Thanks to everyone for their input - our trip was amazing and the restaurants recommended by you guys were a hit! Anyone interested in our trip please write and I'll be glad to pass along info. We traveled by train, SITA bus, hydrofoil and private car so I've got opinions on everything.

We just did the same trip! Would love to hear about yours. Please post a report! Thanks.

I'd love to hear about Rome and Capri as were going next spring.

lisasal, I'm interested! We'll be there in less than a month. Arrive on a Tuesday for four nights in Sorrento. We want to go to Capri for a daytrip, Pompeii for another, and SITA bus to Amalfi coast as well. Plus a day just for putzing around Sorrento. Am open for any hints & tips!

Hi lisa,

Don't you know that if you don't provide a trip report, not only will everyone be very disappointed, but the BBS administrators will send a signal to your computer that will cause a large picture of David's private parts to be permanently engraved on your computer's screen?

Ira, to some that might not present a problem.

Dln, Thought I'd post the following since we just got back, too!

We spent about a week in Sorrento, then went on to Capri for three days. In Sorrento, I'd recommend these restaurants:

Taverna- Located in the old town. Excellent thin crust pizza, good antipasto and handmade pastas. Wonderful service.

Also Taverna Due, located just a few blocks away in an alley behind Taverna. Great dinner with delicious meat dishes, pastas, etc. Attentive service and well-priced.

Caruso, just off Piazza Tasso. Lovely restaurant whose walls pay homage to the opera singer Caruso. We had a very good dinner there, but it is less friendly and a little stuffier than Taverna Due, and much more expensive. Dinner for four with a bottle of $35 wine, ran about $225.

Also heard good things about "TASSO", which again is just off Piazza Tasso, but we didn't make it there.

In Capri, we enjoyed dinner at:

Villa Brunella. Excellent view out a large picture window framing the cliffs of Capri. Wonderful service, so-so food, but lovely hotel and beautiful walk about fifteen minutes from the main piazetta.

Down at Marina Grande, I can't recommend enough a moderately priced restaurant called "Lo Zodiaco". The owner/chef is from Capri, but just returned from a 25-year stint in the U.S. at a restaurant in Vermont. Anyway, his pasta dishes all served in gleaming copper pans were out of this world. And the pizza was heavenly, fragrant, and topped with some of his garden's tomatoes and fresh basil. YUM!

I really prefer Positano to Amalfi mostly for its dramatic beauty and scenery. Yes, it's swarming with tourists in the summer, but the view from the terrraces down to the beach is magical, especially at sunset. In Positano, I recommend having lunch at the Hotel Poseidon. The food is amazing, and the view spectacular. If you're going to be in Positano around dinnertime, try calling one of several restaurants in Montpertuso, a small mountain village about a 15 minute drive away. The two I've been to are: IL RITROVO, and DONNA ROSA, both of which have incredible food. IL RITROVO will send a car to pick you up and take you back to Positano. You do need to call ahead.

A tip on Pompeii: We've been there twice-- once by ourselves two years ago for a guided daytrip, and this year for the new night tour with our kids. If you can, I would recommend going in the day. The night tour left out quite a few of the important highlights, and was quite disappointing-- and buggy!

Have a great time on your trip!

Thanks, Weadles!

Lest I have David's private parts posted all over my screen (much to the delight of my young impressionable children)here's my report.

Flew into Rome and spent 3 nights at the River Palace Hotel in the room the size of a small kennel. Being a New Yorker I am accustomed to small hotel rooms but this one took the cake. Barely enough room for two of us plus luggage. Thank God I'm not overweight because the shower wasn't big enough to move around and impossible to shave my legs in. That aside, Rome, despite the heat, was lovely. Ate at great restaurants - top of my list are Piperno on Monte de Cenci and Papa Giovanni on Via Dei Sediari. Can't say enough about the food. Another excellent and really economical place was Ambasciata d'Abruzzo - house wine was 7 euros for a full bottle! We did half day tours through Appian Line which does a good job and is reasonably priced. I couldn't handle an entire day of sightseeing in that oppressive heat. Don't miss the usual sites: colisseum, vatican, st. peter's, etc. etc.
On to Sorrento for five nights. Took the eurostar from Rome to Naples which is the most economical and easiest way to travel. Bought our tickets from a travel agency next to the hotel. It's hassle free that way. Be sure to book first class. It's the only civilized way to do it. Had a driver meet us in Naples which was well worth the 95 euros. I can pass along his number if anyone's interested. We stayed at the Bellevue Syrene which is a beautiful hotel with breathtaking views of Sorrento Bay and Mt. Vesuvius. As weadles mentioned Lanterna Due is one of the best places to eat. We found Sorrento pleasant but a bit too Americanized - too many Irish pubs and pedestrian style eating. For some (my parents) it was great. Although it's a lovely town you really need to move around to get a feel of the Amalfi Coast. We took SITA to Positano for the day on two occasions and absolutely fell in love with the town. I actually didn't find it that congested (compared to Sorrento)and there were some quaint little shops up along the roads leading down to the beach. closer to the beach got more flea markety. The restaurants are to die for. La Cambusa is a MUST (A fodorite recommended it) Food and service cannot be beat. Mario was our waiter and he took good care of us! Chez Black is also excellent. They're both right on the beach. SITA leaves a lot to be desired. The buses do not run on schedule so be prepared to wait. We stood one day in the blazing sun for over an hour and finally hired a private car for 50 euros. probably could have bargained him down but we just wanted to get back to our hotel and a/c and deodorant (which reminds me - if you are planning to go in the summer months take the strongest stuff you can find because you do SWEAT)The Italians haven't caught on to that concept yet. I had way too many stank armpits hanging over my head on the bus - but it still didn't damper my spirit! The buses are EXTREMELY crowded too. We found out too late that there is a ferry that runs a couple of times a day to Amalfi with a stop in Positano. I highly recommend that. We went to Amalfi for one day and the town is all it's said to be; a quaint little fishing village that's true to it's roots. There isn't too much to see but we had a great lunch and went to the beach which wasn't so great - very crowded and the water smelled. The beach in Positano was much nicer. We didn't get to Ravello which I hear is heaven so next time that's on my list. It's a 15 minute bus ride from Amalfi. All in all we loved the coast would definately go back but next time I would stay in Positano hands down. After that it was on to Capri. The hydrofoil leaves from the pier which is two min. away from the Bellevue Syrene. A porter helped us with the bags - that again is worth the 4 euros they charged. When we arrived in Capri a rep from the hotel appeared out of nowhere and seemed to know everything about us. We didn't question him as he looked liked one of Tony Sopranos goombas but he was very pleasant, provided us with tickets for the tram (the funco train as we referred to it as) and assured us our luggage would be at the hotel. We stayed at the Casa Morgano which I highly recommend. It's the sister hotel to the Quissisana and unless you always want to be 'on' I don't recommend staying there. We strolled thru the lobby and there were far too many overaged Barbie Dolls and men with bad hair pieces and diamond pinky rings for my taste. Maybe we caught it on a bad day (I don't want to offend any of you Fodorites but you really don't strike me as a Barbie bunch!)Like I said I'm from NY so I see this all the time - I go on vacation to escape it! My first impression of Capri was that it was a combination of 5th ave. and boca raton. The most American accents we'd heard in ten days. Women strolling the streets carrying bright green and yellow ostrich Hermes bags - a bit scary! But as we settled in we really came to love it. Restaurants were top notch - Ristorante Aurora was great. Kinda felt again like home with all the demanding attitudes but the food was excellent. Even better was Le Grotelle. This was recommended by a Fodorite and they were right on the mark. It was quite a hike from our hotel (20 min. walk) through dark narrow streets but it was like a slice of heaven. The staff was friendly and attentive and the food was incredible with prices that could not be beat. this is another reason why I love this sight - you guys really know your stuff! It was up near the Arc D'Naturale which at night is bathed in darkness but if you go for lunch the view has to be unreal. We did a boat tour around the island which I do recommend because you really get a feel for it. The Blue Grotto of course is a don't miss although it is the biggest rip-off ever - everyone's got their hand out!! Capitalism is alive and well...If we had more time we would have rented a private boat for the day. The guys are down at the harbor hawking them right and left. I'm sure you can bargain with them and get a great deal. That way you can stop and swim in the grottos - the green grotto is breathtaking. And the yachts in Marina Piccolo are the size of small ocean liners. The hotel made all of our return arrangements so when we got to the dock Tony's guy was there to meet us again (sorry I just can't resist) and we handed him an envelope full of cash. they want their services in cash only. i really came to love capri and recommend anyone who goes stays over for a few nights. the crowds are maddening during the day which made the hotel pool a sure bet. after dark capri thins out and takes on an exotic, cosmopolitan flair.
I hope I haven't rambled on too much here. I was a journalist so I tend to do that (casualty of the trade). I am really happy to answer any questions and be of help to anyone planning their trip so feel free to ask me anything!!

lisasal,

From one former journalist to another, great description of Capri! To me, it felt like we'd landed in the middle of a giant Botox party hosted by models. Hmm... Can you tell I preferred Positano?


Anyway, glad you had a mostly good trip!

Hi Weadles: We're definately on the same page. I could rag on and on about the superficiality of it all but i'm trying to be nice and capri is lovely in the evening so long as you avoid the 'it' spots - like hanging at the Quissi bar hoping to be discovered!

lisasal,

Capri IS lovely in the evening, and my husband says he'd have no probably going back-- if somebody else paid!

By the way, couldn't agree with you more about Sorrento. Where are you going next?

Thanks!

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for your vibrant report.

Hi Weadles: I am hoping for Calabria/Sicily next summer. In between who knows?? London if I'm lucky otherwise a weekend at the New Jersey Marriott (LOL)
How about you??

Lisa and Weadles--my husband was just home for lunch and read my posted itinerary for upcoming trip to Italy. He commented that I'd dropped Capri from the mix. I referred him to this thread! Thanks you two for being blunt about the good points and bad points. I had my reservations about Capri as even the most conservative of guidebooks say that in many ways it's an incredibly beautiful tourist trap. Yet it just didn't seem possible not to see it--sort of like going to Paris and missing the Eiffel Tower!

Well, between your opinions and that glossy Conde Nast Traveller magazine spread on Capri, I re-thought our options and decided to take a leap of faith with Naples instead. I know Naples is an extreme love it or hate it kind of place, but it will be more of an adventure and less Botox. And, even better, we won't miss the hydrofoil ride across the Bay of Naples! We'll just take it to Naples instead.

dln,

I've always wanted to go to Naples, too, but been constantly talked out of it, interestingly enough by Italians from other areas who seem to really look down on the Neapolitans. However, my interest in it re-emerged after reading an article titled "SENSORY OVERLOAD IN NAPLES", which appeared in the New York Times Travel Section on June 15th. Did you get a chance to see it? If not, I still have a copy.

As for Capri, I may have given the wrong impression. I'm just not much of a shopper and not very impressed with the designer-clothes crowd, since I see too much of that as it is here in New York. But I DID really love our hotel, Luna, which was beautiful, quiet, and seemed to cater mostly to families like ourselves and young couples. Luna had a very attentive and welcoming staff, and the view from our rooms was everything you could hope for and more. However, the price for all of us for one night was as much as one of our airfares from NYC to Rome, and for that reason alone, I don't see us going back anytime soon.

Also, we loved our tour of the Blue Grotto. I'd never seen it mentioned before, but when you swim in the grotto, the blue light makes your body look like it's glowing in the dark. It really is a once in a lifetime experience. Touristy, yes. But to me, worth the trouble.

Anyway, please post again with your findings on Naples. I am very interested to hear them!

Buon viaggio!

lisasal,

We're hoping to get to Sicily, too, but until then, I think we'll be lucky to wind up at a Motel 6...

Seriously, as soon as one trip is over, we're always hoping to go again. Our kids loved Italy, so maybe, if we can, we'll go back there next summer.

Take care!

Hello Weadles! The NY Times article is on-line so I will access it later. Thanks for the tip. My parents get the Times and could have sent it to us, but they're in the group that is not enamoured of Naples. Mother only sends me Times articles of places SHE wants us to go to!

I don't think you and Lisa gave me the wrong idea about Capri, only confirmed some thoughts I had. Like you, I'm not impressed or concerned with the "jet set" (for lack of a better word) types, or designer shopping (unless I can do it at a deep discount, and then I'm very interested!). As for the Blue Grotto, it's too bad to give that up, but I've come up with an excellent alternative--the Emerald Grotto on the Amalfi coast. I've read that it rivals the Blue Grotto, and since it's less known, maybe it will even have the bonus of being less crowded.

Anyway, I'm just busting to go on this trip and love your advice!

I hope some reconsider dropping Capri. It is just too beautiful for words. However, I was there in late March, it was only about 70 and sunny. I think I saw the Capri no one here did, we really had trouble finding more than a few stragglers roaming around. I actually walked the path from Anacapri out to the lookout over the Faragloni and didn't pass one person.

Amyb, you're so lucky to have seen it in March minus the hordes of tourists. We'll be there shortly after the first of September, and I think it will be plenty busy. I wouldn't even consider skipping it if I had the same travel dates as you! My parents have remarked time and time again that off-season travel is the best, because the experience is like night and day from high.