During an upcoming visit (late April to early May 2024), we want to travel to Maiori from Sorrento. I am considering a ferry from Sorrento to Amalfi and then a bus to Maiori. The timing is not favorable for that combination. We would have a few hours to explore before retracing the trip. Any experience from other RS travelers is appreciated.
Interesting that Maiori is not discussed in Rick's Italy guidebook. I will assume that the town did not meet the editors requirements. Just curious.
Rick does not pretend to produce (... contrasted with, say, Lonely Planet) "comprehensive" guidebooks. I would not attach too much significance to whether a town or a site is included. And don't forget Yogi Berra, "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."
That statement applies to the AC, although you are perhaps just ahead of the MOST busy season. (Note that some places, like the UK, have year-round demand for Sorrento and the AC.) You don't describe your overall trip; I mention that because a frequent phrase on this newsboard is "... [it] looks so much better from the water." I don't agree with that as a truism, but you certainly should include a boat ride on your trip.
I'm old enough that we could afford a car and driver for our 8 hours on the AC (from five nights in Sorrento.) Note that the car and driver is not just to avoid bus or ferry crowding, it's also because there is no place to park on much of the AC. Road crowding is always a factor, however.
You might get a better answer by stating why you selected Maiori. As magical as, say, Ravello is, I would not particularly want to sleep there. I think it may (?) be an illusion to think there are undiscovered villages with quiet widows in black, shopping with a basket on their arm, in this high-traffic location.
Tim, you raise good points. The Yogi Berra quote made me laugh. We have many trips/tours already planned for this visit. We have confirmed with Mondo Guide tours to Capri and along the AC to Ravello. My wife had her "List" of places and activities. Maiori was on that list. I will do more research. Thanks for responding.
We stayed in Maiori on our RS tour. I was not impressed. There is pretty much nothing there. I suppose it is quieter and less touristed than other AC towns but that is about all that would recommend it.
Here's a cut and paste of my Trip Report from last Spring of my day. We used the SITA bus but you can also look up the Travelmar ferry from Amalfi. For us, the timing didn't work for it.
Day 4-Wednesday. Amalfi Coast.
Let’s talk about ferries and chaos. On Monday we booked the early Alilauro ferry to Amalfi with the intention when we got there to hop on either the Travelmar ferry or SITA bus to Miniori. Except for the boat to Capri, there’s no signage that shows what ferry is arriving/leaving from which dock and you’re on your own to figure it out. We found our dock, and the boat was there but it was deserted and so we sat nearby to wait. Our ferry was leaving at 10:20 and the competitor’s ferry-Caremar was leaving at 10:00. At about 9:55 there was still nobody at our ferry to begin boarding and a guy with limited English came over and gestured that the ferry was leaving. We showed our tickets and gestured that we were on a different boat, finally in English, he said the boat had changed and to get on. So, we hopped on the Caremar ferry hoping we were doing the right thing. As we were nearing Positano, OUR boat went speeding by, full of people and arrived in Amalfi well before we did. We had watched this guy intercepting many people and directing them to his boat and we have no idea why, because there was no financial incentive as we hopped on and off with no issues. On the way back, we befriended a bunch of Brits waiting on the dock and they had the same experience, plus their return tickets were for Caremar, but the time scheduled to leave was the same as ours. We all hopped on the Alilauro boat, and nobody had any issues.
The primary plan for the day was to hike the Path of the Lemons between Miniori and Maiori and we hopped on the SITA bus to Minori. Once we arrived, we weren’t sure where to go so we head for a TI booth. We found the customer service quality on this trip in some cases to be unique. Hotels and restaurants would bend over backwards to make sure you’re happy but the more government-based jobs in the service industry such as museums, ticket sellers and info booths…not so much. There was a smiling 5-year-old manning the booth who greeted us, and someone who I assume was his grandfather at the back of the booth. The young guy called out that we needed help and after a few minutes the guy came forward and stared at us-not saying a word. With my gesturing, poor Italian and some english I asked for a map and how to get to the Path of the Lemons. He looked at me with a scowl, yelled out NO, and turned his back. We always find if we need help, a great source of service is a nice hotel, so we found one and asked for directions.
The Path of the Lemons is very scenic, but I wouldn’t consider it a hike. I had this romantic vision of walking through orchards with lemons hanging above my head, but it’s only about 45 minutes along a paved path with orchards above and below. The only tough part was the several hundred steps it takes to get to it from the church. The lemons also weren’t very visible this time of year as most are covered by green tarps until June. There was an orchard owner near the end of the walk that explained that the tarps protect the trees from winter wind and hail. I would never have guessed that cold and hail were things to be worried about this far south.
After the walk, we had no idea where to catch the bus back, but noticed a bus stop across the street on the main drag that was heading toward Salerno. Once again with gestures and bad Italian I asked where to catch the bus to Amalfi. The woman pointed directly across the street from her bus stop. No sign and no indication that it was a bus stop, it just is.
The rest of the day was spent wandering Amalfi and the church and then back to Sorrento. Other than the Path of the Lemons we’d describe what we saw as “just OK,” we’d be back to the coast on Friday and were hoping for more.
The RS south of Italy tour stays in Maiori. And it's a great location to use as a base for Amalfi and Positano. You can take the ferry from Maiori to Amalfi, and from there to Positano. Maiori is quieter and not as crowded as Amalfi or Positano, so it was a wonderful place for a home base. The hotel that RS uses in Maiori had private beach access that was not crowded.. There are many good restaurants there also. But as a destination, there aren't a lot of attractions here.
If you taking the ferry to Amalfi, you can take a ferry from Amalfi to Maiori. No need to take a crowded bus. If you just walk around Maiori, it will only take a few hours.
Thanks for the all the responses. Derek, your suggestion of a ferry from Amalfi to Maiori is helpful.
