Rome to the Amalfi Coast

Hi Anne- advance congratulations on your 30th! Your experience might be different, but on our trip in December 2012, we had an apartment in Rome (Trastevere neighborhood - highly recommended) for a whole week, using buses, trams, and an occasional metro or taxi ride to get around. With the wealth of museums and ancient Roman sights, we needed a week to scratch the surface, and still left with a lot to see and do. After flying to Sicily and picking up a rental car, we drove it back onto the mainland, so for our 4 nights in Sorrento, we had a car. We actually were at a B&B just up the coast in Piano di Sorrento, so except for our arrival night, when there were pre-New Year's festivities and parking spots were hard to find, we didn't have any parking problems. Driving to Pompeii, Herculaneum (smaller than Pompeii, but at least as impressive for the structures and frescoes that survived the Vesuvius erruption), and other sights was convenient and easy (make sure you exit at the right place off the Autostrada). It would have been nice to have had more than 4 nights in the area, and that allowed a day trip to Capri but not an overnight stay. If there'd been more time, at least a night there would've been nice, and also the seas were too rough that day to get into the Blue Grotto, so weather can make that experience hit-and-miss.

We took a train to visit Naples, and its Archaeological Musuem was worth the trip (plus a chance to have authentic Neapolitan pizza), but it was pretty gritty and while others might devote a longer time in Naples, having just the one day was plenty for us.

Our B&B host said if there was one time of the year he'd visit Sorrento, for the best combination of pleasant weather, smallish crowds, and available activities and sights, it would be April. Spring will be warmer than December was, and way less crowded and hot than summer.

Congratulations on your 30th! My husband and I did driving Napoli/Amalfi coast last year(October 2013). We first flew into Rome and spent one night near Termini station. The next morning we took a bullet train to SALERNO(as Rick Steves suggested in his Italy book) and picked up a rental car, then drove the Amalfi coast to our hotel in Ravello. We spent 5 nights there. As for Pompeii, you may want to allocate a good half a day because the site is huge! We climbed the top of Vesuvius then visited Herculaneum(much smaller and very intimate site than Pompeii) in the same day. I would dedicate one day for Capri(in which we rained out and couldn't visit). If your home base is Sorrento, make a lunch stop in Ravello while doing crazy zigzag cliff hanging drive on the coast for a day. Overnight in Capri is up to you, but I think just a day trip by ferry is plenty enough. I understand that your husband is accustomed to driving crazy roads, but Amalfi coast and Napoli are notorious. Take a train into Napoli. National Achaeological Museum in Napoli is a must see because it houses all the valuables from Pompeii/Herculaneum/Boscoreale, etc.

We are going back to Napoli/Amalfi in October 2014 to pick up what we left off. The weather was terrible that we couldn't do any more than half of what we planned, so it will be our "Take Two" trip.
The lesson we learned from a year ago is precious. This time we will be in Sorrento as our base instead of being stuck in Amalfi coast. We will rent a car in Sorrento for revisiting Amalfi coast, Vesuvius/Herculaneum/Pompeii and such while taking trains for going into Napoli. We will dedicate one whole day for Capri.

As for Roma, choose a neighborhood you would like to stay as your base. We have stayed in just north of Villa Borghese, near Spanish steps, Trastevere, and Termini station area in separate trips in the past. All I can say is to study Rick's guidebook and book your hotels/Vatican(Sistine chapel) tour early. You don't need to drive around Roma. Parking is terrible in the city anyway. I don't even recommend to drive from Roma to Napoli, either. Taking a bullet train is much more convenient when connecting major cities like Roma and Napoli. Make sure you take advantage of ROMA PASS for major sites to bypass 200 some people standing in line. It's worth it.
Happy Planning!

We just spent three nights in Atrani. We took the train/bus from Naples there and back. We hired a private driver for a day tour. Looking at all the lunacy, I don't think driving would be enjoyable. The driver won't be able to do anything other then concentrate on the road. There were some nail biting moments when the buses were within centimetres of the other vehicles, cars having to back up, horrendous parking, road construction, bottlenecks.

As for Capri, our driver Lorenzo (with sorrento silver star car tours) said that Capri gets so full of tourists during the day, that he said you really need to be there in the early morn and late eve to truly enjoy it so an overnight would probably be best. We didn't have time to visit.

If you are in relatively good shape, we did the hike down from Ravello to Atrani...lovely, but I would say early morning or late afternoon...well, we were just there and spent more time in Ravello and didn't start the hike down until midafternoon...very hot and the stairs down can be quite taxing if you have bad knees or feet ( my legs were trembling at the end).

If you have a car, Hotel La Maurella is in Praiano and has private parking with sea view rooms and breakfast. Praiano is between Positano and Amalfi, so you can drive in either direction and miss half the traffic.

Further south is the town of Paestum, with three beautiful Greek temples, a beach, and a good museum. One of the hotels has its own entrance to the archeological site (you buy the ticket at the hotel's café). Excellent restaurant at the hotel.

Thanks to all for the information. I appreciate it very much! Does anyone have a recommendation on how much time we should spend in Rome vs. the Amalfi Coast (we will be in the area for two weeks). We have decided that we will not spend a night in Naples although we may go there for a day trip and visit the archaeological museum. We are also thinking about spending a night or two on Capri. I am a bit concerned about the boat ride to Capri since I get sea sick very easily. Is this a long boat ride and are the seas very rough in this area? Does anyone have a recommendation about where to stay in Capri? This is a 30th wedding anniversary trip, so we want to stay in a really beautiful hotel. On the coast, we were thinking about staying at the Santa Catarina hotel in Amalfi - does anyone have an opinion about this hotel and the location? We were also thinking about staying in Sorrento for a few nights. At most, we would like to keep the number of hotels to 3 or 4 (one in Rome, and 2 or 3 on the coast.)

Thanks again!!!

Anne

As museum and ancient Roman sight fans, we needed the whole week in Rome (and then some, but we split out time as 1 week in Rome, 1 week on Sicily, 1 week for Sorrento/Amalfi Coast/Capri/Calabria. Our Roman apartment also rented by the week, so that influenced our schedule. At a hotel, of course, you could call your own shots.

The ferry from Sorrento to Capri was a pretty substantial boat, so it didn't just bob around on the water, and the seas that day seemed pretty calm for the ferry to and from Capri. The journey went by pretty fast - way less than an hour. The tiny entrance to the Blue Grotto on Capri, and the rowboats used for that excursion are affected more by "rough" water, so it would seem the day ferries run much more smoothly (and more regularly) than the Blue Grotto boats, but someone else may be more familiar with the normal conditions for someone sensitive to seasickness.

We really liked having Sorrento as a base for exploring the general area, but it's not technically on the Amalfi coast.

I went on the Rick Steves Southern Italy tour this summer which covers much of the territory you're planning to see.

I would not want to be driving on the Amalfi coast for any amount of money! Seriously. You calling it "a bit crazy" is a gross understatement. Were I doing the trip planning on my own, I would probably make Sorrento my home base and day trip it to the other places you are interested in seeing. And, for what it is worth, I probably would skip Ravello unless there is some cultural event that is the reason for climbing that hill- especially if you have the opportunity to explore Paestum instead.

Friends of mine hired a car and driver for one day from Rome to the Amalfi coast, hotel-to-hotel, with a long stop at Pompeii. It wasn't hugely more than the train and taxis for the two of them and the convenience of not having to lug the luggage more than made up for extra cost.

I found Sorrento to be an excellent base. Loved the town. You can take the bus to Positano (top), then work your way down and then ferry back to Sorrento.