caroline_edinburgh

Kurt, it will not be warm in March/April. I suggest you don't stay in Ravello - we found it a bit cold in June since it's so high up, and regretted staying there for several days as we felt it could have been done as a day trip.

Positano has more of a wow factor in terms of views but personally I prefer Amnalfi as it is more of a real town, not just for tourists. It also has much better connections if you're planning on doing lots of day trips - in March/April I assume you'll mainly be doing day trips since it won't be beach/pool weather.

An alternative would be to base yourselves in Naples and do day trips from there. We spent a week there last year and loved it; and you'd be able easily to visit Pompeii, Herculaneum, Vesuvius, the Phlegrean Fields and Ischia, as well as Capri, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. That would be my choice at that time of year. (We actually found so much to do in Naples we didn't do any of the above although I've visited most of them on other holidays.)

mimipam

This posts shows how we are all so different. Caroline "regretted" staying in Ravello and I thought it was great. June was too cool for her and May was great for us. Who among us can control the weather? I really liked Naples but would not want to spend my whole time there doing daytrips if the Amalfi coast was the purpose of the trip. I will add that Ravello may not be as convenient if using public transportation - don't know about this as we had a driver. Another thing about Ravello, our hotel there was fabulous. At any rate, the Amalfi coast is spectacular. Don't know about packages, but if I can plan a trip you can. It will take time but this site will make it easier. Ira's posts helped me so much as his trip was similar to what I wanted. One other issue is the ferry schedule - in March/April it may not run as often if you are wanting to go to Capri or access other towns by water. Happy travels!!

cynstalker

Steve_James - your pictures are beautiful - thank you for posting the link. Did you find those photos to be representative of the entire area, or just where you were hiking?

Mango7

Caroline- I'm going to look into Amalfi a little more since your suggestions are attractive. Thank you much!

Mimipam- Where did you stay in Ravello? It is true there is such a diversity of opinions here which is great because you see from an array of perspectives. It makes it confusing too!! Thanks again,

Kurt

Steve_James

Hi Cynstalker - Lovely photos, aren't they? Not mine, unfortunately ...

Those views are mostly from Nocelle (- above Positano) - looking towards Capri. But they are typical of the entire Amalfi coast ...

Some more on the same link:
http://tinyurl.com/yo582h

Our regular poster SeaUrchin also has a lovely photo album - I'm sure she won't mind me posting the link:

http://www.pbase.com/mightyone/positano&page=all

Steve

luv2cthings

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd jump in and take the opportunity to post a link to some pictures of the Naples and Amalfi coast from our trip in 2005:

http://tinyurl.com/2ml4cs

Mark

cynstalker

Wow! More beautiful photos! Thanks for posting.

ok, some questions now:

Are the buildings old or modern? And are there streets and vehicles in there? It looks incredibly steep, and narrow!

wanderer1

Mark -
What time of year was your trip? Beautiful photos!

luv2cthings

Wanderer1- Thanks. We were there in early June.

Steve_James

Excellent photos, Mark!

Cyn - Apart from the main coast road above Positano, there's only one narrow street through town which takes traffic.

Yes - it's very steep. Lots of steps ...
If you're not 'fit' when you arrive, you are by the time you leave

Steve

cynstalker

Ah. I was trying to imagine streets between those closely-stacked(?) buildings - REALLY tiny cars - LOL!

When I was 16 I went to France on a school trip. We spent a day in a medieval, walled village that was magical! Are these Italian villages similar in feel, oozing history and culture, or are they modern resort towns built there for the views?

mimipam

Hi Kurt,
Stayed at the Palazzo Sasso. It was wonderful but expensive. They have a website. www.palazzosasso.com The Amalfi coast is very beautiful. Happy travels.

Mango7

Thanks again Mimi It looks spectacular. Appreciate your help!
Curt

mweiner

Have stayed in both Sorrento and Ravello and visited Positano. Here is my take:

Sorrento is perfect for visiting Naples, Pompeii and Capri.

For a small village ambience and outstanding views, Ravello.

Positano is very touristy with one narrow main street of steps lined with shops for tourists.

Consider splitting your time between Sorrento to see the sights surrounding it and then to Ravello for some Amalfi coast magic. Wonderful restaurants, people and romance.

gruezi

Dear Mango,

My husband and I - just a decade older than you but active, fit people - spent 5 days in Ravello in September also at the Palazzo Sasso like the other poster here. The hotel was beautiful, great food and service, romantic, and the view was breathtaking. Lots of couples are there celebrating anniversaries (we were) but there are also lots of non-married young couples in their early 30's as well.

That said, it was very tiresome and expensive to get from the hotel to elsewhere on the coast as well as to Pompeii. We tried the bus, private car and hiking and combinations of the three to explore the area. Since we only had 5 days we hated "wasting" so much time getting up and down the mountain Ravello is perched on to access the ferry to Capri or to visit Pompeii. Not to mention, I found the winding driving nauseating after a 1/2 hour or so, and depending on the driver's speed and the section of the coast, a little too "breathtaking" from time to time. Not relaxing if you know what I mean.

My recommendation is to stay a night or two on Capri, visit Positano or Amalfi briefly, take a daytrip to Pompeii if that interests you and then head to Ravello at the end of the stay for a few days of total relaxation. You do not want to be daytripping up and down from Ravello. Well, at least I don't think you do...It is beautiful there and not so crazy with tourists as Capri is, but there is "nothing to do" as my antsy husband would say but that's what I loved about it. If you stay at PS they have a gorgeous spa and your wife will really find the masseur there quite wonderful in every way

geminigemini

Hi ... having just returned from there ... think you need to figure out what you want to do. We stayed a week in Positano, did Amalfi, Ravello, Sorrento and more from there. The ferry to Capri leaves from Positano too. And if you are planning on going to Capri book it right at the beginning of your trip. The last 3 days of ours the ferries were all cancelled due to the weather!!!! (which was beautiful and sunny and warm but with too rough seas). Amalfi is bigger and busier. Sorrento is much bigger and busier still. Ravello is tiny ... not much to do besides walk and admire the scenery. Positano is incredibly beautiful ... fun to wander around ... there are lots of short trips you can do from there and still come back to your nice, quiet place. I will go back to Positano! If you do go to Positano make reservations at La Tagliata. It is WAY up the moutain from Positano. They pick you up at your hotel/apartment and drop you off and everything, including 5 course meal and all wine, coffee, etc. is 35 euros which is a total bargain. They had entertainment the night we went and it was great! Everyone from the waiters and chef to the guests were out there dancing to the singer .

Enjoy your trip!

caroline_edinburgh

Mango, I'm not sure what your budget is; but if you are considering Amalfi and can stretch to it, the Santa Caterina is wonderful. For a more budget option, several people have told me they really liked Il Duomo.

ekscrunchy

Caroline what about Luna Convento in Amalfi for a price between those two?


www.lunahotel.it

caroline_edinburgh

One time when we were staying in Amalfi we had a snoop round the Luna Convento, with a view to a possible future stay. It looked quite nice in a quiet and fairly austere way. I thought the main drawback was that the pool is across the main road - although I suppose that won't be a consideration in March/April. I've since seen very mixed reviews on Tripadvisor, though, so I'm not sure I would try it. It's one of those odd ones which people seem to love or hate.

ekscrunchy

Thanks, Caroline..am currently wavering about reserving here and I value your opinion. You are right that the pool will likely be a non-issue for me the last week in April..might not even be open..