Would Positano be too hard for my parents (in their seventies to walk around due to its steepness?)

If they have difficulty climbing the stairs at home, they will find Positano to be a challenge. Nevertheless, one CAN go to Positano by boat, visit the harbor and beach area, and leave by boat for Amalfi, Salerno, Capri and Naples. The views from the shoreline are spectacular. No steps whatsoever (except climbing the gangway to and from the hydrofoil).

What a question?! There are many different people in different situations physically and mentally at every age. How do we know if your parents are agile? Are they? Do they climb stairs at home? Positano amounts to alot of stair climbing.

I have seen people in their 70's and above who can beat me up the stairs, especially Europeans!

I hate it when people are snappish instead of trying to be helpful, i.e. aobe posters. <BR><BR>I think if your parents stay at a hotel more on level with the beach and not way up in the hills like I did, they should be fine. If you stay in the middle of tourist area near the beach they will be able to shop, go to the beach, and get back and forth from their hotel without issue. However, I stayed way, way up on a hill and the walk back up the hill from the beach was horrible.<BR><BR>Also, remember that there is a little local bus that traverses the area, which they could use if needed.

Sorry that should be "above" posters

No I think my answer was legitimate. How can you lump people together just because they are in their 70's? Doesn't make any sense, there are many, many people in their 70's who climb mountains, hike, waterski, snowski, etc. But I could have stated that in a nicer way, sorry.

Dawn makes an excellent suggestion which I totally overlooked in my posting, viz. the numerous excellent hotels right by the beach area of Positano that don't require the climbing of steps.

When I was huffin' and puffin', climbing up all the steps at the Villa Rosa hotel (after having climbed tons of steps to reach that point from the beach!), there was an older European couple passing me up with apparently no problem!

Pull up the thread: Are You Ever Going To Be Too Old To Travel, or something close to that for insight.

Thanks to those of you who have responded with kindness. I was told by "In Italy" that if they stayed in Positano they would be hotel bound. We are staying at the Hotel Marincanto. Has anyone stayed there? Also "In Italy" stated even if a hotel is airconditioned they will not turn it on in October. Has anyone had this experience? <BR><BR>I asked the question out of concern for my parents, I want them to be comfortable.

Ann: Positano is steep. Just getting upstairs to your room is steep in most hotels. There is a bus, but it starts at the square which is still a good walk up. Have you considered how you will get to Positano. It is a pretty involved trip just to get there. If you arrive in Naples, you can go by hydrofoil, but the schedules are very erratic. We tried and tried to ge taccurate times so we could plan which train to take from Venice, but had little luck. We finally got times for the hydrofoil from Vicenza who is so helpful on this message board, but they were incorrect when we got there. He got them for me on June 30 and apparently they changed on July 1. We were sent from ticket booth to ticket booth (each one had big letters that said "Positano") trying to buy tickets. The one that actually had the tickets and the hydrofoil was a 10 minute drive away. We met my husband's sister there, and they had waited 41/2 hours for the hydrofoil. She said even the Italians who were waiting and the people working on the dock had no idea what time the hydrofoil would actually come. The other option is to take the train from Naples to Sorrento and then the bus. We did this to Pompeii. There was a lot of waiting involved. The train itself is not air-conditioned and has hard plastic seats. The bus from Sorrento to Positano was a SITA and very nice, but it was running nearly 30 minutes late on our return trip. All of this was inconvenient, but ok for us. It is not a good idea to get to the Naples train station very much ahead of your travel time, because it is not a good place to spend much time! We took a taxi back to Naples, and it was well worth the $100. Consider all of this in view of your parents and their health and stamina.

I recommended Positano to a friend, not realizing he had knee problems. He is only 50ish. He said he stayed in his room the entire time and had food delivered. It really does depend on their condition, but it would be an easy place to slip and fall.

I appologize for invading this string but I'd be most grateful if GAC would respond to my posting; "Questions about Aeolians". <BR><BR>Sorry & thanks!

hey, here in Florida, i play tennis with a group of 70+ year olds... they play every day! and several are mighty good players.....

Would anyone here know anything about the express bus service from Rome to Positano?<BR><BR>Thanks.

We stayed at the Villa Rosa. Very nice, but not for people who have difficulty climbing steps. The Marincanto is just up the street from the Villa Rosa, but the entrance appears to be right on the street so you don't have to climb any steps as you do at the VR. But then once you're in the hotel, there will be steps to get to the rooms unless there is an elevator. They have a very nice website, which might tell you if there's an elevator, or you could ask them via email. I think I've read that they have a private descent to the beach, but I think that would involve a lot of steps. You can walk down the street to get to the lower part of town, and I think if you head for Buca di Bacco you can get all the way to the beach without using any steps -- there's a moderately steep incline to the street, which I'm sure is tougher on the way back up to the hotel than down to the beach area, and I'm going to guess that the distance is about half a mile or so. The sidewalk is narrow, and you sometimes have to step into the street when there are a lot of people walking along, but if they are careful and take their time, it might be all right. The Marincanto is also one of the closest to the "Sponda" bus stop for the SITA buses to the rest of the Amalfi Coast -- my recollection is about 50 yards on a moderately steep incline (but no steps). I don't know if I've helped any -- I guess it all comes down to their fitness level.

Hi,<BR>If anyone has seen the location of L'Ancora hotel in Positano, could you please comment on how hard would it be to climb the steps to this hotel?<BR><BR>Thanks

Don't let steepness keep you from going it is the most fanastic place !!We went in October and it was a ghost-town so quiet and beautiful. Stayed at the Hotel Santa Caterina down the coast just a little bit in Amalfi great website.<BR>Fantastic !!! Buses wind their way all over..Go!!! the good thing about it's steepness is that the veiws are incredible.

As I recall, Villa Rosa is right across the street from Le Sirenuse, and L'Ancora is right next to Le Sirenuse. The Marincanto is another 30 yards or so up the hill, on the same side as L'Ancora and Le Sirenuse. Since the Villa Rosa is on the "upside" of the street, it has steps to get to the entrance. But the hotels on the other side of the street have their entrances directly on the street, with no steps. Everything I said about the Marincanto would apply just about equally to L'Ancora and Le Sirenuse.