Celebrity reflection-amalfi coast tour

Hi! We are trying to decide the best option for our time at port in Naples, Italy. I know we want to do the amalfi coast but not sure the best cities to visit? And would the trip to Capri also be worth it or too much? I found a private tour online visiting 3 cities and it's obviously a lot cheaper with more people. I don't want to wait too long, but would it be worth chancing us meeting other people to do the tour with us? Thank you!!

If you join the roll call for your sailing (sorry I can't explain how as I'm using my tablet but I'm sure if you post your sailing date somebody will be kind enough to oblige) you'll probably find that somebody will have arranged such a tour and is looking for others to join them. I wouldn't combine Capri with an Amalfi coast tour as it would be too rushed in one day

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If you join the roll call for your sailing (sorry I can't explain how as I'm using my tablet but I'm sure if you post your sailing date somebody will be kind enough to oblige) you'll probably find that somebody will have arranged such a tour and is looking for others to join them. I wouldn't combine Capri with an Amalfi coast tour as it would be too rushed in one day

 

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I totally agree. You can do Capri on your own; the boats are not far from where you dock. If it happens to be raining, you don't lose any money. The Almalfi Coast is very special indeed and a beautiful tour with a small group or even better by yourselves. That way you get to see so much more, especially if you don't plan on returning...

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Absolutely do a private tour of the Amalfi Coast. Those big buses can't get in everywhere. Gorgeous scenery!

We did a tour through Rick Steves shared tours. I posted it on our roll call and there ended up being 24 of us in a 16 seat mini bus and an 8 seat mini van. We went to Positano, Sorrento and then Pompeii. It was one of the highlights of our trip. Don't do a ship excursion if it means going on a big bus. As was mentioned, the big buses can't go right into the small towns.

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I am one of those outspoken folks when it comes to nearly any cruise line excursion (we strongly dislike cruise line excursions). And when it comes to the Amalfi Coast (an area we know quite well) we are even more negative then usual when it comes to cruise line excursions. The reason can be summed up in a single word, "Positano." This is a charming cliff side city which most would consider the highlight of the Amalfi Coast (we also think Ravello is a great highlight). But Positano CANNOT be visited if you take a cruise line excursion bus. Yes, they will stop along the Amalfi Drive (above) and point out Positano below. In fact, the tour descriptions often say something like "you will see Positano" and that is accurate. You will "SEE" Positano,,,,,but not set foot in the delightful town. That is because tour buses are banned from entering the town. So if you want to experience Positano....then you will need a small car or van tour.....or you will have to somehow get there on your own. We recommend a private tour that includes visits to both Positano and Ravello! The town of Amalfi is also nice, but pales by comparison to those other two Amalfi coast towns . In the interest of full disclosure, the town of Ravello is not actually on the coast...but on a hill that is above the town of Amalfi.

Hank

I completely agree with Hlitner above. Get a private tour if you can, making sure you can get out and walk in Positano.

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Absolutely do a private tour of the Amalfi Coast. Those big buses can't get in everywhere. Gorgeous scenery!

Do you have a favorite tour group? Romeinlimo or sicilywithmario?

If you join the roll call for your sailing (sorry I can't explain how as I'm using my tablet but I'm sure if you post your sailing date somebody will be kind enough to oblige) you'll probably find that somebody will have arranged such a tour and is looking for others to join them. I wouldn't combine Capri with an Amalfi coast tour as it would be too rushed in one day

 

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Also, give some thought to exactly where you want to go if you join or create a private tour. For example, for our Reflection cruise two years ago, we joined a small group (8 or 10 as I recall) who decided to book a private tour but to modify it. All of us had been to Pompeii before, and we all believed that the tour time for the Amalfi Coast was too limited to go to the other sites as well as Pompeii. Rushing us through Pompeii in 30 minutes or whatever time they would have allocated seemed pointless. So our private tour skipped Pompeii and allocated the time saved to the other places visited.

Since we knew we were skipping Pompeii or our private excursion, in our pre-cruise stay in Sorrento, we devoted a good part of a day to visiting Herculaneum (Ercolano), which we had never visited before. Also well worth a visit if you have not been there.

Tom & Judy

Yes, agree with everyone else. A private tour of The Amalfi Coast is the only way to go. I would visit Positano and Ravello myself. Not so keen on Amalfi town but many people like the Cathedral and gelato. 😄

We have used this tour company several times and they are very good. All the drivers are local, speak good English and know all the driving short cuts and good places to eat and drink.

https://www.aldolimos.com/mobile

Last year we took a small group Celebrity excursion with ten people that went to Positano, Sorrento and Amalfi as well as Capri. We had ten people on a small mini van. It was wonderful. Celebrity has started offering small group excursions as competition for the private tours.

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Do you have a favorite tour group? Romeinlimo or sicilywithmario?

I used Sicilywithmario twice and it was awesome! Highly recommend.

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Hi! We did an Amalfi Coast tour with AP Tours Sorrento a couple of years ago and loved it. There were 5 of us traveling together and found another 3 on Cruisecritic to share. We had a wonderful driver who picked us up at the dock, then first took us to Herculaneum. We had enjoyed Pompeii on a previous trip and wanted to see Herculaneum. We were there by 10:00 am and had the place to ourselves for a self guided tour. We then drove along the coast to Positano, had lunch at Tratoria La Tagliata, which had a wonderful view overlooking Positano and even more wonderful food! Then walked through the town of Positano, choosing to spend more time there instead of going back to Sorrento. If you want to go to the Amalfi Coast, I would recommend them. If you decide to go to Capri, try to take a bit of time and take the bus up to Anacapri. We enjoyed the village at the top of the island! We loved the Mediterranean on the Reflection! Enjoy!!

Do you have a favorite tour group? Romeinlimo or sicilywithmario?

I can recommend Romeinlimo. We used them a few years ago and it was one of the best tours that we have ever taken!

On the other hand, last May, we decided to use Stefano Rome Day Tours (RomeCabs of which we have used many times over the years in Rome) for our much anticipated tour to Positano (with a stop at our favorite restaurant), Amalfi, and Pompeii. We were taking our adult children for their first (and probably their only) visit to the Amalfi Coast. What a disappointing day!

Our guide/driver was unfriendly, down right scary (not the typical RomesCabs guide) and had little knowledge of what we had requested from Stefano Tours. He had not made our promised lunch reservation, and the restaurant was full and could not accommodate us. :(He insisted on taking us to Sorrento (when we pre-requested to skip because we had been before. We did not see Amalfi.) This cut into our time in Positano. Then in Positano, the guide was MIA when it was time to leave for lunch. This is when we found out that we had no lunch reservation. We ended up having to eat in the cafe at Pompeii. Of course, on the drive back to the port, he started trying to woo us over. Asking us to give him a good review, and hinting for a tip. Needless to say that he got none of that. That's a first for us! He has probably put a "hit" on my DH. :eek: