Hello,
We are visiting Rome, this February, and planning to do a few day trips, but would like to do a trip to Naples, Pompeii, with an overnight and day, in Amalfi coast.
We certainly wouldn’t mind if it’s a little quieter during this off-season, but are also hopeful that there are still open shops and restaurants and such. Anyone have any recent insight or tips and suggestions on which town along the Amalfi coast to stay? Much appreciated!
Brooke
Posted by
Irving
3127 posts
If you’re going to Naples and Pompeii sleep in Sorrento. Sorrento is not on the coast but it is the gateway to it. Take a direct bus from Sorrento to Amalfi and wear motion sickness bracelets. The Amalfi Coast Road is curvy and hilly. Also, sit on the right facing the driver so you can see the coast. The drive is from west to east.
Take the ferry from Amalfi back to Sorrento (1h). This way you can see the coast from both land and sea. I believe it departs Amalfi at 3:45p: https://ssl.directferries.com/. This means you want to get an early start in the morning so you don’t have to wait for the next bus and can grab a seat on the right. These busses fill up. The bus stop in Sorrento is located in the cul-de-sac where the train station is.
Posted by
755 posts
The Amalfi coast in the winter is very quiet compared to the rest of the year, but there are still shops and restaurants open, and the buses run along the coast, because the locals including the school children take the bus back-and-forth. I don’t think you need to worry about being sick riding the bus, unless you are extremely sensitive to motion sickness. Stay in Amalfi which is the transportation hub.
Posted by
Irving
3127 posts
I don’t think you need to worry about being sick riding the bus, unless you are extremely sensitive to motion sickness.
Not only did I get sick so did the friend I was traveling with. Wear a motion sickness bracelet to avoid discomfort.
Stay in Amalfi which is the transportation hub.
Sorrento is the transportation hub on the Amalfi Coast not Amalfi. The Circumvesuviana (commuter) train operates between the basement of Naples central train station and Sorrento which is the end of line: https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/naples-to-sorrento-train-schedule.
Pompeii is one of the stops on the Circumvesuviana. Sorrento has a combination of transfers that include train, bus and ferry. Amalfi’s public transportation has bus and ferry only.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
795 posts
MaryPat, I think y'all are both saying the same thing, but different....
Sorrento is A transportation hub, as you CAN get to the Amalfi Coast from a bus that originates in Sorrento (and as a terminus point of bus and train lines, VERY HANDY), but Amalfi proper IS THE transportation hub ON the coast, as the buses that go up the mountains, go to Sorrento and Salerno (more or less the only two directions along the coast you can take) start and end there. If you need to change buses to make a connection on the Amalfi Coast it IS in Amalfi.
Depending on what the OP wants to see, Sorrento and Amalfi have their own benefits. February? I would probably do Sorrento (even though I don't love Sorrento AT ALL, I honestly try to stay away from it) because of the opportunities of sightseeing that AREN'T coastal things (near water in February? sounds COLD to me) like trips to Naples and the scavi of Herculaneum and Pompeii if the weather turns bad.