Hi Can anyone tell me if there is a way of getting from Sorrento to Positano along the Amalfi coast without going by hire car. All inquiries I have made bring up a blank. We would also like to visit Ravello. Hiring a chauffered car (no guide) is going to cost 400.00 euros. The must be a train or bus that can get us around that area. Thanks in anticipation . Pawsha

Pawsha-when are you going? The reason I ask is that the most beautiful, marvelous, romantic way to get from Sorrento to Positano is by "metro di mare" boat-it takes 40 minutes, costs 6 Euro one way, and it runs throughout the day into the early evening. HOWEVER, service is now suspended, (10/15) and will not start back up again until 4/15/07.

Website: www.metrodelmare.com

Your other alternative is the SITA bus, which is not the preferred way-it says it takes 40 minutes, but it's more like an hour, as there are stops when the road gets blocked by a truck or another car-AND it drops you off way above the town of Positano-you have to make your own way down. The SITA bus can be picked up right in the center of Sorrento, at the bus stop just below the train station.

The other alternative is the aliscafi (hydrofoils) but they do not go directly from Sorrento to Positano, rather, from Capri to Positano. There are also hydrofoils from Naples Molo Beverello directly to Positano as well. The hydrofoil from Naples to Sorrento, I can tell you is fantastic-highly recommended, so if you want to go to Positano, I do recommend to go by boat/hydrofoil. From Positano or Amalfi, you can take a taxi to Ravello.

Website for hydrofoil:

www.alilauro.it

Of course there's a bus - but no train beyond Sorrento. Or - in good weather there are boats.

Just be aware that in the midst of the tourist season buses can be very slow and crowded.

Sorrento to Positano:
- Ferry
- SITA bus
- Taxi
- Private car (limo)

Positano to Ravello:
- SITA bus to Amalfi and then bus to Ravello
- Ferry to Amalfi and then bus to Ravello
- Bus/ferry to Amalfi and then taxi to Ravello (25 Euros)
- Other combinations of taxis, ferries, and buses
- Private car

Once again, there is NO direct "ferry" from Sorrento to Positano from 10/15-4/15-service is suspended. Your only option is to go by hydrofoil from Naples.

Take the bus - slow or not - it's invariably considered to be one of the world's most thrilling bus rides - sit back and let the drivers ply the sinuous cliff-hugging road - boat is nice but bus is the most exhilarating way to go IMO - buses twice hourly throughout the day - dirt cheap - few euros.

Sorry-disagree completely-and I did it one way, just last month, and it was in a word MISERABLE. The bus was dirty, there was underpowered air conditioning, we didn't move for 10 minutes, because of blockage, and since the bus goes to Amalfi, it drops you off at the top of the road for Positano-so, as I said, you have to make your way down, and god knows how you make your way up.

One way was enough-the boat from Amalfi, with a stop in Positano, was simply exhilerating-that's no contest.

If at all into hiking a bit then by all means walk up the well paved footpath that goes up a gently ascending path between Amalfi and Ravello, perhced just above it. I walked up and down a different route, thru terraced vineyards and it's amongst my most favorite walks anywhere. Bus or boat to amalfi - about a one-hour walk up, thru a lush valley of orchards, vineyards, etc.

To expand a bit further on this issue: you see an awful lot more of the Amalfi coast views by boat as opposed to that AWFUL SITA bus-you don't really see as much as you think you'll see on the bus-when the bus is full, and they continue to take on kids who are then standing in the aisle, yakking and yelling into their cell phones-what with the traffic jams, and the gum and graffiti on the back of the seats and the underpowered air conditioning- no thanks-but if someone thinks that's a better way to go, why, have at it!

The boat, on the other hand, has STUPENDOUS views of the Amalfi coastline, and you can see ruins of ancient churches, as well as monasteries, that are lit up on the hillside from Positano to Sorrento in the early evening, plus the fact that there is NO way to come into Sorrento that is as beautiful as by boat, the Piccola Marina, lit up, the Grand Hotel Excelsior, up on the cliff, along with the Bellevue Syrene, and various cliffside restaurants- bellisima!

No comparison with the bus WHATSOEVER.

Thanks for replies. We will be in Sorrento from 6/04/07 to 10/04/07. We will just miis out on boat. It sounds terrific though. Cheers Pawsha