Arriving Naples, two couples in their 60's for a 4 - 5 night stay. One couple has not been to this area and the other only did on/off tour from cruise.
Considering 4-5 nights either Sorrento or Positano w day trips. Or 3 nights in Sorrento or Positano and then 2 nights in Capri.
Going to Provence via flight to Nice after Italy.
I know Sorrento seems to be easier to get in and out of but Positano views look amazing for the evenings we would be there....
Any advice is appreciated.
I have stayed in Sorrento and used it to visit Capri. I consider using Sorrento as a base is excellent. It is easy to get to from Naples.
Positano is farther down the coast, probably a bit more difficult to get to from Naples.
You can visit Positano while staying in Sorrento. Not sure why you wouldn't stay in one place. Also, five nights is a lot to spend there, we only did three days.
I wouldn't split the stay. It's not worth the time to check-in/out of hotels, which is a time waster.
I like Positano better because of the quaintness of the place (although it is very touristy, just like everywhere else there), but Sorrento is logistically more convenient to visit both Pompeii and Naples (if those are two of the destinations you'd like to day trip to).
From Positano you can visit Capri just as easily (there are boats from Positano). But to visit Pompeii or Naples from Positano you'd need first to take a bus to Meta di Sorrento, and catch the Circumvesuviana train from there.
To visit Amalfi, and the rest of the Amalfi coast, Positano is obviously better since it's closer to Amalfi and is already part of the Amalfi coast.
The choice is yours. Just be aware that Positano is on a hill side and is very steep, so it is harsh on people who have mobility issues (hopefully you are both fit). Consider that fact also when you choose accommodations and you have to go back to the accommodations if they are up to the top of town. Interestingly the locals to say 'to go home' don't use the standard Italian 'andare a casa' but rather they say 'salire a casa', which means 'to climb home'.
I would consider 4 nights at least appropriate. 4 nights are only 3 full days. One day to visit Capri on a day boat excursion, one day to visit Amalfi and the rest of the Costa Amalfitana, and one day to visit Pompei and Sorrento on the way back to Positano. If you want to add Naples and/or something else (Herculaneum, Ischia, Procida, Paestum, or wherever) then you probably need more than 4 nights. Some people visit Naples on the way into (or out of) the area. So it's up to you.
Capri shouldn’t be done as a day trip. It is so much better to spend several nights there.Of the others you list we didn’t care for Positano and it’s crowds and over tourism. Sorrento is a nice town not just a transit hub. Your last plan Sorrento 3, Capri 2 would be my choice. If I go to the Amalfi Coast again I will stay in Ravello.
So if we did four nights in Positano is this how trip would look....
Day one/night one: Arrive from Naples. Dinner in Positano
Day two/night two: Day trip to Capri all day pending weather.
Day three/night three: Tour Amalfi Coast???
Day four/night four: Pompeii early AM/Sorrento mid afternoon/ Positano dinner
Day five: Naples airport
I get ease and less $$4 of Sorrento but for some reason I am drawn to stay in Positano.
Any recs for tour guides/drivers for our day trips?
TIA
I would only advise Sorrento if your sightseeing plans include Pompeii/Naples, which it does not sound like is on the agenda at all. Stay in Positano. Day tripping to Capri is totally fine and worthwhile, but get the earliest ferry you can. Idk if I’d ever bother staying on the island itself, and logistically it might be a little awkward mid-trip.
On the other hand, if you stayed overnight (or two nights) on your “arrival day” before moving on to Positano it might make a world of sense. Positano is a hike from Naples, so depending on when you arrive (in Naples I’m assuming) transportation to Capri might be just as easy.
Month of the year? Air conditioning is essential for much of the year. Another reason it matters is that Positano can only take smaller ferries. There are in-season, and off-season ferry schedules, and occasional cancellations for high seas. Many more ferries in Sorrento. What time is the Naples flight out? It is almost certain that you will need a 120 Euro car service for that, if it's late enough to be safe from Positano. And a Mercedes sedan is tight for four passengers. Do not underestimate Positano's disconnection from both Sorrento and Salerno (another place with trains.) Also be aware that the Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Sorrento can be hot, crowded, and gritty, with annoying accordion players demanding tips. Many people use a car service to avoid this train. We rode it inbound, and put a car service on our Sorrento hotel bill, for departure. That was an easy decision because we paid 15 Euros for a very short cab ride within Sorrento! Hotel had a local surface travel provider, so we were confident of good service.
While Sorrento is generally, a post-war, purpose-built, reinforced-concrete resort town, it has superb transit connections, particularly for Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Capri. It also has two modest-sized ports (and some ferry horn noise at times.) It has about five large luxury hotels (where you could take one room with a huge extra-cost balcony, and one cheaper room.) Elevator in hotel goes to a private boardwalk (NO beach) swimming platform, with bar, in the Gulf. And many other medium and small hotels. We stayed at the Ambasciatori, a worthwhile splurge. At the time, one company ran the five big cliffside hotels, but they had separate identities.
It is not true that there are no budget hotels in Positano. But it is historically a luxury resort, with several hotels around $1,000 a day. Perhaps the most famous is La Sireneuse, where we had a drink, just to get a look. The private hotel pool was about 8' by 20', and everyone lounging there appeared (to me, not a doctor) to have had "work done." We could not sit by the pool because we were not guests. The water view was partial and indirect. I found the same euro-boutiques lining the pedestrian streets to be the same brands you see on Capri, in Rome, and in Paris.
As noted, some hotels are hundreds (read that again ... ) of steps up from the ONLY two-lane road through Positano. The beaches are all pebbles, and quite busy in season. Capri is also highly pedestrianized, and you should get clear information from your Capri hotel about luggage transfer from the Capri port-which might have a 1/4 mile walk from the boat to the funicular.
I'm not trying to be negative. We enjoyed our two DAY trips to Capri (one on a cruise), and were glad we stayed in Sorrento, even though we didn't post on Trip Advisor Sorrento "Eyyy, 'ow much is a Pint?". We happily skipped the Blue Grotto on our Capri day, and were sorry it was too far from Sorrento for the UNESCO WHS Paestum temples.
Edit: Sorrento has precisely one, very small, sand beach, which is located directly between the two marinas. So it has a distinct odor of diesel fuel. It's actually easy to get to, because there is a 2 Euro elevator from there to one of the town squares. The town is on a sheer cliff, with lovely views, including Vesuvius.
I'd like to add that if your flight out of Naples is in the morning, you should spend the night before your flight in Naples rather than in Positano.
If the flight is later in the morning, or, even better, in the afternoon, then you can stay in Positano.
Have not booked flights as yet but drive time gives me something to consider when booking hotels in Italy. We will be traveling mid April 2023.
What is latest time via boat that you can get to Capri to check into hotel?
Check climate websites for April, for example:
https://weatherspark.com/m/76507/4/Average-Weather-in-April-in-Sorrento-Italy#Figures-CloudCover
Every hotel and B&B, Capri or mainland, is going to have their own check-in rules. In fact, it is hard to get from Naples to Sorrento after dinner. Our discount flight from Stanstead was late enough that we spent the night in Naples. Many hotels on Capri are some distance from the port.
You should also download the current ferry schedules for both places, just to get an idea for 2023. Check sunset for April, because boats don't go in the dark. And Pompeii and Herc keep daylight hours.
My advice is just go to Provence; it is so much nicer. Or if you’re set on Italy, you could visit Genoa and Cinque Terre before Provence; much more doable in four days. Four days trying to see the Amalfi coast will be exhausting, probably result in more stress than pleasure, and just not worth it. It’s overrun with people who seem to just want photos for their social media accounts or think they are going to be hanging out with the rich and famous here. instead they are just among throngs of tourists and locals weary of dealing with said tourists but reliant on them. A sad situation. I’m in Sorrento right now with a relative who’s in her 70s but pretty fit. She planned this trip and had been here before, but she is not enjoying the exhausting up and down, up and down of these cliff towns, and everything from the private Mercedes car ride from Naples to catching ferries has been a trial. Traffic jams. Long lines. You can’t just show up for a ferry right before its departure time; you have to queue up at least a 1/2 hr early on each end, and the rides are longer than you think they will be (I’m talking hydrofoils). A spot of rain at 6 am means no ferries for a whole day …. Hence, hours of waiting in line for a bus instead (which easily spoils all your planning). I’ve travelled to many “difficult” places that were worth it for unique cultural experiences. This place is not one of them.
A spot of rain at 6 am means no ferries for a whole day
This isn't true for Sorrento>Capri or Naples> Capri unless the weather is really foul or wind dangerously high. We left Naples on a hydrofoil to Capri in pouring rain. As citizens on the island rely on marine transport for services only available on the mainland, and others commute, boats are only cancelled when absolutely necessary for safety.
