Positano or Sorrento?
 

Hello,

My husband and I are doing an Amalfi Coast trip in mid-September. We have 8 nights total to explore the area and are planning on doing 1 night in Naples, 3 nights in Amalfi Coast and 4 nights in Capri. We thought of seeing Pompeii on our way down from Naples so no other sights in that area. Hotels have been incredibly difficult to find in the AC as mid Sep is still high season. Should we stay in Sorrento and explore the AC from there or stay in Positano and explore the AC from there? We have reservations in both places, just trying to finalize the itinerary. Thank you!

If you are seeing Pompeii on your way from Naples, and visiting Capri separately, and have no other interest in seeing Naples or Herculaneum, then I would think you would find Positano more to your liking. Sorrento is, as I understand it, best if you are using it as a base to explore the Amalfi Coast AND Naples AND Pompeii AND Capri, etc.

Hope that helps!

Positano if you want to get away from car traffic, large tour groups, and large hotels. Sorrento is not on the Amalfi coast either. As kja mentioned - Sorrento is fine if you want to use it as a base for visiting stuff not on the Amalfi Coast. You can get to Capri easily from both locations. Personally, I would spend more time in Positano than Capri. Visit some of the other Amalfi Coast towns by bus from Positano.

Stu Dudley

Positano for sure- commuting to Amalfi from Sorrento takes time and money and Sorrento though a nice watering hole has virtually little seaside flavor as the town sits high above the sea and there are few views of it from most of the town.

Positano is much more scenic and charming. However, it's a city of stairs, with lots of climbing back and forth between town and beach. If you're in decent physical shape, no problem. But if you aren't, you might reconsider Sorrento, which has much flatter terrain.

Now about traffic, etc. Both Positano and Sorrento can be overrun by large tour groups during the summer/fall months. You can avoid some of that by choosing a hotel that is "up" from town, rather than in the center or on the beach.

You can also avoid wall to wall crowds at the town beach, by visiting Fornillo Beach, instead. It's usually not as crowded, and it's an easy walk from the town dock in town ( about 1/2 mile or so along a beautiful seaside path).

A last word of advice: Avoid the horrendous SITA busses that connect the Amalfi Coast towns. You don't know the meaning of late or crowded (!) until you've been on one. IF the boats are still running mid-September from the dock, take those instead. It's a much more relaxing way to travel between the towns.

If stairs are an issue, you might consider Amalfi.

And yes, do consider taking ferries, rather than buses, to explore the Amalfi Coast! If / when you take a bus, be sure to have a large supply of patience with you. ;-)

I loved Positano. So gorgeous.