Private tour from Naples?

[Looking for Sunshine]

I am looking for an alternative to the cruise ship tour and am interested in travelling to Sorrento, up the Amalfi Coast with stops in Positano and Ravello.

There will be 4 of us. Any recomendations?

 

p.S. We have already been to Pompeii and Capri...not interested in big city Naples but would be interested in another place to visit if you have one!

[goldenprincess53]

We returned from a tour of the Amalfi Coast with a stop in Pompeii, but Francesco will do whatever you would like. He was at the ship before 8 am and returned to the ship for 5. He is young, professional attitude, well travelled, speaks excellent English and lives in Sorrento. He was most knowledgable about the area and an excellent driver (especially on the windy roads). He arranged for us to have lunch in Ravello (excellent choice). There were four of us in his van (which can hold 7) I have no hesitation in recommending him.

 

fmarrapese@libero.it

[joan24]

Marcello Maresca at http://www.seesorrento.com is great. He loves the Amalfi coast and will show you the "real Italy". He's lots of fun and does a great tour. We toured with him in May and had a wonderful time.

Joan

[bigmjh]

We booked Giovanni with benvenuto limos ... he was a highlight of our trip ... lives in Positano ... knows everyone by name ... knows the area like the back of his hand ... personable ... out-going ... speaks great English ... nice new Mercedes van ... couldn't ask for a better day!

[Smooth Sailing]

Marcello Maresca at www.seesorrento.com is great. He loves the Amalfi coast and will show you the "real Italy". He's lots of fun and does a great tour. We toured with him in May and had a wonderful time.

Joan

We have booked Marcello for next Jun. - he always gets great reviews.

[sweep]

It depends whether or not you like doing your own thing. We took the recommendation from someone on these boards and took the hydrofoil to Sorrento. The hydrofoil leaves just next to where the ship docks -it was really very easy and cheap, 17 euros each. The first hyrofoil to Sorrento left at 9am and then we caught the 4.25 one back to Naples.

 

Sweep

[RHayes8793]

I'll second the Marcello choice. We liked him so much last year that we took a two week land vacation in Italy this year, due mostly to him. We made a point of finding him again this year at his restaurant stop in Pontone. He knew we would be there and arranged everything for us ahead of time. He is a passionate and very interesting person with a lot of historical knowledge of the area. He was the highlight of our cruise last year.

[Queenk2]

Actually we had been to the places you have been to before our trip this past summer. We decided on a private tour to Herculaneum as well as the Amalfi coast. We were 4 people as well. We chose to use Nello of drive Sorrento. He was a terrific guide and a very knowlegable and interesting man. I would highly recommend him for your tour. His prices are fair and he took us to Positano, Ravelo ,and Amalfi as well as the historic site of Herculaeum,,,quite different than Pompeii. You can contact him at info@drivesorrento.com. He also took us to a wonderful restarant for lunch,,,possibly the best meal I have ever had in Italy!

Karen

[ILoveMyDogs]

We used Lorenzo this past October while on the Brillance of the Seas He picked us up at the port of Naples and took on on a fabulous tour of the Amalfi coast, Positano, and Sorrento . He hooked us up with a great guide ( Genero Calebrese ) for Pompeii We had a superb seafood meal in Sorrento. I had initially contacted Jack the driver based on good reviews from this website. Jack was not available the day we needed him so he arranged for Lorenzo . Lorenzo spoke perfect English, had a great sense of humour and was the safest driver out of all our private drivers.

Jack's website is www.jackthedriver.com You will enjoy the scenic drive in a Mercedes van much more than you would on a cruise ship bus.

[Mike Andrews]

I highly recommend Salvatore Lucibello of DriveAmalfi (*****) who we have used twice and who is one of the best drivers we have used.

[mert461]

I highly recommend Salvatore Lucibello of DriveAmalfi (*****) who we have used twice and who is one of the best drivers we have used.

 

We also used Salvatore for our excursion from the Naples port. He was an extremely good driver going around those winding roads of the Amalfi Coast! I would definite recommend him.

 

Donna

[Breezey]

Drive Amalfi was great but we were given Adriano since Salvatore was not available. He was terrific and very flexible. Our day consisted of Pompeii only to find out when we got there that it was opening late, so we went to the Amalfi Coast drive first instead. We asked to stop for a cappucino first, which he was happy to oblige, then Sorrento stop, drive through Poisitano, stop at Ravello, pizza and gelati in Amalfi and then to Pompeii. A glorious day and I say the best day of the entire cruise.

 

Skipping Pompeii gives you all the more reason to spend time in the other towns. We had a very short trip in Sorrento and would go back. Just too many Lemoncello choices with limited time to enjoy. Most of the private drivers are more than happy to meet your needs and go off the beaten track.

[CruisingCatherine]

I have to add my recommendation of Marcello. He is fabulous. He is very passionate about showing you what living in Italy is really like. We encountered hardly any crowds at all.

 

My favorite experience was our lunch. He took us to a wonderful family establishment that overlooked the bay of Naples. We had a taste of so many of the local dishes native to Italy and the Amalfi Coast. This included three bottles of wine and some fabulous Lemoncello! We were having such a good time we almost skipped our trip to Pompeii.

 

Marcello has a very nice Mercedes Mini-van, is very professional, and is a riot to travel with. He was very accomodating and made sure we all had a wonderful time.

 

We stopped at a lovely mountain village, a pottery shop, a fruit stand that had some wonderful Olive Oil, and even a place to see some village nativities.

 

If you really want to get Marcello stirred up ask him about how "tourist" companies are ruining the unique experience of Italy. He is vey passionate about this!! We had a good laugh everytime we got him stirred up about something!

[Robin G]

I contacted Marcello of seesorrento. He is not available on the day I requested but offered a "trusted driver following my same itinerary". Anyone else try this? Any problems with anyone else by Marcello from seesorrento??

 

Robin

[CruisingCatherine]

While we were on our excursion with Marcello he had another party doing the same trip with him. He has two vans and hires drivers to help him. For some reason he can't seem to talk his wife into helping him...ask him about it.....he is so funny.

 

Anyway, the other van followed our van on the entire trip. Everywhere we stopped they did as well. We all had lunch at the same place too! I personally would jump on it. His other driver is very professional and quite funny himself.

[CruisingCatherine]

While we were on our excursion with Marcello he had another party doing the same trip with him. He has two vans and hires drivers to help him. For some reason he can't seem to talk his wife into helping him...ask him about it.....he is so funny.

 

Anyway, the other van followed our van on the entire trip. Everywhere we stopped they did as well. We all had lunch at the same place too! I personally would jump on it. His other driver is very professional and quite funny himself.

[CruisingCatherine]

While we were on our excursion with Marcello he had another party doing the same trip with him. He has two vans and hires drivers to help him. For some reason he can't seem to talk his wife into helping him...ask him about it.....he is so funny.

 

Anyway, the other van followed our van on the entire trip. Everywhere we stopped they did as well. We all had lunch at the same place too! I personally would jump on it. His other driver is very professional and quite funny himself.

[hondar]

We returned from a tour of the Amalfi Coast with a stop in Pompeii, but Francesco will do whatever you would like. He was at the ship before 8 am and returned to the ship for 5. He is young, professional attitude, well travelled, speaks excellent English and lives in Sorrento. He was most knowledgable about the area and an excellent driver (especially on the windy roads). He arranged for us to have lunch in Ravello (excellent choice). There were four of us in his van (which can hold 7) I have no hesitation in recommending him.

 

fmarrapese@libero.it

We just returned from Italy and used Francesco Marrapese as well. I highly recommend him. Very professional and knowledgeable.

[Ms. B]

Toured Amalfi coast with Marcello last June. He was wonderful. He does not take you to the tourist traps as he calls them. You will be in for a great experience if you tour with him. The highlight is the restaurant that he takes you to for lunch.

[KruzinAl]

We booked Giovanni from Benvenuto, like a previous poster. Great job, very clean vehicles. He and his father have the company, live near Positano and know it well.

No problem in referring him.

Check out the roll call board for your cruise and ask for others to make a larger group and lower your prices.

Many have complimented Salvatore from drive amalfi, also good we hear, but often Sal is not available. I understand that they started driving for a 5 star hotel in Amalfi and then started their own business.

Many drivers, so many choices for a wonderful place on earth. Not to be missed.

Read my review on our Galaxy cruise.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=13190

Al

[Route6A]

My husband and I recently toured the Amalfi Coast with Francesco Marrapese, and I recommend him without any hesitation. Francesco is thoroughly professional, prompt, agreeable and charming. He responds to emails promptly. His recommended itinerary proved excellent, but he is certainly flexible and will tailor the day to include what you wish to see. An added plus is that Francesco speaks fluent English. He is also an excellent driver, a real advantage on the winding roads of the Amalfi Coast. Francesco can be reached through his email: info@francescomarrapese.com

If you wish to view his website, the address is: www.francescomarrapese.com

I found Francesco through Cruise Critic and wish to add my positive recommendation so that others may experience the wonderful tour he provided us. He is simply outstanding.

 

Route6A

[Crusier98]

Our tour of Pompei and the Amalfi Coast with Salvatore of DriveAmalfi ***** was the best tour of our trip.He is a local and knows the Amalfi Coast like the back of his hand so you could'nt get a better or niver driver to tour with.He took us to a great little restaurant in the hills close to the town of Ravello for a great lunch which was finished off with yummy limoncello and meloncello.The other drivers he used were Adriano and Roberto who also got rave reviews.

[Petoonya]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned Gennaro of Sorrento Limo. He was wonderful and also a native of Sorrento. Took six of us in a Mercedes van....we did Pompeii and the Amalfi drive. It was an amazing day- stops at all the scenic lookouts and Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Lunch at a breathtakingly beautiful cliffside restaurant in Positano. We still had time to shop and walk in Ravello. Genarro was very professional and a real gentleman.

http://www.sorrentolimo.com/

[joan24]

For those who have toured with Marcello, how many times did he say, "My mission is...." He's a riot and he does love to talk.

Joan