Travelling up Amalfi Coast?

teaspoon1

What's the best way? Can we do it by public transport (train/bus) and hop off at nice places on the way? Or would we need a car?

Any tips for the Amalfi Coast would be very welcome also. What sights/ places would you class as unmissable? What towns etc are nice? Has anyone stayed at vineyards in the area? Any links?

Thank you.

weejenny

Public transport is good. We took the bus from Sorrento to other resorts like Amalfi and Revello. The view was better of the coastline than we had when we’d hired a car on a previous holiday (we stayed in Amalfi that time). We then took a boat back to Sorrento from Amalfi.
The buses went to all the major places but do get very busy at times. The boats were good but you must be careful as some tourist ones are very expensive so we used the ones the locals used.
We loved all the towns, as they are so very different. There are some bits that you can’t get to by bus but you can always return if you like the area.
From Sorrento we took the train to both Naples and Pompeii. Although we loved Amalfi we found that by staying in Sorrento we had more options using public transport.
Just as an aside the parking is expensive and sometimes hard to find.
Enjoy your holiday:cool:

Biggles

We have stayed at Amalfi and Positano and each time have seen other towns by public transport.

The public ferries (traghetti) are not much more expensive than the buses and a great deal quicker. Plus you get some great views.

The locals always recommend that visitors don't rent a car. The roads, while interesting(!), are tortuous and I imagine it can be scary to enter a hairpin and find a coach coming the other way on the wrong side of the road and making you back up. Scooters, however, are highly recommended!

markelock

We went by boat, I couldn't face the roads based on people's experiences. On a good day, the views are quite breathtaking, and it's not prohibitively expensive.

Blue264

weejenny wrote: »

We loved all the towns, as they are so very different. There are some bits that you can’t get to by bus but you can always return if you like the area.
From Sorrento we took the train to both Naples and Pompeii. Although we loved Amalfi we found that by staying in Sorrento we had more options using public transport.

Exactly as I did it.
Stick to the buses. Local transport for local people
You may end up sitting next to a cage full of chickens (as I did) but at least the bus drivers do this route every day of the week and don't brick it as I would definately have done if I'd attempted the Amalfi drive.
It isn't a case of the road not being for the faint hearted. I believe it was specifically designed for complete masochists!

I loved Positano and Amalfi but Ravello took the biscuit.
For me, Ravello is heaven on Earth.
It's a tiny cliff top village with stunning views along the Amalfi coast.

The list of greats who adored Ravello is as long as your arm...Wagner, D.H. Lawrence (who wrote 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' there) , Virginia Woolf, Tennessee Williams, Churchill, Caruso, Garbo eloped to Ravello, etc...

And for me, the highlight is the utterly blissful Villa Cimbrone.

http://www.villacimbrone.com/en/

p.s. I went to Amalfi and Ravello one saturday in June a few years ago and ended up being the accidental guest at no less than 3 weddings. It was like the opening scenes from 'The Godfather' but spectacular.

nearlyrich

We rented a car and it was fine however the Italians are maniacs on the road and if the road is a hairpin bend with a 500m drop to cliffs below so much the better LOL.

It's a fantastic part of the world you won't be disappointed....

coolagarry

A beautiful place for a holiday. I agree with everything said before and would add that two of the places which enjoyed the most were Capri and Pompeii.
I was fortunate to be there for 27th June and was able to take advantage of all the festivities for St Andrew. Bands in the street and Fireworks resounding off the cliffs... an amazing experience.
http://www.uniquecostiera.com/amalfiCoastTraditionalEvents.html

teaspoon1

Thanks for the suggestions so far, very kind of you all! Keep them coming.

Do you need a car to stay in Sorrento? Most of the hotels/B&Bs seem to be in hills and not accessible on foot. We will probably leave the hire car at Salerno so need to know what to do from there (i.e. how to get to Ravello/Sorrento, how to get to our accommodation that we haven;t even booked yet).

Just booked two nights in Reggio beforehand, anyone stayed there? It looks nice.

Blue264

coolagarry wrote: »

A beautiful place for a holiday. I agree with everything said before and would add that two of the places which enjoyed the most were Capri and Pompeii.

Totally agree.
Pompeii is staggering! An unforgettable experience, and cheesy as it may be, I spent a baking hot sunday afternoon sitting in the ampitheatre with an Aussie couple listening to Pink Floyd-Live At Pompeii. Also tagged along with a group of German tourists who had a guide and got free entry into the brothel. The frescos on the walls of the waiting room were like a Chinese menu of !!!!!!. It's incredible stuff and gives a real insight inot the lives of the original inhabitants, but I found the Villa Of Mysteries quite disturbing.

Capri...Ahhh! Capri!
My expectations were low. I'd been forewarned that it was very commercial, expensive and the bastion of wealthy German tourists. I got a cheap a chips fishing boat to the island and the ferry back and fell for the charms of the island. It really is what you make it.
Favourite place there is the Villa San Michele. I'd actually take it over the villa of Tiberius. http://www.capri.net/en/c/villa-san-michele-2

Blue264

teaspoon1 wrote: »

Do you need a car to stay in Sorrento? Most of the hotels/B&Bs seem to be in hills and not accessible on foot. We will probably leave the hire car at Salerno so need to know what to do from there (i.e. how to get to Ravello/Sorrento, how to get to our accommodation that we haven;t even booked yet).

I didn't use a car at all because I'd been warned about the roads and local drivers. We got the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi and a second bus up past La Scala to Ravello. For me, the local bus service is so cheap that it wiped out any possible advantage to hiring a car.
Accomodation in Sorrento should be very easy to arrange because it hardly changes. The town ran out of planning permission in 1974 so any new properties have to be built to match the foundation dimensions and height of the building they're replacing (to preserve the skyline).
I stayed at the Minerva on Via Capo and got it for a reasonable rate http://www.minervasorrento.com/ Booking that hotel is one of those decisions that I will never, ever regret.
I book the big corporate chain hotels for a living so when I go on holiday, I always try to book family owned, unique properties. The Minerva is one of those...the kind of place where the staff will recommend their cousin's restaurant in town and book a table for you when he calls in with their supper on the late shift and get you a guest discount. When the reataurant is this... http://www.lanticatrattoria.com/ who am I to complain. Divine location facing the cloisters of Santa Chiara, and fabulous food.

EDIT: I've just checked out some reviews of the Minerva and, apparently, Liberato and Angelo still work there. Liberato is one of the most naturally funny people I have ever met and Angelo is his perfect partner in crime.

teaspoon1

Lovely. I almost feel as if I am there already! Thank you Blue264. More of the same... please!