Sirenuse and Positano
 

My husband and I are headed to Positano for a stay at Hotel Le Sirenuse the first week in August. I am looking for advice with the following:

1) Room at Sirenuse - can someone recommend a particular room at Sirenuse that we should request. We have booked a double deluxe room with terrace and sea view -- are there any in particular that are nicer than others and worth requesting?

2) Restaurants - can someone recommend some nice restaurants for both lunch and/or dinner? We're looking for more quaint and out of the way than sceney and touristy.

3) Day Trips - can someone recommend a nice day/trip, be it a hike, a ride (car or boat), a nearby town.

4) Top 10 (or fewer if you can't think of 10) things one should do/see/experience while in Positano/on the Amalfi Coast (a la David Letterman).

Thanks a lot!

Ciao jgoldie,I will be only to happy to recommend hikes and off the beaten track places etc.. in the Area,please feel free to contact me.

I've stayed in a double deluxe room several times. Although I don't recall specific room numbers (our last one was on the 2nd floor) they are all pretty much the same. The best restaurants are in Montepertuso, a village above Positano. Most of the restaurants there have a free shuttle service from the Sirenuse to the restuarant. Good ones to try are Donna Rosa and Da Constantino. A fun day trip is to rent a small private boat with driver to take you to some of the small beaches along the coast that can only be reached by the water. You can also visit the Grotta Esmeralda (green grotto) which is very pretty. Another option would be to take the hydrofoil to Amalfi (15 minutes) walk around there and then take a bus or cab (30 Euro) to Ravello. Of course, you can take a daytrip to Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii or an even longer one to Paestum. The Sirenuse will provide you with a complimentary map of Positano and the Amalfi Coast which has hiking trials on it.

My husband and I rented an apartment just up the street from the Sirenuse last June. Our favorite place to eat was La Cambusa which is on the beach but one level up so you have a better view of the water.

We also took a trip to Capri from Salvatore (booth on the pier) which was wonderful! Reasonable price, small group of people, great food, great service.

During the week, we also enjoyed a trip by ferry to Sorrento for the day (buy cameos), a trip to Amalfi by ferry (buy paper made locally), and a trip by car (I think you can get there by bus as well) to Ravello where I spent lots of money in this great ceramics store/factory!

We also rented one of the small boats and drove ourselves to the town of Marina del Cantone. We had a great time but hired someone to drive us back as it was too much work and we'd had too much wine!

I really enjoyed collecitng sea glass mixed in the rocks on the beach. All sea glass must make its way to Positano - I went home with a big bag.

Hi jg,

You might like to take a ferry to Salerno and then a short train ride to Paestum to see the Greek temple ruins.

Then take the bus back from Salerno. You will ride along the Coast Road with the moon shining on the water.

Thanks for the replies! They are so helpful!

As to the boats - Where is the best place to rent a small private boat and/or the best services? Also, how much can we expect to spend?

As for reservations -- do you need them anywhere and how far in advance should they be made? Can the Sirenuse simply make them for us the night before?

What is the attire in and around Positano, Sirenuse and the Amalfi Coast?

Lastly, what are the best ruins to visit? Pompeii, Heculaneum or Paestrum?

Many thanks again for your great replies!

Here's the website address for Salvatore's service that we took to Capri:

http://www.gennaroesalvatore.it/english/

His wife is from England and his daughter is the chef at the restaurant where we ate lunch on the tour. I believe the cost was about 70 euro per person for a six hour trip including lunch and drinks on the boat. We booked a couple of days in advance. I assume you can ask your hotel to book for you but you'll probably be by the peir sometime and can book it yourself. If you head down to the beach in Positano, there's a huge rock 'dock' or pier where all ferries and boats come in. On this pier, there are a number of huts for different outfitters who sell tickets on the ferries and boats. You can't miss it. We told Salvatore the next day about our adventure driving the boat ourselves and he told us we should have come to him - he can arrange any type of custom trip by water.

The dress is pretty casual beachy! Sun dresses and sandles are the norm at night, bathing suits with cover-ups are the norm during the day. If you're traveling to another town for a visit, shorts and shirt are fine, as are sundresses. It's not too big of a hike to your hotel but I wouldn't want to do it in high heels. There are LOTS of dress shops in Positano, some that have their own designers.

I've only been to Pompeii so I can't give you a comparison. Ciao . . .

>..what are the best ruins to visit? Pompeii, Heculaneum or Paestrum?<

Well some like Herculaneum because it's smaller than Pompeii.

Some like Pompeii, because there is so much to see.

Some like Paestum, because they are the best preserved Greek ruins outside Greece.

As far as restaurants in Positano, if you don't want touristy places, stay away from the restaurants down near the water front.

Il Grottino Azzuro is high up Positano and serves authentic, basic Italian food. It is also a much better deal than some of the touristy places. It doesn't have much charm, but the food was good and we were the only non-Italians there.

La Tagliata was the best place we had dinner during our entire stay in Positano. It is actually above Positano in between Monte Purtuso and Nocelle. We were referred by the innkeeper at our bed and breakfast. They had absolutely fabulous grilled meats. I had chicken and my husband had either lamb or baby goat (this wasn't clear because of the language barrier! ). They were both great. We also had pasta that was very good. There is no menu. A guy just came to our table and asked what we felt like having, told us about what they had and made suggestions. It was fun! This place also has a beautiful view of Positano and a driver will come pick you up free of charge if you don't have a car. Again, we were the only non-Italians in this place.

Saracano D'oro, which is right in Positano, is also very good and authentic. We had great pasta and grilled crayfish.

Don't go to Chez Black near the water in Positano. All of the diners are tourists and it is totally overpriced.

Thanks again for the informative replies -- this has been so helpful. Any additional information that we might to enjoy our visit would be greatly appreciated but two specific questions:

1) Transportation to/from Naples by private car -- can someone recommend a professional car service that is clean, reliable and trustworthy to pick my husband and I up from Naples and deliver us to Sirenuse and back? What should this cost round trip?

2) We plan to spend one day in Capri -- knowing that we'll only be there for the day, what should we see or do and where should we eat?

Thank you all again for your advice!

Have you enquired of the hotel about a transfer service? I would think they could recommend one that is reliable and meets your needs.

Yes, JonJon, I have gotten a quote from Sirenuse and is 100 Euro each way -- that seems awfully pricey and so, I was hoping that someone else could advise me of a independent, reputable, reliable transfer service to/from Naples. Thanks.

I think that is a good price for a driver. I always use flavio gioia. I feel like they are my Italian family now, but I think their transfer might be more expensive. You can check with them at [email protected]. They are completely dependable. I have used them on three other trips and will use their services again this year for our entire wedding party. We usually stop at Pompeii on the way to or back from Positano to see more of it so that is always priced into our transfers. Don't miss the museum in Naples. They will also stop at the museum and wait for you there too!

We chartered a crewed boat to take us to Capri for the day through Sirenuse and had to wait 2 days, so you might want to try to schedule ahead of time depending on how long you are staying.

I think both the Murat and the Hotel San Pietro have good food in Positano and I think the food at La Tagliata is excellent and it sounds like more what you are looking for.

A day trip through Amalfi and on to Ravello is a must. Don't miss the gardens of Villa Cimbrone.

I thought the Emerald Grotto was a waste of time. The water was quite beautiful, but I wouldn't do it again, definitely a tourist trap.

If you like ceramics ask for Margarite's shop in Ravello. I
have had a full set of pottery and a large table top shipped home from her store. The boutique at Le Sirenuse has some beautiful things! Be sure to have a massage at the spa too! Have a great trip. I will be at the Sirenuse again in June, so if I have anything new to pass along I will put it in a trip report.

I agree that the food at Hotel San Pietro is very good. We really enjoyed our lunch 100 meters above the beach looking over everything.

Hi jg,

>...a independent, reputable, reliable transfer service to/from Naples.<

We were very pleased with

Renato Cuomo - Via Caprile 2 - 80069 Vico Equense (NA), Italy.
Tel.(+39)339 16 12 081 or (+39)081 802 30 37 -
www.cuomonet.it [email protected]

Thanks everyone for all your excellent recommendations and comments. Last question - anyone have any thoughts on specific rooms at Sirenuse. We reserved the 740 Euro deluxe room that everyone seems to be talking about on this site -- want to make sure, for that price, we get the privacy, view and location within the hotel. Any recommendations? Or, if no specific ones, any general ones for locations within the structure/on the grounds? Thanks a lot in advance for all your help!

Don't forget to vist the hotel spa, brand new last year and the massage was great!
Enjoy!

I too am booked for the deluxe room and had to pay the same price. Sirenuse is all about the view. Ask for an upper floor room and you should be fine.

Ciao jgoldie,

If you require any further assistance here on the Amalfi Coast,please do not hesitate to contact me.

Max in Positano is incredible--both the food and atmosphere are superb.