Rome and Almafi Coast for 10 days with 10 Adults

Have you looked at the Italy section of the Explore Europe subforum? Or have you looked at the RS Italy guidebook? Is that 10 days actually on the ground in Italy, or does it include the 2 travel days from and to home?

Unless you can get a flight home from Naples, you will need to return to Rome the evening before your departure, at the latest. Some would recommend going straight to your AC hotel on your arrival day, to maximize your time. I wouldn't disagree. Assuming you have a full 10 days, then split your time in half- 5 days in each place. That should be enough time to see some of the AC towns, plus Capri and perhaps Pompeii; and also allowing time to see the highlights of Rome.

Hotel recommendations depends on your budget and which town on the AC you want to stay in. Ditto for transportation.

No, I will head over there. New here. :) And yes, 2 days of travel and 10 days on the ground.

I would look at going to AC first and finishing in Rome.

Makes departure back to the US a much simpler process and AC is a better locale to get over the jet-lag

As Amalfi is so popular and crowded, I would recommend booking accommodations early especially if all 10 want to stay at the same lodging.

Thank you and I think we will for sure start in AC and end in Rome.

We are not on a small budget but also don't want to break the bank I guess? Haha...
Our main interests are food, culture, drink, relaxation, and scenery.

We would love to start booking things soon, and as KB said, we want to make sure we are staying at the same places.

I am not sure if we want to do a home base and tour around or move day-to-day?

I would not recommend moving accommodations day to day. I would pick a base and go from there.

Move day to day? You mean change hotels in the AC? No. Day trips from base in AC. You might want to stay up in Ravello a few days though.
If you go to Capri, 2N ,3N is better. Look at Hotel La Minerva, a wonderful boutique hotel, beautiful views. Away from crowds but near great dining!
Rome- Stay at Hotel Palazzo Navona, a very high level of hotel, historic palazzo on outside, with modern, hip interior. Roof top bar. Ground floor bar. Great location between Piazza Navona and Pantheon. We walked everywhere. Along the Tiber. To all the historic places. Crossed bridge to Travestere.

Well, you all are amazing already!! Thank you so much for the advice. Please keep it coming.

We just did 5 days on the Sorrentine Peninsula for our 30th anniversary and loved it. Train to Naples, a visit to the archaeology museum (where all the murals and mosaics and other art and objects found in Pompeii now are kept; they'll hold your bags too for free); then straight to the ferry to Sorrento for 2 nights. No regrets about skipping Naples, at least we saw it a bit from the taxi. Sorrento is the easiest base to get to Pompeii and has lovely vistas of the bay -- pick a place with a pool and view of Vesuvius. Not really beach-convenient because it's up on a cliff.

For Pompeii -- hire a personal guide just for your group. Antonio Somma whom Rick recommends was one of the best guides we had our whole trip. (pompeitour.com)

Plan at least one night in Capri, and ideally more. It is swarmed by day but after the last ferry leaves at 5:30-6 the character of the island relaxes and changes utterly. Hire a private boat with a captain to take you around on a tour; 3 hours goes by too fast, I wouldn't do less. The Blue Grotto is unreal but super touristy, and there are many other lovely spots and caves if you do a tour around the island. We rented a Vespa scooter overnight so we could ride to the far end and watch the sunset from the lighthouse. (On the coast, the sun sets early behind the mountains.) I would not advise that Capri be your first experience ever on a scooter -- the roads are steep and narrow with tight switchbacks up the mountain, though there are guardrails and no risk of flying off into oblivion. But it's not impossible -- it was only my second time and we managed fine.

The sole road on the whole Amalfi Coast is two lanes and perched on a cliff. Some of the most vertigo-inducing and beautiful views ever, especially if you sit on the right when it's eastbound. Buses are cheap and crowded -- with 10 people you may not have other good options other than a fleet of taxis. Beaches almost always require a climb down stairs and are pebble, so bring flip-flops and enjoy the sparkling clear azure water with no sand clouding visibility. Positano and Amalfi are the major tourist towns and picturesque but crowded and priced for tourists... the whole coast is picturesque with restaurants aplenty and everyone understands English, so consider a villa outside the two main cities with day trips to them by bus or taxi.

Finally, I always enjoy driving stick shift Euro compact cars on vacation, and did this time in Tuscany, but I'd never want to rent a car on the Amalfi Coast -- the road is too narrow, too treacherous, parking is worse than scarce and very expensive. I liked Vespa-ing in Capri but on Amalfi I'd feel unsafe on two wheels. Ferries link Naples-Sorrento-Capri-Positano-Amalfi to get you staged. You can hire private boats on the coast at many of the towns and beaches, with or without a skipper. The DIY boats have a max 40HP engine, so with 10 people you might be better off getting a skipper with a bigger engine -- anyway it's tough to pilot in the waves and current unless you have experience.

Long answer, but the place was so damn magical I want to share some insights.

Love the long reply Mark! Thank you!

The Amalfi Coast is absolutely gorgeous.

Since you asked - I would find a BONDED travel agent with expertise in Italy. With a group of 10, you could basically book private tours and transfers to and from just about everywhere. And charter a good-sized boat for a leisurely ride along the coastline.

Do keep in mind, with a group of this size, someone is bound to back out by 2023. Not saying they wouldn’t want to go, but life has its up and downs.

The first thing I would do is check to see everyone will have a current passport with at least 6 months left before renewal.

I certainly wouldn’t try to book everything yourself. So the above reference to a bonded travel agent who has TRAVELED to Italy makes sense for lodging and possibly air fare.

Make sure lodging is refundable and in a location that makes sense for what your group wants to see and do. This forum can help you with those locations.

My personal preference for air into Naples out of Rome would be United/Lufthansa with actual seating on Lufthansa. Transfers would be in Munich or Frankfurt.

Edit:

Itinerary. Ferry Naples-Capri 2nites.
Ferry Capri-Sorrento or Amalfi Coast 3nites depending on which area you decide on for lodging.
Train Naples-Roma.

We spent 9 nights in Sorrento/Amalfi area for our 40th a few years ago.
Sorrento 4- visited Pompeii, Capri from here- -planned Naples but too rainy!
Amalfi 2 nights/Ravello 1 night- visited Positano by bus from Amalfi then ferry return to Amalfi
Salerno- 2 nights- ferry from Amalfi- visited Paestum from here.
(Direct trains from Salerno to/from Rome)

Sorrento- we stayed at Grand Hotel de la Ville- fabulous views, beautiful rooms, well located. Best bkft we’ve ever had. A bit of a splurge for us, so worth it.
https://www.delavillesorrento.com

Sorrento and Amalfi are the transportation hubs.

Some resources:

Mondo Guides
www.sharedtours.com- fun, affordable tours, highly recommend. With your group of 10 you should have no problem booking full tour.

We used this private driver from Napoli Centrale to Sorrento then from Sorrento to Amalfi
Very satisfied
https://www.topexcursionsorrento.com/?portal_referer_id=46

Info on bus, ferry, and lots more

https://www.sorrentoinsider.com

There are lots of discussions here on what to do, where to stay in the Sorrento/Amalfi region. Do a couple searches and you’ll find lots of info.

Where will you be flying from?
Into Naples, out of Rome would be perfect.

We just returned July 2nd from Rome.
I would highly recommend flying into Naples and out of Rome. We flew into Rome and had to hire a driver, who is wonderful, by the way.
Davide Ferro from Sorrento: [email protected]. Think he charged $400 but can't remember. He also drove us back to airport too.
He talks all about great ideas for Sorrento and Amalfi Coast.
We loved Positano, stayed there 4 nights at Hotel California (Rick Steve's suggestion). Best location, room, breakfast, etc. Hotel California recommended our driver Davide too, btw.

All the restaurants are fantastic but I highly recommend Casa Bollega, Da Gabrisa.

Rented boat to tour Amalfi coast.
Have a great time!!
oh, need really comfortable walking shoes for lots of steps and hills.

As already said, it's not easy to move around on the AC Now is the time to download SITA bus schedules and ferry routes and schedules. After the season ends, it may be harder to find them. There are multiple ferry companies and routes. I believe you can reserve places on some of the ferries. The bus company is SITA. There are 3 routes. The 2 along the coast are Sorrento to Amalfi and Amalfi to Salerno. The 3rd is from Amalfi to Ravello which is perched above Amalfi. Buses are often (usually?) full when they leave the starting point so at any intermediate stop, only as many people can get on as get off. This can mean long lines and long waits, especially if you want to travel together as a group. The more scenic the view from your hotel, the more likely it is to be a downhill walk to the bus and the ferry (and hence uphill at the end of the day). Sunset in Positano is around 7.30 at the beginning of the month 6.45 by the end. Dinner typically starts around 7.30 in Italy. Check how late the buses and the ferries run. You may find that you'll want/need to eat dinner in the town you're staying in so you might want a variety to choose from. The joy of the AC is its natural beauty, best seen by walking and by ferry. It's a good place to relax, there's not much sightseeing, the towns themselves really aren't all that interesting, mostly filled with tourists and tourists shops, except for Salerno which has a well-preserved medieval center.

10 people who are and want to remain friends can pose difficulties on a 10-day trip. On an organized tour, the guide sets the rules and the itinerary and everyone is expected to follow them, often with peer pressure. Aside from staying together at one hotel and eating some or all dinners together, how much do you expect to do as a group? Remember that it's hard to keep a group together and you can only move as fast as the slowest person. Your group needs to decide together on what your rules and itinerary are.

I don't dispute that Capri is lovely, but I question whether multiple nights are right for a group of 10. The island is highly pedestrianized, and walking distances can be long. I didn't rent a scooter on my youthful honeymoon (Bermuda) and would certainly not do so as an adult, anywhere. It's youthful delusion of invincibility. (Opinion.)

It may sound stupid, but what I mean about Capri is that your "things to do" are so ... not limited, but circumscribed. OTOH, Sorrento (a purpose-built postwar resort town with essentially no beachfront) is a perfect base for INDEPENDENT excursions, most with zero pre-planning required.

I am not confronting or commenting on the difficulty of herding ten cats, especially in the era of pre-composed texts saying, "Delayed, On My Way." I would never agree to "organize" this project.

I don't dispute that Capri is lovely, but I question whether multiple
nights are right for a group of 10. The island is highly
pedestrianized, and walking distances can be long.

But the OP and Company will barely be 50 so unless they have some sort of mobility issues to begin with, I don't see getting around on foot to be a problem. We were older than that and didn't find it difficult, and that it is so highly pedestrianized was a plus in our book! After playing dodge'em with traffic in some other places, the absence of that was nice. :O). We also throught it had more to offer than Positano; a half day pretty much did it for us there.

The group also also doesn't HAVE to do everything together; some could swim and sunbathe (I'd book a hotel with a pool if possible) while others hike, still others might sightsee some of the island structures, and a few might like to shop (not ALL of the shops are high end). The island's relatively small size means the group can be sort of together without being on top of each other all the time. Meet up for cocktails in the late afternoon for a show-and-tell of everyone's day. That same strategy would also work in Rome.

What I would NOT do is use Capri as a base: the ferries are too expensive and limiting to use on a daily basis so if you choose it for a couple of nights, stay put once you get there.

We just spent 5 nights in Ravello (up the hill from Amalfi) and it was a good base. We took the bus, or drove or hiked (whew!) down to Amalfi and from there, took the ferry to Positano, went on a half day snorkeling trip, drove to Minori for a day on the beach. We loved where we stayed -- Eleanor's Garden. It is small and your group would end up renting almost the entire thing. We were in the Ginkgo apartment and it has 2 patios - one with a hot tub and one with 2 picnic tables and a lot of space. It would be a great gathering place for your group. I highly recommend it. You can also walk into Ravello which is a really cute town with good restaurants and gardens to visit.