Amalfi coast

[Deleted member 1258]

To @dave r and @Hill Wimp . The dirty deed is done!! 12 days next September. Mrs v R is smiling! Thanks for your input.
I could do stained glass work in Sorrento!!

Have a lovely time.

 

[Rezillo]

We stayed near the Pompei ruins, was during August and the weather was very hot, whatever you do, DO NOT DRIVE, when you get there you will see why, every car is a wreck, the driving is worse than appalling.
Pompei is large, but is fascinating, then visit Herculanium it is so well preserved, it's mind blowing.
Sorrento is beautiful, as is Capri , the ferry to the island goes in the morning and returns in the evening, take a taxi up to the town, it's a hell of a walk in the heat, also do the trip up to Vesuvius, part way up in a Unimog bus, then walk the rest, the views are amazing.
For getting around the coast the circumvesuviana railway from Naples to Sorrento is good and inexpensive, if you go to Naples keep your wits about you, the risk of being robbed is very real, even in the railway station, I lost count of the number of ipads & mobiles we were offered.

Seconded. If you stay at Sorrento, you can get ferries to Naples, Capri and Ischia, plus boat and bus trips along the Amalfi Coast or a coach trip to the temples at Paestum. The Circumvesuviana has stops for Pompeii and Herculaneum. You can go to Naples on the same line but the station is not as well situated as the port and the square outside is one massive traffic free-for-all. In short, there's a huge amount you can do without a car and none of it needs a guide.

Some years ago, we went to Sorrento for the first time. We arrived in the evening in the dark, dumped our bags in our hotel room, and went to the bar, which was shut. No problem - the rooftop bar was open, we were told. Got the lift, walked out onto the roof and our jaws dropped. A simply stunning view of the whole of the Bay of Naples, a line of sparkling lights stretching for miles with Vesuvius outlined by moonlight. We had no idea!

[edit]
Forgot to add that you can get some fantastic views of Vesuvius from the cable car that runs from Castellamare di Stabia station on the Circumvesuviana. Just that what is at the top is a bit of a dump, so best to go straight back down again.

 

[Dec66]

All of the above, and I'll add that when we did the Amalfi coast, we stopped and had a coffee at a cafe in a place called Rafello, overlooking the central square, and it was one of those precious few times in life where everything just seemed to be 100% right. I'll treasure that memory forever.

If you happen to be in Sorrento on (I think) a Tuesday, be sure to take in the Sorrento Musical, which is put on by the locals in their little theatre. I think it's Tuesday, Google's your friend there.

Everyone will be plying you with Limoncello, which is fine, but make sure you get a nice glass of Lachryma Christi (red or white, I preferred the latter with it being September).

We stayed at the Hotel Capodimonte, which was very nice indeed.

 

[Davos87]

A spectacular part of the world and sure you will enjoy it. We took a small mini bus tour of The Amalfi and as others state great to look at but wouldn't dream of driving it. Took a small boat trip from Amalfi which was lovely and had fun with the guide pointing out the villas of Roger Moore, Sophia Loren and Gina Lollibrigida. Sophia has her own personal lift down to the sea. Capri is truly stunning. Take the chairlift from Ana Capri to the top for a lovely experience. Speaking about experiences be wary of the busses. We got on one and no matter how full there's always room for one more passenger. Crammed on like sardines and boiling hot. Not pleasant at all.
If staying in Sorrento take the red bus tour for a pleasant few hours and you can hop on and off. Go for a drink/ bite to eat in The Officers Club. Reasonable priced and beautiful views of Bay of Sorrento. Enjoy.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

A spectacular part of the world and sure you will enjoy it. We took a small mini bus tour of The Amalfi and as others state great to look at but wouldn't dream of driving it. Took a small boat trip from Amalfi which was lovely and had fun with the guide pointing out the villas of Roger Moore, Sophia Loren and Gina Lollibrigida. Sophia has her own personal lift down to the sea. Capri is truly stunning. Take the chairlift from Ana Capri to the top for a lovely experience. Speaking about experiences be wary of the busses. We got on one and no matter how full there's always room for one more passenger. Crammed on like sardines and boiling hot. Not pleasant at all.
If staying in Sorrento take the red bus tour for a pleasant few hours and you can hop on and off. Go for a drink/ bite to eat in The Officers Club. Reasonable priced and beautiful views of Bay of Sorrento. Enjoy.

We used the buses, if we got on one and it was crammed we just got of and waited for the next one. We were sat on the bus heading for Amalfi and I was thinking I'd like to cycle this.

We also seen the show, we hadn't a clue what was going on but we found we enjoyed it.

 

[Davos87]

 

[Booyaa]

Got a villa in the hills above Masa Lubrense and explored the whole area, loved Positano and Amalfi especially. I would say stay well away from coach tours, they are awful things, especially in places like that. Last time I went was in September and the climate was good.

We flew into Pisa and took a leisurely drive down the country over a few days, great country to drive in, very intuitive, wouldn't fancy cycling in the cities though!

 

[HertzvanRental]

Thank you all. I think that this might just be a blast!! I