The Amalfi Coast in September

Hello everyone.

Just a few questions from a solo traveller.

I'll be spending the better part of this coming August in Croatia. However I'd also like to make a quick side trip to the Amalfi coast in Italy. My plan is to catch a ferry from Split to Ancona in the first week of September, before travelling overland down to one of the towns on the Amalfi coast.

1. Is early September a good time to visit the Amalfi coast? Although, from what I understand, August is the peak holiday season, will the
coast still be crowded and overpriced in early September? If the second-half of September is the better option, will it still be warm
enough to swim?

2. How soon should I book ahead for accomodation on the Amalfi coast?

3. If I stay in one town (e.g. Positano), are the other towns along the coast a comfortable daytrip? In other words, are they within
reasonable distance from one another?

4. What would be the best way to travel overland (i.e. bus or train) from Ancona to the Amalfi coast (via Naples, i'm presuming)? How
long would such a trip take?

5. Finally, how easy or hard is it to find accomodation in Naples in the first-half of September? (I've heard that the city is virtually
half-closed during August for Ferragosto).

Any other advice for a newcomer to Italy would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.

We had a week on the Amalfi coast at the end of September and it was still really warm/hot. Fine for swimming although there's not really many beaches as such. I'd suggest staying in Sorrento. You can catch a regular train to Pompeii, about 30 mins away and buses to Amalfi and Positano. Also you can catch a ferry to Capri and other islands. Sorrento is a good base because it's 'in the middle' of most popular places and has good transort connections. It was still very busy at the end of September.

Hi! Check out my post on the other Amalfi Coast question...Metrò del Mare is the best option http://www.metrodelmare.com/<BR><BR>Ciao

Hello Dagama , these are my suggestion: 1)Would be better the second half of September. Less crowded and better price
Will be still warm 2) 30/45 days before 3) My suggestion is to stay in Sorrento from there you can reach in one hour apx all place of the Amalfi coast ( i.e. Positano and Amalfi) with public bus . Further you can go easily to Pompei ( 30minutes) and to the main island Capri ( 30 minutes ) and Ischia (1 hour). Sorrento is plenty of hotels from the luxury one to the cheap one and/or B&B. JUST TO HAVE AN IDEA YOU CAN SEE WWW.UPSA.ORG/SORRENTO_HOTELS.PHP You will found all hotels with the location, the price and the website.4) From Ancona you have to reach by train Rome and from there you have to take another train.With fast train the trip will take 5/6 hours.For the timetable see www.trenitalia.it 5) I don't think will be difficult to find an hotel in Naples the first half of September but again my suggestion is to stay in Sorrento and reach Naples for day trip.With the Circumvesuviana train you will arrive in Naples in one hour. Have a nice trip Giancarlo (italyinexpensively.com)

It's a long way to go just for the Amalfi coast. It's beautiful, yes, but will still be pretty crowded in early Sept. And it's a long way from Ancona - 3 hrs by train to Rome, then 3 more to Naples, then at least 2 more to Amalfi. Naples accomodation no problem.

Grazie to everyone for their advice!

if you end up at sorrento..

i highly recommend porto salvo(its a quiet monastery with a small bar) at Sant'Agnello- its about a mile from sorrento

for dinner, i highly highly recommend Sorrento Culinary School. its on the way from Sant'Agnello to Sorrento ( in a little alley) . the best 3 course meal i had for 15 euros (including octopus :) ! They serve dinner at 8 PM (theres a day or two in the week when they don't - so check before you go ) its totally worth a visit.

My wife and I will be spending about five days in Amalfi during the early part of this September.

It is a part of Italy that really interests us very much. BUT, the one caveat here is all the STAIRS
to climb!...in order to get to your hotel!...am I wrong here?....thats what I'm getting from all the
Amalfi info that I'm reading.

And, what about our baggage? I'm seventy-five years old, and in pretty good shape, but I
don't want to carry luggage UPHILL!.am I wong here?...

Without the luggage, I'm okay with uphill steps...so, does your hotel handle that with a smile?
I'm also looking for a good hotel with a view of il Mare... and, that appears to be a bit of a problem.
September, amalfi is still bustling with touists, and hotels are on the expensive side.

Hotel LaBussola sounded just right for us, but my inquiry said that they were all booked.
I like to swim, and I'd prefer a hotel rather close to a good swimming area.

I've got a ton of other questions, but I'll hold off until I get a response from this one.
Grazie a tutti
poppy31