Itinerary Review--Rome to Amalfi Coast

What is keeping your husband from staying in Naples especially since he wants to take a pizza making class? Of course he could do a day trip there to take a class.
Your choices on the Amalfi Coast are Positano or Amalfi. Have you considered Ravello? You refer to staying in “another town on Amalfi Coast” I am confused by what you mean by “another” as you haven’t listed any other of the AC towns?

If you visit Capri, stay at least two nights as a minimum. The day trippers do not get to experience Capri. To get away from tourists go to the area between the Giardini de Agosto and Punta Tragara. It is all pedestrian pathways with views of the sea. Beautiful. We stayed at Hotel La Minerva and recommend it highly.

I would choose option 1. If you have never been in Rome 4 nights is the appropriate minimum number of nights. If you want more AC, simply go to Rome one day later (stay 3 nights instead of 4) and prolong your stay in Sorrento by one night.

Pick one base to sleep in on the Amalfi Coast not two. Sorrento has the best hub transportation options so stay there. Do spend one night on Capri. I felt I would have appreciated it more after the day trippers left. Go to Capri after you explore the coast and when you’re ready to go back to Rome take a ferry from Capri to Naples and a taxi to the central train station.
You need a total of four nights for Rome and that includes a day in Vatican City. If you want to take a day trip to Orvieto make it five nights.

Do you have experience with changing hotels so often? It's a drag for me. We settled for a car and driver to see the AC and not sleep there. That satisfied us 100%.

Based on the discussion so far, that means you should stay 2 or more nights on Capri and fuggeddabout sleeping on the AC.

It is true that Sorrento is a purpose built postwar reinforced concrete resort town. But it has superb transit connections, and five+ nice luxury hotels on the cliff front.

If your husband doesn't want to stay in Naples, let him pick the cooking class he can get in Sorrento or Rome. I'd like to know if he expects to be abducted by criminals, or what.

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

Thank you all for your feedback and recommendations. I truly appreciate all the advice.

Hi Sandy- we just returned from Venice-Florence-Rome, with an additional four days in Amalfi. It was very easy to take the train from Rome to Salerno, then the ferry to Amalfi. I'd suggest picking one spot if you can. There is a bus and a ferry that runs between all the little towns so no car is needed. We stayed at Hotel Bussola in Amalfi (book directly on their site and save $$) and it was lovely and very affordable on the cusp of end of their season. You can easily take a ferry for a day trip to Capri from Amalfi or Positano or others. There is so much to explore and see in those cute towns. If you hike, that is also plentiful. Hope this helps! It is a stunningly beautiful area, not to be missed! Have a wonderful trip!

I like option 1 the best. Capri is the tricky bit. Like, I can’t imagine trading a night on the AC for another night on Capri, and personally felt like a day there was enough. One night is kind of a pain to deal with.

Something to consider: I followed RS advice and did Capri as a day trip on the way to Amalfi. There’s a place you can store bags at Capri port. If you get the early ferry you’ll basically have 9am-3(?)pm to see the place, which I thought was plenty. This way, you’re trading a night in Sorrento or Capri for the coast. I think it’s preferable.

We just did a three-week trip to Italy this past May and spent seven days split between Naples, Capri, and Amalfi town. We spent three nights in Naples, two on Capri, and three nights in Amalfi. We could have used one more night in each place. We enjoyed Naples and spent one of our days in Pompeii. The second day we went to the Archeological Museum which really complements Pompeii. We loved Capri. We hiked all over the island. Once you are away from Capri town there are amazing quiet places to discover, from Roman ruins, gardens, villas, and the natural beauties of Capri. Amalfi was wonderful. We spent a lot of time lounging by our hotel's saltwater pool and the sea. There are cooking classes in Amalfi and Ravello too. It was easy to ferry to Salerno from Amalfi to take a fast train to Rome for our final days. Therefore, I would opt for option 3 unless you need more time in Rome.

Thank you all for your advice. I started looking at hotels and I can’t believe that so many of the recommendations on this forum and in RS books are already taken. After reading your advice and speaking to my husband, we decided on Option 1. We found a lovely B&B in Positano for two days and we booked Grand Hotel de la Ville for 4 days and decided to add an extra day in Rome.

Truly appreciate all your thoughtful replies.

Sandy - I think you made a good choice with Option 1. I agree with others that only staying 1 night in places is a hassle, so staying in Sorrento with daytrips is going to be less stressful / exhausting. Might I suggest something I did in the past and plan to do again this March? I actually stopped at Pompeii ruins on the way from Rome to Sorrento by train. That worked out really well and there was more than enough time at Pompeii. I did have to take an early morning train from Rome, but got to Sorrento in plenty of time. Luggage storage at Pompeii is very convenient. That may give you an extra day to lounge around where you're staying.

Paul,

Thank you for the suggestion on Pompeii and the timing of visiting. I will keep this in mind as I get closer to the trip.

Sandy