhere like Amalfi, Atrani, Ravello, Praiano, Sorrento, etc, etc. If you want to visit Naples, Pompeii, Capri, etc, then Sorrento could be a great choice. Ravello is stunning and reasonably flat once there. Any child would relish exploring the gardens and piazzas there.

If you're keen to visit the Amalfi coast and are okay to travel during these risky times, then perhaps not put it off. You may well find that it brings extra special memories for doing it at a time when your child is young and easily engaged. And you can pretty much guarantee that s/he will be the centre of attention wherever they go!

ties333

Fully agree I shouldn't plan a holiday which is centred on their activity needs, such as beaches and playgrounds. 11 years ago we had a fantastic holiday in Italy (covering Venice, Verona, Tuscany and Rome) with my older son who was 3 at the time, and he absolutely loved running behind the pigeons on all the piazza's and we hardly had to adjust any of our plans. I have to admit, not all toddlers are the same, and my youngest son of 2.5 is definitely a handful and in the middle of his "terrible two" phase.

If our base continues to be Gaiano, then to visit the Amalfi Coast, the agriturismo suggested to take the public boat from Salerno to Amalfi (min 35) and then another one from Amalfi to Positano (min 20), instead of going by car. I am sure we would enjoy a couple of hours in each city, even without a stroller. To Capri, they suggest to take the speedy sea craft from Naples (reached by train) (min 30). Would this be a good compromise, as in avoiding to be on a 4-8 hours boat ride, but still enjoy the views from the water? Other than that, it seems Pompei and Naples can be easily reached from Gaiano by car. If Ravello if really worth, we could consider the 1.5 hour drive.

Another alternative is to move our base to the Amalfi Coast (somewhere near Sorrento or Positano), assuming we can find a nice quiet agriturismo there.

What do you think?

Jean

A lot depends on your priorities...

Consider the logistics of the day trip from Gaiano to Capri via Naples... (1) load car, drive to Salerno train station and park, (2) train to Napoli Centrale, (3) taxi to ferry dock, (4) ferry to Capri, (5) funicular/taxi or bus to Capri town. By my calculation, it would take nearly 3 hours to get from your lodging to Capri town, and that's assuming you spend almost no time waiting for the train and the boat. Make sure you know the departure time of the last direct train from Napoli Centrale to Salerno.

There are several agriturismi on the Sorrentine Peninsula, but I don't know how they compare to what you chose in Gaiano.

https://www.agriturismo.it/en/map_vi...aples/sorrento

The ferry from Sorrento to Capri takes 20 minutes, compared to the fast boat from Naples which takes 50 minutes. Staying on the peninsula would put you closer to Positano and Pompeii and make it easier to get to Naples. Sorrento to Pompeii on the commuter train takes about 40 minutes and to Naples is just over an hour. But Amalfi and Ravello would be farther away.

Dave_Ohio

The boat transfers are interesting, convenient, and economical. However, you may not be able to count on them in case of a storm or high winds. The alternatives would be bus or car (not applicable for Capri), where travel times can become interminable. It's happened to us going for a "short" day trip from Amalfi to Positano.

ties333

Thanks everyone, your replies have been very useful!

annw

As Dreamon noted, Ravello is relatively flat once you are there, with a piazza that in addition to cafes, frequently has young children kicking around a soccer ball. Amazing views, not a lot of "must dos" there.

Villa Rufolo's gardens are lovely. and again relatively flat, along with most of Villa Cimbrone. Best ways to get there IME are taxi or car/driver. Big blue SITA buses have always worked for us too.

Agree about the fast boats if possible.