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Sorrento or Salerno home base on Amalfi?

Posted by (Vancouver) on

My wife and I are planning an 8-day trip to the Amalfi region Mar 10-18. We will fly in and out of Naples (from Istanbul, then on to Athens). We spent 3 weeks in Tuscany/Venice/Florence/Rome a few years ago, and have also spent a week in the Lake Como area.

We aren't going to the Amalfi to tick a bunch of must-see sights/sites off a list. We'd like to rent an appartment somewhere, soak up Italian culture (primarily) and see the Amalfi Coast (secondarily). Mostly, we want to live like Italians - shop in local open-air markets, learn their cusine, passeggiata, etc. We would also consider 2 bases for 3-5 days each, but prefer to keep our packing, traveling and re-locating to a minimum. We are open to a day trip or two, but that won't be a focus of our trip. Being in our late 50s, nightlife isn't high on our list. But we can't have a city that rolls up the sidewalks at 6pm either.

From my homework thus far, I think being ON the Amalphi Coast is impractical. I believe (so far) that Salerno and Sorrento are my best options. What I have read here leaves me torn. I read that Salerno is more "old world", classic Italy, and with less tourists. I also read that Sorrento is much smaller, perhaps with less to offer and (I've read) less Italian charm. What is throwing me off is how the time of year will affect crowds, transport options, shopping, etc.

My wife loves to cook, so the "shop in local markets" part is key. A cooking class or two might be on the agenda if possible. Given these thoughts - does that push us to Salermo? That's the way I am leaning just now.

I've read everything on the Forum regarding the Amalphi, but the writers tend to be Rick-Steves-types, who are happy to always be on the move, and making the most of their travel time. That's not a bad thing - it's just not what we're after this time.

I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks in advance. (I hope I didn't offend any "Rick Steves types". I wish I had your energy and enthusiasm!)
B

Posted by
3551 posts

Gee if Amalfi is not really your interest and u wish a non tourist area that would exclude Sorrento. So the area between Naples and Sorrento is a generally a scenic and local flavor along the coast. Or consider Capri of course on the residents side of the island.

Posted by
15798 posts

I used Sorrento as a base for Naples, Herculaneum and Pompeii. In February most (all?) restaurants and shops were open. Several years later I stayed in Salerno, also in February. I rented a car and drove along the AC stopping frequently for photos and to explore the villages. I also drove to Paestum for a day, with a stop at Vannulo Buffalo farms for wonderful cannoli and gelati - for mozzarella, you need to get there very early or order in advance, they sell out daily I'm told.

I think Salerno is much better suited to your plans. There's the daily passeggiata along the main pedestrian mall (lined with modern shops), a long seaside promenade that attracts locals during the day, some excellent restaurants and a nice beach too. The medieval historic center is worth exploring. If you don't want to rent a car, you can take the local buses to all the AC villages and visit Paestum (highly recommend it) by bus or train. I think I would be bored after 2 full days in Sorrento without day-trips to the surrounding sights. In Salerno, you will have the choice of hanging out in this pleasant town or riding along the super-scenic coast on the bus. In February the buses were never close to full, early March is probably similar.

Since you're open to splitting your time, consider spending 2-3 nights in Naples after the AC. It's an interesting city with a lot of history and a superb archaeology museum. The Royal Palace of Caserta is a good day trip.

Posted by
2121 posts

I've spent time in Salerno at exactly the timeframe you mention. Had such a great, wonderful, integrative & assimilating time that I told Chani about it, and now after experiencing Salerno herself, she extols its virtues. It's perfect for your desires.

You can look at my comparisons on a different thread, but in short Sorrento & Salerno are about equal in food quality and variety. Yes, although Salerno has gotten more popular with 'in the know' groups and cruise ships, in March Salerno is virtually tourist-free. A good thing.

Start looking at VRBO and Air B&B's for apartments now. You definitely want to stay between the Old Town and Salerno Centrale station, near the main drags.

Posted by
10 posts

Thanks for all your helpful replies.

Given our wants list, how does this itinerary sound:

Day 1: Arrive Naples (9am), bus to Pompeii, spend half day there, train to Sorrentolate afternoon and to sleep.
Day 2: Drive a one-day, one-way rental car along the AC, stopping at towns that intrigue us, ending up in Salerno early evening.
Day 3-7: Spend our days soaking up culture in Salerno, with a possibe day trip to Paestum.
Day 8: Early train to Naples, spend the day and night in Naples.
Day 9: Fly out of Naples 8am

I guess my real (complicated) question is - is it pratical/possible/safe to do a one-way car rental and drive down the AC in early March? I've read "yes, in March", but also "definitely not".

We believe doing it one-way by bus from Sorrento is possible, but by bus we are stuck with bus schedules and the masses AND lugging suitcases with us. Alternatively we could do a two-way AC bus trip (prob out of Salerno) one day, which necessitates a second full length bus trip, but has the the advantage of not lugging luggage (I guess that's why they call it laggage? I never thought of that before.) But a two-way bus excurion also eliminates an evening/night in Sorrento.

New thoughts?
B

Posted by
8008 posts

Again, I don't know about March, but parking is laughably non-existent in the prime towns with sea views. In summer, the one two-lane (bi-directional, that is) road is clogged and blocked by busses making two tries at the sharper curves. You are not in a pastoral rural area with vast grass-covered parking. You are also not in the heavily traffic-ed Tuscany, with some bigger towns having Mall-like parking garages and escalators or shuttle busses up to the towns!

Just so you have the idea for your planning, staying five nights in Sorrento (for the transit connections), we had our hotel's land partner provide a car and driver for eight hours for 240 Euros (six years ago.) He was not a real "guide", but he took us to Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello, where we had about an hour free time in each. He also took us to two other towns for a photo stop and "view", We should have turned down "the Green Grotto", but we hadn't researched it. We did turn down "the pottery shop", but told him we'd use the toilets there! We were very happy with this expenditure, which provided what WE wanted from the actual Amalfi Coast.

Posted by
10363 posts

I don’t think there are any “masses” anywhere — and certainly not on the buses — on the Amalfi Coast in March.

Posted by
2456 posts

I think your plan makes sense, as long as you realize that days one and two will be long ones (especially day one, will you arrive from Istanbul rested or sleepless?), and as long as you can arrange a reasonable one-day car rental with drop-off for day two. From what I’ve heard, the towns and traffic along the Amalfi Coast should be pretty quiet in early March. I would try to include the small town of Ravello, which is about 30 minutes inland and uphill from the coast, with beautiful views and gardens. I would certainly not skip the Greek (also Roman) ruins at Paestum which are quite amazing and very close to Salerno by either train or bus. The small museum by the ruins is really outstanding too, and shows how colorful the temples would have been back in the day, totally different from the gray stones we can see now. I think it is closed one day a week (Monday as I remember) so research that and don’t go that day. Also very close to Salerno on the coast is the noted ceramics town of Vietri sul Mare, if that interests you. It may not be in full activity off-season. Enjoy your trip, and please report back to us.

Posted by
15798 posts

Here's what I don't like about your plan.
Day 1 - Your plan means schlepping your suitcases from the airport to the train station and by train (Circumvesuviana local train, really a metro) to Pompeii, checking them, then schlepping them on the train to Sorrento to your hotel. If you are arriving from the US, you'll be jetlagged to boot, the worst way to visit Pompeii.
Day 2 - after a tiring (exhausting?) Day 1, you have to schlep the luggage to the car rental, then drive along the AC, not the easiest drive (see my comments below). That's probably about 3 hours net driving time - maybe more depending on traffic and your courage.

Here's what I would do.
Day 1. Get to the train station with your luggage and take a regular train (Trenitalia or Italotrain) to Salerno. Stay as long as you want, then spend the rest in Naples.

Rent a car (and return it) in Salerno. If you want to drive the AC, have the car for most/all of your stay. Otherwise take the car for 2 days, 1 for Pompeii, 1 for Paestum. You can also get to both by public transportation. You can also choose to visit Pompeii (sans luggage) while you are based in Naples, using the Circumvesuviana. You can

Driving the AC in February was okay for me. I imagine mid-March would be similar to mid-February when I was there. This thread tells some of my experiences. The road from Salerno to Positano is a narrow 2-lane road that hugs the cliffs. Most of it has no shoulders. The speed limit is 50 kph (kilometers), but I rarely was able to go that fast because of the curves. In February I had no trouble finding places to pull over frequently to admire the views and take photos, occasionally on the roadside, mostly in private parking lots of restaurants, sometimes in actual parking places. In the towns I was able to find parking either on the street or in the public lots. The winter price was about €1/hour in the lots and free on the streets. In season it's much higher. I've driven Hwy 1 along the Pacific Coast in California and quite a bit of mountain driving all over the west, so that didn't intimidate me, but it was not relaxing!

Here's what I wrote about Naples.

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