Honeymoon Discussions

Has anyone here been to the Amalfi coast area?

I'm trying to decide how to spend 4 nights/5 days in the Amalfi coast region.  Please take my poll and help!

Positano was our first choice, but I kid you not, it is all booked up!  The only hotels left are more than we wanted to pay. :(

Praiano is close to Positano, looks similar, and there's a couple of nice places available in our price range.  Pros: it's gorgeous and more authentic.  Cons: it's further away from the main attractions, and everything is up a big hill so we'd have to rely on the buses to walk around.  

Sorrento has a TON of lodging options in our price range. But from what I've heard, it's super touristy.  Which has it's perks - pretty much everyone speaks English, it's very easy to get around, etc.  But it's also a bigger city, more crowded, and less authentic.  

And of course the last option is to do both - 2 nights in Sorrento AND 2 nights in Praiano.  Pro: get the best of both worlds.  Con: we'd lose some precious Italy checking in/out of hotels. 

Re: Has anyone here been to the Amalfi coast area?

  • We spent 5 nights at Le Sirenuse in Positano.  It truly is the best place to stay on the Amalfi Coast, especially if you want easy access to the sea AND you want a quiet, authentic experience.  Sorrento did not appeal to us at all so we didn't even consider it. 

    Are you sure that all of the hotels in Positano in your price range are booked?  There are so many hotels there you just need to do some digging on the Internet.  Do no rely on what comes up on any of the major travel booking sites.  Look at Tripadvisor and go one by one through the list of hotels there. 
  • PP, trip advisor is where I looked.  I seriously spent this morning going through all 39 hotels listed there and all but like 3 or 4 were booked for our dates. :(  Although one was within reach, so if it really is the best place to stay we could swing it.  

    Did you find it easy to get around?  That's the #1thing I'm nervous about on this trip is how we'll get around!  Everything seems like it's up on a tall hill so you need to rely on buses to get back home at night.

    Any specific recommendations for restaurants and day trips you'd like to share?
  • I've only been to Capri and that was as a day trip, but I was under the impression that most of the popular towns on the Amalfi coast are so close together that it doesn't really matter which city you stay in?  (Because you can take public transportation to the other towns fairly easily).  I could be wrong though....
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  • My fiance and I will be planning for a honeymoon in Amalfo coast as well.  We did a lot of research and have chosen Praiano.  Just like previous poster mentioned, everything is relatively close by and we really are looking for something semi secluded, relaxing and low-key.  For that reason Sorrento was not in the running.

    This is most likely the hotel we'll be staying at;
    http://www.pensione-pellegrino.it/en/index.asp

    Good luck.  Let us know what you've chosen!


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  • Ohhh my goondess the Amalfi coast is amazing!! You have to do a day trip to Capri and enjoy the sights without paying a fortune to stay there. Sorrento was my all time favorite place I visited in all of Italy. It was so amazing and quiant and beautiful. Everything smells like lemons and it is so wonderful. I am getting jealous of your HM just remembering it! Good luck and you will love anywhere you go on the Amalfi Coast!
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  • edited August 2010
    chantelcutie7, that's so funny, I looked into that hotel too!!!  It was rated the most romantic hotel on the Amalfi coast on trip advisor, so I thought, that sounds perfect for a honeymoon, lol!  I actually emailed back and forth with the owner just last night, but unfortunately, they don't have a room available for the nights we'd be there so it doesn't look like it's going to work out for us. :(  Although the owner invited us to come visit the hotel anyway, and he'll give us a glass of wine and some lemon cake, lol. 
  • Update: we will most likely spend 3 nights in Praiano and 2 nights in Sorrento.  We were originally going to spend that 5th night in Salerno b/c we can catch the train right from there to Venice, but nothing in Salerno excited us at all, so we're scrapping that plan.  I just couldn't justify the high prices in Positano, especially considering how close it is to Praiano - we'll just hop on a bus and spend the day there, then come back to our cheaper hotel at night!  I know Sorrento is touristy, but it is convenient as the main train line runs right through there and it's a great spot to go see Capri from.  So I think that will be a good compromise. :)  I'll be sure to come back and let you know how it turned out!  
  • Ohhhhh im so jealous! Positano is the BY FAR the most beautiful place in the entire world!! :) I would live there if had the chance. I lived in Rome for six months and we traveled here only for a weekend, but I loved it!! It is just a quick train ride to any major city, which would be awesome! I would highly suggest Capri instead of Sorrento however! :) good luck and you can always PM me if you need any advice!  btw here is a pic of me in Positano!!
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  • I think that this decision is personal because it really depends what you are looking to do on your trip.  My husband and I spent 4 nights in Rome to do "touristy" things, 5 in Positano and then our last 3 in Capri. 

    We were looking to relax on the Amalfi Coast so finding a hotel in the perfect location with everything we needed within walking distance was key for us.  We spent our entire stay lounging by the pool, on boat rides or walking around Positano.  We did not go to any of the towns nearby and only got in a car once to go to a restaurant up in the mountains.  We walked to the rest of the restaurants that we went to for dinner. 

    We took a tour of Pompeii on the drive from Naples to Positano and we spent 3 nights in Capri so we didn't need to do a day trip there. 

    I would actually not recommend a day trip to Capri as a good way to see the island.  It is so crowded during the day and you really don't get a great feel for Capri.  If you stay for a couple of nights you will get to experience the real Capri which was lovely. 

    If you do go to Positano for dinner, our favorite meal was at a place called Ristorante Max.  There is no sea view from the restaurant but the food was amazing.   We really enjoyed the views at Le Terrazze and the pizza was great at Ristorante Saraceno d'Oro.  The food is amazing everywhere in Italy and I especially love being able to eat every single meal outside! 

    Let me know if you have any other questions about the Positano area. 

  • If things seem booked have you tried going through a travel agent? They sometimes block rooms off at hotels. Our agent got us a great deal in Hawaii (better than listed on the website). So a travel agent might be able to save you money too, if they have connections with the hotel.

  • I stayed in Sorrento and although it was beautiful and I had a great time, I did find it to be very "busy" (although it was in August, which is a very busy time). I would highly recommend that if you stay there that you spend a good bit of time in Capri, which was astoundingly beautiful. It looks like you are planning on it so have a great time!
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_anyone-here-amalfi-coast-area?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:e2b5f636-8458-45b5-badc-c2376ba717bePost:34563182-106a-44e4-88e7-7c763ce415d3">Re: Has anyone here been to the Amalfi coast area?</a>:
    [QUOTE]chantelcutie7 , that's so funny, I looked into that hotel too!!!  It was rated the most romantic hotel on the Amalfi coast on trip advisor, so I thought, that sounds perfect for a honeymoon, lol!  I actually emailed back and forth with the owner just last night, but unfortunately, they don't have a room available for the nights we'd be there so it doesn't look like it's going to work out for us. :(  Although the owner invited us to come visit the hotel anyway, and he'll give us a glass of wine and some lemon cake, lol. 
    Posted by cmkuno[/QUOTE]

    it's nice to know that the owner seems really friendly!...
     I forgot to ask...when are you looking to go on your trip? just wondering because I'm not sure how far in advance to book ours...since you're saying everything is booked up, I want to be sure we're able to book this hotel :)

    I like the idea of spliting the trip into two locations.
    be sure to keep us posted!
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_anyone-here-amalfi-coast-area?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:e2b5f636-8458-45b5-badc-c2376ba717bePost:2cf0cd34-1a10-44d0-9fe4-be0c9996cc91">Re: Has anyone here been to the Amalfi coast area?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Has anyone here been to the Amalfi coast area? : it's nice to know that the owner seems really friendly!...  I forgot to ask...when are you looking to go on your trip? just wondering because I'm not sure how far in advance to book ours...since you're saying everything is booked up, I want to be sure we're able to book this hotel :) I like the idea of spliting the trip into two locations. be sure to keep us posted!
    Posted by chantelcutie7[/QUOTE]

    <div>Trip countdown ticker is in my siggy - 3.5 weeks and counting!!!  This is cutting it bit close for me, but unfortunately I had some circumstances that made it impossible to book any earlier (I just got offered a new job so I had to clear my travel dates with my new employer).  Last time we went to Italy, we booked about 2 months out and had no problem.  I personally don't like to book super far out because things come up that you wouldn't expect! </div>
  • Chantel - when are you going to be in Italy?  If you are going to be there during peak season I would probably suggest booking about 4-5 months in advance.  We booked our July honeymoon in February and we were finding that some hotels were already booked or that all room categories were not available.  One of the hotels we were interested in for Capri was already fully booked so we missed out on that opportunity.  Thankfully, our hotel in Positano was still available because I would have been heartbroken if we couldn't have stayed there! 
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