Amalfi Coast Italy

[PeterN]

Hello,

My wife, 5 year old son and I and hoping to come down to the Amalfi Coast in late April, we understand that's a pretty good time to come, less crowded than the summer etc etc.

We were orginally planning to fly to Naples (from the UK), then hire a car at the airport to get to our hotel and drive around etc. However, reading some of these posts.....

* Do we really need a car to see Sorrento, Amalfi, Ravello, Pompeii, Napoli etc? Is the Amalfi drive really that scary?

* We are not sure whether to stay in Sorrento or Amalfi....for a kind of "relaxing" family holiday with nice ambience etc, which would be better? Presumably a taxi from Naples airport to Sorrento would be easier/more affordable than going down to Amalfi?

* We only have 5 days (and hope to see Capri too, of course), so unfortunately time is tight and we really want to get this right. All and any recommendations welcome!


Thank you!

[xbruno]

Hello Peter,

your question is a though one to answer, since there is many similarities between staying in Sorrento and staying in Amalfi.

Transfers: you can get to Naples by train and get a cab to Sorrento, sure, but you can also get by train to Salerno and get a cab or bus to Amalfi. The cab would cost maybe a bit more than the one from Naples to Sorrento, but the bus would be much chaper (something like 2-3 euro each). The bus trip is 45-60 minutes.

Ferries to Capri are available from both Amalfi and Sorrento. Capri is closer to Sorrento, so the trip from there would be shorter and cheaper.

Sorrento is bigger, and has more the feel of a city, while Amalfi is just a small town by the sea, with one main square and one main road.

Pompei, Paestum, and Naples are much closer to Sorrento, while Positano, Ravello, Atrani, are much closer to Amalfi.

The Amalfi coast drive is not that scary, it's windy and quite narrow, it just takes some being used to it. If you have some experience of driving on mountain roads you'll be fine. On the other hand you can reach all major attractions by ferry or bus.

One last thing: if your family gets carsick easily and badly I recommend a private driver, so you can also ask him to drive extra smoothly.

I tried to give you all the necessary info, now it's of course your call

Regards
Bruno

[PeterN]

Hello Bruno,


Thanks for your most helpful reply. Much appreciated.

An Italian friend who's been to the area now recommends that we hire a car, after all!

So now I have to check the various sites to find a good place to stay. I guess Sorrento will be easier than Amalfi...

Grazie, mille,