Positano vs. Praino?
 

Having a hard time deciding whether to spend three nights between the 2. Based on what we are looking for, it seems most of the feedback directed us to Positano (walking distance to beaches, restaurants, nightlife; hotel with a view, preferably a terrace).

However, I feel in love with a hotel in Praiano that receives rave reviews, is in close, close proximity to the water and is within our budget for this summer - Hotel Onda Verde (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Campania.html ) click on photos on the right hand side.

But people say that Praiano is quiet with little in walking distance and fee restaurants to pick from.

Any further input to make this decision, or make me feel like I am making the right decision is appreciated!

We just got back from a week in Praiano and the Onda Verde is somewhat isolated---will you have a car? For a first trip to the AC you are better off in Positano. We had an apartment for a week and took the SITA busses to get around.

no we won't have a car. thanks for the input.

You can take buses from the Onda Verde; the bus stops at the hotel entrance.

You can also walk into Praiano from the hotel. I sent friends there last summer and they adored it.


Having said that, I do agree that Positano might be more to your taste since there are more shops, restaurants, etc.

ParkerSunshine,

Positano if you want the resorty atmosphere, lots of high end shops with clothes, art, jewelry. Lots of restaurants, nightlife and lots of tourists. Very beautiful town, nice boat options for getting around.

Praiano if you want a quiet, locals town. No real shopping to speak of, limited night life and fewer restaurants. I've stayed in Praiano twice and loved it. Il Brace is a very good restaurant. Lovely local residents.

sorrento.
It really depends upon what you are looking for. Some love Praiano, Others Positano, and my own choice is Sorrento. Three entireley different experiences. Depends on what you wanting to do.

Just to confuse you a little more. We have been to the Amalfi coast seven years in a row. Everytime we say that we're going to go somewhere different, we can't tear ourselves away. We always stay at the B&B Punta Civita about one third of the way up the mountain from the city of Amalfi (on the water) to Ravello (at the top of the mountain) The views from this B&B can't be beat from anywhere or any hotel, no matter how expensive. The owners are locals who are wonderful. The B&B is away from the crowds but there is easy access to town of Amalfi by the bus that has a stop across the street or walking down the steps.
We always have a car but leave it many times at the B&B because parking in all of the towns is very difficult and expensive. Amalfi is a great town with restaurants and shopping. From the B&B Ravello is also on the bus route up the mountain. Ravello has beautiful views and some good restaurants. (Sorrento has the best shopping-but is larger and not as charming in my opinion) The village of Priano is between Amalfi and Positano. There is really not much to do there at all since it is mainly residential.
We frequently take the public boats from Amalfi to Positano. The ride is beautiful and you don't fight the traffic on the very interesting, winding, roads. We have also taken the boats to Capri and Sorrento from there.
Hope you enjoy!

That B&B looks amazing! Thanks for the tip--I might stay there myself someday!



http://www.puntacivita.it/description.html

We got back recently and stayed 5 nights in Amalfi and I think it's a good compromise between very crowded, very touristy Positano, and much smaller and quieter Praiano. I was very happy about our choice of location. We had a car (our hotel had a garage or we couldn't have done it), and easily traveled to Positano, Ravello, Pompeii... Amalfi is just big enough to have a nice choice of restaurants and shops, but is not overwhelming like Positano.

So one more thing to confuse you!

Alice

Hi PS,

I agree with Dayle, "Praiano if you want a quiet, locals town.......... "

There is a SITA bus that goes between Sorrento and Salerno that stops in Praiano. There is also an Orange bus that goes between Praiano and Positano.

You might also wish to consider www.lesirene.com. We loved it.

One of the best things about Praiano is the lovely view of Positano.

Enjoy your AC visit.

((I))

I wanted to push this up to the top again to see if I can grab anyone elses attention and get more input. Still very town between Positano and Praiano. "Bob the navigator" you mentioned that Hotel Onda Verde is isolated, what about Le Foriere? I read good things about this hotel as well. I think we would prefer Praiano bc it seems it is a more authentic experience, and we could save half of what we would spend in the Positano. But I do worry that there will be no accessibility from our hotel to restaurants, shops, and things to do.

If we decide on Positano, I have hotels narrowed to: Hotel Savoia, La Rosa Dei Venti, Hotel Villa Franca, or Villa Rosa.

I am actually so tired of reading reviews!

I already told you that the bus stops in front of the Onda Verde; you can reach Positano in minutes.


And that you can walk from that hotel to Praiano. I don't know how many nights you will be there but Praiano has a few restaurants; it is not a teeny tiny place with no commercial activity.

How many nights do you have? Exactly what kind of nightlife are you looking for?

Why don't you stay in Amalfi and have the best of both worlds?

Just stayed last week for 3 nights in Positano at the Residence La Tavolozza. It has stunning views of water and church but very centrally located. The people that run it are wonderful. We had a two bedroom apt that is part of the B&B but had a kitchen and living room as well as the two bedrooms. They delivered breakfast to us every morning but it was great to have the extra space (there were 4 of us)and refrigerator. We paid 230 euros a night--a real bargain for the space and views. They also set up a free shuttle to Il Retrovo restaurant at the very top of the hill and we had a wonderful dinner there one night. It was getting very hot and humid on our last day and the place was full of tourists especially during the day when tour buses would pull up and let everyone out. It did get pretty overwhelming. It is on the same street as La Sirenuse and I think Villa Rosa.

Oh yes. Il Ritrivo! What a great restaurant in Positano. On top of the hill with great food and a great view.

Let's try Il Ritrovo. One of us will get it right.

"ekscrunchy" but does the bus that stops in front of the Onda Verde make stops at night? That is when we would mostly need it, to go to dinner or out to get a drink in positano. But from what I read there is no more nightlife in Positano than there is in Praino. Anyhow, I think we are going to go the Positano route. It seems mostly 90% of everyone on all different boards suggest staying in that town.

I believe that the buses run until just after midnight; see if these links are helpful:



http://www.ondaverde.it/sitai.htm


http://www.sitabus.it/sitabus/campan.../QUADROXIV.pdf (scroll to the bottom and remember that there may be more buses in high summer)

>I believe that the buses run until just after midnight
They used to stop @ 8PM departing from Ravello so it probably depends which line you are looking at. But then, that was years ago . . .

ParkerSunshine:

I think you are over analyzing. What do YOU want? More tourists, more restaurants or less of each & more laid back? That is your real choice.

Ian

Parker Sunshine - we stayed at the Onda Verde last summer (see my review on TripAdvisor) and I would not stay there again. It worked well for us for the unexpected reason that I had hurt my back the morning we got there, but having stayed there I think there are better choices, given a healthy back. The bus does stop right outside but we don't like to take the bus every time we need to go anywhere. It's on the edge of Praiano - you can walk into the main part along the coast road but of course that has no place for pedestrians and is hairy. Plus we found the service not to our liking which I notice other reviewers sometimes note (including the most recent) and which other people we talked to while we were there were also unhappy with.
Some people love it of course...
We did love Praiano (we like quiet) and will try the Hotel Margherita next time which has excellent reviews. We saw the Fioriere which is also well reviewed but it's a very different style of hotel and note right right on the main road with the traffic (and noise) between you and the view.