Rome & Amalfi Coast trip report
Jul 25th, 2005, 06:40 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Rome & Amalfi Coast trip report
Hello all,
Just returned from a 2 week trip to the Amalfi coast. I traveled w/my husband, 2 children (boys, 5 and 9) and our au pair. We met our best friends there, and they don't have kids, so it was a total of 7 of us.
We flew in/out of Rome, staying at Hotel Teatropace 33 for one night on both ends. I was determined to make this as stress-free as possible, having learned the hard way how not to do things. I wanted to be picked up at the airport and taken to the hotel so we wouldn't have to deal w/renting the car right after getting of off the flight, and then having to find the hotel in the city. (Having our kids w/us was a factor here.) We used Andrea (Limo Service Rome I believe) as many of you suggested, and it worked out great. Turned out to be about the same price, maybe even a bit cheaper, since we needed the car 2 fewer days, and didn't pay the airport pick up tax for it. My husband picked up the car in Rome (Termini) the next day. Unfortunately (and unexpectedly) it was still the nightmare 2 hour ordeal, but better than having had to do this the day of arrival. We rented the car from AutoEurope. I had gone to a lot of trouble finding the exact car I wanted, and received confirmation that I would get it. Guess what -- they didn't have it. Eventually my husband worked out getting an upgrade to a minivan, which I really didn't want because I was concerned about the size of it while driving the coast, but it worked out fine. Didn't pay for the upgrade.
Some info. on Hotel Teatropace, which I know many people were curious about. The rooms (and I ended up seeing about 5 of them because we needed beds for 5 us, on both ends of the trip) were fine. Fairly small as typical, but made adequate because of decent sized bathrooms and dressing areas. They had a charming, medieval feel to them. Nicely decorated w/marble, yellow stucco walls and brocaded fabrics. Teeny tiny showers. We had no noise issues at all (and I'm a light sleeper). We stayed on both the 3rd and 4th floors. Our friends who were on the 2nd floor said their room was noisy from both the street and the maid closet right near them, and they sleep like the dead. The staff could not have been nicer. And we had a fiasco w/Air France, who lost a bag of ours (naturally the one w/all of the clothing of my kids and mine) and Paulo must have made 10 calls trying to help us track this down. This is a whole other story I won't bore you w/the details with, but I did end up w/the back eventually. And of course the location of the hotel is great if you want to be in the historic center of the city. Another plus was the amazing hot chocolate (pudding, really) that the kids got for breakfast. A few negatives, for us any way, was that it was very difficult to drive to and find. Thanks goodness we had the driver on the front end, but on the back end we were planning on driving directly to it on our way back, drop off our luggage, and then my husband was to drop off the car and run back to the hotel. But you can't drive in the old section unless you're a resident (or a taxi) until after 6:30. So we spent an hour lost in the city trying to get to the train station. We somehow were never aware of this detail. And we had to insist a couple of times that the driver go all the way to the door of the hotel, as they didn't want to go down that narrow little street. But obviously this issue is not unique to this hotel. Also, the hotel has no public space - you literally walk in the door to a landing on that stone staircase. Not a problem for us as we were there for such a short time, but for longer trips it would be an issue. If anyone wants more detail just let me know, I've got a lot more!
I'll send the Amalfi part in the next post...
Just returned from a 2 week trip to the Amalfi coast. I traveled w/my husband, 2 children (boys, 5 and 9) and our au pair. We met our best friends there, and they don't have kids, so it was a total of 7 of us.
We flew in/out of Rome, staying at Hotel Teatropace 33 for one night on both ends. I was determined to make this as stress-free as possible, having learned the hard way how not to do things. I wanted to be picked up at the airport and taken to the hotel so we wouldn't have to deal w/renting the car right after getting of off the flight, and then having to find the hotel in the city. (Having our kids w/us was a factor here.) We used Andrea (Limo Service Rome I believe) as many of you suggested, and it worked out great. Turned out to be about the same price, maybe even a bit cheaper, since we needed the car 2 fewer days, and didn't pay the airport pick up tax for it. My husband picked up the car in Rome (Termini) the next day. Unfortunately (and unexpectedly) it was still the nightmare 2 hour ordeal, but better than having had to do this the day of arrival. We rented the car from AutoEurope. I had gone to a lot of trouble finding the exact car I wanted, and received confirmation that I would get it. Guess what -- they didn't have it. Eventually my husband worked out getting an upgrade to a minivan, which I really didn't want because I was concerned about the size of it while driving the coast, but it worked out fine. Didn't pay for the upgrade.
Some info. on Hotel Teatropace, which I know many people were curious about. The rooms (and I ended up seeing about 5 of them because we needed beds for 5 us, on both ends of the trip) were fine. Fairly small as typical, but made adequate because of decent sized bathrooms and dressing areas. They had a charming, medieval feel to them. Nicely decorated w/marble, yellow stucco walls and brocaded fabrics. Teeny tiny showers. We had no noise issues at all (and I'm a light sleeper). We stayed on both the 3rd and 4th floors. Our friends who were on the 2nd floor said their room was noisy from both the street and the maid closet right near them, and they sleep like the dead. The staff could not have been nicer. And we had a fiasco w/Air France, who lost a bag of ours (naturally the one w/all of the clothing of my kids and mine) and Paulo must have made 10 calls trying to help us track this down. This is a whole other story I won't bore you w/the details with, but I did end up w/the back eventually. And of course the location of the hotel is great if you want to be in the historic center of the city. Another plus was the amazing hot chocolate (pudding, really) that the kids got for breakfast. A few negatives, for us any way, was that it was very difficult to drive to and find. Thanks goodness we had the driver on the front end, but on the back end we were planning on driving directly to it on our way back, drop off our luggage, and then my husband was to drop off the car and run back to the hotel. But you can't drive in the old section unless you're a resident (or a taxi) until after 6:30. So we spent an hour lost in the city trying to get to the train station. We somehow were never aware of this detail. And we had to insist a couple of times that the driver go all the way to the door of the hotel, as they didn't want to go down that narrow little street. But obviously this issue is not unique to this hotel. Also, the hotel has no public space - you literally walk in the door to a landing on that stone staircase. Not a problem for us as we were there for such a short time, but for longer trips it would be an issue. If anyone wants more detail just let me know, I've got a lot more!
I'll send the Amalfi part in the next post...
Jul 25th, 2005, 08:35 AM
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Okay, here's the next part:
We drove from Rome to Praiano. The trip took about 4 hours. It went smoothly but we missed a couple of turns after getting off of the autostrada and wasted some time deep inside of a couple of towns. And of course getting out of Rome wasn't the easiest. But all in all it went fine.
We rented a villa for 2 weeks in Praiano. This is one area where I seem to differ strongly in opinion from the Fodorites. We like to park ourselves somewhere awesome, and not move! By far the most stressful part of travel is the actual travel part, so why do this to yourself? There is *plenty* to keep you busy if you pick the right spot, and you cannot get to know a place if you don't stay there for awhile. A day spent traveling is often a wasted vacation day (unless you enjoy airports and train stations, which I don't) so we like to keep those to a minimum. Praiano was perfect for this. We visited Positano, Amalfi, Vietri, Ravello, Pompeii, Capri (spending the night on a friend's boat, so we got 2 days there) and spent days in between hanging out at the "beach" in Marina di Praia. We wanted to see Sorrento, but couldn't fit it in w/out feeling rushed, which was the priority for this particular trip. (Lots of stressful jobs in this group.) Very relaxing way to do it. We were in and out of Positano and Amalfi a few times because they were so close. We went to both just for dinner in fact. The villa was called Villa New York, and it was beautiful. If anyone wants details I can provide them of course. It slept 8-10. It was very close to a grocery which was fantastic. However, it was a hike to walk to a restaurant so we only did this a couple of times. It was about a 20 minute walk to the beach at Praia. That walk of course, was straight up and down. A bit more than I expected and hoped for, but it turned out fine and the kids managed it probably better than I did. Definitely helped work off all that pasta and wine. On days we didn't feel like getting in the car, one of the guys would go down to the beach by about 10 or so in the morning, and rent chairs for us for the day at Il Pirata, one of the restaurants/solariums on the water. What a wonderful, relaxing way to spend the day. Perched on rocks above the water, clean bathroom right behind you, and a great lunch available right there as well. My 9 year old worked up the courage to jump off the rocks. Or you could walk 5 minutes around to the rocky beach, which we often did for the 5 year old. Crowded at the beach, but still great fun. This area was one of the most picturesque we saw on the whole trip. We just loved it.
Praiano was bigger than I expected, but still very peaceful. We were near the Marina di Praia side, not the side facing Positano, for those of you that have been there. I didn't want to be in a major town, like Positano, this time of year because I just can't take the crowds. We were always grateful in the evenings, after a hot day out and about, to come back to our quiet house w/the cool breeze and the amazing view. I still would have like to be closer to restaurants and the beach, but no one else really cared. We cooked several nights, which was easy since we had the grocery and fresh, AMAZING veggies for the villa's huge terraced gardens.
Okay, here's a brief rundown on the towns and restaurants:
Positano: Loved it. Spent a couple of days hanging out on the beach and walking around town, and we were there for dinner, water taxi's, etc. Very crowded though and we were glad we didn't stay in the town. Had a great dinner at La Campusa. (I think that's it -- right on the beach.)
Capri: I really wanted to spend the night after reading all the comments, so I was glad our friends were able to accomodate all of us on their boat. We water taxied from Positano. Spent the first day on a hired boat (w/Nunzio, who was just great) circling the island and stopping for a couple of swims. We were able to get into Emerald Grotto, which was neat. Jellyfish showed up that day though. I highly recommend doing this if you are a water lover. Had dinner that night at al Grottino, which was fantastic -- I had a memorable pasta w/zucchini flowers and shrimp. Capri town was very cute, but heavy on couture type of shopping. The evening in the Piazzetta was very pleasant though. The next day we went to Anacapri, and the highlight of that (and one for the whole trip) was the chairlift to the top. WOW. Do it.
Ravello: Probably my favorite, and where I would consider staying next time. I just loved this town, way up high in the mountains. Cool and breezy, great views, and not as crowded. Very elegant. Villa Cimbrone was another highlight of the trip. We all got queezy and dizzy w/the views. Had an incredible lunch at a restaurant just outside of that villa that served organic produce from their garden - Maria something? I wish we had more time there.
Amalfi: Didn't have the immediate wow-factor of the other places, but grew to really love it. Fun, medieval style windy streets and that awesome cathedral. Definitely worth touring. One of the few cultural things I did on this trip. We had dinner at Da Gemma. They win the best-pasta-of-the-trip award, w/there spaghetti w/seafood. All their food was great though. We went there twice, choosing to have our last dinner there.
Vietri: We went just to see/shop ceramics. Fun to do if you're into this, which we are. Bought a bunch of seconds at the big factory there, for not much money. This is where Williams Sonoma gets there stuff -- we recognized the patterns. This is also a beach town and the guys managed to get a swim in. I wouldn't go here though if not for the ceramics. (one of the most famous places in Italy for this.) One bonus was that we could say we drove the entire Amalfi drive, end to end, as Vietri is the other end from Positano.
Praiano: Our base. Everyone was SO NICE. We befriended a neighbor, who greeted us everytime we came and went to the house. One point he came running over because he was nervous my little boy was about to fall. (Italians w/children is one of the most entertainig things to me.) We had a ton of lunches and one dinner at Il Pirata. We also ate at Gennaro (right by the church) and La Brace. No one had a bad meal on this trip, but you should stick to the seafood at Il Pirata, and probably the other coastal restaurants too. Their seafood risotto was fantastic, but the non seafood items were just okay. Our friends also had a good lunch at Alfonso a Mare.
We drove from Rome to Praiano. The trip took about 4 hours. It went smoothly but we missed a couple of turns after getting off of the autostrada and wasted some time deep inside of a couple of towns. And of course getting out of Rome wasn't the easiest. But all in all it went fine.
We rented a villa for 2 weeks in Praiano. This is one area where I seem to differ strongly in opinion from the Fodorites. We like to park ourselves somewhere awesome, and not move! By far the most stressful part of travel is the actual travel part, so why do this to yourself? There is *plenty* to keep you busy if you pick the right spot, and you cannot get to know a place if you don't stay there for awhile. A day spent traveling is often a wasted vacation day (unless you enjoy airports and train stations, which I don't) so we like to keep those to a minimum. Praiano was perfect for this. We visited Positano, Amalfi, Vietri, Ravello, Pompeii, Capri (spending the night on a friend's boat, so we got 2 days there) and spent days in between hanging out at the "beach" in Marina di Praia. We wanted to see Sorrento, but couldn't fit it in w/out feeling rushed, which was the priority for this particular trip. (Lots of stressful jobs in this group.) Very relaxing way to do it. We were in and out of Positano and Amalfi a few times because they were so close. We went to both just for dinner in fact. The villa was called Villa New York, and it was beautiful. If anyone wants details I can provide them of course. It slept 8-10. It was very close to a grocery which was fantastic. However, it was a hike to walk to a restaurant so we only did this a couple of times. It was about a 20 minute walk to the beach at Praia. That walk of course, was straight up and down. A bit more than I expected and hoped for, but it turned out fine and the kids managed it probably better than I did. Definitely helped work off all that pasta and wine. On days we didn't feel like getting in the car, one of the guys would go down to the beach by about 10 or so in the morning, and rent chairs for us for the day at Il Pirata, one of the restaurants/solariums on the water. What a wonderful, relaxing way to spend the day. Perched on rocks above the water, clean bathroom right behind you, and a great lunch available right there as well. My 9 year old worked up the courage to jump off the rocks. Or you could walk 5 minutes around to the rocky beach, which we often did for the 5 year old. Crowded at the beach, but still great fun. This area was one of the most picturesque we saw on the whole trip. We just loved it.
Praiano was bigger than I expected, but still very peaceful. We were near the Marina di Praia side, not the side facing Positano, for those of you that have been there. I didn't want to be in a major town, like Positano, this time of year because I just can't take the crowds. We were always grateful in the evenings, after a hot day out and about, to come back to our quiet house w/the cool breeze and the amazing view. I still would have like to be closer to restaurants and the beach, but no one else really cared. We cooked several nights, which was easy since we had the grocery and fresh, AMAZING veggies for the villa's huge terraced gardens.
Okay, here's a brief rundown on the towns and restaurants:
Positano: Loved it. Spent a couple of days hanging out on the beach and walking around town, and we were there for dinner, water taxi's, etc. Very crowded though and we were glad we didn't stay in the town. Had a great dinner at La Campusa. (I think that's it -- right on the beach.)
Capri: I really wanted to spend the night after reading all the comments, so I was glad our friends were able to accomodate all of us on their boat. We water taxied from Positano. Spent the first day on a hired boat (w/Nunzio, who was just great) circling the island and stopping for a couple of swims. We were able to get into Emerald Grotto, which was neat. Jellyfish showed up that day though. I highly recommend doing this if you are a water lover. Had dinner that night at al Grottino, which was fantastic -- I had a memorable pasta w/zucchini flowers and shrimp. Capri town was very cute, but heavy on couture type of shopping. The evening in the Piazzetta was very pleasant though. The next day we went to Anacapri, and the highlight of that (and one for the whole trip) was the chairlift to the top. WOW. Do it.
Ravello: Probably my favorite, and where I would consider staying next time. I just loved this town, way up high in the mountains. Cool and breezy, great views, and not as crowded. Very elegant. Villa Cimbrone was another highlight of the trip. We all got queezy and dizzy w/the views. Had an incredible lunch at a restaurant just outside of that villa that served organic produce from their garden - Maria something? I wish we had more time there.
Amalfi: Didn't have the immediate wow-factor of the other places, but grew to really love it. Fun, medieval style windy streets and that awesome cathedral. Definitely worth touring. One of the few cultural things I did on this trip. We had dinner at Da Gemma. They win the best-pasta-of-the-trip award, w/there spaghetti w/seafood. All their food was great though. We went there twice, choosing to have our last dinner there.
Vietri: We went just to see/shop ceramics. Fun to do if you're into this, which we are. Bought a bunch of seconds at the big factory there, for not much money. This is where Williams Sonoma gets there stuff -- we recognized the patterns. This is also a beach town and the guys managed to get a swim in. I wouldn't go here though if not for the ceramics. (one of the most famous places in Italy for this.) One bonus was that we could say we drove the entire Amalfi drive, end to end, as Vietri is the other end from Positano.
Praiano: Our base. Everyone was SO NICE. We befriended a neighbor, who greeted us everytime we came and went to the house. One point he came running over because he was nervous my little boy was about to fall. (Italians w/children is one of the most entertainig things to me.) We had a ton of lunches and one dinner at Il Pirata. We also ate at Gennaro (right by the church) and La Brace. No one had a bad meal on this trip, but you should stick to the seafood at Il Pirata, and probably the other coastal restaurants too. Their seafood risotto was fantastic, but the non seafood items were just okay. Our friends also had a good lunch at Alfonso a Mare.
Jul 25th, 2005, 08:46 AM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Here's the final segment:
Pompeii: We wisely got the idea to see this on the way back to Rome, since it would be a hike to go there and back. We got up early so we could there early, and unfortunately hit a hideous backup just about 5 miles away from Pompeii, delaying us about an hour or more. (Something that you wouldn't have to worry about if you took a train.) But it was well worth the wait. Really incredible, but didn't have enough time there. We need to get back. Plan on *at least* 3 hours there. And bring some water.
We had a relaxing evening (after yet another stressful travel day, which I mentioned in my first post) in Rome. Met some fun people, had a great dinner (of course) and saw the Trevi fountain at night. Up early the next day and flew home.
THE END! We've traveled quite a bit to Europe and this trip will always be one of the best we've had. The Amalfi Coast lives up to the hype. Hope this is of some assistance as I've received a lot from you all. I'm happy to answer any questions.
Pam
Pompeii: We wisely got the idea to see this on the way back to Rome, since it would be a hike to go there and back. We got up early so we could there early, and unfortunately hit a hideous backup just about 5 miles away from Pompeii, delaying us about an hour or more. (Something that you wouldn't have to worry about if you took a train.) But it was well worth the wait. Really incredible, but didn't have enough time there. We need to get back. Plan on *at least* 3 hours there. And bring some water.
We had a relaxing evening (after yet another stressful travel day, which I mentioned in my first post) in Rome. Met some fun people, had a great dinner (of course) and saw the Trevi fountain at night. Up early the next day and flew home.
THE END! We've traveled quite a bit to Europe and this trip will always be one of the best we've had. The Amalfi Coast lives up to the hype. Hope this is of some assistance as I've received a lot from you all. I'm happy to answer any questions.
Pam
Jul 25th, 2005, 09:45 AM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sure, the website is:
http://www.italy-rental-villa.net/english/index.php
We paid 5460 Euro for both weeks, all inclusive. This included maid service mid-stay. We got a small discount (5% I think) for booking for 2 weeks, but I had to ask for it.
Glad you enjoyed the report!
http://www.italy-rental-villa.net/english/index.php
We paid 5460 Euro for both weeks, all inclusive. This included maid service mid-stay. We got a small discount (5% I think) for booking for 2 weeks, but I had to ask for it.
Glad you enjoyed the report!
Jul 25th, 2005, 10:18 AM
#6
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 401
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for your trip report, pamela8-you really brought back some nice memories for me, as I like to hang out sometimes on a beach chair at la Pirata, and last time took a sries of photographs of the couple who owns it-I also like swimming into that timy cove between la Pirata and the Marina do Paia, where the water was a lighter shade of aqua.
It must have been so beautiful to spend the night on a boast off Capri!
The restaurant near Cimbrone on Ravello must be Villa Maria-which is a nice hotel!
It must have been so beautiful to spend the night on a boast off Capri!
The restaurant near Cimbrone on Ravello must be Villa Maria-which is a nice hotel!
Jul 25th, 2005, 10:42 AM
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes - that was it - Villa Maria. Gorgeous.
On Capri, we stayed in the marina on the boat, so it wasn't the most beautiful spot. But no complaints!
At Il Pirata we got to know Rino (son of the owner) and Pietro, both of whom waited on us. They were great and very funny. That little cove you referred to was always filled w/teens throwing a ball so we never got in right in that exact spot. But I know what you mean.
On Capri, we stayed in the marina on the boat, so it wasn't the most beautiful spot. But no complaints!
At Il Pirata we got to know Rino (son of the owner) and Pietro, both of whom waited on us. They were great and very funny. That little cove you referred to was always filled w/teens throwing a ball so we never got in right in that exact spot. But I know what you mean.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ToujoursVoyager
Europe
9
Jul 19th, 2019 05:41 PM
