where to stay - Amalfi Coast
 

My husband and I are planning a trip to Rome and the Amalfi Cost this September. We are thinking 6 nights Amalfi Coast, 2 nights Capri, 6 nights Rome. We are looking for budget friendly places to stay. Would like a home base in the Amalfi Coast that would make it easy to travel to Pompeii, Naples, Positano, Sorrento, Salerno and Ravello as well as to get to Capri/Anacapri. Where do you suggest staying? I was thinking Sorrento or Positano whichever is more wallet friendly.... any ideas/advice would be appreciated!

Sorrento is by far the most convenient and affordable. But kind of odd to stay there, then move to Capri just a short ride away.

Capri is really special and worth a stay; maybe longer than 2 nights. Positano is also magical as is to some degree is Ravello. So if you stay in 2 places anyway, maybe skip Sorrento since you are close enough to half of attractions at each place (assuming Capri is one).

You will get a tidal wave of Positano recc's, although I think it is a poor value with only one view to it's name (and steep stairs and prices). Capri is multivaried and very underestimated in my opinion - I could spend weeks there. Even a reasonable base, since you can blast to Naples quick or Sorrento/Pompeii (Capri not convenient to Positano in Sept ferry sched).

Skip Salarno and go on to visit Paestum.

anyone have any other suggestions for a affordable and conveinent home base in the Amalfi Coast??

thanks viking for your response. would love to stay in capri for the full amount of time but don't think that would be the best economical choice and having to take a ferry every day to get to the other towns just didn't make sense to me. would like to do some hiking and visit the most of the area I can.

If you want to do hiking, you're much better off in Amalfi or Positano or, next to Positano and considerably less expensive and with a local bus into Positano, in Praiano.

For hiking, look at
http://www.giovis.com/Egiovis.htm

I love Positano and don't love Capri so much, at least not Capri town. I think you can still find affordable places in Positano like The Best Western, Villa Rosa, etc. Check the search function here for more suggestions from other posters.

A poster here (The famous Ira!) also recommends LE SIRENE in Priano, which is pretty close to Positano. The hotel sounds lovely, and is not extremely expensive. However, town itself is very quiet for my taste, and you have to be prepared for that.

The good thing about staying in one of these towns is that you have easy access to Amalfi and Ravello, too.. You can get to Amalfi by boat in the summer/fall months which is a pretty trip .From Amalfi, you take a bus or taxi to Ravello, where there are gorgeous gardens to explore, and, in season, a summer music festival. Oh- I forgot to mention that there are hiking trails in Amalfi, and also if you're really ambitious, back down from Montepertuso, a mountain village just above Positano.

All of this is much more enticing to me than Sorrento, which is heavy on the tour bus/package crowd.

Have a great time!

If you are looking for something budget-friendly with lots of transprot options, you could also try Salerno - I really LIKE Salerno...although it seems to be overlooked by most. Some of the view are wonderful and it's a very easy sity to navigate (i.e. not Naples at all) - frequest busses along the coast, as well as boats...direct bus service to Pompeii and Paestum...just an idea ;-) Sorrento can be charming in it's own way too! (and if you REALLY are on a budget, stay somewhere off the coast - you do pay for those views)

Hi LM

We very much liked www.lesirene.com in Praiano.

As noted, it is a very quiet little town.

See my trip report for more details.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

Ira’s Italy Photos
Praiano http://tinyurl.com/ygbows

((I))

zerlina - thanks for the advice or for the hiking link, it will be very useful!

CasaDelCipresso - thank you so much for the info on Salerno. I definitely want to visit there but not sure about staying there. will look into it more though, seems really easy to travel in and out of.

weadles - thank you so much for your info! and town recommendations. I think I am leaning towards Praiano now and hadn't considered it before.

ira - thank you so much for the info on your trip report and recommednations for Hotel Le Sirene. it seems like the ideal place to stay and a lovely affordable hotel!!! I am definitely leaning towards making Praiano our home base.

You might also consider Hotel Margherita in Praiano. http://www.italyby.com/hotelmargherita/
or http://www.hotelmargherita.info/Generale.htm
We stayed there in October 2007 and loved it. Nice rooms, great views, wonderful food, and incredible service. They have a pool also. We have made Praiano our base on all our trips to the Amalfi Coast and we love its small size and lack of crowds. You can still get up and down the coast by bus and boat.

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Would you consider making Ravello your base instead of just a stop on your Amalfi tour? It was just about our favorite Amalfi town, and though it's not on the water, it is a peaceful oasis above the water. Can't help with specific lodging info, though, since we stayed in Sorrento...

Ravello has wonderful views down the coast, but is a bit difficult to get in and out of, so it's not a good base for people planning many daytrips.

You are welcome, LM.

((I))

If you want to stay on the Amalfi Coast, you should stay on the AC, and not in Sorrento (which is not actually on the AC and would require a bus or boat to get there).

Positano and Amalfi offer the easiest travel options to get to Naples, Capri, Sorrento, etc. Ravello is also beautiful but harder to get to places.

Praiano is between the two of them and is probably a cheaper option than either Positano or Amalfi (although both offer budget choices), but be aware that Praiano doesn't have a direct boat dock to Capri and you will have to take a car/bus to either Amalfi or Positano to travel onward to somewhere else.

I've never been to Salerno, so I can't offer any tips on staying there.

But I don't see anything wrong with staying 6 nights on the AC (Positano or Amalfi would be my choice) and 2 nights on Capri. I thought Capri was beautiful and I would want to stay at least one or two nights there on my next trip. I visited as a day trip and yes, there were hordes of crowds, but I'm sure it's really beautiful at night when the crowds have left.

LizaMarie,
For a budget priced accommodation in Praiano, you can also try
http://www.continental.praiano.it/welcome/welcomeuk.htm

The coastal buses stop just outside, they have parking, and are close to the Marina Praia. My family has stayed there, were pleased with the rooms, and were well-treated by the family who runs it.

Positano is a short trip away. And more expensive

In Praiano, I had a very nice lunch on this hotel's veranda. It seems popular with the British, no Americans in sight.

http://www.villabellavista.it