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Wow! Those pictures are gorgeous progol . They remind me of our hotel in Monterosso. I'll look into rooms. Thanks.

That looks lovely, progol. But do they have an elevator? I can’t find any mention of one on their website.

ISroTZ - it's truly a beautiful place and the owners are wonderful. It's 3 rooms, and this room is the best for the views.

jacooper, there's definitely no elevator! It's a small home and guest house up a double flight of stairs - and they're steep. It was hard for me, but the place is so special that it was worth it. There are also stairs from the road down to the beach and town piazza (one small piazza!). It's a small town but charming as anything.

One thing I would consider is where I could fly direct to... Being on the West Coast, I can't fly non-stop to Naples, but I can fly non-stop to Milan. From Malpensa, getting to almost anywhere on Lake Como or Lake Maggiore would be pretty easy and relatively quick. If I was going to the Amalfi Coast, I'd fly into Rome and then pick from several options or a combination of options for getting to the AC, some expensive and some time-consuming. It could take 4 hours or more after landing at FCO to reach the hotel on the AC.

So, with my flight options and a stay of just a week, I wouldn't want to deal with the logistics of getting to the AC and then back to Rome. Depending on the departure time of the return flight, it might be necessary to spend the last night in Rome or near FCO. I also wouldn't want to risk a connecting flight to Naples, at least on the outbound, on even the remote chance of delay or cancellation of one of the flights.

We've had great luck with weather in both places well into October. The ferries on both Como and Maggiore will still be on the summer timetables in September.

thanks Jean . Unfortunately coming from Texas, we don't have a direct flight to either location. It's definitely easier to fly into Milan (one layover) but we decided to bite bullet and book our trip into Naples.

Thanks to everyone who helped. Our trip seems to be shaping up. We land in Naples on Sept 29. Will get picked up by driver recommended from hotel. We will go straight to Hotel Villa San Michele which is in Ravello but down on the coast. It sounds like we can walk to Atrani/Amalfi from there. We will use that as our base and do trips and activities from there. We check out on Oct 6, will hit Pompeii on the way into Naples. Spend 2 nights in Naples and fly out on Oct 8.

I'm so excited for this. I would love any recommendations for can't miss activities! :)

Be VERY careful walking to Atrani/Amalfi. It's a narrow road with no clear pedestrian path and often no shoulder. You're basically walking single-file next to traffic. You can see what it's like on Google Maps using Streetview. There's no way I would walk this road after dark.

I don't know if this link will show what I mean, but this is the road. The view is from just outside your hotel, looking in the direction of Atrani. It's a two-way road, and this view doesn't include a bus.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6376...7i16384!8i8192

Another view, just before Amalfi:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6332...7i16384!8i8192

The second link worked. Here's another attempt at the first view outside your hotel on the way to Atrani:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6375...7i16384!8i8192

Villa San Michele looks fabulous and just the type of place to celebrate an important birthday. Congratulations in making a decision and finding such a lovely place!