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Anyone been to Naples and Amalfi Coast ? Travel advice.

I think your plan sounds good if you want to visit the southern coast. I have several friends that swear by the the south, and those that swear by the north. Personally, I can't wait to tour the southern coast with a very similiar plan as you.

Having said that, it better be as good as some people say it is because I absolutely loved my two former trips to Northern Italy. I loved Cinque Terra, Venice, Sienna, Florence/Tuscany and Rome. It's my "go to" vacation when I am lacking creativity and a travel partner.

LTP was just in the Almafi Coast within the last two years, so I hope she chimes in. She did Capri as well. Or maybe it was the other island, Sardinia? I don't remember, but I remember viewing her photo album and that is what convinced me to plan a southern Italy vacay.

My other go to for help in planning....Rick Steve's book on Italy. It was a godsend when I was planning, because some spots are closed at unexpected times of year/days of week, etc. It can really throw one off the plan when those unexpected things pop up. With his book, you get an up-to-date education....even "How to do Rome in a day" which we did....and had one of the best days ever!!
 
T-gal, I was thinking we could get between cities with a bus then explore on foot/taxi, then bus back to the hotel. And yes if we could, I know Dh would want to visit Pompeii.

Miracles... I'm ordering that book now. Perfect. I will stay tuned for more advice.

I have to say all these recommendations for Cinque Terra have me thinking about the North (not tot mention the descriptions of Naples which well... sounds as bad as I feared. There's a reason his family left Naples, I'm thinking).

Anyone been to Bari? The other half of DH's family is from there.
 
Gypsy|1343323404|3240591 said:
T-gal, I was thinking we could get between cities with a bus then explore on foot/taxi, then bus back to the hotel. And yes if we could, I know Dh would want to visit Pompeii.

Miracles... I'm ordering that book now. Perfect. I will stay tuned for more advice.

I have to say all these recommendations for Cinque Terra have me thinking about the North (not tot mention the descriptions of Naples which well... sounds as bad as I feared. There's a reason his family left Naples, I'm thinking).

Anyone been to Bari? The other half of DH's family is from there.
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Gypsy, I looked back again on your posts, but couldn't find it. What month are you planning this trip for? My advice would vary depending on time of year.

Pompeii would kind of be a pain for Positano IF the buses are how I remember it. You want to do it either from Naples or Sorrento.

No on Bari. It's on the other side of the country. I was there for a full day catching a ferry to Croatia, and I don't think it's worth going out of anyone's way for. Better to grit your teeth through Naples for a day if you really have to, then enjoy a stunning coast with lots to do. Bari is sort of an industrialized city, some consider it not safe, and while I am sure there are things to enjoy, it's not a major tourist stop in Italy for a reason.
 
Okay so, scratch the Bari option.


I wanted to do May, but even NOW a lot of the places we wanted to stay are booked solid for May. So anytime after Feb 15th would be good.
 
OK Gypsy, two threads to read that mention buses...

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/help-with-order-of-itinerary-please-tuscany-amalfi-coast.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/amalfi-coast-444069-2.cfm

Again, I really want to emphasize that the Amalfi coast is a nightmare doing peak holiday times. The buses are packed, late, and if you aren't insanely aggressive, you will not get on your first shot. And I recall it's not like there is another bus 10 minutes later...it can be hourly, which means you fight the next massive crowd to get on. Even if you don't have motion sickness, you may GET it from being on that bus. I've never been the same after it!

Which means a car seems ideal until you realize during peak season you are STUCK behind these buses and tons of cars AND scooters zipping by you (on a very narrow road). If you can deal with THAT, then try finding parking in Amalfi. Ugh!

I only enjoyed Amalfi because we rented a scooter. Looking back on it, that was a crazy idea too as we probably could have been easily killed. But TGuy is a very competent cyclist. We sped by the slow traffic, and found parking very easily.
 
Gypsy|1343325171|3240618 said:
Okay so, scratch the Bari option.


I wanted to do May, but even NOW a lot of the places we wanted to stay are booked solid for May. So anytime after Feb 15th would be good.
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It won't be warm in Feb, so you're talking coastal views, but not extremely warm.

As long as it's not easter weekend (and definitely check that you will NOT be there at that time), then you have more options as it won't be as hectic yet. I'd also be braver about the car during that period.

I was in Italy in February , March, and April in the same year. April was a lot busier.
 
Late March early April might be the way to go for us. Last time I was in Italy was June and July and OMG was it hot at times.
 
Gypsy|1343325870|3240627 said:
Late March early April might be the way to go for us. Last time I was in Italy was June and July and OMG was it hot at times.
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Shoulder season is always what I recommend. :))

Oh, btw, if you are looking at going to Cinque Terre, just note it's TerrE, not TerrA. American pronounce it that way so they often spell with an "a" at the end.
 
Positano is beautiful and Capri can easily be reached by ferry for a day trip. We stayed on Capri for a couple of nights but I don’t think it is really necessary if you will be staying in Positano. Our favorite part of Capri was spending the day at La Fontelina which is a beach club and restaurant on the water. It really isn’t a beach, per se, but you can get the idea from their website. http://www.fontelina-capri.com/ In that trip we spent 3 nights in Rome, 2 on Capri and 3 in Positano. I live in a city and for me I would rather spend more time in the coastal towns when I go back. We decided that on the next trip we would fly in and out of Naples and spend the whole week in Positano and take day trips to Capri, Amalfi, Ravello, etc by ferry and bus or taxi to Pompeii.
I would also recommend the Cinque Terre. We were there on our honeymoon 10 years ago and my parents will be going there for the first time on part of their anniversary trip in October. We actually went there after arriving in Florence and deciding that we only needed 2 nights there. I know many people love Florence but it just wasn’t for us. After the Cinque Terre we went to Lake Como and then finally to Venice. It was a great itinerary if you are considering Northern Italy.
For both trips we traveled at the very beginning of June and it wasn’t yet overcrowded and the weather was nice. Good luck with your exciting trip!!
 
Joolz that was a great post. Thank you! I sent it to DH (as well as several others) and he agreed it was very helpful. The Northern itinerary you proposed is also a nice one, and still on the table. But I do want to try to make the South work if possible.

So I want to see how much more it would cost to split airports. Because then we could do this:

Day 1: Fly to Naples
Day 2: Naples
Day 3: Take Hydrofoil to Sorrento, then taxi to Positano
Day 4: Positano
Day 5-10: Amalfi Coast including Pompeii and Capri as day trips.
Day 11: Train to Rome
Day 12: Rome
Day 13: Rome
Day 14: Fly home.

That way we only have to stay at three hotels. And only have to lug out suitcases about a bit.

Honestly, Aljdewey, if you don't have to do Naples, don't. I'd Fly in and out of Rome if I weren't trying to make this happen for DH. Rome, then the coast by train use one hotel as a base and make trips out as you like, then back to Rome to fly out.
 
I haven't been to southern Italy but I LOVED Cinque Terre. LOVED. Though I saw it before the floods devastated some of the villages so I am not sure what shapes things are in now and what shape they'll be in by the time you (might) get there next year but it was totally worth spending almost 30% of our trip there. Gorgeous. So totally gorgeous.
 
My favourite hotel in Rome is the Hotel Pantheon. It is a small, historic hotel steps from the Pantheon. The tiny street it is on is very busy and full of tourists then you step inside the hotel and it is a refuge :saint: The front desk staff are friendly and helpful. I adore this place and it is not too pricey.

Steps away there is the Albergo del Senato hotel that is gorgeous and faces the Pantheon. It is larger, more upscale and pricer. Personally I like the Hotel Pantheon better = it is cozier and romantic (and cheaper too boot!!). Love it so much :love: Oh and the owner is the cutest little old Italian man.

May is nice time for visiting Italy but September is even nicer. May be prepared for rain showers and remember to drop your umbrella into the umbrella holder when you enter the store or the store clerks get pissed off that you will drip water on their merchandise!
July can be a oven, that is for sure!

There are so many beautiful places in Italy it is hard to know where to choose to go! I have heard the same about Naples but then people have said Rome is dirty and awful but I love it :love: and I must be blinded by my lover because I just can't see the dirt or the graffiti. Sometimes I think the "Naples is a dump" refrain may be either outdated or overstated, after all people told me the canals in Venice "stink"...well my sniffer must be bust because i didn't smell anything.

Ohhh now I am day dreaming about Italy :D

Bari? Did you say Bari? Always wanted to go to Bari. Francesca, the character played by Meryl Steep in "The Bridges of Madison County" was from Bari.
 
HI:

Of all the times of year I've been to Europe--Sept is my fav. Weather and tourists otherwise.

Florence is reputed to be "one" the worse cities to drive in...and just having been there I must concur. Drivers are not incivil--just MAD to get everywhere! Despite my perception of it being grimy--there was 18K gold to be had for 25 Euro's per gram!!!! Nothing like that here in my neck of the woods!

We spent 10 days in Tuscany and were in Siena almost everyday....lovely vistas, but I am glad I stayed outside the "walled" city. Walking those steep hills is good for the legs....I do have some good restaurant recommendations.

I really get tired of driving--Florence to Tuscany (Siena) is 60K. But what is 60K of good highway....nothing...but I am not a good passenger (120 kms every day or EOD, no thanks...). Travelling everyday, somehere, just gets tiring. But there is the rub--"wanting" to fit it all in, on one trip just doesn't work. Or not very well. So much to see--every city, no TOWN would take days....... And how to choose????--look here on this thread--everyone has a different opinion!

Focus! And be prepared to spend more than you planned. :bigsmile: Honestly, I jsut would have spent 3 weeks in Paris.... :love: I plan to move there soon..... :devil:

cheers--Sharon
 
Don'thitme. Paris didn't do much for me. I actually regretted spending so much time there. It was nice to see and all that but I don't see myself going back. DH doesn't have any desire to see it, so that's good too. People vary!!!
 
Gypsy|1343349063|3240962 said:
Don'thitme. Paris didn't do much for me. I actually regretted spending so much time there. It was nice to see and all that but I don't see myself going back. DH doesn't have any desire to see it, so that's good too. People vary!!!
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My DH was "finished" with Paris after 10 days, too many people..since "people" were not on my radar, my son and I wanted to stay in our apartment and forego Tuscany...

Of course we all are different! You'll find something that works. Perhaps when my friends return from the Amalfi Coast I will have something of "recent/interest" to report...

cheers--Sharon
 
I would rather hit myself in the head with a giant Parma ham then fly into and tackle Naples my first day in Italy. That's just asking for a bad experience. Honestly, if you didn't like Paris or Milan very much, you're going to frigging hate Naples. It's everything you didn't like about those places times ten or even a hundred. Make Naples a day trip from somewhere in the middle of the trip so DH can say he's been there, but don't fly into Naples or start out there. I beg of you, Gypsy, do not start with Naples. It's like wanting to learn to surf and starting out on a 15-foot wave.
 
might it be cheaper to fly to Rome rather than Naples? I remember Naples not being too far from Rome? Oh and I wouldn't spend time in Naples unless it changed in the past 10 years; lots of unemployement and crime.
 
rainwood|1343351309|3241000 said:
I would rather hit myself in the head with a giant Parma ham then fly into and tackle Naples my first day in Italy. That's just asking for a bad experience. Honestly, if you didn't like Paris or Milan very much, you're going to frigging hate Naples. It's everything you didn't like about those places times ten or even a hundred. Make Naples a day trip from somewhere in the middle of the trip so DH can say he's been there, but don't fly into Naples or start out there. I beg of you, Gypsy, do not start with Naples. It's like wanting to learn to surf and starting out on a 15-foot wave.
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ROFLMAO. Okay. I already know I'm gonna hate Naples. LOL. The problem is DH's spine is gonna be locked up from the flight, and the first day is gonna suck wherever we are. So I figured if I'm going to be miserable in Naples, I might as well be miserable on the same day I'd be miserable anyway (Dh's back) and suck it up all at once (like a band aid) so I can enjoy the rest of the trip. We could fly into Rome instead, but I kinda want to see Rome and don't want to be annoyed because DH is frozen and I'm stuck in a hotel. If I get stuck at the hotel in Naples-- oh well, not like I'm missing anything.

I"m not at all a big city person. I'd cut BOTH Rome and Naples out if it were up to me, although Rome does have sites I want to see at least. I am much more a smaller city/town person. I ADORED Lugano. Truly and completely adored it. Como was nice too. Venice was surreal and I had a great time, but don't need to go back .

I'm gonna ask DH to cut Naples out, and settle for Capri and see if the family that he has (apparently he DOES have family there, my mistake) will meet us in Capri (if we can do it on a weekend, they might be able to).

That way we can do in and out of Rome and cut the hotel hopping down to Rome and Positano only. Which is much more my speed.

Day One: So it would be Fly into Rome
Day Two: Rome
Day Three: Rome
Day Four: Rome
Day Five: Train to Salerno, Ferry to Positano
Day 6: Positano
Day 7-12 Amalfi including Capri and Pompeii
Day 12: Ferry to Salerno, Train to Rome
Day 13: Fly back Home
Day 14: Apologize until hoarse to cats and recover from trip.
 
Okay, but if one or both of you gets mugged because you're jet-lagged and DH's back is a mess, don't say I didn't warn you.
 
I should probably explain that I've seen enough churches to last a lifetime. So I'll go to a Cathedral or two, but DH isn't a fan either, so that will be it. I like museums and would enjoy going to one. I really like ruins and old buildings that aren't churches. I love sight seeing that's nature based or scenery based. In Rome all we really want to see is the Colosseum and the Pantheon. I think DH's back will not allow us to go to Via Appia, but if we could I think it would be a full day thing and a lot of fun.

In terms of activities I adore, adore adore (this is going to sound nuts) grocery shopping (which is why I want to talk DH out of a Hotel for Amalfi and into a nice rental with a kitchen) in foreign countries. LOVE IT. Going to the butcher, the fruit seller, the fish monger, the bakery... I could (and have) HAPPILY spent days doing this. Or going to the local market days!!! Then sitting in a cafe for a nice cappuccino. Watching the old men play Bocci. Walking around the Piazza. Sitting by the water on a blanket with a book.

And-- going to restaurants and a few stores (not serious shopping but I did enjoy the Migro in Lugano. Mostly because I bought a ton of kitchen stuff I couldn't buy over here for the same prices. I brought home a ton of knives, even a frying pan, and lots of tweezers and other stuff like that. That's my idea of shopping). Having wine and enjoying a nice view.

I'm not a very exciting person. Fortunately, DH isn't either. =)
 
rainwood|1343352927|3241022 said:
Okay, but if one or both of you gets mugged because you're jet-lagged and DH's back is a mess, don't say I didn't warn you.
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Got it. Rainwood has no liability in the event that.... :tongue:

I honestly am pretty good about mugging and what not. I don't take anything I can't stick in my bra when sightseeing in dangerous areas. TMI, but true. If I can't stick it in my bra it doesn't get taken. I don't even trust fanny packs. And no jewelry at all. I'd probably worry most about the cell phones. But I'd only take one and make DH stick it in his front pocket.
I would need a safe hotel with a safe, and that is my biggest concern about Naples. It doesn't sound like even the hotels are safe. Which is why I'd like to talk DH out of it.
 
the revised itinerary sounds fantastic :appl:
 
Gypsy there is a cat santuary in Rome (near the Forum). I haven't been there myself but it is on my list! I see the cutie in your avatar and thought maybe you would like to go there?

OH another really interesting thing in Rome is to visit the Capuchin Crypt (google it). It is in the basement of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini church. It a series of small rooms decorated with the bones of 4,000 Monks - the bones are nailed to the walls and ceiling in intricate patterns. It is about a 15 minute walk from the Trevi Fountain (it is on the Via Vento which is the area that was "the" place to be in Rome during the time of Frank Sinatra etc.).

My favourite place of all in Rome is the Pantheon. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I know it is so touristy to eat at the outdoor cafes in front of the Pantheon but truly it feels like heaven to me. Okay enough gushing about Rome :cheeky:

Your itinerary sounds great! Except not enough time in Rome :lol
 
Gypsy|1343340854|3240843 said:
Honestly, Aljdewey, if you don't have to do Naples, don't. I'd Fly in and out of Rome if I weren't trying to make this happen for DH. Rome, then the coast by train use one hotel as a base and make trips out as you like, then back to Rome to fly out.
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LOL - while I don't *have* to do Naples, I have the same interest that your DH has. My family comes from there; great-grandparents came to US through Ellis Island on a steamship from Naples, so I'd hoped to at least see it. (yanno - a la Bucket List check off).

That said, though - might get scratched. That's what Google Earth is for, right? :naughty:
 
Well, okay. I get that. Get it with my DH too. So here's what I told him. I doesn't look like a bad day trip. And it's not recommended that one stay once it's dark anyway. So if he wants, we can do a day trip and visit one sight in the morning. Have a nice lunch (I hear the Pizza is good in Naples and I adore Pizza in Italy, all the different variations of it) with his family and see a couple more sights, then go back to Positano to sleep. That way he sees Naples, but we don't have to stay there. Alternately, if we do a week rental at one of the apartments instead of a hotel then I don't mind grabbing an overnight bag when we go to Capri and spending the night there, hitting Naples the next day, then taking the hydroplane/taxi combo back to Positano in the evening.
 
charleston1|1343354041|3241038 said:
OH another really interesting thing in Rome is to visit the Capuchin Crypt (google it). It is in the basement of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini church. It a series of small rooms decorated with the bones of 4,000 Monks - the bones are nailed to the walls and ceiling in intricate patterns.
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I love my DH. I just read him your post charleston. His comment: All things being equal I'm okay skipping the crypt to see 250 feral cats enjoying the ruins. He's a great match for me when we go traveling. And that's what it's all about, right?
 
Gypsy, the Capuchin Crypt is really interesting :saint: but if the cat santuctary appeals more to you and your hubby that is great! Next time I really want to get to see the cats.

If you like outdoor food markets, the largest in Rome is Campo de Fiori right in the central Historic District (walking distance from the Pantheon). I believe it is held every day except Sunday. It starts very early in the morning and ends around Noon when they pack everything up. Great photo op too if you like photography.

It is so nice to have a travel partner / husband that is interested in the same things as you! Not to mention having a partner that travels the same pace as you. It makes travelling soooo much fun!
 
Wow. I have finally encountered someone else who loves grocery shopping while traveling!! As my husband says, I get off on looking at food. If you like to cook as well Mamma Agata has a well reviewed cooking class at her picturesque private home in the hills of Ravello. It looks like it would be a great experience and I was sad that it was full when I was there. But check out the reviews on Trip Advisor if you’re into that sort of thing.
If your DH really wants to see Naples, why not take the ferry there one of the days you will be on the Amalfi Coast? I am not sure of the schedule during that time of year but when we went to Capri we took the ferry from Naples (we had a car transfer from Rome so I didn’t see anything other than driving in and stopping at the ferry dock) so I imagine that it is well connected to the other larger towns (Salerno, Sorrento, etc).
If you are trying to minimalize your change in hotels I think you can lump your Day 6 in with Days 7-12. Positano is very close to Amalfi and you could use one for homebase and travel to the others as day trips. I love the idea of a vacation rental. In the last few years we started to rent condos on vacation and I really enjoy it, if it has laundry it is also a huge plus so that I can pack lighter.
 
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