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Sorrento and Amalfi Coast

I have from 9 am to 6pm to leave Sorrento, do the Amalfi Coast, stop at Positano, Ravello and other great places, stop at Pompeii (time permitting) and get to Rome late evening. What have you actually done along those lines? What do you recommend?

Posted by
663 posts

I recommend you slow down. Those places may all look close together on a map, but getting from one spot to another can be difficult due to windy roads and traffic. Are you going to have a car, or take public transport? Pompeii will take you 2 hours minimum, double that would be better. How long are these "stops" in Positano, Ravello, and other great places? Long enough to stroll thru the town and check out any interesting churches and museums, or just long enough for a bathroom break and to take a half dozen pictures to prove you were there? Are you going to these places to enjoy spending time there, or to check them off a list of places you've been?

Posted by
57 posts

I've allowed nine hours to soak in the Amalfi Coast. Is that a reasonable allotment of time if I leave off Pompeii? Should I hire a guide to make those nine hours memorable and enjoyable? How many hours do you recommend?

Posted by
57 posts

By the time I get to the Amalfi Coast I will have had my fill of churches. My concern is whether 9 hours is enough to enjoy without rushing and I'll probably hire a car and guide so I could soak it all in. Is 9 hours enough, if I eliminate Pompeii?

Posted by
663 posts

I haven't actually been there yet, but I'll be going mid October for 4 nights and have done a lot of research. 1 day should be plenty for just the Amalfi Coast by bus. That is my plan. I'm not sure how many hours that will be, just that I will plan to spend the entire day visiting the various little towns.

Posted by
11613 posts

It would be easier to visit Pompeii from Sorrento as a day or half-day trip, then go on to the Amalfi Coast the next day (or when you check out from Sorrento). First bus from Sorrento to Amalfi is at about 8:30 in the morning.

Posted by
32517 posts

Your post doesn't say when your trip is. It will be dramatically more easy to achieve your 9 hour goal in the off season than in the peak tourist season.

I spent most of a week in the Naples Bay area a few years ago, using my personal car.

In that time I never had time to get to either Herculaneum or Pompeii although we had some great times at Paestum.

We were there in April and traffic was steady but not bad. On our busiest journey along the Amalfi Coast we only had to back up twice or three times and fold in our mirrors a few times. We didn't feel any need for a guide; we were able to park near where we wanted to when we wanted.

That might not be the case in other seasons.

It all depends on what you want to do in the towns you want to stop in, but I would have thought that doing all that, getting together with a guide, visiting Pompeii in any kind of a meaningful way, and getting back to Rome in 9 hours will be a tough call. I certainly wouldn't try it.

Posted by
57 posts

Travel May 10th or Sept 10th. We will have already done Sorrento and maybe Pompeii. Leave Sorrento Hotel by 9 am. Devote nine hours driving Amalfi Coast skipping Pompeii. What could we reasonably do in those 9 hours? About 6pm drive to Rome Hotel near Piazza Navona and late dinner. If anyone actually did this, I'd like your input. Thanks.