Amalfi coast towns

I have a port stop in Naples in May with RCI. I am the only one of my party that wants to visit this area so thinking about the ship excursion which is Amalfi coast by land and sea and Pompeii. I think it allows a visit to Amalfi town but doesn't stop at other towns. Are many of these coastal towns similar to visit? Does it sound like a good excursion? I think the boat part of the trip is 45 mins long. Would I see more from the boat than on the bus?

Actually the towns are quite different. Amalfi is relatively flat and is the largest of the towns, Positano is carved into the side of the mountain and is the next largest. There are a half dozen or so other towns between.

It sounds like this excursion goes by bus from Naples to Salerno, where you'd board the boat for a 40 minute ride to Amalfi. The bus would pick you up again in Amalfi and drive back to Vietri sul Mare to get on the autostrada and head to Pompei. There is an over-the-mountain pass route to the autostrada from Amalfi but I doubt they'd go that way with a bus.

Some ideas for you to consider ...

First decide what your priorities are before committing yourself to an excursion and go from there. First a little generalization. Many like visiting Pompeii and consider this number one on their list while others consider the drive along the Amalfi Coast as their number one priority for the scenery. Determine which category you fall under. Do you care anything for roaming the towns and perhaps shopping. Think about what interests you.

As you've already mentioned, ship excursions are always an option. After that, determine whether someone on your particular voyage has an opening on a shared independent tour that match your interests. Eight person vans can ride along the scenic coasts a lot easier than buses. These independent tours can be found posted on your ship's roll call. You can also check romeinlimotoursharing or italytoursharing dot com.

I have lived in Italy and have gone back there many times, and LOVE the Amalfi coast. I would second a suggestion in another post. Do you want to visit just Pompeii or just the Amalfi coast? Both would be separate trips in themselves. I have spent many hours visiting Pompeii (I had a car when I lived there) and would also drive up to the parking lot of Vesuvius to see the beautiful view of the Bay of Naples. I don't know how much time you have in port, but another suggestion is to take a train from Naples to Sorrento. Sorrento is the biggest town on the Amalfi coast and is a lot of fun to walk around. You can also take the public bus from Sorrento south along the Amalfi coast to all the towns, like Positino, Amalfi, etc., but this would take a full day. Many tourists do this. If you have limited time, of course take a tour down the coast to any of the towns--it is just a spectacular part of the world!

To be honest I would find it hard to prioritise one over the other. I really want to see both. I don't want to spend more than about two hours in Pompeii but definitely want to visit it. I know I wont get to see every town on Amalfi coast and accept that. My roll call is not very busy yet and nobody looking to share tours on it to any of the places I want to visit. Happy to give it til late March before booking via ship.

Sorrento is the biggest town on the Amalfi coast

Sorrento is not on the Amalfi Coast, it's on the opposite side of the peninsula.

To be honest I would find it hard to prioritise one over the other. I really want to see both. I don't want to spend more than about two hours in Pompeii but definitely want to visit it. I know I wont get to see every town on Amalfi coast and accept that. My roll call is not very busy yet and nobody looking to share tours on it to any of the places I want to visit. Happy to give it til late March before booking via ship.

If you really want to do both of these (Pompeii + Amalfi Coast), understanding it will only be a small taste of each, have you looked at a private tour? I know you said your roll call isn't busy, but some of the companies have "tour share" websites where you can try to get a tour started -- others may sign up once you get the ball rolling.

It really is NOT ideal to see the Amalfi towns from a large bus tour (which includes most shore excursions unless they specifically state otherwise) because the buses cannot always get into the towns. So you might, for instance, see Positano only from above. You'll get a few good photos but no real memories of the place.

I have a port stop in Naples in May with RCI. I am the only one of my party that wants to visit this area so thinking about the ship excursion which is Amalfi coast by land and sea and Pompeii. I think it allows a visit to Amalfi town but doesn't stop at other towns. Are many of these coastal towns similar to visit? Does it sound like a good excursion? I think the boat part of the trip is 45 mins long. Would I see more from the boat than on the bus?

We went on this tour. Here is a link to our pictures

https://markandkareneurope2012.shutterfly.com/pictures/973

Personally, we think that town of Amalfi is somewhat underwhelming when compared to the very picturesque city of Positano and the hilltop town of Ravello. But when you take a cruise ship excursion it is normally in a large tour bus (with 50+) and tour buses are not allowed to enter into Positano. So your tour will consist of a the beautiful drive along the famous Amalfi Drive (a 2 lane road), a stop so you can look down at Positano (which you will not visit), and then they will move on to Amalfi where the bus can park and allow you to walk around the small town (which does have its charm). But you will have missed the crown jewel of the Amalfi Coast...which is Positano. Some cruise tours will take you up to Ravello (we love this town) and others will skip it in the interests of time.

The best way to see the Amalfi Coast is on a small (mini-van or car) private tour. Perhaps somebody on your CC Roll Call board will organize a decent private tour which you can join.

Hank

According to the description of the tour in post #2, the route is Naples to Salerno by bus, Salerno to Amalfi by boat, Amalfi to Vietri to Pompeii by bus. It does not go on the Amalfi-Positano drive, which is the real part of the Amalfi drive. The Salerno-Amalfi portion is the least scenic part and a real misnomer to let you believe that you are doing what is really known as the Amalfi drive.

I second other suggestions to look for shared excursions (in a van, not a bus!) whether through you roll call or private companies. Some private tour companies arrange for the sharing and you might not need to put together a group on your own. Look up some of the private tour operators and start a thread in your roll call.

When we did our first med cruise the Solerno port visit was by far our favorite. We did the group tour to visit Pompeii and that was a top destination for me as I have been fascinated with the history. We were lucky when we returned back to port and had enough time to take the water taxi type boat from Solerno to Amalfi and back. It was an absolute treat to view the coast by boat and spend a couple of hours in town. It was enough time there to realise that I want to go back and stay an extended period.

We happened to do the boat ride by chance as we did not plan it and just saw the time schedule worked. A little risky, but well worth it.

I know your port is Naples so it may make it more difficult or the timing not work, but the two times I have been scheduled to stop in Naples have been cancelled. So, that might change too.

When we did our first med cruise the Solerno port visit was by far our favorite. We did the group tour to visit Pompeii and that was a top destination for me as I have been fascinated with the history. We were lucky when we returned back to port and had enough time to take the water taxi type boat from Solerno to Amalfi and back. It was an absolute treat to view the coast by boat and spend a couple of hours in town. It was enough time there to realise that I want to go back and stay an extended period.

 

We happened to do the boat ride by chance as we did not plan it and just saw the time schedule worked. A little risky, but well worth it.

 

I know your port is Naples so it may make it more difficult or the timing not work, but the two times I have been scheduled to stop in Naples have been cancelled. So, that might change too.

Really? Why was the port of Naples cancelled? Did you get to another port instead?

Really? Why was the port of Naples cancelled? Did you get to another port instead?

Both times it was due to congestion at Naples. Both instances we got a new port the first time with Carnival it changed to Solerno which allowed us still see Pompeii and Almalfi. The second time, with princess, we switched to Elba. Which was a nice break as it was not overly crowded with tourists and had a fantastic winery to visit.

I can't remember the exact timing of when we were notified of the changes, but it was a few months out.

According to the description of the tour in post #2, the route is Naples to Salerno by bus, Salerno to Amalfi by boat, Amalfi to Vietri to Pompeii by bus. It does not go on the Amalfi-Positano drive, which is the real part of the Amalfi drive. The Salerno-Amalfi portion is the least scenic part and a real misnomer to let you believe that you are doing what is really known as the Amalfi drive.

 

I second other suggestions to look for shared excursions (in a van, not a bus!) whether through you roll call or private companies. Some private tour companies arrange for the sharing and you might not need to put together a group on your own. Look up some of the private tour operators and start a thread in your roll call.

Nobody in my roll call seems interested in tour sharing so far. I have been looking up private tours. Alot seem to demand minimum group numbers but saw one called something like italybylocals and they seem to take individual bookings and take in Positano and Ravello. I dont think they are licenced guides but that wouldnt bother me really. Anyone heard of this tour group?

Nobody in my roll call seems interested in tour sharing so far. I have been looking up private tours. Alot seem to demand minimum group numbers but saw one called something like italybylocals and they seem to take individual bookings and take in Positano and Ravello. I dont think they are licenced guides but that wouldnt bother me really. Anyone heard of this tour group?

Check this out. The Joe Banana company lets you join a tour group. I haven't used them, but they do get very good reviews. They have a Pompei, Positano and Amalfi tour that you might like. Good luck.

https://italytoursharing.com/