Positano or Praiano for a base? Also, flight ? re: Alitalia or Air France
 

Now that my itinerary has been praised by the fodorites, on to more details. We plan to base ourselves in an apartment on the Amalfi Coast for 5 nights. Is Positano or Praiano the best base? Is Praiano quieter and less touristy? We are taking public transport and I understand there is a Praiano-Positano direct bus.

Another question for you experienced travelers. We have two options on air for our arrival. We could get a direct, but due to work the connections fit our schedule better. We want to leave Thursday NIGHT, not afternoon.

The first is ATL-Venice-Rome. The Venice-Rome connection is thru Alitalia.

The second option is ATL-Paris-Rome. The Paris-Rome connection is via Air France.

Both arrive at approximately the same time. Are either Alitalia or Air France generally more dependable?

Praiano is definitely quieter and less touristy than Positano.

Air France is much more dependable than Alitalia.

Thanks. Problems getting back to Praiano later at night (after 8:30?). I've read the public buses only go up until about 8:30 and we will NOT have a car.

We stayed in Positano this past September for our first trip to the Amalfi Coast. We really enjoyed it, but I told my husband that next time we would definitely stay in Praiano. Positano was a great base for the coast, but it was also pretty touristy.

I would say your decision should be based on how you want to spend your days. If you plan to do a lot of day trips, then perhaps stay in Positano. If you want a more relaxing stay, then go for Praiano.

I see a bus at 11:50 on the schedule valid until June 15:
http://www.flaviogioia.com/dettaglio.php?sez=Orario+Positano+-+Praiano&n=<STRONG>Valido+dal+27+marzo+al+15+giugn o+-+dal+1+ottobre+al+2+novembre+-+dal+23+dicembre+al+6+gennaio</STRONG><BR>clicca+sulle+frecce+per+visualizzare+la +tabella &iddettaglio=44&id_sezione=8&id_categoria =17&p=dx

The summer schedule hasn't been posted.

That didn't work. Just go to www.flaviogioia.com. There's an English version, but the schedule itself is only in Italian.

That site makes no sense to me. Where is the schedule?

www.flaviogioiagroup.it site is good. I was just there.

Both sites work. TravMimi's also has the summer schedule.

If you click on the British flag (for English), then on Public urban service on the left, then on Positano-Praiano,
then on the arrow below the various dates given (do I need to say that giugno is June and that settembre is September?), it will show you the schedule. I cannot tell you where the stops are, but you can ask your hotel or locals.

If you're so evidently upset that "That site makes no sense", I suggest you take a deep breath and prepare yourself mentally for the fact that you will encounter many things in Italy that "don't make sense" to you. You can either get worked up about it or you can grin and bear it. Or you can decide that Italy is not for you.

Zerlina, I do appreciate your assistance. I believe the downside of the internet has struck our communication - and that is that you cannot hear my tone. When I said "that site makes no sense" I didn't mean it in an upset manner, I was more bemused than anything. When I clicked on the dates provided, the site showed me no further info or links to a calendar, unlike the site TravMimi provided. It may be a problem with my work computer not loading certain applets, but I cannot be sure. There was simply no info under the various timeframes given.

I am well-traveled and have navigated several very confusing foreign countries (though not in Europe) with a great sense of adventure and humor. I anticipate I will handle Italy in the same manner. It is not getting "upset" to say the site makes no sense and ask a follow-up question regarding where a calendar is located. I am sorry you misunderstood me.

Air France is MUCH more reliable than Alitalia. As for Praiano, it depends how quiet you like it. There's only a handful of restaurants in town, and not much going on after dark. Positano is more touristy, but you can walk to plenty of restaurants and shops, as well as the town beach and dock.