Italy in May

With two weeks, you could do an agriturismo in Tuscany and enjoy the Amalfi Coast.

We loved Borgo Argenina - Elena cooks with her guests. We spent a day driving and exploring, and returned to start cooking. We had 12 guests in her huge kitchen and we prepared a feast that we all sat down to eat.

Then drop the car and enjoy the Coast - you can do a car hire for a full day around the Amalfi Coast, ride the bus around the coast, hike the Path of the Gods, ferry to Capri, and take a cooking class with Mama Agata in Ravello.

I want to go back !

Jacque

I sent you an email with pictures.

Amalfi Coast. We stayed in a villa in Positano and took buses and boats, AND, a personal car and driver (very, very nice, convenient, and somewhat expensive but a great way to see the coast). Our villa was down a stair well beside Le Sirenuse (hotel) and had two bedrooms. Great location.

Sorrento is very nice but it always seems like "Little Amercia" to me. Getting a villa is easily done to.

Given your situation a car and driver might be the best way to see things. You could go from Sorrento and tour the Sorrentine Pennisula then go on down to Positano (hilly and long climbs from the beach to the main road). Then on down to Amalfi and up the hill to Ravello (beautiful views). Priano is the news a lot, and Atrani looks interesting.

If you want to go on down to Salerno, it is quite a bit longer.

Gordon, thank you for your advice. When you say car hire does that mean a car and driver? I hope so as we do not want to drive ourselves while there.

We plan to spend a day in Capri. I really do like your idea of a car and driver, do you have a recommendation? What did it cost for the day? I am torn between staying in Positano and Ravello. I have heard great things about both. While my husband likes to stay busy seeing sights (we are not big on shopping) I would like to just soak up the beauty of the area and sit in a cafe and watch the world go by. So, I am trying to find something in between.

If you stay in Ravello, you'll need to take the bus to Amalfi Town to get a bus or ferry to anywhere else. The ride is 20-30 minutes and the current schedule shows 1-2 buses an hour. They may be more frequent in May. Ravello is one of the very few towns that is not on the coast. There are two main bus lines, Sorrento - Amalfi and Amalfi - Salerno. Because the ferries aren't running now (winter), it's hard to get good info on the ferry routes and schedules. But there are ferries pretty much along the same routes as the buses.

If you want to visit Pompeii and Herculaneum (and the wonderful archaeology museum in Naples), Sorrento is a good base, with ferry service to Capri. I stayed in Salerno last month and enjoyed it a lot. A day trip to Paestum was a real highlight (so were the low prices ☺).

Gordon, thanks again for your input. I am leaning towards staying in Positano even though it seems like it might be a bit livelier than we like. I usually try to stay away from crowds but maybe it won't be so bad in mid-May. If you could tell me who you used for a car and driver that would be helpful. We plan to spend one day in Capri and I think we can manage that pretty easily with the ferry or maybe we will hire a boat.

Also, I am trying to figure out the best way to get from Rome to Positano. I was thinking about maybe taking the fast train to Naples and then hiring a driver to get us to Positano. Does that sound right or do you think another destination for the train is better. We will do the reverse when we leave as we will be heading to Tuscany.

Thank you for your help. Did you find Positano easy enough to get around in. It sounds like lots of steps and walking but we are used to that.

Well, I m glad I could help.

Www.positanocarservice.com or something like that. A Google search would work. They aren't cheap but they are very convenint. I don't recall the company we used exactly.

Positano is beautiful but steep. It is a long ways from the main road to the beach (no sand, just pebbles). There are lots of places to sit a watch the sea, people, boats, and cars. Public transport is easy, ferry to Capri easy. SITA buses easy. Have breakfast at Le Sirenuse, or even dinner. A world class hotel!

Revello is also stunning and you will want to visit. We took the bus to Revello. We took a ferry to and from Amalfi. So you can get around without a car hire.

To get there we took the high speed train to Naples, a taxi to the port and a ferry to Positano. Returning to Rome we hired a car to the Naples station. All worked well. You can train all the way to Sorrento and taxi to Positano. It was about 100 euro for the taxi, the exchange rate was $1.27 then. Your idea of a car from the Naples train station is a good one. More convenient than the way we went.

Travel on the road when crowded is a trick, even in a bus. A new experience.

Send me a message with other questions if you want.

You are so kind Gordon - thank you for responding so quickly. I have been stressing about my decision to stay in Positano but you have made me feel more at ease about this decision. We have been to the Cinque Terre and loved it. It looks like this area is a little like that and there was lots of walking. We really enjoyed it. Can't wait. I still have much to plan for the balance of the trip so I am thankful to have this decided. You were very helpful as were all of the other contributors. This is such a great way to get information.