Amalfi cost Italy to visit Pompeii and Vesuvius

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Caporegime
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Hi all

Thinking of flying the family to Italy next July / August to visit some historical sites and some nice beaches. Either package hotel or self catering is fine.

Obviously it will be hot and busy in this season, but do people have any experience and recommendations please as to the best places to stay for this sort of trip?

I have no clue where to start looking. Many thanks.
 
It's an incredible place, you can't go too far wrong. Pompeii is incredible - I just wondered around unguided and killed a day.

Positano is worth a visit, as is Sorrento. I think I stayed in Sorrento then did driving excursions.

Ironically I only did Amalfi the place for a few hours because once you'd done Sorrento and Positano it wasn't actually 'worth it'. The coastal drive is incredible tho.

Edit: just found my spreadsheet. We crammed in a lot but I guess with Italy you can always revisit again and again given it is so close. We ended up doing...

Rome -> Sorrento [stayed at Hotel Mega Mare Vico Equense] - I remember now this was a quaint hotel with absolutely epic views, right on the coast line. To quote Karl Pilkington - why be in Sorrento when you can be looking at Sorrento from your balcony.

Then from Vico Equnse we had main base to visit Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi etc.

Then from Sorrento we did Naples (Pompeii). I think we sacked off Vusuvious because we had done Etna and found it a bit underwhelming. Again, you get great views of Vus from Naples so didn't feel the need to go up it. Naples feels a bit like Delhi in places by the way, lol. A proper raw Italian experience when you go a few streets back.

Then we did Salento (Puglia) and flew home from Bari. Salento is the Maldives of Italy - stunning place.
 
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dlockers said:
It's an incredible place, you can't go too far wrong. Pompeii is incredible - I just wondered around unguided and killed a day.

Positano is worth a visit, as is Sorrento. I think I stayed in Sorrento then did driving excursions.

Ironically I only did Amalfi the place for a few hours because once you'd done Sorrento and Positano it wasn't actually 'worth it'. The coastal drive is incredible tho.
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What are the roads like in the area? I've heard they are quite tight. I quite fancy a road trip to Italy.
 
Uther said:
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What are the roads like in the area? I've heard they are quite tight. I quite fancy a road trip to Italy.
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All perfectly fine tbh. Had one issue on a tight hairpin that put my Fiat Panda on 3 wheels at low speed - burnt a lot of rubber trying to wobble it back on to all four. Also took a wrong turn in Naples and ended up in what looked like mid-war Baghdad (kids burning stuff in an old drum, lots of feral humans).

I've driven loads in Italy (I was scared of flying so drove there in a Fiesta once lol). Never had an issue. You just need to be on form/defensive+aggressive combined lol
 
We stayed in Sorrento and there is a very cheap train that takes you to Vesuvius, Pompeii, Herculaneum etc and then onto Naples and beyond.
 
As mentioned above, take the train where possible. In summer the roads are rammed (we did it at the end of our honeymoon in 2015!) and managed with a fiat panda, but it was very slow and a few butt clenching moments when a huge coach came round the corner!

Pompeii is definitely worth a visit and I’d also recommend having a tour guide because they will point out a lot more that you’d otherwise miss if you’re just walking around.

Sorrento is great with plenty to offer, however if you’re happy splashing out then I recommend the Capo La Gala hotel!
 
We went last year at the end of June for a long weekend. First thing i would say is the humidity/temperature, i'm used to being in hot places but this was another level, going through 3-4 t-shirts a day. Flew into Naples, got the bus from outside the airport to Naples train station (tickets from a machine just inside the exit). Train from Naples to Sorrento (easy enough to get from the downstairs ticket office). We stayed in an AirBnB in Massa Lubrense (some lovely restaurants and nowhere near as busy as Sorrento), got ripped off by the taxi's outside the train station, €60 for a 10 minute taxi ride, once we knew the buses it was really easy and very cheap. Day trip to Capri was ok. Had an afternoon in Sorrento which was nice. We were going to do Positano but only the wife fancied it, the people staying near us went and totally regretted it, too busy and loads of aggro people all too hot and waiting too long for access to the place and the buses to get home, far beter just to do a coastal boat ride and you get all the lovely pictures without the hassle). Vesuvias was a few stops back towards Naples on the same train and easy enough to navigate, take plenty of fluids!

You will also mistakenly think you've been transported to America as every other person we met was from there! :D
 
Thanks all for the helpful tips above; will let you know what we end up doing! We're massive tarts so hovels and queues will hopefully be kept at a minimum!
 
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