Bob Whelan
10+ Posts
A little late to the party but it was such a great trip almost a year ago that it's worth sharing with the group.
In celebration of my retirement in 2017, and other family milestones, we planned a trip to Southern Italy with our three children, son in law, daughter in law to be, grandson and grandson in mommy's belly!
There were eight of us including the 5 year old so finding places to stay in nice areas with 4 bedrooms was the initial hurdle. That being said, each of the places we chose was perfect.
We started with 4 days in Rome (my wife and I had been here before but most of the others had not). We rented this place https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/3360287 just off of Piazza Cavour and while the furnishings were a bit sparse it worked out great. A nice kitchen, a common area and two bathrooms. The owner arranged a very reasonable pick up for us at Fiumicino that went very smoothly. Piazza Cavour is a convenient location for touring and thre are some rally nice restaurants within a reasonable walk. A great four days of touring all the Rome highlights including a trip to the zoo (Bioparca di Roma) with my grandson! Piazza Cavour contains a wonderful grassy park perfect for relaxing and people watching.
Our next stop was Sant A’gata, just a few miles from Sorrento and close to Massa Lubrense. We used these guys http://www.drivethroughparadise.com/ for transportation from Rome and again for our Amalfi coast tour during the week. We met Tony 5 years ago when we first visted Sorretno and knew he and Max would treat us great and they did! We spent the full day touring the coast (Praiano, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello) which included a lunch arranged specially for all eight us in Scala. We highly recommend them for any travel along the Amalfi coast and in the Naples area!
We stayed here https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/825464 and it was fabulous. The owner, Laura, could not have been more helpful and friendly. A home made tiramisu greeted us on the kitchen table upon arrival! The accommodations were great. Four bedrooms all with a private bathroom. A nicely equipped kitchen perfect for stirring up some fresh zucchini and tomatoes from the local vegetable stand. There was wonderful terrace that we could see Sorrento from. The village of Sant A’Gata is beautiful. A number of small shops that we were able to purchase salumi, cheese, wine and vegetables, etc. for a few nice evenings on the terrace before going out to dinner. Two nice cafes for espresso, cappuccino and pastries were walkable each morning. From here we easily took the bus to Sorrento for the ferry to Capri as well as another day in Sorrento that allowed some of our party to visit Pompeii while my wife and I took the train to Vico Equense for lunch. We were here for Easter so we were able to see the evening Good Friday procession. Make sure to dine at Da Gigino http://www.dagigino.com for a great inexpensive meal! If your looking for a special dining night out try Il Bucco www.ilbucoristorante.it And in Sant A'Gata don't forget Ristorante di Mimi, a family run restaurant that treated us great. After a great week in Sant A'Gata the family left us using “Drive Though Paradise” again to get to the airport.
My wife and I continued on to Positano for an additional five days and we stayed Gilda House https://www.vrbo.com/554345 . The property is actually in Arienzo (less than a kilometer from the center of Positano) but what a view of Positano we had from our private terrace! Gilda, Rosa and the staff were wonderful and provided bus and ferry schedules on arrival and arranged for free shuttle service to and from dinner at different restaurants each night we were there. The breakfast provided each morning was great! The terraced grounds were packed with fruit trees, vegetables and flowers and the views were breathtaking.....even after five days! It is a beautiful place. The bus stop was just outside the gate and we took advantage when returning from Positano late in the day. From here we visited Nocelle (www.ristorantesantacrocepositano.com ) and Montepertuso and enjoyed meeting people while we hiked in the area. We also took the ferry from Positano to Salerno so we could visit Le Vigne di Raito http://www.levignediraito.com/eng/ in Vietri sul Mare. What a great afternoon we spent with Patrizia and Alfonso at the vineyard. The multiple course lunch paired with full bottles of three different wines was likely the highlight meal of our time in Italy. Our conversations flowed easily and they made us feel right at home with them. Don’t miss this if you are traveling the Amalfi coast!
Positano is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the coast and we spent our final day doing exactly that on the terrace overlooking the sea with a few glasses of wine. We can't wait to return with friends and do it all over again.
It was a great trip and to be able to spend it with our entire immediate family was a dream come true. We are so happy that everyone was able to take the time off and enjoy this special time.
In celebration of my retirement in 2017, and other family milestones, we planned a trip to Southern Italy with our three children, son in law, daughter in law to be, grandson and grandson in mommy's belly!
There were eight of us including the 5 year old so finding places to stay in nice areas with 4 bedrooms was the initial hurdle. That being said, each of the places we chose was perfect.
We started with 4 days in Rome (my wife and I had been here before but most of the others had not). We rented this place https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/3360287 just off of Piazza Cavour and while the furnishings were a bit sparse it worked out great. A nice kitchen, a common area and two bathrooms. The owner arranged a very reasonable pick up for us at Fiumicino that went very smoothly. Piazza Cavour is a convenient location for touring and thre are some rally nice restaurants within a reasonable walk. A great four days of touring all the Rome highlights including a trip to the zoo (Bioparca di Roma) with my grandson! Piazza Cavour contains a wonderful grassy park perfect for relaxing and people watching.
Our next stop was Sant A’gata, just a few miles from Sorrento and close to Massa Lubrense. We used these guys http://www.drivethroughparadise.com/ for transportation from Rome and again for our Amalfi coast tour during the week. We met Tony 5 years ago when we first visted Sorretno and knew he and Max would treat us great and they did! We spent the full day touring the coast (Praiano, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello) which included a lunch arranged specially for all eight us in Scala. We highly recommend them for any travel along the Amalfi coast and in the Naples area!
We stayed here https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/825464 and it was fabulous. The owner, Laura, could not have been more helpful and friendly. A home made tiramisu greeted us on the kitchen table upon arrival! The accommodations were great. Four bedrooms all with a private bathroom. A nicely equipped kitchen perfect for stirring up some fresh zucchini and tomatoes from the local vegetable stand. There was wonderful terrace that we could see Sorrento from. The village of Sant A’Gata is beautiful. A number of small shops that we were able to purchase salumi, cheese, wine and vegetables, etc. for a few nice evenings on the terrace before going out to dinner. Two nice cafes for espresso, cappuccino and pastries were walkable each morning. From here we easily took the bus to Sorrento for the ferry to Capri as well as another day in Sorrento that allowed some of our party to visit Pompeii while my wife and I took the train to Vico Equense for lunch. We were here for Easter so we were able to see the evening Good Friday procession. Make sure to dine at Da Gigino http://www.dagigino.com for a great inexpensive meal! If your looking for a special dining night out try Il Bucco www.ilbucoristorante.it And in Sant A'Gata don't forget Ristorante di Mimi, a family run restaurant that treated us great. After a great week in Sant A'Gata the family left us using “Drive Though Paradise” again to get to the airport.
My wife and I continued on to Positano for an additional five days and we stayed Gilda House https://www.vrbo.com/554345 . The property is actually in Arienzo (less than a kilometer from the center of Positano) but what a view of Positano we had from our private terrace! Gilda, Rosa and the staff were wonderful and provided bus and ferry schedules on arrival and arranged for free shuttle service to and from dinner at different restaurants each night we were there. The breakfast provided each morning was great! The terraced grounds were packed with fruit trees, vegetables and flowers and the views were breathtaking.....even after five days! It is a beautiful place. The bus stop was just outside the gate and we took advantage when returning from Positano late in the day. From here we visited Nocelle (www.ristorantesantacrocepositano.com ) and Montepertuso and enjoyed meeting people while we hiked in the area. We also took the ferry from Positano to Salerno so we could visit Le Vigne di Raito http://www.levignediraito.com/eng/ in Vietri sul Mare. What a great afternoon we spent with Patrizia and Alfonso at the vineyard. The multiple course lunch paired with full bottles of three different wines was likely the highlight meal of our time in Italy. Our conversations flowed easily and they made us feel right at home with them. Don’t miss this if you are traveling the Amalfi coast!
Positano is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the coast and we spent our final day doing exactly that on the terrace overlooking the sea with a few glasses of wine. We can't wait to return with friends and do it all over again.
It was a great trip and to be able to spend it with our entire immediate family was a dream come true. We are so happy that everyone was able to take the time off and enjoy this special time.