We are leaving Rome tomorrow night around 8pm. Taking the train to Salerno we will be based out of Salerno for three nights. We have been in Rome for three nights and the Rick Steves pocket travel book has been great! But now I'm nervous about our next leg. In Rome we had every day planned - one walk of Rome, Ancient Rome, Vatican and then another free day. I don't like headed to Salerno area "blind". Suggestions for day long trips? We are very active and physically fit - still standing after these three very busy days!
Posted by
Milwaukie, Oregon, USA
102 posts
Have you seen the Amalfi coast, Paestum, Capri? All available from Salerno. If you like hiking, you could do the Sentiero degli Dei. You can google the Sentiero for more info. See the cathedral, castle and old town in Salerno.
Good luck on your adventure.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
8080 posts
You have not done enough research. I personally would love to see the temples at Paestum. But 95% of the posters here want to see Positano and Amalfi and maybe Ravello, and don't care about the temples. You will have to find out the ferry situation for either Sorrento or Capri. It takes two busses to get to Sorrento, and Positano is considered much more attractive (if hilly and step-y) than Sorrento. You didn't mention the word "Pompeii". Why not?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
You can see some bus schedules - 2015 version and ferry schedules online, but confirming them locally is always recommended. A local tourist info point is probably also worth a stop for maps and questions:
http://www.eptsalerno.it/index.php/le-sedi/81-sedi/89-ufficio-informazioni-salerno
http://www.comune.salerno.it/client/scheda_news.aspx?news=2557&prov=76&stile=7
Posted by
OP
Lynden, WA
60 posts
Thank you everyone! We are headed to Pompeii...we take the train from Naples back to Rome on the 18th and plan on at least 1/2 day in Pompeii. We have the 15-17 available to plan. Our girls need a short reprieve from churches and museums...I'm hoping for Positano and Ravello,plus possibly Ischia. Just not sure if that is realistic or the "right" thing to do.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11852 posts
Paestum will be hot and boring for your girls, especially. Take a bus up to Amalfi Town then Ravello high on the cliff. See Villa Cimbrone. Certainly a ferry to Ischia, some time on the beach in Positano.
Posted by
Chicago
2124 posts
Day trips from Salerno, all taking less than an hour, are:
Paestum (train)
Pompeii (train)
Amalfi (bus)
Naples (train)
Positano (ferry/hydrofoil)
Yes, as stated above, with children they will probably be bored with Paestum or Pompeii. Too bad because they are drop-dead spectacular, especially Pompeii. The kids would like the death-defying bus ride to Amalfi, so there's that, unless you'd like to do the ferry or hydrofoil from Salerno to Amalfi or Positano. Naples is wild & crazy, with great pizza, but you can get just as good right there in Salerno at Pizzeria Trianon, a branch of their Naples operation. Phenomenal pie. Also, in the Old Town, Pasticceria Antica Roma is a wonderful old-timey chocolate shop.
One more thought is, as long as y'all are physically active you could hike the Path of the Gods near Positano, guide optional. Breathtaking scenery and something the kids would definitely not experience at home.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
795 posts
I know you are halfway done, but the good thing about Paestum is that it doesn't take half as long to do as Pompeii or Herculaneum......its a short day.....(and then after our Paestum trip, we took a bus to Vietri to check out the pottery and ceramics)
I would definitely plan to spend some time on the lungomare and on the corso, just seeing Italian life....a lot less tourists there, and some interesting stores! And while you are on the lungomare, hop on over to Nettuno to get some of the most popular gelato....yum!
Trianon is my favorite pizza in Salerno, but my Italian friends shake their heads when I order their hot dog and French fry pizza, but its my FAVORITE....
even the ferry is an attraction in itself, whether you go to Capri or Amalfi/Positano......