Hello!

My partner and I are planning our honeymoon: we will be traveling to Italy next June. We will be traveling as of the 3rd to be more precise, beginning with 5 days in Rome. Broadly, we were thinking of heading from Rome to the Amalfi coast for a few days and then driving down to Sicily (with a car we would pick up in Salerno) and spending another 10-12 days exploring the island with the car.

Originally I had thought of Salerno as a good "home base" to explore the Amalfi coast because of the direct and quick train from Rome. I also read that this town was less crowded and expensive than other choices and that it offered the possibility to tour the Amalfi coast by ferry which is a very appealing option as it allows for beautiful views from the sea and less of a crowd.

As I began to look into different places we would want to visit on the coast, the following came up as top choices:

-Ravello
-Atrani
-Hiking the Pathway of the Gods
-Paestum

Would you recommend taking three day trips from Salerno, one to visit Ravello and Atrani (is one day enough for both? It feels tight) and then another to Hike the Pathway of the Gods and the third for Paestum?

It seems like a lot of back and forth and I am not sure about how much time to spend in each place?

If anyone has experienced a similar itinerary or has suggestions (like staying overnight somewhere on the coast) please let me know!

Thank you!

IF you ask me, and I know you haven't, the problem with making plans such as yours is that the Amalfi Coast isn't really a place to tour. And staying in an outlying town does indeed give you a lot of back and forth.

These resorts gained fame as beautiful places to relax. Nowadays many people want to use them as touring bases thus creating situations where people want to do a lot of traveling in a very congested area that's difficult to navigate.

Stay ON the AC. Visit Paestum when you pick up your car in Salerno.

Positano is a favorite of Fodorites it seems - and ferries serve all main towns and even to Capri at times but buses go to nearby Sorrento for trains to Pompeii and ferries everywhere.

Book your long-distance train tickets ASAP for discounted tickets sold on limited basis - www.trainitalia.com or www.italotreno.com.en - two competing train companies using same tracks and stations. For more on Italian trains - www.seat61.com (adroit advice on booking your own trains online); www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Positano best via Sorrento - using CircumVesuviana commuter train from Naples Centrale. Salerno too but Positano is better situated IMO.

You just had very good answers given to you...

IMO I would never choose Salerno as a base for the Amalfi coast because well... it is just not a beautiful and dreamy as Ravello, Positano and other little villages on the Amalfi Coast.

Your idea about how to spend the time makes a lot of sense to me – particularly because Salerno is, in fact, on the Amalfi Coast. I thoroughly enjoyed Salerno and consider it seriously underrated. Paestum is glorious; planning on the better part of a day would let you see it at a leisurely pace (do consider spending an hour or so in its small, but excellent, museum) and also savor some of the local buffalo mozzeralla – and perhaps roam a bit of Salerno. (The cathedral there holds some real treasures.) A day for Ravello and Atrani also makes sense, perhaps with a brief stop in Positano, too. You could also add a day or two for Capri (ferry from Salerno).

No interest is visiting Pompeii, Herculaneum, or Naples?

To visit just the highlights of Sicily takes 2 or more weeks, so with your time frame, you would need to be very selective. A good guidebook or two – perhaps the Rough Guide and/or Michelin Green – should serve you very well.

Personally, I wouldn’t drive from the Amalfi Coast to Sicily – I’d take a train or ferry and only pick up a car for the parts of Sicily for which it would be most useful. You can check your public transportation options on rome2rio.com, but be sure to check the links to which it directs you, as the main site is not sensitive to seasonal variation in schedules.

Hope that helps!

Sorrento has been our base a couple of times for visiting Amalfi coast. It is busy, but there are many great restaurants and shops. Good bus service to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Easy train access to Naples and Pompeii. And frequent ferries to Capri and make sure you include Anacapri and its chairlift to Monte Solaro. Many Capri visitors miss it, but this will provide your most memorable views of the Amalfi coast.

We haven’t done Path of the Gods, but have talked to people who have done it from Sorrento via bus or bus/ferry. Our initial visit to Paestum, which is a bit out in the country, was by rail from Pompeii (downtown station not the one at the ruins).

I second the motion on taking the train to Sicily. Not the most scenic ride by automobile. You might even take a look at flights; several years ago, we did a Naples/Trapani flight on a discount carrier for something like $12 each way. You could see a lot of Sicily with bases in gorgeous Taormina and less touristy Trapani. We have also stayed in Palermo. From Taormina you can visit the east side including Siracusa. From Trapani, the west side allows visits to stunning Greek temples in Segesta and Agrigento.

We often look for out-of-the-way places that are overlooked by Americans. This past October, we stayed in Sperlonga, a beach town, with a neat and friendly old town, north of Naples and then Castellabate which is also a good base for Paestum. The highlight of that trip, if you are brave, was a narrow, spectacular uncrowded winding coastal drive that took us to Maratea, where there is a mountaintop statue of Christ that we think rivals the famous one in Rio. We also visited a couple of blue zone towns (Acciaroli and Pioppi with its museum for the Mediterranean diet) where many live well until 100 years old.

We have had great luck with several dozen airbnb stays in Italy. Much more affordable than hotels, more spacious and almost always some great local sightseeing assistance from natives.

Congratulations and good luck.

There is also an overnight train Naples/Salerno to places in Sicily.

Thank you for all this wonderful perspective and information! Back to the drawing board!