I am just in the early stages of planning, and have sketched out an itinerary after a few hours research. Would appreciate reactions. We have had two recent trips to Italy, one with a car (Sicily) and one without (Emilia Romagna). I am leaning towards public transit on this one as well, but would rent a car if it seemed more sensible. But train and bus seem to be quite good.

5 nights Naples (including Christmas Day)
4 nights Sorrento (for trips to Pompeii and Herculaneum, maybe Vesuvius)
4 nights Amalfi coast (split between Positano and Amalfi, or four one night stops with short bus ride?) (any recommendations for New Years Eve?)
2 nights Salerno (visit Paestrum)
3 or 4 nights Rome

I'll be back for hotel recs after I do some research, but if you have favorites in any of these places, happy to hear them.

You're traveling very much in the off season for Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast and Salerno. I think you may find it pretty desolate that time of year. You can easily visit Pompeii and Herculaneum from Naples and either rent a car or take the bus for a peek at the coast. I would suggest you extend slightly your stay in Naples and consider some other, less weather-dependent destination for the balance of your time.

ditto to what Fra says. and for those places trains and buses and ferries to Capri are great. Check www.seat61.com - BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com for lots on trains and transports in that area.

You do not mention Capri or Ischia but those two islands are easy to reach from Sorrento or Naples.

Hi, and thanks. I understand that it will be off-off-off season, but hearing from a good friend who was in this area in December a few years ago leads me to think we will like it very much.

I hadn''t thought about the islands but will put them in the mix.

Procidia is another island known for its colorful main town that spills down to the sea.

Ravello is a must and if into bit of energenic hiking I took a wonderful walk up to this old town perched high above the sea - neat footpath going thru orchards and garden plots and then down via zigzaging workers paths thru vineyards to the sea. Buses of course also scoot up there. Not that much there there but rave views.

https://www.google.com/search?q=proc...w=1708&bih=838

As others have noted, the Amalfi Coast is not necessarily the best destination for December. If you decide to go, I’d recommend visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum from Naples rather than Sorrento. Because it’s a university town, I would imagine that Salerno would have more going on than other locations on the Amalfi Coast itself, but I could be wrong. BTW, I thought Salerno greatly underrated.

No need for a car for this trip unless you really want one. I’m glad that I did NOT have one when in the area, as it allowed me to really enjoy the scenery in a way I couldn’t have done if driving.

I absolutely adored Ravello, and loved my stay at the Hotel Parsifal, which still gets very good reviews:
Hotel Parsifal - Ravello Costiera Amalfitana

Hope that helps!

[QUOTE=kja;16701670 If you decide to go, I’d recommend visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum from Naples rather than Sorrento. Because it’s a university town, I would imagine that Salerno would have more going on than other locations on the Amalfi Coast itself, but I could be wrong. BTW, I thought Salerno greatly underrated.

Hope that helps![/QUOTE]
Thanks much, KJA. I used a lot of your rrecommendations (particularly on Romanesque) in Sicily and they were always spot on. I will check out the Ravello hotel. And we will definitely stay a few nights in Salerno.

Can you elaborate on your recommendation that we visit Pompeii and Herculaneum from Naples rather than Sorrento? My thinking was that it would be quicker to get to the train station, and that the train station itself would be less of a hassle, in Sorrento. But staying in Naples would in many ways be easier and would leave us in a city with more going on in winter.

Thanks!

Well for Pompeii Sorrento is the closest by train by far - and getting to Sorrento train station is a snap. Can't see why Naples would be better for Pompeii at least.

Oh, I’m glad you found my suggestions for Sicily helpful! I remember that you were very helpful as I planned my time in northern Spain.

I should have explained my thinking about Pompeii and Herculaneum a bit better – sorry! I could be wrong, but I believe Herculaneum is more easily visited from Naples than Sorrento, and I certainly didn't find it difficult to reach Pompeii from Naples. If you want to visit both in the same day (I did, but I readily admit that doing both in a single day makes for a LONG day), then I would think visiting both from Naples would be worth considering. Too, I adore Naples, and all things being equal, I’d rather start and end my days in a city as vibrant and dynamic and energetic, and with as much to offer, as Naples – but YMMV, and I should have made that clear. I was certainly thinking that you would add time to Naples if you decided to visit either or both of these ruins from there.

Truth in advertising: I’ve never been to Sorrento, nor have I any interest in doing so, although I’m sure it has much to offer. And 8 nights in places that I suspect will be very, very quiet seemed a LOT to me – but maybe that’s exactly what you want!

If I recall your interests (and I might not!), while in Salerno, I think you would welcome the chance to visit its Duomo. It holds some truly awesome treasures!

I did base in Sorrento, and had no trouble getting to Herculaneum on the Circumvesuviana. I would not recommend doing both Herculaneum and Pompeii on the same day, although Pompeii will be less exhausting in cooler weather, and I would recommend seeing the Villa Oplontis after Herculaneum.

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...bs-roman-life/

Getting to either Pompeii and Heraculaneaum from Sorrento is so easy - especially Pompeii just a few minutes away. See no reason why they could be easier from Naples unless your hotel is by the CircumVesuviana station - most hotels in Sorrento are a short walk from its train station.