Positano accomodation

What do you consider reasonable?

I can appreciate that "reasonable" is subjective. I don't have a set price in mind. I have taken into account that staying in Positano will be costly, and likely more so than the surrounding areas. With that said, I'm looking for a place that is reasonably priced for the location. My preference would be something that feels a little personal, perhaps family owned. Alternatively, if there is a quaint place just outside of Positano, I'm receptive to that.

We stayed in the Villa La Tartana in Positano last June and really liked it. Great location good breakfast comfortable rooms. We had a room with four single beds for the two of us and our two teenagers and it was spacious and a great view. Sorry I don't remember the price but I recall it was not out of line for what we got and in the middle of the summer. Good luck.

Have you considered staying in other towns near Positano? We stayed in Sorrento and Positano and much preferred Sorrento which was much less touristy, and less expensive. I have no interest in returning to Positano.

It's important to understand how limited are transportation options in this area. Near Positano means an hour away, whether you take a 3-Euro bus that has a line longer than will fit on the next bus, or wait for a taxi to plow through heavy traffic on the only two-lane, bidirectional road through Positano.

Positano was a must-see for me, but luckily we were not sleeping there. It was a disappointment. Do you understand the pay-chaise beach is tiny, 100% pebbles, and cold water? It's a funny definition of upscale, to me. We slept in purpose-built resort Sorrento, simply for the transportation options for daytrips. Your only option for Pompeii from Positano is a 150 Euro black car or taxi, unless you want a 2.5-hour, two seat ride via Sorrento on cheap public transportation.

I don't see ferries as a magic bullet, with magnificent views, especially since Positano can only accomodate the smallest boats. There is no ferry to Pompeii. Our ferrry back from Capri was so crowded that you couldn't see the approach to Sorrento. But we could see Vesuvius from the foot of our luxury bed. (Extra cost balcony and Gulf view.)

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-coast-for-5-days-where-to-set-base-from

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/naples-to-sorrento-train-or-private-driver

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/getting-around-amalfi-coast

All great points to ponder, thank you. We will splurge by spending our first 2 or 3 nights in Capri. We were considering Positano as a home base for the following 4 days. However, I'm now wondering if it would be more convenient (transportation wise), a little less caotic and perhaps slightly cheaper to use Amalfi as our send home base as opposed to Positano. We would want to explore Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Additionally, we wish to do the Path of the Gods hike. If you are in support of Amalfi as a second home base, can anyone recommend a great place to stay for two?

We stayed in Sorrento. We visited Pompeii on our way from Naples to Sorrento. We liked Sorrento, but it was a bit of a pain to visit the Amalfi coast cities from there, as well. The ferries were done for the season and the buses were full. We are not "beach" people except for the views, nor do we shop. I guess, we liked Positano more than most, because we thought the views were gorgeous. That said, we spent 3/4 day at most. We did enjoy Ravello and Amalfi town. I think Amalfi town would be a great place to stay.

In a few weeks we will be in Southern Italy. We will stay in Salerno for a few nights. If its "warmish" and sunny, we plan to spend a day along the Amalfi coast visiting Amalfi town and the smaller towns south of Amalfi town. I have been told that from Salerno, it is easy to tour that part of AC.

In Sorrento, I believe we stayed at a BnB called La Magnolia. It is right off the main square, it fit our budget and there was breakfast.

We stayed at the Villa Pietra Santa in Positano and liked it a lot. Is is small and owned by a very nice family. Every room has a balcony with an awesome ocean view and jacuzzi. It is not in the center of Positano but down the road. We easily walked from the hotel to town (of course being mindful of traffic). What I really liked about it is that there are stairs from the hotel to Arenzo Beach which is so much nicer than city beach in Positano. We did splurge and reserve seats at the Arenzo private beach club. One nice thing is that the beach club has a boat to transport you to "downtown" Positano for free so we could see the sites and views.

Transportation is tough along the Amalfi coast so we splurged and used Aldo Limos for our driving. We did an all-day tour with them that took us to Ravello, Amalfi and other spots. I thought it was well-worth it because the driver would drop us off and come back to pick us up and we didn't have to deal with any of the hassles.

One plus for your second idea is that Amalfi is the end of the line for the bus that goes Sorrento-Amalfi. Can change to Amalfi-Salerno, I think. But anyway, this makes your three towns more approachable and inexpensive, plus, maybe some seats on a full-bus. Up the hill bus Amalfi-Ravello. But if you are in Sorrento, the line for the bus is usually more people than will fit on the next, half-hourly, bus. I know you didn't mention Sorrento, but you might go there for a multi-seat, 2 hour trip to Pompeii (for 6 Euros or so), instead of two 140 Euro taxis direct Amalfi-Pompeii Scavi.

You are right that Amalfi has good transportation, relative to the AC in general. But I didn't find Amalfi magical in the way that Ravello is. If you get seasick, I suspect that the ferries from Capri to Sorrento are bigger boats than the ferries to Amalfi. But I have not been to Amalfi by ferry.

Try path of the gods in the search box top left, blue menu.