Order of Amalfi visit in October
 

We arrive in Rome at 7 am on 2 October and we have 8 days for the Amalfi coast and Sorrento or Salerno before leaving on 10 October for our next leg.

We would like to spend some nights based in Amalfi and some nights based either in Sorrento or Salerno.

Would you advise going straight to Amalfi for five nights followed by either Sorrento or Salerno for 3 nights OR start off in Salerno or Sorrento and then go to Amalfi before making our way back to Rome where we catch our train for our next leg?

We want to see
Pompeii
Capri
Coastal towns on Amalfi coast

Due to being prone to bus motion sickness we would like to use trains, cabs and private drivers and only short bus trips. Driving ourselves is not an option. We love going on ferries and boats so not a big deal if these trips are a bit longer.

Please guide us on which part to do first and also which would be better for us Sorrento or Salerno.
Not big hikers or shoppers. Like to stroll around in the evening and enjoy the local people and very importantly enjoy good seafood and other good local food.

Thank you.

I don't know anything about visiting this part of the world in October -- and I would think that timing would be critical for this area. I would recommend that you consult guidebooks, check opening hours on websites, and plot your time on a calendar and map. That's really the only way to decide what works for YOU.

I adored Salerno and think it vastly underrated -- but I didn't use it or anywhere else on the Amalfi Coast or to visit Pompeii or Herculaneum (I visited them from Naples). Salerno is a good base for awesome Paestum.

I thought Capri much more interesting after day trippers had left -- but again, I don't know what it would be like in Oct. If you decide to visit it, consider an overnight.

No need for a car.

Good luck!

Ask yourself this: Would you rather experience the long, winding ride to Amalfi or Salerno when you arrive jet-lagged or after just tackle the winding part to Amalfi or Salerno after you've been settled for a few days in Sorrento?

Logistically, it makes sense to head south to Salerno or Amalfi first, and then make your way back north when headed toward Rome. However, when you leave Rome, it's a lot easier and quicker to get to Sorrento first and get your bearings for a few days. In fact, you could take the train out of Rome (with a change in Naples) to get to Sorrento, rather than going by private driver, but that's up to you and your budget.

Hi Jinz!

Here go my two cents about your post, ( we had visited the A.C. twice, 7 plus 5 nights).

-- october...are you going at the beginning or at the end? At the beginning would be much better in terms of temperatures and sunny days.

-- you are considering Salerno or Sorrento for one of the legs of your stay. You can visit Salerno as a day trip from Amalfi, which, IMO, is an excellent base.
Of course Salerno is really good as a starting point if you plan to visit Paestum.

--Sorrento is the best starting place to visit Pompeii on your own, but we were perfectly happy with a tour starting from Amalfi.

-- of course, you know Sorrento is not located on the Amalfi Coast, but is a good transportation hub and has beautiful hotels, expensive ones, on a cliff.

--Amalfi is central to many towns, but distances being short, reaching any other town takes up to 45 min to one hour, but october helps in term of less traffic.
Plus, Amalfi is the base for many SITA buses, and you can go up to beautiful Ravello onece or even two times, as it takes les than half an hour.

-- if I were you( and I am not !!) I will base in Amalfi and two or three nights in Sorrento, depending of which you choose as your base to ferry to Capri.

Enjoy planning and your trip.....and ask if you have any further questions...

Thank you everyone. We will be there for the first week of October and luckily jet lag isn't an issue for us. My worry is not being able to stop the bus if I feel travel sick whereas I thought this might be possible with a private driver.

Vincenzo thank you for the tip about the train to Sorrento.

We have decided to go to Sorrento for a day and night and then will hire a driver to take us to Amalfi.

Jelopez thank you as hearing from someone who has been there has helped us decide to stay the majority of time in Amalfi. We like the idea of a guided tour to Pompeii.

Are you able to make some suggestions where to stay in Amalfi?

Our budget is mid to upper range.

Thank you for helping.

Jinz:

As told, we were twice n the A.C., first time, one week in a b&b, good but not your target.

Hotel La Bussola has excellent location, waterside, but somewhat poor reviews.

Residence Hotel is on the lungomare, accross the street from the bus terminal and has good reviews.

Hotel Luna Convento has good location and has very good reviews.

Hotel NH CONVENTO has top reviews and sky high prices.

In our second visit to the A.C. We were with friends, and friends preferred to stay in Positano, which was good but mobbed and has not a bus terminal, just a stop. Anyway you must visit Positano, best views arrvin by ferry.

Hope this can help you. And ask anything if you need, there are many fodorites who are real experts in this area.

I have no hotel advice but I think I have good planning and transportation advice.

This will keep you off buses for most of your trip, and take my word for it, a driver will stop for you, but he or she won't help you avoid motion sickness on these most sickening of all roads.

I would:
Go directly from Rome to Salerno by train. See Paestum if you can, or get on a ferry to Capri.

Visit Capri.

From Capri, take a ferry to Amalfi.

Visit Amalfi.

From Amalfi, travel by boat to Positano. Is this a day trip? If so, check boat times carefully. The ride on a bus or in a car can make me want to die.

You could then return by boat to Salerno, via Amalfi, and then visit Paestum.

Go from Salerno to Naples by train. In Naples, transfer to the Pompeii train in the same station, down a floor.

I know of no way to get to Sorrento, or from Sorrento, that doesn't make me very ill.

<< I know of no way to get to Sorrento, or from Sorrento, that doesn't make me very ill. >>

Take the train to Naples, switch in station downstairs to the Circumvesuviano commuter train to Sorrento. Pompeii is on the Circumvesuviano route and it has luggage storage. So from Sorrento or from Naples or between them you can tour Pompeii.

I can't image getting ill on the ride between Naples and Sorrento. It's pretty flat and not real curvy.

Whereas riding a bus along the Amalfi coast makes a lot of people sick. I haven't driven or ridden in a car along the AC but I suspect car sickness is not unusual either.

BTW it's a short boat ride from Sorrento to Capri, shorter than either from Naples or the Amalfi coast.

And of course, Dramamine pills nevers fail preventing motion sickness on land and sea....

The Circumvesuviano train between Naples and Sorrento is fine, easy, cheap and no scary areas. Either from Naples or Sorrento, it is easy to get to Pompeii. Consider seeing Herculaneum also.

A train runs from Naples to Salerno. A ferry runs from Salerno to Amalfi.

Ferries run between Sorrento and Positano and Amalfi until October 31. Ferries also run from Sorrento to Capri and from Naples to Capri.

Check train and ferry schedules. Time it carefully and you can get by without taking a bus or car.

For Pompeii, just hire one of the guides at the gate.

No need to hire a guide at Pompeii if you do some research. Of course, if you prefer to hire a guide, that's a different matter....

Ferry is the best way IMO to travel along the AC, especially for those of us with motion sickness.

Salerno has excellent ferry connections, and also train connections to Paestum (HIGHLY recommended) and Pompeii.

www.travelmar.it for ferry schedules - they should post the new schedule in March.