GOING TO POSITANO LAST WEEK OF OCTOBER-WANT TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT BESIDES CAPRI,RAVELLO,POMPEI-HAVE 3 DAYS FOR PLACES WHERE THE TOURISTS DON'T GO-THIS IS OUR FIRST TRIP TO ITALY-STAYING ALL 7 NIGHTS IN POSITANO AND DO NOT HAVE OR WANT A CAR-THANKS IN ADVANCE-EMAIL IS [email protected]

Ira is a big fan of Praiano. His very detailed trip report has lots of information about it. It sounds like just the place you might be looking for

THANKS-THAT'S A GREAT START!

There is supposedly a wonderful restaurant there too. I believe it is called La Strada or something like that. Per Ira, the Sita bus goes between Praiano and Positano fairly often. From what I have heard you can even see Positano on down the coast from Praiano but the city has just a fraction of the tourists that haunt the more well known cities. Try typing in Praiano in the search box to see what all comes up - I am sure someone else has better information than I do!

Hi RT,

You can see my trip report at
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

I hope it helps.

Hi RTBOSS,
We stayed in a villa in Praiano and really liked it. The town is small and unlike surrounding towns, all Italian. We were there in Aug. when the Italians were there for holiday. I can't say what Oct. will be like. There is a church with a big square in front where all the people gather at night. Three, four generations (great grandmas holding babies) over looking the lights of Positano. Then everyone goes up to the bar and just hangs out. Getting around was easy. There are regular buses or you can always find the guy with the mercedes cab in the bar talking to friends. He will drop you off and pick you up as needed. I would recommend Donna Rosa for a special dinner. It is in a town above Positano. The food is wonderful and the view is amazing. It also has an open kitchen so you can watch the chef. Also, hot chocolate in Amalfi at......can someone help me out, I forgot then name? Anyway have fun and take a lot of pictures, it is beautiful.

Pansa Andrea for hot chocolate and Pastries!Yum

does anyone have any ideas regarding the area west of positano and/or scala, pontone,etc.-allowing for a day of rain, we want to go the native places rather than the standard tourist traps

If you want to avoid "tourists" you should not be staying in Positano. It is hard to avoid "tourists" in Amalfi, as there are very few permanent residents; it is primarily a resort and holiday area. The tourists are overwhelmingly American (90%) and other Europeans. Pontone has tourists, just not as many as Positano. If you want to avoid tourists (or just avoid American tourists), and want to stay on the east coast, then IMO you need to go to much further south, to Calabria, esp a coastal area like Zambrone. You will not find it as dramatic in terms of the coastline, and I assume your Italian is sufficient for you to use public transport, read menus, etc., because you won't find English as widely spoken in those areas, at least in my experience.

WE ARE JUST LOOKING FOR A DAY OR TWO AWAY FROM THE NORMAL ACTION. OUR ITINARY INDICATES 3 NICE DAY TRIPS-YOUR OPINION IS VERY VALUED-SOMETIMES, THERE ARE LITTLE PLACES OUTSIDE THE MAINSTREAM THAT BECOME A WELCOMED BREAK!

I was in Pontone today for lunch and I saw four tourists(hikers),you can also visit Scala and Minuta and hardly see a tourist whereas a few minutes away in Ravello they are everywhere.

I would certainly do a day trip to Paestum from Positano.

Hi RT,

If you do a search on this forum for "walkamalfi" he can help with little towns around Ravello.

The last week of Oct is the end of the season. You will not be engulfed by tourists.

I preferrred to stay in Praiano and visit Positano.

The two times we've stayed in that area, we visited a small town named Marina del Cantone (between Positano and the tip of the peninsula). For such a small town, it has some fabulous restaurants. Italians boat in from all over the area to eat at several restaurants there. One of them has a boat dock and the dining room is out over the water (Lo Scoglio - see link to review below). There are also several small inns. We loved this town!

Here are a few websites:

http://www.tavernadelcapitano.it/e/default.htm

http://www.hotelcertosa.com (fabulous!)

http://www.italiatour.co.uk/accomm/c...a/quattrop.htm

http://www.epicurious.com/g_gourmet/...a/scoglio.html

if we made a trip to vietri, is there enough to do near there (other towns) to make a day of it rather than just bus out and back?

where do we turn our cash in for euro's?at the airport or bank in positano? also,is there a place to hang out in in positano, ravello,sorrento,etc. to just sit for a few hours,take in the scenery and enjoy the day-thank you for your suggestions