Best Amalfi Coast town to visit

[logansnonna]

I'm looking at a day tour of Naples/Pompeii that gives a choice of Sorrento, Ravello, or Positano for lunch and relaxation. Any recommendations?

[insulationbabe]

No doubt pick Sorrento, been there and enjoyed it very much - go to the cameo factory - I bought an earring and pendant set very reasonable

We ate right across the street at an open air restaurant and had homemade pizze and pasta - was so yummy - sorry can't remember the name of the restaurant:)

[logansnonna]

Thanks, sounds like the kind of experience we are looking for...the food part at least, LOL.

[saus]

Having been to all three on two separate trips, I can say with confidence that you will find any of them charming. That said, Ravello is my favorite of the three.

 

While I enjoy Sorrento, it is significantly larger than the other two towns and lacks the atmosphere if a village.

 

Positano is the most picture-postcard spectacular of the three. But I found the town difficult to navigate. It's most impressive from the water.

 

Ravello is off of the water, but offers relatively flat topography once you get up to the village. Since it is the furthest from Naples, and the smallest of the three towns, it retains more of a magical, trapped-in-the-past quality than Sorrento or Positano. There are amazing gardens with even more amazing views. There are village restaurants to discover.

 

The added bonus of Ravello is the drive. Possibly the most picturesque drive in the world, you drive past sheer cliffs on the way from Naples to Sorrento, then up a mountainside and down along another cliff into Positano. Then you drive along the beautiful coast for ten miles, and 5 miles or so up another mountain to Ravello.

 

Just writing about this makes me want to go back. Enjoy!

[logansnonna]

I should study the geography. Going to the farthest town from the port makes sense as I wanted to see as much of the coastline as possible. I appreciate all the input.

Marci

[euro cruiser]

If you want to see the Amalfi Coast you'll need to choose either Ravello or Positano, Sorrento won't get you there.

 

If this is a private tour, be as explicit as you can about the type of lunch experience you want and then let them suggest a place that fits your criteria (i.e. small and intimate or larger, with a water view or in the middle of town, specialty in fish, or meat, or pasta, or pizza, etc.).

[Hlitner]

First off, Sorrento is not even on the Amalfi Coast. As Euro (above says), the two most popular places on the Amalfi Coast are Positano (even popular with jet setters) and Ravello. The town of Amalfi (which lies along the coast below Ravello) is also worthy of a short visit. Any decent private tour company can get you to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast during a port day, although it will certainly be a very busy day. You should also be weary of any excursion that says "you will see Positano" which usually means you will "see" Positano from above, but not actually get to enter this charming place. Positano does not allow any tour buses to enter their street (they only have one main street) so cruise line bus tours simply get a glimpse of the city from the Amalfi Drive that runs above the city. In order to actually get into Positano you need to be in a car or van.

 

Hank

[rebeccalouiseagain]

There are cute little towns on the way to Sorrento also. The Amalfi drive is the touristy thing to do. Its a hairpin drive with dramatic views of the coastline. So if you've already done Pompeii go for it. Its a nice (if not scarey) ride.

[Carolyn R]

My first time to Naples we took a private tour which took us to Ravello, Amalfi, and along the Amalfi Coast to Positano where we had a great lunch. We only saw Positano from above and continued to Sorrento, then back to the ship. Except for a leisurely lunch, the day was a whirlwind. We only spent a very short time at each place.

 

This year I have a tour planned to Herculaneum in the morning, another leisurely lunch, and the afternoon to wander the byways of Positano which I didn't get to do the last time. To me, Sorrento was a city and not particularly interesting what little I saw of it. I have discovered that my travel style is less is better, savoring more, taking my time.

 

Enjoy Italy!

[CannotWait2Go]

Sorrento is best for shopping - leather, lemoncello (a lemon liquor). For pure scenic beauty, Ravello. It's amazing.

 

To get to Ravello, you will drive past Positano. It's enough to get the postcard view :p

[caripoo]

Positiano is the most charming. Eat at Chez Black right on the sand, you won't be dissapointed!!!:o:o

[chipmaster]

The views from Ravello are to die for, the other towns are also cute, but if you choose to do 1/2 day AM Pompeii and afternoon the coast you can have your cake and eat it too, almost.

[Hlitner]

Sorrento is best for shopping - leather, lemoncello (a lemon liquor). For pure scenic beauty, Ravello. It's amazing.

 

To get to Ravello, you will drive past Positano. It's enough to get the postcard view :p

 

We must respectfully disagree. Seeing Positano from the road is like seeing New York City from the New Jersey Turnpike. Positano is a lot more then a pretty picture, its a very interesting city. The myth that you only need to look at Positano from the road is perpetuated by bus tours...because they are not permitted to enter the town. We have spent two extended vacation on the Amalfi Coast (we stay in a small town called Praiano) and go into Positano many times a week and love every visit.

 

Hank

[TLCOhio]

The views from Ravello are to die for, the other towns are also cute, but if you choose to do 1/2 day AM Pompeii and afternoon the coast you can have your cake and eat it too, almost.

 

caripoo: Positiano is the most charming. Eat at Chez Black right on the sand' date=' you won't be dissapointed!! [/quote']

 

Hlitner: We must respectfully disagree. Seeing Positano from the road is like seeing New York City from the New Jersey Turnpike. Positano is a lot more then a pretty picture' date=' its a very interesting city. The myth that you only need to look at Positano from the road is perpetuated by bus tours...because they are not permitted to enter the town. We have spent two extended vacation on the Amalfi Coast (we stay in a small town called Praiano) and go into Positano many times a week and love every visit. Hank [/quote']

 

CannotWait2Go: Sorrento is best for shopping - leather' date=' lemoncello (a lemon liquor). [b']For pure scenic beauty, Ravello. It's amazin[/b]g.

 

Getting ready for a return trip to the Amalfi Coast area on our June 7-19 Med cruise, I'm glad to read the different comments on how wonderful is Ravello. That's on our upcoming to-do list, along with Herculaneum, etc., during our private tour in this area while docked in Naples on June 11. Previously in 1999, we had four days by land tour for this region, allowing us to do Capri, Pompeii, Positano (including Chez Black's great Fisherman's Stew), etc. Below are a few of my photo examples for what there's to see and do in Positano and Pompeii. Lots and lots of great options in this area. You can't do it "ALL" in just one port day.

 

Sorrento is great for shopping, including carved wood items. It's an interesting town. We liked it. BUT, Positano, as noted by Hank, is much more charming and unique than Sorrento. Positano does requires walking down to water level to see "IT". You can't just "drive-by" to look from the top level.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now over 40,180 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Positano is uniquely built along the slopping mountain side. Here's an artist's view as he paints this scenic site. Plus, here's a second view for how this beautiful village "hangs" or stacks up along the water.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some samples of what we saw in Pompeii with our guide. There are a wide variety of buildings, interiors, art and architectural objects, etc. Very interesting and super historic!!!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An example of the art on the walls within a residence in Pompeii. Amazing sites and sights in this historic area.:

 

[Hlitner]

Terry, You are going to absolutely love Ravello and you better make sure your camera battery is fully charged. This town is one of those Holy Grails for photographers so pray for good weather. By the way, even the road up to Ravello is picturesque if they take you up the narrow 2 lane road that starts just past Amalfi. This road actually has some 1 lane areas so cars, and buses, have to stop for a few minutes (they have a light system) to wait for traffic coming the other way. I think this road might be called the via Cigliani, which is the way we have driven up to this town on our 2 visits. We have been led to believe that there is another easier route used by some of the excursion buses...although we have never seen this other road. DW just reminded me that she had the best Lemoncello "ever" in Ravello...but she does not remember the name of the shop (darn shame).

 

Hank

[TLCOhio]

Terry, You are going to absolutely love Ravello and you better make sure your camera battery is fully charged. This town is one of those Holy Grails for photographers so pray for good weather. By the way, even the road up to Ravello is picturesque if they take you up the narrow 2 lane road that starts just past Amalfi. This road actually has some 1 lane areas so cars, and buses, have to stop for a few minutes (they have a light system) to wait for traffic coming the other way. I think this road might be called the via Cigliani, which is the way we have driven up to this town on our 2 visits. We have been led to believe that there is another easier route used by some of the excursion buses...although we have never seen this other road. DW just reminded me that she had the best Lemoncello "ever" in Ravello...but she does not remember the name of the shop (darn shame). Hank

 

Appreciate, Hank, this great validation for visiting Ravello, plus the other specifics and suggestions in this area. I have saved these wonderful notes from you to my trip file, plus will be sharing them with our tour guide and the others in our group. Keep those great ideas rolling along.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now over 40,215 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[Dunmore2]

Ravello was our favorite as well, Positano the second. The gardens of Villa Cimbrone in Ravello were beautiful with great views of the coast. Very peaceful and uncrowded after a busy cruise.

 

In Positano we ate a delicious pastry "coda d'Aragosta", a local sfogiata (?) filled with chantilly cream. The table was on a scenic patio across from a small grocery store where we bought capers preserved in salt and took many photos of their lemon displays. Cappuchino was very good there too.

[TLCOhio]

Ravello was our favorite as well, Positano the second. The gardens of Villa Cimbrone in Ravello were beautiful with great views of the coast. Very peaceful and uncrowded after a busy cruise. In Positano we ate a delicious pastry "coda d'Aragosta", a local sfogiata (?) filled with chantilly cream. The table was on a scenic patio across from a small grocery store where we bought capers preserved in salt and took many photos of their lemon displays. Cappuchino was very good there too.

 

THANKS! Great report, details and info to get. Keep it coming. Less than two weeks to go till our flights out. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our last July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now over 41,490 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[joespin]

We will be in Naples for one day of our cruise. We have already been to Pompeii, Capri and the Blue Grotto. We do want to do the Almafi coast road with stops in Ravello and Postiano however everything we see online is 450 Euro’s and up. Does anyone know of a cheaper way to do this drive? TIA

[MarleneAm]

The cheapest way is to take the local train from Naples to Sorrento and transfer to the Sita bus to Amalfi. If you want to see Ravello you will have to take another bus at Amalfi to Ravello.

Then you will have to take these buses and trains back to make your ship. Better idea: Go on your cruise's rollcall and see if you can get 2 other couples to come with you and split the cost of a private excursion. Then you will have a much better time with fewer worries about returning to the ship.

[joespin]

The cheapest way is to take the local train from Naples to Sorrento and transfer to the Sita bus to Amalfi. If you want to see Ravello you will have to take another bus at Amalfi to Ravello.

Then you will have to take these buses and trains back to make your ship. Better idea: Go on your cruise's rollcall and see if you can get 2 other couples to come with you and split the cost of a private excursion. Then you will have a much better time with fewer worries about returning to the ship.

 

 

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like a lot of transfering.

I do have a tour set up on the Roll Call but no one seems interested.It's with shareashoreexcursioninitaly.com and would be very reasonable if I can get 3 other couples to join. You would think in a ship that holds about 3000 people there would be someone, but still after two weeks on the board, no takers. The cruise is on June 27th so my time is running out.:(

[numbersix]

We will be in Naples for one day of our cruise. We have already been to Pompeii, Capri and the Blue Grotto. We do want to do the Almafi coast road with stops in Ravello and Postiano however everything we see online is 450 Euro’s and up. Does anyone know of a cheaper way to do this drive? TIA

 

I would say to try to round up a total of 6 or 8 people on your roll call to share a private tour, so that 450 or 550 Euro works out to between 56 (based on 8) and 92 Euro (based on 6) each for a fabulous day. Either that, or rent a car, but parking is horrendous on the Amalfi Coast.

[numbersix]

Sorry...you beat me to it...I see now your response from 4:10 today, lamenting the lack of response from the roll call. One of the challenges in getting people together for a private tour on the Amalfi Coast is that the cruise lines have everyone absolutely terrified of 'missing the ship', so that most people (to their detriment) book ship's tours (and, as a result, miss so much).

 

Good luck!

[ariawoman]

We went to Ravello a few years ago. There is a church there I believe where they have the blood of this one saint, and every year, I believe on my birthday (which is why i remember the date lol) 5/19, the blood liquifies. Crazy stuff. Anyway you can tour that church and see the blood in the vial in the back of the church.

 

The town is very quaint, with some very nice views. unfortunately, it rained on our 1/2 day there. :( There was a cute little ceramic shop if i remember correctly as well, where they had a ton of beautiful hand painted dishes/dinnerware/etc for sale. Gotta be careful in there though, there's so much stuff you can easily bump into something and instantly own it :-)

[hylasgirl]

We will be in Naples for one day of our cruise. We have already been to Pompeii, Capri and the Blue Grotto. We do want to do the Almafi coast road with stops in Ravello and Postiano however everything we see online is 450 Euro’s and up. Does anyone know of a cheaper way to do this drive? TIA

 

 

If it's at all possible, hook up with people on your Roll Call to share one of these private tours. The cost ends up being so affordable at that point, and it's really hard to beat a private day tour from this port.