Almalfi Coast

I am not speaking from experience, but conventional wisdom seems to suggest staying in Sorrento. So, this summer, we're staying at La Tonnarella, in Sorrento, for 3 nights. It's reasonably priced, air conditioned, spectacular views, a little off the beaten path, with its own private beach and restaurant.

Also, Il Nido gets rave reviews as well. It's more off the beaten path (up in the hills above Sorrento, Il Nido means "the nest"), but it's an incredible bargain, and it also has amazing reviews, air conditioning, and its own restaurant. And, to compensate for being so far off the beaten path, they have their own shuttle to/from "downtown" Sorrento.

Sorrento is a great choice and quite close to public transportation. Pompeii is an easy day trip by train from Sorrento.

Heading an hour down towards Amalfi, Positano is smaller and very scenic. It can easily be reached by bus. If you are looking for Amalfi itself or nearby Praiano, I would suggest looking at the Hotel Villa Lara or the Hotel Aurora in Amalfi or the Hotel Onde Verde in Praiano. You can "backdoor" into the Amalfi Coast on a SITA bus from Salerno which is easily reachable from Rome on a Trenitalia train. The bus stops next to the Hotel Onde Verde parking lot and within a 5-minute walk to the Hotel Aurora.

If you are driving, the first time you try driving the Amalfi coast, do it from bottom/southeast to the top/northwest (TOWARD Sorrento, not away from it). That will put you on the cliff side. My husband was happy as a clam driving in Naples for the 4 months he was there, but even he doesn't care for driving the Amalfi on the ocean/down-cliff side. Combination of the narrow road with little if any shoulder, guard rails are occasional, not everywhere, and the oncoming busses making the tight corners VERY sporty...

Just doing the Amalfi Drive in one direction (towards Sorrento) sounds like a great idea. But, I'm wondering how we would get from Sorrento to Amalfi (or whatever point we would choose to use as the end point). I see a few convoluted roads, but they require a lot of backtracking.

Is it worth this extra driving to avoid one way of the Amalfi Drive? And, is the alternate route spectacular (without sea views, though) as well?

South from Naples, past Ercolano and Pompeii, continue on 43 toward Salerno. Just short of Salerno, pick up the coast road (145) at Vietri, and head for Amalfi and points west. Sorrento is north on the other side of the peninsula. There is a TON of really great information in Fodor's "Naples, Capri & the Amalfi Coast". We picked it up at Borders tonight, and have been writing notes everywhere in it!
Regarding driving the Amalfi Coast, there is a sidebar: "Rules for the Amalfi Drive"

1 Don't look down

2 Don't look up

3 Don't look; it's easier that way

4 Forget about camels not passing through the eye of a
needle

5 Timidity will get you nowhere - literally

6 The solid center line in the middle of the road is merely a suggestion

7 Whoever gets to a lane first has the right of way, and it doesn't matter whose side the lane is on

8 Traffic mirrors (placed at sharp outside corners) are put there so you can see what you are about to hit head-on

Continued:

9 Tour buses WILL back up. (This is true; they don't want a fender bender that will upset the itinerary of all their passengers)

10 Garbage trucks will NOT back up

11 Motorcycles are fearless

12 Pedestrians are fearlesser

13 Five headlights coming toward you equal 2 cars plus 1 motorcyc;e, or one car plus 3 motorcycles, or 5 motorcycles; all equally probable

14 The probability of an accident is very low; at 40 mph around a hairpin curve 1,000 feet above the sea everyone pays attention (the same is true for the Autostrada: at 130 mph nobody's attention wanders)

15 Have plenty of limoncello on hand at the end of a day spent driving the Amalfi Coast

This list was posted on a forum at the Fodors website. Driver beware...

Just returned from a month vacation in Italy. We stayed at the Il Nido and the hotel is great. We had rooms with balcony's and a beautiful view of the bay of Naples, all for 100. euro's per night. The ristorante at the hotel is one of the best we ate at and the prices are very moderate, complete meal with wine for two people under 30. euro, this included tip. They have a free shuttle to the city center running every half hour, a ten minute ride. We will stay there again next year when we return.

Sharon - Thanks for the list. All I can say is ..... Yikes! But, you and your husband have driven it yourselves. How was it (or, does the list say it all?)? And, the best gauge: would you do it again?

As for the directions to only do it in one direction, we'll already be in Sorrento. So, I'm wondering if there is a route that requires less backtracking than the one you described.

Is it worth this extra driving to avoid one way of the Amalfi Drive? And, is the alternate route spectacular (without sea views, though) as well?

Leslie - Hubby drove the Amalfi a number of times, both ways. I was home in Kansas with the kids - we couldn't justify the problems involved in taking them for the period he was needed in Naples.

He and I are going together this fall - my first time, and the Amalfi is on the 'must see' list. I'm perfectly willing to do the drive 'on the outside', but he stated that he'd just as soon not repeat that direction. This coming from a man whose very nature is competitive, absolutely loved driving with the crazies in Naples, and even now, at 66, spends his weekends on the track kart racing.
We're not talking about an alternate route - we're talking about the other side of the road. There is ONLY one road, two lane, tacked to the side of the hill, tight twisting turns. He says that the view 'from the inside' is fine - from the inside lane you don't get to look straight down to the sea. Fine with me.
A tour bus is a good option if both driver and passenger(s) want the best view without having to sweat the road & traffic.

And yes, the view is worth the drive, either way.

Sharon - Thanks for the additional information. I think that my husband and I will both really want to do the drive ourselves, so the encouragement (rare!) is appreciated.

I wasn't actually asking whether the Amalfi Drive was worth it for the views; we wouldn't miss it for anything! I was just wondering, should we choose to just do it "on the inside", will the alternate "back roads" route to get to the point where we begin the drive back to Sorrento also be spectacular and worth driving significantly out of our way? Sorry if this is confusing.

Thanks again!

If you are driving from Naples to stay in Sorrento, drive via the Amalfi in a loop. The optimum route would be to head straight south from Naples on the A3, go right on 163 which is the Amalfi road. Continue through/past the towns of Amalfi & Positano. The road will eventually head inland, across the tip of the peninsula, and head into Sorrento. From Sorrento you would then loop back to Naples.

No need to travel any of the back roads you refer to - hubby says that this is a great loop to drive, with the most incredible views. This is the route we'll be taking, visiting Ercolano (Herculaneum) and Pompeii on the return to Naples.

If you are arriving in Sorrento by other transportation, then renting a car to drive the Amalfi, then you'll be doing one of two things - the same loop, or driving the Amalfi both ways.
OR - you could let a tour bus driver deal with the road, while both of you enjoy the view...

We will be doing the Amalfi Drive as a day trip from (and back to) Sorrento. So, in order to do the one-way Amalfi Drive, we're trying to figure out the best way to get to the far point, from Sorrento, without backtracking too much.

We'll figure out the details when we get there. Thanks again for the input, and have a great trip in September.

We stayed in the town of Almalfi and thought it was the perfect location for us...much more low key, but still easy to get around the coast. Our hotel was UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME = HOTEL LUNA CONVENTO

I have not been there yet, but I booked a room at the Hotel California in Positano for this summer. The views look fantastic and apparently, a scene from "Under the Tuscan Sun" was shot there. I think it will be fun to stay in Positano as a home-plate for exploring the Amalfi Coast.

WITHOUT A DOUBT WE RECOMMEND THE HOTEL LUNA CONVENTO IN THE TOWN OF AMALFI .
.... A CONVERTED ST. FRANCIS MONASTERY PERCHED ON A HILL WITH THE SWIMMING POOL BURIED DOWN IN THE CLIFFS........NOT A BUDGET BREAKER WHEN WE WERE THERE 2 SUMMERS AGO.

We drove the coast road from Sorrento to Salerno and it was fine. I think we lucked out and hit it on a quiet day.(it was a Tuesday, July 31) But we loved it!!! We stopped at one pull out where there was a fabulous lady sellling her lemons, lemoncello, tomatoes and grapes. We bought a lemoncello and a bunch of grapes. We chatted with her for a while then asked if we might take her picture. She was flustered but said yes. She primpted and modeled for us! It is one of my favorite photos.

We did not stop in any of the towns the day we drove. Our destination was Paestum.

Then the next day we visited Positano and Amalfi town by Ferry. Very nice!

If you do not like crowds and enjoy everyday Italian life consider Meta.

My wife and I and our daughter and son-in-law stayed at Orchid Corner while in Meta. The rooms and were spotless and neatly decorated. Antonino picked us up at the train station, and Carmela had a snack of cake and coffee ready when we arrived. Carmela provides excellent advice on the sites in the region. It was our good fortune to follow her advice in all matters of travel and eating around the Amalfi Coast and Naples. The location of Orchid Corner is near the only public beach in the Sorrento area, and once you get to know the route, only a few minutes walk from the train station. Meta is the perfect location if you want to stay in Sorrento but do not like the crowds, and the Orchid Corner B&B is the perfect location in Meta. Meta gives you a small slice of every day Italian life. Carmela and Antonino make you feel like family.

Just stayed 4 nights in Sorrento. Since we were relying on public transportation it was the best fit. We were easily able to see Capri, Pompei, the coast, etc. We stayed out of town on the Via del Capo area where Rick has some recommendations. However, we ended up staying a little further down the road at La Solara- a place popular with Brits. It's owned by Best Western (which made me a little leary) but it was amazing. We had a huge room and even bigger private balcony (and complimentary bottle of wine) with a view of the Bay of Naples and Capri. The cost was 139 euro a night (less for a room w/o a view.) It also included breakfast, free internet, an hourly shuttle to and from town, a pool... The service was great and they even offer free Italian lessons twice a week. We were really happy with our choice and glad we didn't stay in the middle of town as the mopeds make it pretty noisy. Have fun!