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January Ideas for the Amalfi Coast?

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We will be heading to Naples from this Thursday evening through Sunday afternoon. We have visited the area briefly before as a cruise ship destination. As it is the off-season and we hope to cover a decent amount of ground, we are planning on renting a car for our family of four. Our current plan is to travel from the airport to a B&B at Herculaneum on the first evening and then do Herculaneum and Mount Vesuvius on Friday. We have already visited Pompeii, so the plan would be travel to the next overnight stay in Sorrento for Friday evening, with some time to explore Sorrento on that evening. We have parking included at both hotels. Hoping that the off season will help with traffic and potential parking along the way, we plan to wander from Sorrento to Paestum on Saturday. We have been to Sorrento once by train, but have not really explored any of the area beyond that. I presume a stop in Amalfi is a "must".

While the off season limits the excitement of the beach as well as the traffic, would be it worth it to try to visit Paestum on the same day? The museum is open until 1930, but we will lose daylight prior to that. If it is better to do Paestum on Sunday, then I think that we will have enough time to do that on Sunday with an early start, with a stay in the area, and get back to the airport at Naples in time to drop off the rental for a 1435 departure.

Thoughts? Given the ambitious timetable and the rather inexpensive rate, the rental seems to be an acceptable alternative. We have driven the Como and Portofino areas with a minivan, so we have some experience with Italian narrow-roads. What would be the other "must see" spots between Sorrento and Paestum? Any recommendations for lodging in Paestum? It would seem that if we can visit Paestum on Saturday, it does not make must sense to back track to Sorrento, as the drive from Paestum back to the airport is similar to that from Sorrento, and we would just save that time in the car while driving after dark. Any insight and critique is greatly appreciated!

Posted by
8007 posts

It appears that you are willing, even anxious, to change accomodations daily, even if the opportunity for daytripping exists. Is that right? You're entitled to choose your own travel style.

Since you've been to Pompeii, I'm bewildered why you would sleep in Herculaneum to see that ancient city's excavation. We slept in Sorrento for five nights and saw Herc, Pomp, and everything else from there. I would sleep in Naples to see just Herculaneum, which can easily be seen in a half-day - although intense viewing could certainly take as long as you want. Alas, you can't go out for lunch and come back into the site on the same day's ticket. Check on ZTL's, I don't know.

We did have to give up Paestum from Sorrento by public transportation or private car service. It was just too far. I think Paestum justifies a sleepover for serious historic site viewers. But wouldn't it make more sense to sleep in Salerno, where there is something else to do?

January is a wild card. You probably have to depend on apartment rentals because so many hotels are closed for the winter. But I'd rather stay in a hotel. I hope you have little traffic, but that doesn't increase the number of parking spaces that exist in Amalfi anywhere-that is, a microscopic number. Herculaneum has quite an urban location, even more urban than Pompeii's Porta Marina gate. My information is late May, but every night, we saw a long line of cars lined up, California-style, for an underground, pay, parking lot on the edge of Sorrento. Your mileage may vary.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you for the input! We have a 1900 arrival to Naples and with a rental car, did not want to deal with staying in the city between traffic, parking and the zone travel. We have not toured Herculaneum, so hence why we picked it over Pompeii and it seems that using a hotel there allows easy access in the morning, with the chance to get a "late" dinner on the night of arrival. We checked with the hotel and dinner options are available in the immediate area. We have spent some time in Naples previously and will probably cruise there again within the next few years, so we don't feel the need spend a lot of time in the city on this trip.

We will end up hopping rental apartments, which is not ideal, but with only two full days on the ground it limits back tracking and is possible with the rental car. Parking will always be a challenge, but hopefully the low season will help somewhat.

The genesis for this trip was round trip airfare from Germany to Naples for about $160 for a family of four, but we hemmed in by school schedules and the timing of the flights, so it will be a whirlwind trip.

Posted by
2120 posts

Lot of logistical decisions here, and for such a short time those decisions have to make sense.

I would usually say that renting a car for 2+ days is folly, but it may appear be a prudent move in this case. Still a pain, but at least you'd be on your own schedule and not beholden to the train or bus, when that time of year the arrival/departure schedules are not adhered to very well, and you can't really afford to be waiting hours for a bus or train that never comes.

Either way, I wouldn't stay in Sorrento, but in Salerno, where, yes, it's a living, breathing, not-touristed up city. Gotta be easier to park there, find a hotel, and you're 30 minutes from Paestum, and less than an hour from Herculaneum. Vietri sul Mare and its pottery shops are maybe 15 minutes away.

To visit the pretty much deserted (in January) coastal towns of Atrani, Maiori, Minori, Amalfi-town and Positano, it's scarily breathtaking even by bus but driving it can be downright terrifying, especially negotiating a 2-lane cliff road opposite a big bus barreling around a turn at you. So even if you rent a car, might be best to take a SITA bus. It's cheap & you can make it from Salerno Centrale station to Amalfi-town in about an hour, and a change of bus and 30 minutes more to Positano. Not a helluva lot to see, but it sure is beautiful--one of the grandest sights on Earth, to me.

Posted by
4105 posts

Like Jay, I'll agree Salerno would be your best option. It allows you to stay in one place, quicker access to the Amalfi Coast towns, better dining options. Visit Herculaneum on your way to the airport, roughly a 40 minute drive.
Driving this time of year should not present any problems.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you all again for the input! The trip was a success and traffic was relatively light, given the off season.

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