WJC_com

My husband and I (early 30's) are planning a trip end of July to the Amalfi coast and a couple Greek islands for two weeks. 7 in Italy and 7 in the Greek Isles. Here is our itinerery so far. Let me know what you think of the hotels I've picked and if we should rent a car from Naples to Sorrento or get a driver. My travel agent is quoting us for private transfers and the price seems really steep.
ITALY
July 21 - Naples (1 night) Transfer to hotel Hotel Piazza Bellini http://www.hotelpiazzabellini.com/in...lta=3__Inglese (is it hard to take the train into Naples on our own or should we get a private transfer?)
-Tour city on our own
July 22 -En route to Sorrento (not sure how much is it for a driver, without the tour to Pompeii and Herculaneum. Thought about taking the Circumvesuviana train to Herculaneum - (is it worth it to go here?) and then Pompeii,but then we'll have all of our luggages with us. So I don't think that's a good idea.

In Sorrento,(1 night - is that enough? our goal is to get to capri and Positano/Amalfi) we're thinking of staying at either:
1) Hotel Mediterraneo www.mediterraneosorrento.com - seaview room (seems a little far from city centre though)
2) Antiche Mura Hotel http://www.hotelantichemura.com/
Is it hard to get to the marina on our own in Sorrento? Should we stay in the town or in a little place called Sant. Agnello?

July 23 -Ferry to Capri - (1 night) see Grotto, tour the town, maybe some hiking - where is a good place to hike? Should we bother with the little boat going into the Blue Grotto? I heard in the summer you have to wait about 3 hours just to get in for a 10 minute ride!
-Overnight in Capri at La Minerva
July 24 - Hydrofoil to Amalfi or Positano (2 nights) (which should we stay at? Positano or Amalfi? some of my coworkers said they liked Amalfi more)
-Transfer to hotel http://www.hotelmarinariviera.com/
- Enjoy Amalfi and day trip to Ravello (should we rent a car from here or do tours)
July 25 -Day trip to Positano
July 26 -Transfer back to Naples in afternoon
-overnight in Naples hotel Hotel Piazza Bellini http://www.hotelpiazzabellini.com/in...lta=3__Inglese
GREECE
July 27 -fly to Athens and go directly to pier(how difficult is it to get from airport to the pier?) to take jetfoil to Mykonos (2 nights). In Mykonos we're thinking of staying at:
1) Petsos Beach Resort and Spa www.petasos.gr
or
2) Mykonos Grand http://www.mykonosgrand.gr/page/
July 28 -Hydrofoil to Santorini (2 nights) - haven't decided where to stay yet. Want something that overlooks the sea. Everything is so expensive!!!
July 30 - transfer back to Naples and fly out to Paris for a few nights!! woohoo!

Steve_James

Hi WJC - Is there any particular reason why you want to change hotel virtually every night for your first week?

IMO it would be much easier and more relaxing to choose one hotel ( max 2) for your week on the Amalfi Coast.

Why not 3 nights in Sorrento and 3/4 in Positano or Amalfi?

Steve

ekscrunchy

If your goal is Positano/Amalfi, why are you going to Sorrento at all, especially since you are not set on visiting Pompeii or Ercolano? (There is a luggage check at Pompeii, by the way)

I would fly into Naples, get a driver to transfer you to your hotel on the Amalfi coast, and take ferries and buses from there to the various sites. There are lots of mentions of private drivers here. It should cost about 100 euro to Amalfi from Naples airport.

worldinabag

Hi

I would base myself in Sorrento for a week. From Naples airport you can take a bus to Sorrento - http://www.massalubrense.it/busvari.htm. Using Sorrento as your base you can easily do all the things you've listed.

Re Santorini - what's your hotel budget (in euro)?

You've stated you're flying to Paris from Naples. Is this a typo? Your last day is July 30 transferring from Santorini. Why not fly Athens to Paris?

thursdaysd

As the others have said, that's a crazy itinerary for Italy. I'd go (I did go) directly to Capri for at least two nights (I did three). There's a bus from the airport to the ferry, no need for a "transfer". I based in Sorrento for visiting Pompeii, Herculaneum, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello - I used the Circumvesuviana train and the bus.

I can't recommend Sorrento other than as a base, though. If you're going to spend at least one night in Naples I'd base somewhere actually on the AC (Sorrento is round the corner) and visit Herculaneum (which I preferred) or Pompeii from there. And why not consider Sicily instead of changing countries? (My TR for the AC is at http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-italy.cfm?31)

I would recommend dumping the travel agent and doing some more research yourself. Italy and Greece are easy to do on your own.

kybourbon

You need to eliminate some hotel changes. I would transfer to Capri upon arrival and visit/tour Capri a (2 nights). Then transfer to Positano or Amalfi (4 nights) to visit the coast. Transfer to Sorrento (visit Pompeii after checking in hotel) for last night. Take Curreri airport shuttle bus from Sorrento to airport for flight to Greece.

artsbabe

I agree with everyone that you are trying to do too much. That said and in response to some of your questions, I would definitely recommend Herculaneum AND Oplontis in addition to Pompeii.

Re Sorrento, we stayed at the Antiche Mura this past winter for 5 nights, and I really recommend the hotel. It is in a perfect location -- walking distance (down) to the marina (you'll want to take the little city bus up hill back to the hotel) and to the train station for the Circumvesuviana.

We stayed in Amalfi and Sorrento, and took the SITA buses and the Circumvesuviana. We were really glad not to have a car, and we there in the winter.

WJC_com

wow thank you everyone for your replies. I agree, I think I do need to eliminate some hotel changes. I like your suggestions. I think I will stay in Capri for 2 nights - thanks thursdaysd.


Okay so here's my updated itinerary for the first week in Italy:

2 nights in Capri: From Naples airport (arrive at 11:30am), take hydrofoil to Capri and stay at http://www.laminervacapri.com/. Should we do one of those full day tours of the island? We want to visit the Blue Grotto and do some hiking too and of course, see the island.

Now here's my question. Should we do hydrofoil from Capri to:
option1) 2 nights in Amalfi and do day trips to Positano(1 day) and Ravello (1/2 day)? 1 night in Sorrento (do day trip of Herculaneum and Pompeii)and next day transfer to Naples airport to fly to Athens?

option2) 3 nights in Sorrento and do day trips to Amalfi/Ravello(1 day), and Positano(1 day), Pompeii/herculaneum(1 day)? and transfer to Naples airport to fly to Ahthens?

Is Pompeii/Herculaneum easier to do from Naples or Sorrento? If it's easier from Naples then we can check into a hotel in Naples and then do the day trip to pompeii, as our flight out is from Naples.

jetsetj

we stayed at www.villanettunopositano.it and just loved it.

Steve_James

Hi WJC - Pompeii is equally convenient from either Sorrento or Naples (- 30 mins train ride from both) - so the choice is yours. (It's also possible from Amalfi).

There is a convenient airport shuttle bus several times daily from Sorrento (- operator: Curreri).

Option 1 or 2? Personally I always prefer a few days on the Amalfi Coast, so I'd choose option 1.

If hiking is a priority, don't miss the spectacular Amalfi Coast hike ('Path of the Gods')
http://tinyurl.com/3coedn

Hope this helps ...

Steve

kimster324

My husband and I are barely starting to plan our honeymoon and we wanted to do the French Riviera, AC and Greece. Did you go to Greece? Which hotels did you end up staying at in Italy?

nytraveler

If you give you dates and budget other people can make specific recos. How much time do you have all together>