Sicily or the Amalfi Coast?
 

We are trying to narrow down our destinations for an August family trip. Two adults and two pre teens, in search of: great food, nice beaches, medium sized towns, some historical sites, lots of atmosphere and general relaxing. Looking for 4 star hotels. We would likely rent a car in either destination, and spend a few days in Rome first.

In Sicily we are thinking of staying in Taormina and/or Siracusa/Ortigia. Yet, reading these boards, Taormina gets very mixed reviews, I'm not sure I want hundreds of steps and we do like to be a bit out of the traditional tourist mix. Restaurants geared to the tourist trade do not appeal to us. Does that make Ortigia a better spot? Yet, it doesn't seem many hotels there have pools (a must with the kids) and I'm not sure if there are beaches near Ortigia. (There is a Grand Hotel on Ortigia that seems nice, if old.) Any place else in Sicily you suggest? The Aeolian Islands seem a bit far out and too quiet.

For Amalfi we are focusing on Sorrento or Ravello. Sorrento seems to have the best hotels for us, price wise and with a pool. Yet, is Sorrento a smallish very crowded city or, is it very pretty with great wandering and great food? Are there nearby beaches? Ravello looks nice but the hotels seem to be very scattered and no real beaches, I think. Are either Ravello or Sorrento good bases for day trips and the like? Thanks for your help.

We've stayed at the Grand Hotel in Siracusa a few years back. It was nice, but nothing special... I don't recall if it had a pool. August will be a pistol heat-wise no matter where you are. Friends went to Italy last August and said.... Never Again!

With teenagers Sorrento is probably the best choice. It is convenient to travel to other sites. If it were two adults... Ravello!

On Sicily Mondello..near Palermo is evidently the beach place for the summer. But you'd have to travel to see many of the most interesting sites.

Thank you for that info. Sorrento is certainly "easier" I think.

On that score: is it advisable to have a car in Sorrento for day trips? Or, is it easier to take trains to other nearby towns?

Sorrento is a convenient base for day trips, but not a good place if you want a beach.

I loved Sicily, which has great food, medium sized (and smaller) towns, and very good historical sites. Doubt there are any hotels on Ortigia with a pool - maybe in the new part of Siracusa. Taormina was too touristy for me in April, so can't imagine what it would be like in August. You might try Cefalu for a beach, although I don't know whether it has any four star hotels.

Might I be so bold as to suggest that you rethink this trip? You actually want several contradictory things, and you are going to places in August that are going to be excruciatingly hot and crowded.

To knock away some obvious ones: Ravello is not a good base for day trips, and it is not a "medium-sized" town. It is a 30 minute bus ride to a beach (and perhaps more).

Touring historical sites in Sicily or near Amalfi (like Pompeii) is pretty awful in August. Ortygia is a very small place, with few luxury hotels, and it is not easy to get on and off the little land spit it is on to go touristing on the mainland.

Four star hotels on the Italian coast, with a few exceptions, are located in places where the restaurants cater to the tourist trade. A place like Sorrento, near the water, is wall-to-wall package tours.

By the way, Mondello is a truly awful dirty beach, and about the only reason most people go to Sicily is to enjoy its plethora of historic sights. If you mainly want the beach and 4 star hotels most of all, you needn't go all the way to Sicily.

If you must go in August -- and you probably must -- what do you really want most? Do you want to get away from tourist crowds to the greatest extent? Do you want some historical sights to tour even if the weather is in 100s? Do you want a medium-sized town?

The town of Amalfi in the Amalfi coast will be a zoo in August, but it probably has the most of what you want, although if you plan to include a trip to Pompeii, go as early in the morning as you possibly can on the coolest day you've got.

Another possibility would be for you to check out the Savoy Beach Hotel in Salerno. From there you can take ferries to other Amalfi destinations, including Capri and Positano, you can visit Paestum, and Pompeii, and seaside fortresses, you will be in the heart of some of the greatest food in Campania, plus the greatest ceramic making -- and you'll be off the tourist track. If you want, you can even head over to an Aeolian island (like Stromboli) or the Sicilian mainland (Cefalu?) for a few days, but you'd probably have more fun sinking into this little-known but beautiful area, and enjoying the company of vacationing Italians. You might even consider renting a small house with a pool instead of going to a hotel.

It won't have the ritz and glitz of Taormina and the core of Amalfi, but you'll survive.

Should you end up in the heart of the Amalfi, like Sorrento, or the town of Amalfi, don't rent a car.

Beaches on the Amalfi coast are, by and large, pebbles not sand - and not very pleasant. One goes for the cute towns, visits to Pompeii and Capri and drive down the coast - and gets a hotel with a good pool. Definitely not a place to go to the beach.

(Many euroepan beaches are pebbles and rarely meet the quality of FL or Carib beaches. Frankly, even the beaches on Long Island/Hamptons are much better than most in europe.)

Italians would be really amazed to learn that one doesn't go to the Amalfi coast to enjoy the beaches or swimming in the sea, and that it's superior to swim in a pool. Well, maybe someday this quaint people will learn.

Anyway, many Americans do in fact have a horror of Italian pebble beaches and fail to note that beach/water shoes are sold everywhere on the coast -- so get a pool if you want.

Thank you. Your feedback is much appreciated. I have done a bunch more reading today and it does seem what I want is contradictory: good beaches, not packed towns (at least not packed with package tours) and some historical sites, all in August.

I think Sorrento may simply be way too tourist packed for us. (Yet, does that mean Taormina would be too?) And the driving around the Amalfi coast seems it would be very stressful. Likely its easier to drive even in Sicily, with all the comments I've read about it.

As for beaches, we have been to Europe and I know we won't find the pristine beaches we sometimes visit, and we are Ok with some smaller grainy beaches, though pebbles and the like isn't what we really want. We are Ok spending time in a pool but, would also really want a beach. I think I see there are some Ok beaches outside Taormina, or maybe not far form Siracusa/Ortigia? I can get a room at the Grand in Ortigia, which looks good, Ortigia seems to have lots of great restaurants and some sights, but it doesn't have a pool, but it might have a shuttle bus to a nearby beach.

We had looked a bit at Sardinia and maybe we should focus our attention back there? On the east coast preferably? Any hotel recommendations? I know the Cali di Volpe area is way out of our price range and not sure its what we are looking for anyway.

I will look at the Savoy Beach hotel, it sounds like a good option. Alternatively, we had looked a bit around the Puglia area and I will look again there too.

One more thing: can you rent an automatic in Italy or they are very hard to come across? I remember years ago renting one in Nice and driving into Italy but I've never rented one in Italy. Thanks.

As far as I know, some of the best beaches in Sicily are on the southern coast, near Agrigento---in Sciacca; there are many hotels with pools there...but I agree that it will be very hot..

I disagree vehemently with the comments that the beaches on the Amalfi coast are not nice! And I have been to lots of the world's beaches in my lifetime! They don't have the fine sand of Long Island, or southern Thailand, but scenically, they rank high up there! I thought the prettiest stretches of coast where around Conca dei Marini and east of Amalfi. The custom is to use chairs, rather than lie on towels..and bring your rubber shoes!

Yes, do look again at the Salerno area, and also at Maratea..

Is Spain out of the question?

Oh..I got so wrapped up in defending the Amalfi beaches that I forgot to post this pic of southern Sicily:


http://webzoom.freewebs.com/burgio/IMG_5102.jpg

tengohambre,,

I've never been to Sardegna but I think it sounds great, and you can ferry there from Rome, which might be fun. Go to Ostia Antica before you leave Rome and -- hey, you're done with your historic sites!

In August, you're going to have do some research not to get caught in a tourist nightmare. But any place by the sea is just going to be jammed. The trick is to find some town Italians enjoy, not some sterile tourist trap.

I'm also going to toss this out, too, for what it's worth:

Il Pelicano, in Porto Ercole (on the Maremma coast of Tuscany), reachable by train from Rome to Orbetello, plus a taxi. Pricey!

If that's too pricey, you can check to see if there are other hotels that might appeal to you in either Porto Ercole or Porto Santo Stefano, a few miles away.

On second thought, scratch those suggestions. Il Pelicano has a no-kids policy in summer, and I don't think the rest of the surroundings have suitable hotels.

I'm really afraid you'll be miserable in Sicily and will not get anything of what you want -- which would be a shame, because Italy is filled with nice seaside towns (including in Liguria), so I can't advise to go all the way to hot Sicily and end up with an inadequate hotel and beach.

Il Pelicano was also crazy expensive, I checked, particularly for what it seemed to offer.

I am looking a bit further down the Amalfi coast now, near Campania, but there aren't many hotels there for us.

Sicily still seems appealing, if we can find the right spot.

Your trip sounds great except for one fallacy---August. That is what I would change if you can.

What about Ischia? There are many beaches and lots of good hotels--here is a recent related thread that contains lots of information; you could do day trips to Naples, Pompeii, etc:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35175108



Try to go in the first part of August, if possible.

Thank you Skrunchy.

I emailed a few hotels in Ischia but haven't heard back. Odd. Other hotels responded within 12 hours mostly. I will try again.

I do see that August is not only the most packed but, to add insult to injury, the highest price. Some areas do have rates fall for the last week or so of August and we may be able to gear ourselves to that. Maybe end of July, but doubtful.

I love Sicily but NEVER in August.Rome and surrounding areas are horrible in August to visit.In my personal opinion-Ortigia is wonderful but pre teens won't get it.
Some of our friends went to Sicily last year the last week of July and first of August for vacation.Hubs and I kept saying how hot it was going to be but they said "no problem". They came home and said "never again".They were miserable and certainly did not seem to enjoy the culture,food and experience of Sicily especially without A/C in their hotel room.

Do you have to go in August?Could you go somewhere else instead of Italy? Let us know.

Well, in not Italy . . .

How about Cataluna, Spain, and drive north into France, towards Nice? We were in Barcelona a year ago or so, in August, and drove north past Pals and some other towns and liked it. We loved BCN and would return there. I think this time we could just keep driving, past Perpignan, and then to the French Riviera? Yes, crowded there too but, not as hot? And, more options hotel wise? Has anyone done this trip?

Greece? But we prefer Italian food.
We looked at Bodrum, Turkish coast, but that too seems packed and we would probably enjoy Italy more.

What great advice you are getting; zeppole in particular is a gold mine!

Take their word for the heat! Pompeii was as dry and dusty as I've ever been in my life. (Love it, but--eek, the heat of high summer--if you go, get a guide at Pompeii, IMO).

We stayed at the Luna Convento in Amalfi and timed out trip to avoid August but we got very early September and still very hot! This is a nice hotel a short walk along the Amalfi Coast road (a narrow path for pedestrians) into Amalfi which is a pleasant town with a nice passegiata early evenings. We didn't use the beach but for walking along, but the LC has a stunning pool carved out of rock right on the sea, above it. (Pool not heated, BTW).

If I were planning this trip (and I have traveled with youngsters) and had to go in August I would head north to get away from the scorching heat. If you really want the south I like Z's suggestion of Salerno.

If I went to Catalonia, I would drive to San Sebastian through France. It's much nicer than the long haul to Nice, and with your pre-teens you could stop along the way in some caves and other French sights in the foothills of the Pyrenees. But the entire drive from the Costa Brava to San Sebastian is only about six hours if you do it without stopping.

Were it me, I would just go to San Sebastian -- but I'd like to live there! Some Catalonian beach towns I like are Calella da Palafrugell and Cadaques, but I don't know about four star hotels there -- although I know they abound on the Costa Brava in other places, many within driving distance of Pals.

In San Sebastian, the hotel Londres would be my 4 star pick. It's the one that's on the beach.

If you want to go to Nice, which has great weather, plus someplace else, I would either begin or end in the Italian Riviera. It's only about a 2 hour Genova, and then beyond that another hour to the best of the fishing villages and beaches. (Your family might really like Sestri Levante, with its two sandy beaches and pedestrianized town with lots of easy going life, mostly Italian familes, great octopus and other treats).

http://www.liguriawebtv.it/wp-conten...ri-levante.jpg

Another possibility is Menton, right at the French-Italian border, which means with a car you could visit nearby dramatic Italian hill towns like Apricale and others

http://www.casavaleria.it/dintorni.php

the earthquake ruined town of Bussana Vecchia, now inhabited as an artist's colony

http://www.laboratorioraku.com/il_luogoi_corsi.html

and the French seaside hilltown of Eze

http://nature.wallpaperme.com/updates?g2_itemId=4662

Some people like nearby Menton, but i don't know it very well

One thing I would check before booking August on a Catalonia beach is whether the high winds come in August. I just don't know which month they are, but they fierce. Really fierce. But maybe they're not in summer. I just don't know.

Loved, loved, loved Sorrento...but it was in late March, not in August so I can't comment on that. We stayed in an apartment right above a bakery in the main town (not up on the hill where most of the hotels are). We thought it was a wonderful base (no car) since we could easily walk to the grand marina (where there is a small beach), the ferry location (to get to Capri), the bus station (took a bus to Amalfi), and the circumvesuviana (the smaller train that goes to Naples and stops at Pompeii, Herculeum, and several other spots). We have traveled quite a bit through Europe and this trip (which was combined with Rome) is still my favorite.

Our children were 4 and 5 at the time and everyone was so nice. We found loads of good restaurants, loved wandering the streets of Sorrento (although they weren't ridiculously crowded for our visit), and loved visiting the Grand Marina to watch the fisherman and play at the edge of the water.

I haven't been to Sicily so I can't compare the two. You also said you wanted a hotel with a pool, which would probably mean you are looking at the hotels that are a bit away from the main downtown of Sorrento.

I believe you received some pretty good comments in respone to your inquiry. While I cannot comment on Sicily (at least not yet), my wife and I spent about 12 days on the Amalfi Coast last year during the first two weeks of July, with the last 4 days of our trip in Rome. We are frequent travelers who love warm coastal climates, great scenery, nice hotels, friendly people, and excellent food. The Amalfi Coast excelled in each of these categories. Our trip was truly a wonderful experience--exciting, relaxing, romantic, and exceedingly fun.

We started with a 2-night stay at a relatively inexpensive but very nice B&B in Capri, and then took the hydrofoil to Sorrento where we set up home base for 5 days at the Hotel Ambasciatori. This luxurious but affordable hotel overlooks the Bay of Naples with a clear view of Mt. Vesuvius, and it has large comfortable rooms, a very friendly and professional staff, a pool in a beautiful garden area overlooking the bay, and an excellent central location. (For the price, the Hotel Ambasciatori beats the acclaimed Excelsior Vittoria). Sorrento's historic center, Piazza Tasso, is just a few minute walk from the hotel. Sorrento itself was a bit larger than I had expected, with one end of town devoted to bustling tourists who tended to crowd the narrow pedestrian streets lined with numerous shops and restaurants. The town, however, is a great base for day excursions to Capri, Pompei, Herculaneum, and the must-see picturesque town of Positano whose shops and colorful buildings literally cling to the side of the verticle cliffs along the edge of the coastal waters.

A day trip to Capri is a quick 20-minute boat ride from Sorrento, and a trip to Pompei is about a 35-45 minute train ride. Positano can be reached by bus, car or boat. My wife and I elected to rent a small Fiat for our entire stay along the Amalfi Coast, which gave us the freedom to travel as we pleased to Positano and the small towns and fisheries along the coast of the Sorrento Peninsula.

After our 5-day stay in Sorrento, my wife and I drove to Ravello where we stayed 5 nights at Villa Cimbrone, another exquisite hotel which sits atop a mountain with beautiful gardens overlooking the sea. Staying at this Gothic-style castle was like living in a medieval fantasy, while enjoying all the amenities of a modern, high-clas hotel--spacious rooms, impeccable service, exquisite food, and a large pool overlooking the sea. It was truly a luxurious, quiet and relaxing experience. The town of Rovello is very quaint with a small town square, but it does not have any nightlife except for the full orchestras that perform music by Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and other composers in the gardens of the celebrated Villa Rufulo while the audience views the sea and distant mountains under the night stars. While Ravello is a small, quiet town, it is only minutes away from the more bustling towns along the coast, such as Amalfi and Salerno. Paestum, a town of ruins, is also a quick drive away.

The Amalfi Coast in July truly is beautiful, with may things things to do and places to see. The food was also excellent, provided we avoided the tourist traps and the restaurants which show pictures of their dishes outside the fron entrance. The Amalfi Coast, however, is not for everyone. It really does not have any sandy beaches--just pebbles which tend to hurt one's feet. Also, August may not be the best time of year to visit the Amalfi Coast. However, my wife and I vacationed in July and the weather was perfect--sunny, cool breeze, and not too hot or humid. My wife even got alittle chilly at night. I was also surprised by the lack of tourists. Maybe we arrived and left right before the crowds came. Even our hotels had plenty of vacancies.

The Amalfi Coast also has one other drawback for some people--the drive along the tortuous Amalfi Coast road. For me, this was actually a major plus which made my vacation (but not necessarily my wife's) a truly exuberating experience. The drive along the Almafi Coast is probably the most beautiful scenic route in the world, but it is also one of the most dangerous. The road is designed for two-way traffic, but in many places is barely wide enough to accomodate one, let alone two, vehicles. To really test your nerves, the road has countless twists and hairpin turns curving sharply every 20 feet as it wriggles past caverns, inlets, gardens, and cliffs with a very steep verticle drop-off just inches from the side of the road. The locals seem to have no fear of this winding road as they ride your bumper at high speed until they can barely squeeze by and quickly pass you before being hit head-on by an unseen vehicle speeding around the next twisting hairpin turn. To make matters worse, the scooters are even quicker and more fearless, as they miraculously pass your car even with oncoming traffic by riding the center line and squeezing between the two vehicles at high speed. It gets even more tricky when there is an oncoming bus around a sharp turn with room for only one vehicle--the bus always wins and you need to slam on the brakes and actually back up to let the bus pass. I hear riding the bus is equally scary because it feels the bus is going to turn over as it speeds around the hairpin turns, particularly if you are sitting in a seat on the upper level of a doubledecker bus.

Despite the apparent danger of the Amalfi Coast drive, we did not see one accident during our entire stay. Moderate speed and alert driving is all that is needed to enjoy a safe ride along the Coast. I thoroughly enjoyed the drive and cannot wait to do it again. (I can't say the same for Naples, whose land of driving is without doubt the craziest and most dangerous I have ever seen--DO NOT DRIVE IN NAPLES).

In summary, if you can do without sandy beaches and do not mind crowds or high heat in August, my wife and I highly recommend the Amalfi Coast.



After our 5-day stay in Sorreneto

Based upon what you say in your post, I'm going to recommend Sorrento.

Hub and I stayed in a hotel called Grand Hotel Vesuvio there in 2002. We went in March but we kept remarking that it would be a great end of the day hotel in the summer months. It is set up on a hill and the views are lovely. It has a pool, restaurant and bar. There was also a shuttle bus that went right to Sorrento and back very often. We experienced one night where there were loud people in the hall but otherwise enjoyed the place. You could "hang" there or tour from a place like that. It was not an intimate place but a tourist hotel.

From Sorrento, we took the Circumvesuvia (spelling?) train to Naples and Pompei, a local bus to Amalfi and a ferry to Capri. Expect there would be more tours in summer you could pick from.

We also stayed in Palermo and took a bus to see Mondello. We saw along the main beach lots of kids playing soccor on the beach, a nice food market with huge lemons, and sweet summer homes. Didn't get a sense of things being dirty. Having the pre-teens still makes me lean toward Sorrento. But the little town of Montreale and the awesome church there would be must sees IMO. We thought that driving in Sicily was more fraught than in mainland Italy-that could be debated! We couldn't find a place in Taormino so stayed in Siracusa and visited papyrus museum, colosseum but walked and strolled a good bit. Still thinking kids would like Sorrento area. Please have a great time and let everyone know how it all worked out.

San Sebastian might be another option, as Zeppole mentioned above. The beaches are sandy and lovely, as they are across much of northern Spain. We went swimming in October two years ago! But the city will also be jammed in August..

Perhaps pursue Ischia..write to the hotels again.

Maratea,from the Lonely Planet guide:





Introducing Maratea

Maratea feels rather like a sophisticated Italian version of Cornwall. Dramatic hills, cliffs, and beaches line the sparkling Gulf of Policastro, which is studded with charming towns and elegant hotels. Its attraction is no secret: it’s packed in summer and you’ll need to book ahead. Conversely, many hotels and restaurants close from October to March.

Outstanding feedback. Thank you.

I believe you have got us back focused on Sorrento. Frankly, the downside might be the hairpin driving. We really do want to have a car but would hate to have one and then think, "my goodness, we can't bet back on that road once again." Particularly after a pasta and vino fueled dinner. If train travel to Pompeii, etc., is an option, that sounds good. Yet, I imagine a car would make sense since we could then drive south from Rome. Or, take the train from Rome to Sorrento and rent a car there?

I got replies from a few hotels in Sorrento. And, as you note, the ones we like - those with a pool and such - are on the cliffs right outside or right above Sorrento. All things considered, I think we still need that extra space and pool option. And, I imagine, parking would be much easier.

As for Sicily and Siracusa/Ortigia, that still looks fascinating. Is it just a very different feel from Amalfi? And, much hotter, and less lush?

I will look at the San Sebastian option. I am not familiar with the location. During our trip through Catalonia we did stop in Calella da Palafrugell and Cadaques. We liked them a lot. Small towns, small beaches but great walking and sense of place. The roads were crowded, but survivable. We also really liked the small town of Llafranc. We will look at some areas a bit north of there too.

Also, I priced some automatic cars and, as expected there are few of them and they are way more expensive but, they are available, thankfully. Thanks.

If you stay in Sorrento, you can use boats to day trip. And the train to see Pompeii if it's not 120 degrees out there (no shade).

I wouldn't take a car into that area in August.

And here's San Sebastian:

http://images.google.it/images?q=san...a=N&tab=wi

Here's an even better bunch of photos of San Sebastian.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationP...ia_Basque.html

I think the food there is the best I've tasted in Europe.

Thank you Zeppole. I didn't realize you meant "that" San Sebastian, in north west Spain. For some reason i was thinking more towards Barcelona.

Ironically, a few times I have looked at that city. I too have read that it has some of the best food in Spain. And the town itself looks great. It would certainly move me away from Italy. For that I guess we would fly to Madrid and drive to SB? Or maybe fly if we could find a cheap flight. I will email some hotels there. If memory serves, it might be hard to find ones with a pool.

One question: because of its location will the weather be iffy even in August? The ocean very cold?

Regarding a car in Sorrento? Is it very easy just to catch trains from Sorrento to Naples, Pompeii, even to Positano? I see bus travel, while available, could be sporadic and the buses packed. And, in Sorrento, can we find restaurants still geared to locals? Good food, and not just places with photos of the food on a big board outside the entrance? Thanks.

Sorry, I can't help about August. We had no problems in March travelling around by bus and train. Oh, we ended up not having enough time by city bus to go to more than Amalfi-2 busses on Amalfi Coast road slowed us to a snail's pace. We did give the driver an ovation!

tengohambre,

To take your issues in reverse order:

There are no perfect transportation options in Sorrento and Amalfi, because of the crowds, but a car is no improvement. Not only are the drivers in that area chaotic, but if you try to go to Positano (or the islands), you are on a narrow road with buses and no hope of turning off if you are stuck in traffic. That's why I suggested taking a ferry to Positano -- but you'll have to get there early and wait on a line. But you'll have to do that for the bus.

There is a train that connects to Sorrento, and it will take you into Naples, and on to Pompeii and all the way to Salerno (Paestum). You really don't need a car.

You can always find restaurants geared to locals in Italy.

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowTopic-..._Campania.html

And ask the locals.

Regarding weather in San Sebastian, it's on the "green" (read "wet) side of the world, so you can get rain. I think in August the water will be fine. I don't know about humidity. But look at this:

http://www.whatsansebastian.com/san-...n-weather.html

Swimming pools? You're right. I don't think the the Londres has one. I don't think you need one, because it's perfect sand beach.

To get there, many people transfer through Paris or London to Bilbao, which is an hour away. But there is a flight from Madrid directly in San Sebastian (not cheap). And of course you can drive from any number of points of entry.

Ortigia is a town that up to recent months was caught in time. It is a sleepy little town that is 1 mile by 1 1/2 miles surrounded by sea(not bathing beaches).Its harbor holds the ghosts of over 4000 ships sunk through its various wars with Greece.It is in the midst of renovating its buildings so quite a few of them neither have central heating or A/C.
My daughter spent a college semester there studying abroad and it is one of our favorite places on earth. However, I still think that after seeing the Greek ruins in Siracusa,etc. your pre teens might want to be somewhere else?

We took the train from Rome to Naples. Then in Naples we got on the circumvesuviana which is about 60 minutes from Naples to Sorrento (those are the two end points). In between it has stops at Pompeii, Herculeum, and other places.

We usually like the freedom of a car, but we used only public transportation on that trip and it was great. No regrets at all and I was glad we didn't have a car.

I don't really have anything to all the expert advice you already have. Just want to stress what others have said in that the absolute last thing you want in Sorrento (or anywhere in that area) in August is a car unless you truly enjoy sitting in a car in traffic squeezed between buses. Ferries take a little time (actually likely less than driving in August), but what better way to enjoy the time going from one place to another than on the water. Sorrento is a perfect base for trains and ferries to other towns without a car. It is an easy walking city too. Since it is a "real" city and not just a tourist town, there are plenty of "local" dining options. Don't get me wrong you will also find places with pictures on the menu too, just skip them.

Thank you. The feedback is really making me reconsider the car thing. Maybe the train is just easier.

(But, for the return to Rome FCO, what would be the easiest way to do that if you don't have a car to get you from Sorrento back to the airport?)

Also, I am back to looking around Apulia. I see that it is only about a 2 and a half hour drive from Sorrento. Thus, perhaps we can do: Rome-Apulia-Sorrento-Rome. Of course, that means a car somewhere along the trip, I think.

The EASIEST, but also the most costly would be to hire a private driver to take you from Sorrento to the airport in Rome. Last time I looked at this, costs were running about 300 Euro and up..

There is also a bus, but it run but once or twice a day, and goes to Tiburtina station, according to this schedule:



http://www.alfonsoamare.it/english/marozzi.htm


Otherwise, there is the train to Naples and then to Rome city, and then to the airport..quite a schlep!

Yes, multiple train rides en route to an airport definitely qualifies as a shlepp.

At that point, it may make sense simply to rent a car in Rome, drive south, use it once or twice, and then use it again to get back to FCO.

We found Sicily to be infinitely more interesting than the Amalfi coast. There is plenty of coastline in Sicily plus interesting ruins, great food, cheaper prices and some great towns to visit.

If I could ask, can you elaborate a bit on why you found Sicily so much more interesting than the Amalfi area? The sights, the food, the feel? Thanks.

To get back to the Rome airport we took the circumvesuviana back to Naples, then took the train back to Rome. We planned an extra night in Rome at the end of the trip at a hotel near the train station. That way if there were any unexpected delays we wouldn't miss a flight. We were able to walk around Rome for one more afternoon/evening and then get to the airport and take a flight home the next day. Most buses leave right from the train station in Rome.