Enough Time for Amalfi Coast/Sorrento/Etc from Naples

[mresera]

I have one day in Naples and I have been looking at some great tours that include Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Positano, etc. I would love to do this, but have heard that traffic can be horrible and it would be too much driving for one day. Is this correct? We will be there on a Sunday. Should we try to do a tour like this or should we be more conservative and consider a tour in Capri instead? Thanks

[Hlitner]

I have one day in Naples and I have been looking at some great tours that include Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Positano, etc. I would love to do this, but have heard that traffic can be horrible and it would be too much driving for one day. Is this correct? We will be there on a Sunday. Should we try to do a tour like this or should we be more conservative and consider a tour in Capri instead? Thanks

 

That would be a reasonable tour for a port day. When driving from (or to) Naples, Sorrento is on the direct route to get to the Amalfi Drive. We suggest that any tour of the Amalfi Coast include (at a minimum) visits to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Because Positano does not allow any tour buses to enter....this can only be achieved through a smaller tour in a car or van. Traffic can be a bit difficult..but not a major problem when you have an entire port day.

 

Hank

[Joisey Guy]

That would be a reasonable tour for a port day. When driving from (or to) Naples, Sorrento is on the direct route to get to the Amalfi Drive. We suggest that any tour of the Amalfi Coast include (at a minimum) visits to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Because Positano does not allow any tour buses to enter....this can only be achieved through a smaller tour in a car or van. Traffic can be a bit difficult..but not a major problem when you have an entire port day.

 

Hank

We've hired a car and driver for a mid-August visit. Is it possible to do the itinerary you've described AND tour Pompeii? If not, which destination should we skip? We've been told not to miss Ravello, but I suppose everyone has their personal favorite.

 

Thanks,

 

 

JG

[weaselwatchr]

We were there in November and toured Pompeii, Sorrento, and Positano. Had plenty of time to get back to the ship.

[wurmine]

It really depends on the tiome of year. Heavy traffic in July and August- no problem for the rest of the year, I´d say. But you can easily do that tour- in Positano you have to walk , otherwise you won´t see the nicest parts. So you need a longer stop there.

Capri is a great trip too. Very easy - get a ferry and on the island, you have taxi and busses. In summer, it is very crowded too.

[luvn2cruzzz]

Could someone please tell me about walking in Positano. Where does the van driver/guide drop you off? How difficult is the walking? Any recommendations for lunch? Thanks!

[maidncruze]

We were there last August and on possibly the busiest day of the month (Ferragosto - national holiday).

 

We hired a private driver and we had no problem seeing Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello.

 

We even had time for a magnificant lunch in Positano.

[Hlitner]

We've hired a car and driver for a mid-August visit. Is it possible to do the itinerary you've described AND tour Pompeii? If not, which destination should we skip? We've been told not to miss Ravello, but I suppose everyone has their personal favorite.

 

Thanks,

 

 

JG

 

With a car and driver, and assuming a relatively long port day, you would be able to visit both Pompeii and the Amafli Coast. Of course the key would be limiting your time at Pompeii to perhaps 1 1/2 hours max. One way a driver can get all of this done is to only use the Amalfi Drive during one leg of the journey and using the faster road to get back to Naples. A typical tour would be to immediately drive to Pompeii so you can get there around the 8:30 opening time. Once you leave Pompeii then the driver will probably continue towards Sorrento where they pick-up the Amalfi Drive. At that point you get the views along the famous road until you get to Positano where you spend some time walking around this fascinating town. Then they continue along the Amafli Drive to Amalfi where you can spend some time walking around this very small town. Then the driver continues up to the hilltop town of Revello (one of my favorite places on the Amalfi Coast). To return to Naples there is another route (not the Amalfi Drive) which saves a little time and avoids the traffic along the 2 lane coast road.

 

Hank

[phillygirl63]

We did the Amalfi coast with a private driver. Our day included Sorrento, Positano, and Pompeii. Our driver knew exactly how much time we should spend in each town. We even had enough time for lunch at a restaurant at the top of the mountain in Positano. I would recommend having your tour company arrange for a private guide in Pompeii so that you get to see all the highlights and know what you are looking at.

[GOWONSTOKE]

Can only advise you Capril is full-day tour. You take hydrofoils next to Port and organised tour takes you from Capri dock (small) up the mountain to Anacapri (lovely place) thence you can take cable-car to very top of Capril (spectacular views). note cable-car is on a loop-system one person at a time

small children will be a problem.

 

We had no time to see Sorrento or Amalfi coast this time.

[Hlitner]

Can only advise you Capril is full-day tour. You take hydrofoils next to Port and organised tour takes you from Capri dock (small) up the mountain to Anacapri (lovely place) thence you can take cable-car to very top of Capril (spectacular views). note cable-car is on a loop-system one person at a time

small children will be a problem.

 

We had no time to see Sorrento or Amalfi coast this time.

 

Although we agree that Capri should be a full day visit (DW loves the island) one should keep in mind that you do not need to spend an entire day on Capri if it does not fit your schedule. Many folks go to this island without a "tour" as its an easy place to navigate on your own. We know quite a few folks (including ourselves) who have combined a visit to Pompeii with Capri (and Sorrento) during a port day...which can be done by using trains and the jetboats/hydrofoils. But its not something we generally recommend. We think the minimum time on Capri should be 3 hours (and this is reallly minimal) which does not really allow time to do several things such as taking the cable car up from Anacapri.

 

Hank

P.S. agree about the chair lift from Anacapri which are single chairs where your legs dangle. It is not for young children or anyone afraid of heights.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We were there in May. We did Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, stopping at Ravello the longest, Positano about 45 minutes, with brief stops along the way and at Amalfi.

 

I could have skipped Sorrento, but our group of 8 decided to take the ferry back to the ship from there, which gave us a little more time on the coast.

 

Our guide dropped us off at a parking garage at the top of Positano. The streets meandered down to the sea, not too bad, but of course harder coming back up. We were 66 and had no problems, but we are in good health.

 

We spent about 2 hours in Pompeii and could have spent longer. If you can limit your time there, you'll have more time on the coast. Get off the ship as early as possible because the Amalfi Coast drive is long, slow in areas and it's hard to see it all. More time would have been great, but we wanted to see as much as possible.

 

We chose to have a quicker lunch at Ravello rather than a long dinner to maximize the time we had on the drive. The Amalfi Coast is absolutely amazing and more stunning than I ever imagined.