Amalfi Coast end-Oct

Posted by Pam (SF Bay Area, CA, USA) on 02/05/24 06:10 AM

My hubby and I will be flying into Naples on Oct 26. We'll have 7 nights to explore Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast and then we plan arrive in Civitavecchia on Nov 2 and stay 1 night there before we board our cruise on Nov 3. We'll be halfway through our 6 week trip, and because we'll be cruising, we're each traveling with 1 large suitcase and a backpack. I like the idea of staying in Sorrento for the easy access and day trips to Capri, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast, and I'm unsure if we should consider staying along the AC for 2-3 nights and moving with our large suitcases.

Is there public transportation that's easy to take from the Naples airport to Sorrento, or should we consider private transport? What's the easiest way to travel from Sorrento to Civitavecchia? Will the ferries between the AC towns be operating in late-Oct? If we wanted to spend a few nights on the Amalfi Coast, which town would you recommend? If we take the train to/from, will I need to purchase tickets in advance?

Thanks! Pam

Posted by Chani

Tel Aviv

02/05/24 08:52 AM

15768 posts

There's no train to Sorrento. There is a local metro system, the Circumvesuviana, that runs between Naples central station and Sorrento that stops at Pompeii. By the end of October it's likely that ferries will not be running - except to Capri which is year-round from Sorrento and Naples. The only other way to access the AC from Sorrento is the SITA bus system There are 3 lines on the AC - Sorrento-Amalfi, Amalfi-Salerno, and Amalfi-Ravello. or by car and driving isn't easy and parking may be hard to find and expensive. You can download the bus schedules on the SITA website. The winter schedule begins in November, so there may be more buses at the end of October than you'll see now on the summer schedule, but you'll get an idea of travel times and frequency. OTOH there are fast trains to Salerno. I've stayed in both Sorrento and Salerno on different trips. Sorrento is more convenient for Capri, Pompeii and other archaeological sites, like Herculaneum. Salerno is better for the AC towns and scenery.

From the airport you'd need to get to the train station for the Circumvesuviana. Taking the Circumvesuviana with large suitcases isn't the easiest. It's more like a subway than a suburban train. There are stairs up/down to the platform. In Naples, there are elevators to the ticket office level, but then a flight down to the trains. When I was there - maybe 10 years ago - there was only an up escalator and it occasionally wasn't working. In Sorrento there was an elevator but still a few stairs to negotiate. From the station it's about a 10 minute walk downhill to the central piazza. So if you choose Sorrento, spend the money on a private transfer. Or there may be buses from the airport to Sorrento. The bus stop is at the Circumvesuviana station, so you're likely to want a taxi to your hotel. Taxis in Sorrento are very expensive and the drives can be really long due to the one-way street system.

Posted by Kathy

Minnesota 🎒

02/05/24 11:54 AM

16369 posts

Pam, Curreri Viaggi is a coach shuttle service that runs between the Naples airport and Sorrento 6 times a day.

https://www.curreriviaggi.it/en/naples-airport-shuttle

As far as I'm aware, there is no way to know exactly when ferry service from Sorrento to Positano, Amalfi, etc. will end for the winter. It could run through the first weekend (Nov 1-3) or end a bit earlier depending on weather.

Easiest Sorrento>Civitavecchia would be private driver the entire way...which would also be the most expensive. A first estimate from a local service was € 600. Alternate would be driver ($$$) or local commuter train ($) to Naples Centrale train station, train to Rome, and change of train to Civitavecchia.

Editing to add: There is also a Mondo shared shuttle from Sorrento to Roma Termini, from where you'd take a train or hire a private driver to Civitavecchia. This is probably the 2nd easiest solution.

https://www.sharedtrips.com/shared-transfer/sorrento/44/one-way-transfer-to-rome-city-termini-station-at-any-time-as-needed#tour-details

Maybe some other folks will have additional solutions.

Posted by Tim

Wyckoff, NJ, USA

02/05/24 12:55 PM

7753 posts

This NewsBoard is short on actual data for off-season Sorrento and the adjacent Amalfi coast. Supposedly there's no shoulder season in Europe anymore, because of increased post-pandemic travel. But recalling that Europeans take much longer vacations than Americans, it seems reasonable to assume there still is an off-season in resort areas.

I just looked, and our large luxury clifftop hotel in Sorrento, the Ambasciatori Grande closes for the season November 3. So it seems likely that all five hotels with the same ownership might have a similar schedule. How that's reflected in restaurants and attractions I couldn't say.

Maybe the off-season will make the gritty, crowded, hot, Circumvesuviana commuter-rail less unpleasant?

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

While it is necessary to leave the Amalfi coast a day and night ahead of a departure from Rome, it's not essential to sleep in dull, industrial Civitavecchia. You could easily and safely spend the night in Rome and take the train, or a car service to the cruise port, for a 2PM (?) Embarcation.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/rome-airport-to-port-outside-of-rome