Hi I only realized that the town is shut pretty much? Has anyone been there around that time? The threads seem to vary...hard to decide. We were going to sleep one night in the Amalfi Coast (where we've never been before) on our way from Sicily up to Tuscany, (which we all love). We will be taking trains, from Taormina to Naples to Rome onward. We thought we would take a bus or train (whichever gives us a better scenery) from Naples to Positano (no car,I am now convinced from reading this forum). I could just drop this detour idea, but my parents are getting older and we don't know when we could return to Italy as a family again. Let me know if it's worth it. I would really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.

It's not easy, but possible. If you leave Taormina early enough, you can get on the 10:11a Eurostar Italia from Villa San Giovanni on the mainland side. That train arrives Salerno 13:41. From there, you take the SITA bus to Amalfi (75minutes on the schedule, but may take longer depending on traffic), then connect to another bus for Positano (40 minutes)

http://www.sitabus.it/sitabus/campan...uadro-XV-2.pdf

Next day, you continue on the Amalfi Coast by taking another bus to Sorrento (~1 hr), then the Circumvesuviana train to Naples (~1 hr), and back to the mainline TrenItalia train towards the north.

Oh, the next train is a direct ICPlus that goes on the ferry. You can catch it at 9:50 at Taormina-Giardini and avoid the connection at Messina. That gets you to Salerno 15:39. For March 1, I think that's still plenty of sunlight left to enjoy the Amalfi Drive and you get to Positano maybe around 6pm or a little bit later?

Positano is amazing in the winter months. Much more quiet, tranquil and relaxing in my opinion. We stayed at an amamzing B&B when we were there, owned by Felix. Very cool place. You can see it on the web, here:
http://www.italianvisits.com/tours/c...-d_arienzo.htm

Maybe it doesn't look so good from the pictures, but this is a nice property, with good gardens, service and rooms. It's one of the only cheap places open during the winter, as far as I know.

Hi thanks for all this info. I planned to take the night train from Taormina that gets into Naples at 6 am. However, the trenitalia site is not working, unless they are all booked? How do you book these train tickets otherwise?

We will take the SITA bus, I think, which does sound hassle free. Thanks!

I have no problem finding fares for trains 2/28 or 3/1. The 23:00 departure from Taormina-Giardini to Naples. Couchettes is 53.50 EUR per person.

Now, whether one can successfully register on that site and complete the sale is of course another matter.

Hi Lonmer - As RK says, take the Sita bus from SALERNO (- not Naples).

Sit on the left for best views.

Steve

Thank you for your advice. I've been limited with internet access so couldn't see this until now. Trenitalia site is a bit of nightmare though. I just posted another question, will see...

Thanks so much!