How better to celebrate a 15th wedding anniversary than a trip to Italy!!!

I am looking to wow my wife with a surprise trip to Italy. We have done Rome-Tuscany-Florence-Venice on an earlier trip (loved it!!!). My wife is now craving Naples!!

Any suggestions on how to spend 10 romantic days in Italy in August?? Naples / Capri / Positano area are a must - am open to all other suggestions!!

Ravello Hotel Villa Cimbrone: expensive option
Ravello Hotel Villa Maria: mid-range option
Ravello Hotel Villa Amore: budget option

Cally:
In september/october we(DW and me),spent two glorious weeks in Italy(one week in the Amalfi Coast and one week in Rome).In the A.C. we were based in Amalfi,and we were very ahappy with our decision.Please,don't missositano,Amalfi,Maiori,Minori,RAVELLO,Sorrent o and Capri(if possible for you,pass a night or two there).Also most interesting are Pompeii,and possibly Paestum .
You will love aniything from peoplewatching to food.Have in mind those are villages and not big cities;you are going to feel very relaxed and not hurried.Please,ask if you need any other data(a trip report coming soon).

August is going to be unbelievably packed with European vacationers in the areas you are talking about. The lines for buses on the Amalfi Coast is painfully long. As I've mentioned in other posts, at the end of August there is a traffic jam on the highways from Amalfi to Rome. Literally, Europe goes on vacation for the month of August. Our family is in Ischia and we never go in August to see them. Is it possible to go in July or September?

The cities more inland or north are empty and cheaper.

cally,

ditto what Ann said. ALL of italy wil be crowded, but you might find some areas less crowded than others. Puglia, the dolomites, the piedmonte would all be lovely and hopefuly less crowded than the amalfi. the lakes are lovely in the summer; we spent a week on Lake Garda in August a few years ago and there were lots of people, but it was not unbearable.

two Anns can't be wrong,

regards, ann

Along with the two Anns comments, anniversary or not I'd wait until September for these destinations. If there's no compromising on August, then pick somewhere else to go if romance is your goal.

annhig had a great ideas. It sounds like Jean has also experienced Amalfi in August. I think your wife would love Lake Garda or any of the places annhig mentioned. It can also get brutally hot in August in the Amalif/Capri/Ischia area. My family said it was very hot this summer. Regards to you also, Ann.

ciao ann1. I'm not saying that lake garda wasn't hot, or that there weren't lots of people.

but it was bearable, and it was cooler on the boats, which are plentiful. it was positively cool at the top of the mountain half-way up the eastern edge of the lake [sorry I've forgotten its name] and the nights were ok, especially with A/C. I should imagine that the other lakes would be equally pleasant. although they are very popular, we booked a week in a hotel in Garda itself about a month before we went and got a very good deal.


are you from Ischia too or is it that your family lives there? i only ask because my italian teacher last year is also from Ischia.