Planning trip to Amalfi Coast

I based in Praiano at a small hotel on the coast road with private parking on site. Praiano is between Positano and Amalfi, so with a car you can go in either direction with half the traffic. The hotel is La Maurella.

I recommend a trip to Paestum and perhaps a long daytrip to Matera.

A car is a good idea if you have a base that includes on site parking.

I highly recommend my favorite place in the area which is in Praiano. It is called Hotel Pellegrino and is a small, cozy (9 rooms) place run by a family- Luigi and Sandra and Luigi's sister Angela and their teens. They treat you like family visiting them at home. They give very personal attention and will even come and get you. In fact, don't worry about a car. There is a bus stop at the door plus, they are glad to drive you to places in the area and might even take you out to dinner! All of the rooms come with gorgeous views of the sea and the amazing terraced hills. This is a quiet, gorgeous paradise. The breakfast is wonderful with everything freshly made and delicious and they serve a good dinner as well. Their email is [email protected] and their website is at www.hotelpellegrino.it .

Thanks Zoe & Terri!
I am busy checking both of your recommendations. Any suggestions on other places south and inland to visit after the Amalfi Coast? We are planning a week in Rome, then flying to Paris for 6 days to visit friends, then back to Italy to see the Amalfi Coast and other points south. Our last trip in 2011, we saw Florence, Siena, Venice, Pisa and Cinque Terre. We will have from Oct. 26 - Nov. 7 th to be south of Rome :-)
Take care and thanks again!
Nancy

Hi Terri,
I have tried to contact Luigi and family through the website and by email, but have not heard a reply. Should I go through a travel company such as Priceline or Booking. com? Thanks for your help.

If you're going all ways south, Salerno is a great stop on the way to (or on the way back from) Paestum! It has an amazing sea walk, a quaint historic center, and great food! Paestum doesn't take more than a few hours, so maybe a stop on the way and on the way back? If you had a car, you could even sleep in that morning, head out and pick up lunch or so from a deli for a picnic while at the site and then come back and spend the later afternoon, early evening wandering around Salerno, shopping, EATING, and gelato-ing from 5pm-10pm!

Sorrento is a convenient, nice home base to reach the rest of the Amalfi Coast. Positano and Amalfi are two other great places to stay, but a little less connected. Rather than having a car there, it can be a good idea to hire a driver (we list the Monetti family's car service and others in the guidebook) since it can get tricky driving those coastal roads. Moreover, I find it's more fun to let someone else do the driving so I can take pictures and focus on the astounding scenery. Other transportation options to connect the coast include boats, buses, taxis and tour companies. Check out our Southern Italy Tour itinerary at http://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/south-italy to see some of our favorite places/areas to visit south (our guidebook doesn't cover the Adriatic side of southern Italy, so Lonely Planet is also a good guidebook resource). For rentals, check out http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/sleeping-eating/find-vacation-rentals.

If you have time in that area, I suggest making a day trip to Capri and swimming in the Blue Grotto. You can pick up a small boat on the island that will take you around to the opening. I went several years ago with my kids and we all loved it!! We were able to jump out of the boats and swim underneath to see the light shining through! A great memory for all of us!

Ciao. . .