I am seeking advice from those who have hired a boat or did an excursion from Sorrento to see the coast from the water.
Thanks, RB

We hired a boat to take us around Capri. There were six of us. We asked the hotel concierge to arrange it. He couldn't find one on Capri that day but was able to get one from Sorrento. I think it cost about $600 for the half day and it was a highlight of our trip. Took us between the fragiolini (sp?) rocks and into a green grotto where 4 of the 6 of us swam. Unfortunately I don't have the name of the two guys who handled the boat since our hotel made the arrangements but it was out of Sorrento so there must be others there as well. Enjoy.

Hi,

A less adventurous, but less expensive, way is the traghetto from Sorrento to Amalfi.

You can then take the bus back.

Thank you for the ideas. Your Capri trip sounds awesome.
Ira, do you know how crowded the traghetto would be early Sept? Can you do a round trip?

rainbro, my husband and I were in Sorrento in early September and we hired a boat manned by a young sailor named Oratio. He charged us 24 euros for an hour's ride up and down the Sorrenti coast. It was really enjoyable--he pointed out the tunnels, told us who owned which spectacular villas, showed us the Roman ruins, etc. Had we the time, he could have taken us to Capri another day. I think it would have cost about 60 euros or so. We found Oratio by walking down to the Marina Grande. He and his brother had a sign out on the sidewalk (boats for hire).

If you want to take the ferry to Amalfi, Positano, or Naples (or other destinations), you can take the ferry called the Metro del Mare. You can buy tickets at the Marina Piccola at the Metro del Mare booth (blue and white logo). The website is www.metrodelmare.com, but it's not up right now since the ferry isn't running. You have to check back in a few months.

on an excursions from Sorrento to Amalfi and Ravelo, part of the group took a boat for an hour along the Amalfi coast. was very nice to see it from another perspective. the commentaries were interesting and fun.

Hi rainbro,

Yes, you can go RT on the ferry. I think the trip takes an hour or so.

You can find last season's ferry schedules at

http://www.amalfi.it/smichele/pages/map.htm

PS,

The schedules are guidelines. Do not expect every boat to arrive on time.

Or even arrive at all, as we found out when we were stranded in Naples one evening!

Good point, dln

However, if the ferry doesn't arrive in Amalfi, rainbro can take the bus back to Sorrento.

Thank you all for the replies.
Dln, I assume there were several boats for hire @ the marina? How were the seas in Sept? I wouldn't expect Oratio had a cabin cruiser.
Skaf, do you remember the excursion company's name? I am considering doing a driving tour also.
Ira, if a private boat doesn't work out
for us, are the ferries too crowded to enjoy the scenery? Seeing the coast by water must be pretty awesome...RB

rainbro, what we went on with Oratio was a plain old speedboat (he also has a motorized rubber boat--far cry from a cabin cruiser!). The seas were calm and brilliant blue and perfect for swimming.

In regard to the ferries, there are two kinds. One is completely enclosed; the other has some outdoor seating. Mid-September neither was too crowded. You are correct in your assumption that seeing that fabulous coast from the water is spectacular!!!

Hi bro,

We travelled the coast from one end to the other by boat last Sept, because my Lady Wife came down with severe vertigo on the coast road.

There were generally about 6-8 people on a boat capable of holding about 200.

However you do it, you will not believe the color and the texture of the water.

Rainbro - Here are some links you might find useful;

www.coopsantandrea.it (Tritone)
www.gennaroesalvatore.it/
www.lucibello.it
www.bludream.it
www.bluestarpositano.it
www.mitopositano.it/barca.htm
www.amalfisails.it/index1.html
www.starnet.it/ornsay

Hope this helps ...

Steve

I should have said - the ones above are POSITANO/AMALFI based.

The Coop Sant'Andrea 'Tritone' cruise (above) from Positano is a circumnavigation of Capri with a few hours stop at Marina Piccola.
www.coopsantandrea.it (Tritone)
I believe the fare is approx. €25-30.00

-----------------------

From SORRENTO there are the MN Marine Club cruises. I can't find their website at present, but you can book through any Sorrento travel agent.
Prices start at about €22.00pp.
You can find a description of their cruises on:
http://www.aminta.com/organized.htm

The SAN VALENTINO and APOLLO are standard ferries from Sorrento to Positano/Amalfi. Fares are approx € 10.00 each way.

The following for private cruises are based on the Sorrento peninsular:

http://www.massalubrense.it/coopsantonio.htm
http://www.masticiello.com/english/noleggio.asp
http://www.bassamarea.com/indexe.htm
http://www.taxidelmare.it/en/index.html
http://www.ciuffitiello.it/page/indexs.htm
http://www.massalubrense.it/shakti.htm
http://www.massalubrense.it/sermil.htm

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Steve, thanks for the Sorrento info as that will be our base. I still enjoyed looking at the Positano sites and getting a feel for the water excursions in the area.
Big thanks again to all for the input.RB

no, i don't remember the name of the tour company. it was a last minute decision based on what the posibilities were, so i suppose i took one of the many tours you find there. i do remember that in my hotel room there was brochure with all the transportation shedules, probably tours as well.

something else. if you take the tour to Ravello and you have your lunch break there. i recommend to grab some Pizza and see the Villa Cimbrione too, my tour only included the Villa Rufolo.

Hi rainbro,

You can also visit Positano from Sorrento by ferry for 4E each way.

Positano - Sorrento
09.45 - 12.50 - 15.40 - 18.10
Sorrento - Positano
11.00 - 14.30 - 17.00 - 17.25

Ira, such a deal! We wanted to go there independent of driving or boating along the Amalfi Coast.
By the way, after my lady wife read your post, I may be spending more time on the water also. She has some trouble when we drive the road to Big Sur to see friends. She fears driving
the AC will be all that on a skinnier road.RB