Amalfi coast and pompeii need suggestions for itinerary

Karma, more information would be helpful for people best to be able to help you.

What time of year are you going?
What airport(s) are you flying in and out of?
What sorts of things are your group interested in doing?
How are you intending on getting around?

Additionally, you could benefit greatly by spending time with some guidebooks on the area, and the search function at the top of this page will bring up a wealth of information provided in similar forum questions. For instance, type in "hotels, Sorrento" or "hotels, Amalfi Coast" and hit "go", and then choose "travel forum" from the options on the left. You can narrow the search results to only those forum posts within the last 6 months, last year or last 2 years.

Day
1. ARRIVE Rome. Train to Naples (2N)
2. Naples
3. Train to Sorrento (5N)
4. Day to Capri
5. Day to Positano
6. Day to Pompeii & Herculaneum
7. Day to Amalfi & Ravello
8. Bus to Salerno (1N)
9. Day to Paestum. Train to Rome (1N)
10. DEPART Rome

Without being a scold, I believe that this forum works best when a posting party has a basic idea of where, when, and with whom they are going, and some kind of focus on the way they wish to travel.

Unfortunately, while most of us are enthusiastic travelers, we tend to travel in our own way, with an idea on how we prefer to travel and where we want to visit. In order to plan for a trip, I think the best way to start out is to purchase a good guide book for the area of our interest. I recommend RS's Italy guidebook for an overview, or the Lonely Planet guidebook for the area of Italy that piques your interest. Once you have spend a few nights dreaming about your destinations, and have narrowed down the places and sights you might be interested, THAT is the time to come to the forum to fine tune some of your plans.

I know some people love the idea of driving from town to town. That isn't my cup of tea, and I prefer trains or plane travel between destinations. I spend relatively less on hotels, being content to stay in a simple but clean 2 star property, while some of my friends prefer top of the line accommodations. I spend more on food and wine, while others prefer to eat street food and pizza. To each his own, but my point is that you will find folks here who may share your desires and mode of travel, but they will need to know some details about your trip to begin with. Where are you arriving? Where are you departing from? What is your budget? When you say you need help with "everything," that implies that you want us to plan your Italian holiday for you, and as enthusiastic as we are, most of us are not professional travel agents. Our answers or suggestions are usually based upon our own experiences, and some of us think that private drivers from Sorrento are just the thing to travel to the Amalfi coast, while others think that the adventure of taking a ferry from Sorrento would be a lot more fun.

Same with hotels. I have a B&B in Sorrento that is great for two, but probably wouldn't be able to accommodate 6 adults, especially if they are not couples. Same thing with tours and meals. A bit of research on your part would narrow down your "must do's" and prioritize your "nice to see" events and meals.

Spend some time; do your homework; discover your own dreams. Then, come back to this forum and ask particularized questions about this hotel or that restaurant, or if a guide is necessary to assist you in an adventure or if you would be better served by branching out on your own. Once you have a rough idea, you will be amazed at the enthusiasm of the travel nerds who will be willing to assist you attain your goals. Buon Viaggio!

My advice would be radically different if you are going in July or January . . .

I don't usually say this, but in your case, perhaps taking a few hours to read a guide book about the area and then come back with more specific questions . . . and more details about your plans, your budget and your group's make-up and interests.

I think David lays out a nice itinerary. I would suggest, however, that you use Salerno as the base to visit Positano and the Amalfi coast. It is very accessible via ferry. You will then also be in position to visit Paestum as he suggests. Salerno is a lovely, small Italian city. It is very easy to get around and is reasonably priced.

In response to your questions, we will be traveling in June 2018. Flying into Naples. As someone suggested I did contact a travel agent and he recommended 5 nights in Sorrento. With day trips to pompeii and Mt Vesuvius, Capri , along the AC. Then fly to Sicily for five nights. We are four adults in shape we enjoy walking , biking, and exploring new areas. We will be utilizing boats, trains and private drivers for transportation.

Things we're interested in visiting: blue grotto, spend half a day on a beach, buffalo mozzarella farm & limoncello tour, possibly a cooking class , winery . Keep suggestions coming. Look forward to your ideas.

I must say that I disagree with your travel agent about flying to Sicily for just five days.

I love Sicily, and with five days you will only be able to see a rather small part of the island. And is it really five days? How much time will you actually have, between the time you get settled into your first Sicilian hotel and the point at which you head back to the airport? Those mid-trip flights are time-wasters.

I agree with acraven, it's not worth the hassle to fly to Sicily for 4-5 nights, especially if you only have 8-10 nights altogether.

Here's one suggestion. Land in Naples, private transfer to Sorrento. Use it as a base to day trip to Capri, Pompeii, Vesuvius, and Herculaneum. Then move on to Salerno and use it as a base to explore the Amalfi Coast by bus and ferry, day trip with driver to buffalo farm and Paestum. Salerno has a big beach that's an easy walk from the historic center. Then take the fast train to Naples for your last night or two before flying out. It's an interesting city to explore, the archaeology museum is a must-see and you could even day trip (half day really) to the lovely Palace of Caserta.

I didn't see anybody suggest consulting a travel agent.

Who is the expert you have consulted (no names please, this is rhetorical)? What experience do they have in the area? How many trips have they themselves made to the area, not counting travel agency comp trips or orientation trips where they are treated like royalty so they can sell products for commission?

The people who will answer your questions here, and the questions you haven't asked, are folk (mostly) with plenty of feet on the ground personal experience.

As you narrow down the desires of your group it will be easier and easier to help you plan.

I have a particular question :-=

You have said that you are all considering - = -

blue grotto, spend half a day on a beach, buffalo mozzarella farm & limoncello tour, possibly a cooking class , winery .

in a 5 day stay in the area. I see 6 activities, 5 if you have cheese in the morning and limoncello in the afternoon, but don't see any historical or ancient visits such as Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum Vesuvius or Naples. Did you intend it that way?

EDIT: I thought you had said 5 days in Sorrento. You said 5 nights. 5 nights is only 4 days. That's nowhere near enough time to do what you want to do let alone all the other things you will be missing which most folk consider important.

Hi back, karma88 -
Thanks for answering some of our questions as it gave us a much better idea of what you're trying to do. I think that the "someone" who'd suggested you contact a travel agent was a friend or acquaintance and not a poster on this thread, and you do not need to use an agent for this trip as the AC is not difficult to plan and arrange yourself.

I would agree that Sicily is too much for the time that you have and for the amount of things you're looking to do in the Naples/Amalfi region. With 10 nights, you could, as Chani suggested, split your time between Sorrento and Salerno with a day/night in Naples before your flight home.

As you mentioned the Blue Grotto - which I personally wouldn't go to Capri for if it was the ONLY thing I was interested in doing there - you might also consider a couple of nights on the island. That one is much more enjoyable, IMHO, during the hours that the day-trippers aren't clogging up the place. There are numerous things to do and see besides the grotto, and some really nice hikes/walks you can take to get away from the busiest spots during the day. We enjoyed our two nights there very much but probably wouldn't have had we just done it as a day trip. We also skipped the grotto as we didn't feel it was worth the $$ for the very little time you get in the thing...if the seas even cooperate enough to do that.

http://www.capri.net

Ignore the touts for tours in the website above as you don't need them for the island: it's PLENTY easy to explore on your own.

So another consideration to Chani's suggested plan might be 6 nights in Sorrento with your day trips + ferry/bus/train around to Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Praiano, Pompeii, etc., two nights on Capri, and the rest of your time (2 nights) in Naples, exploring Herculaneum, Vesuvius, the archeological museum, etc.

I agree with acraven, it's not worth the hassle to fly to Sicily for
4-5 nights, especially if you only have 8-10 nights altogether. Here's
one suggestion. Land in Naples, private transfer to Sorrento. Use it
as a base to day trip to Capri, Pompeii, Vesuvius, and Herculaneum.
Then move on to Salerno and use it as a base to explore the Amalfi
Coast by bus and ferry, day trip with driver to buffalo farm and
Paestum. Salerno has a big beach that's an easy walk from the historic
center. Then take the fast train to Naples for your last night or two
before flying out. It's an interesting city to explore, the
archaeology museum is a must-see and you could even day trip (half day
really) to the lovely Palace of Caserta.

As usual, Chani's spot on here. I've stayed in both Sorrento & Salerno, 5 nights each on different trips. And to do what you want to do, really delve into the Amalfi Coast & Naples area, this is the best logistical way to do it.

Sorrento should not be missed, not for the relics/sights, etc., but for the solid base it provides to Naples & Pompei. And the beauty part is that it's so easy to have a leisurely breakfast, hop on the Circumvesuviana train to one of those destinations, then late afternoon return to Sorrento for a nap and then a wonderful dinner at any number of reasonably-priced restaurants.

Chani and I both have stayed--at different times--at Salerno Centro B&B, right in the Old Town, and my wife and I took a cooking class hosted by the Manzo family, who own the B&B. And although we didn't do it, they can set you up with a tour of a bufala mozzarella farm, I think down towards Paestum.

Enjoy your planning!

I'm planning my first trip to Italy next year, so don't take this as advice, but with that said, since Karma is staying 2 nights in Naples, couldn't Karma use Naples as the base to visit Pompeii, Herculaneum and/or Archaeological Museum? At least the Museum is in Naples, so that would be an easy stop from the Naples hotel?

Just trying to see a different perspective.

since Karma is staying 2 nights in Naples...

I only see mention of them flying into Naples with no original intention of staying there.

Kathy, oh, I thought the Naples (2N) meant they were staying in Naples for 2 nights.

I think that was David's ( djp_syd) post and not the OP's.

I think that was David's ( djp_syd) post and not the OP's.

Oh, you're right. :)