Itinerary help: Naples, Amalfi Coast and Central Italy

Amalfi is a much better transportation center than Positano. We stayed in Amalfi specifically because we wanted to hike the Path of the Gods. We actually split our time between Amalfi and Positano which I regretted. We also had four nights and we should have spent them all in Amalfi. We took a bus from Amalfi to Bomerano where we started the hike (with a number of other people). We took the ferry from Positano to Amalfi after hiking the Path of the Gods which I would recommend. There is a bus down to Positano (instead of all those stairs) and you buy the ticket to the bus in the little convenience store as you leave the trail.

We also visited Ravello from Amalfi and hiked back rather than taking the bus. It was through farms and then through Atrani to a tunnel that took us back to Amalfi.

Agree about Amalfi. The Residence Hotel is very convenient. Good dinners up the street past the Duomo on the right, La Galaea. Here is the ferry schedule:

http://www.travelmar.it/downloads/orari_travelmar.pdf

I agree with staying in Amalfi because it is a transport hub for buses and ferries. Check on hotel rates on the Amalfi Coast. They might go up substantially on May 1. It might save some money to rearrange your itinerary to head there first and then go back to Naples. Check out the Villa Annalara in Amalfi. I really enjoyed my stay there. If you love stairs, steep hills and high prices, stay in Positano!

For your Umbrian time, Perugia might make a great central town to stay in for some days, and use it to do day trips to smaller towns. Perugia is a lovely old city, with a number of historic sights. It's wonderful to hike along the top of the ancient Roman acqueduct, which is now a pedestrian path. If you stay "up top" in the medieval/Renaissance center, the "mini-metro" (a single-car tiny train) makes it easy to get down to the train/bus station, which are only a couple of blocks from a "mini-metro" station near the bottom. From Perugia, it's 30" by bus to beautiful Gubbio, and 30" by bus or train to Spello. (Urbino, though is 4-5 hours from Perugia by train/bus, according to rome2rio.com.)

"It might save some money to rearrange your itinerary to head there first and then go back to Naples"

Reminder that I should have mentioned this, because it's definitely the way to proceed [and not because of cost]. Train time from Naples to Perugia is 5 hours changing twice. You can get a quote from Sorrentocars or other company for a transfer from Napoli Centrale to Amalfi [about €110]. Amalfi to Naples you take the ferry to Salerno and a short train ride.

It will be much easier to have a car in zUmbria. It is not as crowded as Tuscany, nice scenic drives
among vineyards. We loved staying in Spello.

As a fellow Caravaggio nut, I was going to suggest you make sure to see his Flagellation at Museo Capodimonte in Naples. Turns out there’s a special exhibition starting April 19th!

http://www.italianways.com/baroque-by-caravaggio-at-the-capodimonte-museum/

In our last stay in Rome we had some spare time so we took Ricks advice on the Quirinale Museum which hosts the masters, they had a fabulous exhibit of Leonardo DaVinci . We also enjoyed a half day at Villa D'Este gardens and fountains and Hadrians Estate in Tivoli, There was a bus (we had to pay separately) but totally worth it.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I think that staying in Amalfi suits us better too and we are glad to hear the positive reviews of Perugia. Yes, Andrew I know that we are skipping a lot but this is our third trip and hopefully not our last. We have been to Venice, the Dolomites, Lake Como, Milan, Cinque Terre, Lucca, Volterra, Siena, and more of Northern Italy and we love it. However, this time we hope to just touch on some of the important sites south of Rome and delve into Umbria more deeply.

Oh, and Andrew thankyou for the wine tour tips. Now you have me wondering if we should just focus south of Rome for this trip.