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Old February 13th, 2009, 08:50 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Ken Blake
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Posts: 373
Default Amalfi Coast region

On Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:17:06 -0800, poldy wrote:

Plan to go to the Catania region for about 6 days, first timer.



That sentence confuses me, since Catania is in Sicily and has nothing
to do with the rest of your message. I don't particularly like
Catania, but I love Taormina, which is near it.


Was thinking that Sorrento seemed to be the most central, not just for
day trips to places like Positano and Ravello, but also back up to
Pompeii, maybe even Naples.



Yes. It's very convenient to get from Sorrento to all those places,
and if you want to see the Amalfi coast, it's a very convenient and
great place to stay. From Sorrento you can easily get almost anywhere
on the Amalfi coast by bus (and the bus is a great way to see the
spectacular coast), and to Pompeii or Naples by the circumvesuviana
train.


This is in the first week of April.

Sorrento seems to offer better lodging values than Positano. Obviously
not as scenic but better located (I will be arriving from Rome to Naples
by train and going back at the end to fly out of FCO).



If you don't know how to get from Naples to Sorrento, you take the
circumvesuviana train, which is on a different level of the Naples
central train station.

Have you considered the possibility of flying back from Naples instead
of Rome? If you could do that, it should be much more convenient.


The other idea was to spend a couple of nights on Capri.

Capri.com lists a lot of choices. Lot of small B&Bs which have maybe 3
rooms and gets raves for personal service.



I love Capri, and have stayed there at least half a dozen times, for
as much as a week at a time. It's a very beautiful island.
Unfortunately it can get terribly overloaded with tourists in the
summer season, but in the first week of April, when you'll be there,
it won't be too bad.


You can get to Capri by ferry from either Naples or Sorrento. You
might even want to go from Naples to Capri, then from Capri to
Sorrento, which would take away the need to go from Naples to Sorrento
by train.


Versus hotels, which still get good reviews but not the same level of
personal attention. Main good thing about the latter is that they seem
more likely to offer transfer or porterage services from Marina Grande,
whereas with the B&Bs, you would probably have to take a taxi up if
you're bringing luggage for a 2-week trip (no I don't pack light).



You can take the funicular from Marina Grande up to the town and take
your luggage up on it. If you take a taxi, it will cost somewhat more,
but like the funicular, it just takes you to the start of Capri. From
there, you will have to walk to your hotel or B&B.


Any experiences in the lodging choices in the area? Not just on Capri
but also on the mainland?



I know nothing about Capri B&Bs, but I have two favorite hotels in
Capri: Canasta, and La Floridiana. Unfortunately, like so many hotels
in Capri, they are not cheap.

In Sorrento, I stayed at Hotel Mignon Meublè
the last time I was there (about a year
and a half ago). It was fine, very central, and moderately-priced.
Unfortunately, however, it has no elevator.

--
Ken Blake
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