Salerno as a base for Amalfi Visit?

Salerno gives you easy access to the AC via ferry and bus. I think the ferry shows off the AC at its best because you get to see the entire coast from the water if you go Salerno to Positano.

The buses leave from in front of the train station and the ferry dock is a few blocks directly down from the station headed to the water. In late October we just walked up and bought tickets on the next ferry every time we wanted one and never waited more than 15 minutes for the next one.

The crowds in October will be somewhat reduced but the weather can be more unpredictable.

Enjoy,
=Tod

Having trouble finding affordable accommodations for 3 nights in Sorrento after that.

For best results you should provide a numeric value, not just a subjective 'affordable'.

Booked 2 nights where ?

Salerno is actually a better base for AC than Sorrento as far as transportation

Pompeii a bit more difficult and Capri too far though

Oops, left out 'Naples' in my post, sorry! 2 nights there and have requested a third. Will be visit Pompeii (and Capri if I have time) from Naples. "Affordable' to me is a maximum of USD$250.

You shouldn’t have any trouble finding something in Salerno with that budget

We stayed here
10 min walk to station and ferry
https://montestella1914.it/alloggi/

Check booking.Com for more options

Other towns to consider
Vietri sul Mar
Maoiri

Both have ferry access

Several of us here on forum have stayed in Salerno and enjoyed it very much
Search the forum for more reviews/info

We stayed in Salerno and enjoyed it quite a bit. Take the train to Paestum - it's fantastic! Enjoy

Preaching to the choir here, as Christine knows. Have based once in Sorrento, twice in Salerno, last time in April of this year.

Sorrento is good if the focus is Pompei or Vesuvius. But Salerno is an actual city (110,000), has a beautiful lungomare, a fun beach, great food --don't miss Pizzeria Trianon--and yes is easier to get down south from. And it's definitely cheaper for lodging as well as food. In fact, we took Trenitalia from Salerno all the way to Sicily, ending up in Taormina. And that trip was inexpensive--even for 1st class--and the train car went on a ferry that traversed the Strait of Messina and over to the island. Unforgettable!

I agree!

I always stay in Salerno to visit the AC (I even do Capri from there, even though it's far). It's too far and stressful from Sorrento. Paestum is amazing too! I agree with Jay about Pizzeria Trianon, one of my favs! If you're going to do the ruins on the other side of the peninsula from Naples, then Salerno is the obvious choice as a base if you're looking for reasonably priced places to stay.

When I took my friend in 2019, she liked Salerno the most out of our trip because it felt like "real" Italy. My favorite part of Salerno is the lungomare where you can walk along the sea with the rest of the city. Make sure to stop by Gelateria Nettuno for AMAZING gelato on your walk.

For anyone in Salerno for an extended period of time do not miss the eté Prime at 174 Corso Vittorio Emanuele tucked away between the clothes shops and bank. The front opening onto Corso Vittorio Emanuele (the wide pedestrian only shopping street) is small hallway but set back from the street is an amazing grocery store worth knowing about. The store is kind of like Conad meets Whole Foods and one in Salerno has high end goods at really good prices. I saw 6 kinds of local specialty Buffalo Mozzarella for 2-6e, selection of bakery breads, and shelves of Barolo starting at 12e and topping out at 23e.

The many fruit and daily needs places that dot the street are fine for everyday things but if you have a kitchen or want to put on a real spread and a nice bottle of wine this store is a great place.

Enjoy Salerno,
=Tod

PS Ha! I was just checking out the street map for the area and I found us on Google street view on Corso Vittorio Emanuele. We saw the Google street view guy huffing around the pedestrian area so I knew there was a chance.

hiredman, that's hilarious!

When I lived there that ete Prime was a pretty popular clothing store! Crazy! haha

Many thanks to all of you! I added a third night in Naples so I will visit Pompeii and Capri from there. Booking a two-night stay in Salerno as my base for Amalfi (and hopefully Paestum too) as well as pizza and gelato restaurants as recommended. This seems a whole lot less stressful than the Sorrento base alternative. In addition to hotel issue I mentioned, I won't have to backtrack to Naples to get the train south.

2 nights gives you 1 full day, I don't think you can do both the AC and Paestum in one day, so unless you get up at the crack of dawn to leave Naples and drop luggage off at your hotel in Salerno before hopping on a ferry to Amalfi or a train to Paestum (there are usually 1 an hour in the morning until a point where it gets a little sporadic) then it will be hard to do. I usually pair Paestum with a small trip up the hill from Salerno to Vietri to see the pretty ceramics on sale. The train to Tropea from Salerno takes 4 hours-ish, so I would want to start that at least by 2pm for an easier arrival into town to get situated. Another possible way to manage that switching from Naples to Salerno day would be to visit Pompeii on the way, and store your luggage at the ruins and then get to the main station to continue onto Salerno.

I stayed in Salerno for two nights. It's a very authentic Italian city, without having been overly touristy. It's perhaps not as scenic as Sorrento, but the restaurants are great and the crowd is more local than foreign.