Traveling with 4 friends on July 2 from Rome to the Amalfi Coast. What beach town should be our home base from July 2-6? Looking for a town on the water that has a little night life. While on the Coast we would like to do a day kayak trip and a cooking class in Ravello. Other ideas include the Blue Grotto in Capri and a visit to Positano. We would also like to see Pompeii at some point. Finally, we need to get back to Naples to fly out on the afternoon of July 6. Ideas on how this can work and where to stay? Thanks.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
I assume it will be July 2 2012. You do not have much time to reserve a hotel. While Sorrento does not have a large beach it has one with nice hotels that hug it and the port. I suggest you reserve asap. There is some nightlife there and certainly Capri has nightlife but you would need to stay overnight on Capri for that as ferries do not operate late due to cruise traffic in the area. Again reserve quickly for all, on Capri I recom very central El Gatto Blanco Hotel. Ck RS guidebk for avail in Sorrento or with expedia website. Not sure about kayaks. Ravello is a short bus ride from Sorrento w/ a gorgeous coastal route/view along the way.
Posted by
Chicago, IL, USA
14 posts
Sorrento is probably the best place to stay in terms of convenience and also for night life. I stayed at Hotel Nice. It is on the main drag and I walked there easily from the Circumvesuviana- the main train that goes from Naples to Pompeii and to Sorrento. Any hotel on the main drag is going to likely be noisy because Sorrento is just that- A lively fun city. So take that into consideration.
Posted by
Paris
9689 posts
Ravello is a bit more than a "short bus ride" from Sorrento. It's a bus or ferry all the way around to Amalfi, and then a minibus or taxi up to the town. Not that it's undoable from Sorrento, but given traffic in summer, ferry schedules, etc, it might take an hour and a half to 2 hours to get between the two. Is there anyone else who knows the area better than I who can confirm or reject my hypothesis? This is based on spending my honeymoon there five years ago in much-less-crowded September (I.e. not full-on high tourist season).