Amalfi Coast, Italy

I spent a week on the Amalfi Coast several years ago and had a wonderful time. I flew to Rome and then caught the train down to Naples. From Naples it's worthwhile also going to Pompei if that interests you.


For hotels, you're better off just going on the internet and doing some research. I'm sorry, I can't remember the names of the ones I stayed in.


The best time to avoid is August when Italy "shuts down" for the summer holidays and so the Amalfi coast will be vrey crowded with holidaying Italians as well as the usual tourists.


I went to Amalfi, Sorrento and Positano, which is probably one of the most beautiful places in the world.


Have a great holiday and make sure you drink lots of limoncello liqueur which is in abundance as it's made in that region.

Did the trip from London, but am guessing that the Rome suggetsion would be the best routing from HK.


Not sure what your budget is, but would highly recommend the San Pietro in Positano and La Scalinatella in Capri. We also stayed at Palazzo Sasso in Ravello, which was nice, but not as impressive as the other two. If you can do at least 2 (ideally 3) nights in each, you'll get so much more out of the trip.


I'd go in late Spring or early Autumn. Do not go to Capri unless you are staying there; it's horrific by day with all of the day trippers but magical in the morning and evening. Was not overwhelmed by Sorrento, but that may have been because we did not stay over. If you have not been to Rome before that definitely merits another few nights. Pompei is absolutely worth the trip.


One thing that terrified me was the driving. I am not usually a nervous driver and we normally hire cars everywhere we go, but I was scared by the Italians racing around the coast roads, so we just got taxis etc. You may be upto it though.


Have a wonderful trip - it's so beautiful!!!

"One thing that terrified me was the driving. I am not usually a nervous driver and we normally hire cars everywhere we go, but I was scared by the Italians racing around the coast roads, so we just got taxis etc. You may be upto it though."


A lot of my time learning to drive was in Italy. I find it much less scary than many "third world" countries. As I see it Italians are in general decent drivers with good situational awareness, but the traffic rhythm is very quick. There is little room for hesitation. Snap decisions are necessary. If you can keep up with the short decision cycles, Italian drivers generally are quite courteous. If you dawdle they show no patience.


If in doubt about directions, don't slow down to take a better look. That will infuriate people. Also many locals expect a certain speed and you risk an accident by slowing down. It's better to pull over and stop.

I'm in the scaredy cat brigade too. Have had too many Italians come at me head on because it was faster than driving on their own side of the road. Never had a problem in cities, or at night as their headlights gave me some warning, but in countryside and on coastal roads I have had a few near misses.


On the hotel front, most Americans seem to prefer Le Sireneuse to the San Pietro possibly because of its proximity to town.

Hi Doody,


Definitely go to Rome if you've never been before. It's a magical city. Spend at least 3 days there because there's so much to see. As for Naples, I wasn't that enarmoured with it at all, so I wouldn't recommend it, except for maybe getting a train to Pompei or go straight to the Amalfi coast.


On the driving side, I have to agree with Mum of 2. I'm not normally a scaredy cat, but you've never seen anything in your life until you see the way people drive around this particular area of Italy. We're talking very narrow roads, going two ways but often only wide enough for one car, on top of very high cliffs, with the sea hundreds of feet below.

Lots of good advice here. I went as a backpacker in 99 and again with my parents in 2004 and loved it all. On the second trip i booked everything through accomline.com and was not let down once. All the bookings were perfect and the places exactly how they were described on the site. I had never used the site before but use it lots now and highly recommend it.


The trains in this region are good but not fancy at all and sadly not very scenic.


You can do it in a week or a month like I did or anything in between but leave 3 days for Rome and stay in the city - there is so much to see there and a fantastic atmosphere to soak up.