Advice on Amalfi Coast Hotels/Itinerary
May 8, 2017, 1:39 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2016
Programs: United 1k, SPG Gold
Posts: 8
Advice on Amalfi Coast Hotels/Itinerary
Hello everyone,
My husband and I are planning our honeymoon to the Amalfi coast at end of June/July and would love some advice on our itinerary. We had to change our trip location about a month ago and so haven't had as much time to plan as I normally would like.
Previous posts, especially from BLV and SanDiego1k, on this forum have been enormously helpful already in helping us pick what we do have planned.
NIGHT 1 - Nothing booked - I'd like to stay somewhere nice since it's our first night, but we will probably arrive around early afternoon at the earliest. Would staying in Naples or Sorrento be better? Anything worthwhile doing that afternoon/evening in Naples?
NIGHTS 2 and 3 - Il San Pietro, Positano. It looked full all June/July but all fo BLV's pictures inspired me to check the website every day and we finally took advantage of a last minute cancellation!
NIGHTS 4 and 5 - Hotel Santa Caterina in Amalfi
NIGHTS 6 and 7 - Choice of Palazzo Avino OR Monastero Santa Rosa - thoughts? Am leaning towards Palazzo Avino but am wondering if Ravello will be too quiet / not stack up after staying closer to the coast? We want to do a day trip to Capri at some point but some of these hotels are so lovely I'm not sure we will want to leave either Il San Pietro or Santa Caterina...but it will be more of a trek from Palazzo Avino. Would have liked to stay in Capri but all the hotels I liked are full or out of our budget.
LAST NIGHT - Nothing booked but likely staying close to Naples given our flight time the next day.
We want to optimize for beautiful views, nice walks/hikes nearby or reasonably accessible, great places to relax and read by water. We are easy to please on food.
Will pay it forward with some posts on where we end up staying after we get back! Thanks in advance to anyone willing to provide input.
My husband and I are planning our honeymoon to the Amalfi coast at end of June/July and would love some advice on our itinerary. We had to change our trip location about a month ago and so haven't had as much time to plan as I normally would like.
Previous posts, especially from BLV and SanDiego1k, on this forum have been enormously helpful already in helping us pick what we do have planned.
NIGHT 1 - Nothing booked - I'd like to stay somewhere nice since it's our first night, but we will probably arrive around early afternoon at the earliest. Would staying in Naples or Sorrento be better? Anything worthwhile doing that afternoon/evening in Naples?
NIGHTS 2 and 3 - Il San Pietro, Positano. It looked full all June/July but all fo BLV's pictures inspired me to check the website every day and we finally took advantage of a last minute cancellation!
NIGHTS 4 and 5 - Hotel Santa Caterina in Amalfi
NIGHTS 6 and 7 - Choice of Palazzo Avino OR Monastero Santa Rosa - thoughts? Am leaning towards Palazzo Avino but am wondering if Ravello will be too quiet / not stack up after staying closer to the coast? We want to do a day trip to Capri at some point but some of these hotels are so lovely I'm not sure we will want to leave either Il San Pietro or Santa Caterina...but it will be more of a trek from Palazzo Avino. Would have liked to stay in Capri but all the hotels I liked are full or out of our budget.
LAST NIGHT - Nothing booked but likely staying close to Naples given our flight time the next day.
We want to optimize for beautiful views, nice walks/hikes nearby or reasonably accessible, great places to relax and read by water. We are easy to please on food.
Will pay it forward with some posts on where we end up staying after we get back! Thanks in advance to anyone willing to provide input.
May 8, 2017, 2:40 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: AF, DL, AZ, JAL, JB, AMEX, STARWOOD
Posts: 8
It will be much more convenient for you to stay in one place-- Positanto would be best-- and then to day trips to Amalfi, Ravello etc. All of these places are very close and IMO it would be terribly inconvenient and a waste of precious time to pack and unpack, switch hotels etc.
May 8, 2017, 3:18 pm
#3
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Enroute to ? & likely flying in ' A ':)
Programs: TPPS, UA, EK ...; Marriott BONVOY , HH, GP, GC..
Posts: 4,217
It will be much more convenient for you to stay in one place-- Positanto would be best-- and then to day trips to Amalfi, Ravello etc. All of these places are very close and IMO it would be terribly inconvenient and a waste of precious time to pack and unpack, switch hotels etc.
And welcome descartes12 !
Congratulations sunnyskiesCA !!
The food at ISP is superb too
, so are the views / grounds . Just stay .Then hire a chauffeur
to drive you around & explore coast , etc . Also dine / lunch at Don AlfonsoPaging TheDaddy ..
Naples suggestions please
May 8, 2017, 3:26 pm
#4
Community Director Emerita
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 33,735
Did you know that if you type @TheDaddy, he will get a notification? It's a nice improvement that has been added on FlyerTalk in recent weeks.
May 8, 2017, 3:48 pm
#5
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Enroute to ? & likely flying in ' A ':)
Programs: TPPS, UA, EK ...; Marriott BONVOY , HH, GP, GC..
Posts: 4,217
Did you know that if you type @TheDaddy, he will get a notification? It's a nice improvement that has been added on FlyerTalk in recent weeks.
I should type in more " handles " too then !
He helped us a whole lot . With suggestions , language & even with chauffeurs & showing us hidden ( to us anyway ) spots he frequents ^
Had lots of arm exercises signing , like charades really , to our helpful chauffeur / photographer except we did not know what other party said
. Rather amusing at times 
Time to return !
May 8, 2017, 4:04 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2016
Programs: United 1k, SPG Gold
Posts: 8
It will be much more convenient for you to stay in one place-- Positanto would be best-- and then to day trips to Amalfi, Ravello etc. All of these places are very close and IMO it would be terribly inconvenient and a waste of precious time to pack and unpack, switch hotels etc.
I do hate moving around though, which would be a + for picking Monastero Santa Rosa over Palazzo Avino since the former is only 10 min from Santa Caterina.
May 8, 2017, 4:05 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2016
Programs: United 1k, SPG Gold
Posts: 8
@SanDiego1K, thank you for the advice (and also the news about adding the @!)...I really appreciate it! I am very much leaning towards Palazzo Avino.
May 8, 2017, 8:58 pm
#9
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Canada
Programs: Virtuoso TA, Four Seasons Pref Partner, Rosewood Elite TA, Ritz Carlton STARS TA
Posts: 4,733
What time is your flight? Ravello is pretty close to the highway that heads back up towards Naples. Drive time isn't as bad as from Positano. I think 6,7 & 8 could be in Ravello. Avino really is a special hotel (as is Caruso, but Avino's lead in rooms are often less costly)
May 8, 2017, 11:35 pm
#10
Community Director Emerita
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 33,735
This is a really good point. We drove to Ravello first on our trip and then returned from Positano. The Ravello drive was much quicker. The drive from Positano was almost scary at points, with a very narrow road barely big enough for cars. Yet tour buses were using it. You do not want to be pressed for time when on it. It was built almost 200 years ago by Napoleonic forces. I doubt it is much wider now as there is nowhere to widen it.
May 8, 2017, 11:55 pm
#11
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: NYC
Posts: 1,005
It will be much more convenient for you to stay in one place-- Positanto would be best-- and then to day trips to Amalfi, Ravello etc. All of these places are very close and IMO it would be terribly inconvenient and a waste of precious time to pack and unpack, switch hotels etc.
Instead I'd just go out for dinners: Santa Rosa, Palazzo Avino, Le Sirenuse. Don Alfonso is also worth the 40-45 minute drive. Lunch at Il San Pietro's Carlino (accessible to hotel's guests only) is a must. I pretty much have most of my lunches there.
Hiring a boat for the day and cruising along the coast with a stop on Capri for lunch at Da Luigi ai Faraglioni, Fontelina or Conca del Sogno in Nerano is a great idea.
Regarding a hike. Just do Path of the Gods (also referred to as Walk of the Gods aka Il Sentiero degli Dei), either by yourself or with a guide (I have someone I can recommend very highly).
Oh, and congratulations! You couldn't have picked a better hotel. But then again, I'm terribly biased when it comes to ISP :-).
Last edited by BLV; May 9, 2017 at 12:02 am
May 10, 2017, 6:39 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2016
Programs: United 1k, SPG Gold
Posts: 8
Unfortunately our return flight is at 7am out of Naples 
It's a United award ticket, so I can change it for free as a 1k, but that looks to be the best choice for us. Otherwise I would stay one more night in Ravello!
It's a United award ticket, so I can change it for free as a 1k, but that looks to be the best choice for us. Otherwise I would stay one more night in Ravello!
May 10, 2017, 6:56 pm
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2016
Programs: United 1k, SPG Gold
Posts: 8
@BLV Thanks for your input and all of your great reviews over the years! I hate moving hotels and would definitely prefer to stay in only 1 or 2 places. But unfortunately we are constrained by what's available since a lot of places are only available for a few nights. We could stay longer at Santa Caterina but all of your posts made me really want to spend a few nights at Il San Pietro even if it's a bit more convenient.
Would love your recommendation for a guided hike... I will send you a message about that! Thank you!
Would love your recommendation for a guided hike... I will send you a message about that! Thank you!
I very strongly agree with the above. It's only a week, you don't want to be packing & unpacking. And welcome, Descartes!
Instead I'd just go out for dinners: Santa Rosa, Palazzo Avino, Le Sirenuse. Don Alfonso is also worth the 40-45 minute drive. Lunch at Il San Pietro's Carlino (accessible to hotel's guests only) is a must. I pretty much have most of my lunches there.
Hiring a boat for the day and cruising along the coast with a stop on Capri for lunch at Da Luigi ai Faraglioni, Fontelina or Conca del Sogno in Nerano is a great idea.
Regarding a hike. Just do Path of the Gods (also referred to as Walk of the Gods aka Il Sentiero degli Dei), either by yourself or with a guide (I have someone I can recommend very highly).
Oh, and congratulations! You couldn't have picked a better hotel. But then again, I'm terribly biased when it comes to ISP :-).
Instead I'd just go out for dinners: Santa Rosa, Palazzo Avino, Le Sirenuse. Don Alfonso is also worth the 40-45 minute drive. Lunch at Il San Pietro's Carlino (accessible to hotel's guests only) is a must. I pretty much have most of my lunches there.
Hiring a boat for the day and cruising along the coast with a stop on Capri for lunch at Da Luigi ai Faraglioni, Fontelina or Conca del Sogno in Nerano is a great idea.
Regarding a hike. Just do Path of the Gods (also referred to as Walk of the Gods aka Il Sentiero degli Dei), either by yourself or with a guide (I have someone I can recommend very highly).
Oh, and congratulations! You couldn't have picked a better hotel. But then again, I'm terribly biased when it comes to ISP :-).
May 10, 2017, 7:35 pm
#15
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: NYC
Posts: 1,005
@BLV Thanks for your input and all of your great reviews over the years! I hate moving hotels and would definitely prefer to stay in only 1 or 2 places. But unfortunately we are constrained by what's available since a lot of places are only available for a few nights. We could stay longer at Santa Caterina but all of your posts made me really want to spend a few nights at Il San Pietro even if it's a bit more convenient.
Would love your recommendation for a guided hike... I will send you a message about that! Thank you!
Would love your recommendation for a guided hike... I will send you a message about that! Thank you!
But I do suggest stopping by there for lunch to enjoy the views and property itself.
Whichever one you end up picking remember that sea access won't be as instant as with ISP and it'll require about 10-15 mins up/down by car and honestly, one of the best things about San Pietro is their beach/platform. If sea access isn't important, Avino would be my choice.
Please see PM regarding the hike guide.
