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Ancient City of Pompeii (Pompeii Scavi)

Attraction | "Pompeii"

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Pompeii- We used the audio guide in Pompeii. In hindsight, I wish we would have gotten a tour guide. We spent too much time looking for where we needed to be for the audio guide. Pompeii is a great site and I enjoyed it. I had always wanted to visit, but for some reason it just wasn’t as wonderful as I was expecting. Maybe I’d feel differently if we had a tour guide. But if you are interested in history, I would still recommend a visit. Also, I twisted my foot about halfway through our time in Pompeii, so that may have affected my reaction to it. (Could there be a worse time to twist your foot, when you are about to visit Positano and Capri—which are worlds of steep hills and steps!?)

Ancient City of Pompeii (Pompeii Scavi)
Pompeii
Naples, Italy

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Transportation from Rome to Positano

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We took the 9 am high speed train from Termini to Naples. I had prearranged a driver with Sorrento Cars to pick us up from the Naples Train Station, drop us off at Pompeii for 3.5 hours, then take us to our hotel in Positano. The driver was waiting right by our train with a sign with our name on it. He was friendly, spoke English well and the van was comfortable. He wasn’t much of a tour guide, but that’s not what we were paying for so, no complaints. Their price was much better than other quotes I had received (120 euros) for this trip. I would highly recommend this, even to just not have to deal with the luggage so much! Also, if you’re planning to visit Pompeii from Positano, I think this is...Read More

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Restaurants on the Amalfi Coast

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Restaurants in and around Positano- One thing to keep in mind is that most restaurants on the Amalfi Coast and in Capri charge a cover just to sit at the table (even if you’re ordering food and drink). This seemed to range from one to four euros per person.Bruno’s- very close to our hotel. I had delicious gnocchi with parmesan, mozzarella and tomato. My husband had pasta with onion, egg and bacon which he also said was delicious. Sit outside- it’s on the side of the road, but has beautiful views of the town of Positano.Bar Mulino- right in town, we had an inexpensive lunch here. My husband had the small calzone with ham and ricotta and a slice of pizza and I had a ham an...Read More

Restaurants in and around Positano- One thing to keep in mind is that most restaurants on the Amalfi Coast and in Capri charge a cover just to sit at the table (even if you’re ordering food and drink). This seemed to range from one to four euros per person.

Bruno’s- very close to our hotel. I had delicious gnocchi with parmesan, mozzarella and tomato. My husband had pasta with onion, egg and bacon which he also said was delicious. Sit outside- it’s on the side of the road, but has beautiful views of the town of Positano.

Bar Mulino- right in town, we had an inexpensive lunch here. My husband had the small calzone with ham and ricotta and a slice of pizza and I had a ham and mozzarella sandwich. All were good. We did not really like the ambiance here though—they were playing Beyonce (who I actually usually like, but not expecting to hear in a restaurant in Italy).

La Tagliata- This was a great dining experience. The restaurant is located very high up in the mountains, so they send a van to pick you up from your hotel. I think if the evening had not been so cloudy, we would have had a great view. For 35 euro each you got a bottle of wine and a bottle of water, then tons of things to try. First course included bruschetta, mozzarella and ham, eggplant parmesan, fava beans, risotto, cauliflower and broccoli and a few other things I’m sure I forgot. Then the pasta course included gnocchi, lasagna, and tagliatelli (I think) with a citrus sauce. Next up were the grilled meats including chicken, steak, lamb and sausage, served with French fries (I thought including the French fries was a bit odd!). The dessert included chocolate mousse, and two types of cake. Finally we were given a shot of limoncello. This was way too much food, so make sure you come hungry, but it was fun to try some different things.

Il Choistro (in Amalfi)- I had margarita pizza and my husband had the four cheese pizza. Both were good, but they overcharged us for one of the pizzas. It was only two euros difference and we really didn’t feel like arguing about it, so we just let it go. But I wouldn’t go back there just because of that.

Il Saraceno D’Oro- We really liked our waiter here. He was friendly and funny. We were taking some photos and he came over and offered to take one of both of us. Then he brought a basket of large lemons to put on the table to add a little color to our pictures I guess! We had an appetizer a fried stuff- zucchini, mozzarella, potato, and mushrooms and it was delicious. I had a calzone with ham and cheese—it was very good, and huge, but it was cold in the middle. That was ok, because it was big enough that I just ate the ends of it and was satisfied. My husband had a seafood salad and Sicilian penne and enjoyed them both.

Ristorante Vittoria (in Ravello)- My favorite pizza of the trip! I had the margarita pizza. It kind of reminded me of Bertucci’s which is my favorite pizza in the United States—but this one was much, much better. My husband had pasta with clams and enjoyed it.

Next 2- My favorite meal of the trip. They brought out a complimentary appetizer of bruschetta with tuna. I am not a fan of tuna, but my husband enjoyed it. I had ravioli for my meal and it was so, so wonderful. I think it had smoked mozzarella in it, so it was a little different than others I had on the trip. My husband had fish carpaccio as his first course, then the catch of the day for the second course. He enjoyed the meal as well, although I don’t think it was his favorite of the trip.
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Activities in the Amalfi Coast (Positano, Ravello, and Amalfi)

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I twisted my foot in Pompeii and I was in a lot of pain by the time we arrived our hotel in Positano. I mostly relaxed in the room and enjoyed the gorgeous view from the balcony of our room. On our first full day, we still took it pretty easy and I walked as much as I could handle. I didn’t want my foot to get in the way of all the things I wanted to see and do on this vacation. I probably walked on it more than I should have, but took it easier than I had planned (for instance we did not walk the path of the gods like I wanted to). We just explored the town. There were so many picture perfect views in Positano that I found myself stopping every couple of minutes to take photos! We ...Read More

I twisted my foot in Pompeii and I was in a lot of pain by the time we arrived our hotel in Positano. I mostly relaxed in the room and enjoyed the gorgeous view from the balcony of our room.

On our first full day, we still took it pretty easy and I walked as much as I could handle. I didn’t want my foot to get in the way of all the things I wanted to see and do on this vacation. I probably walked on it more than I should have, but took it easier than I had planned (for instance we did not walk the path of the gods like I wanted to). We just explored the town. There were so many picture perfect views in Positano that I found myself stopping every couple of minutes to take photos! We walked through the gardens of the Palazzo Murat, which I highly recommend.

The next day we took the bus to Amalfi. We went to the maritime museum, visited the Duomo—there was a wedding there so that was fun to watch, and just explored the town. We had originally planned to go up to Ravello that day as well, but decided to save Ravello for the next day and walk to Atrani instead. The traffic was backed up from a strike—with cars completely stopped and people getting out of their cars and just standing around. We got to Atrani faster than the people with cars! It was a nice scenic walk along the water and the town was enjoyable to visit.

The next day we took the ferry back to Amalfi, then took the bus up to Ravello. Our Ravello trip turned out to be an all day event, so we were glad we saved the time to go that day. The downside was that it was a little cloudy and hazy up there, so while the views were still amazing, I think they could have been better if it was clearer. By the time we were ready to leave though, it had cleared up a lot. Our first stop was Villa Rufulo. Beautiful gardens and views here. We enjoyed the visit, but found Villa Cimbrone to have even better views and gardens. Although Villa Cimbrone is a bit of a walk to get there, it’s totally worth it. And if you only have time to visit one, go to Villa Cimbrone. It was just one gorgeous vista after another. After the villa visits we just explored the town and the churches and had a late lunch. Ravello was my favorite place that we visited on the trip. It was just so serene and beautiful there. And we somehow missed most of the crowds that day—much fewer people than in Amalfi and Positano.

Positano/Amalfi Coast Tips-

Positano was pretty crowded with tour groups and day trippers during the day. I’d suggest trying to get out and about in the mornings and evenings for a more pleasant experience for exploring the town.

Buses- We did not realize that there are two separate bus companies—the bus that takes you to Amalfi and other towns is a different company from the bus that takes you to different stops within Positano and their tickets are not interchangeable. Don’t buy the full day passes, just get single tickets—because you have to take quite a few bus trips to make it worth it. Also be prepared for the busses to not exactly be on schedule and crowded.

Take the ferry to Amalfi! We took the bus the first time, and there was a strike going on which backed up traffic. It took about 2 hours to get to Amalfi from Positano. The bus was also pretty crowded and not exactly comfortable. On our way back from Amalfi, we took the ferry and it was a much more pleasant experience. The ferry was not crowded at all and afforded beautiful views from the water. A little more expensive than the bus, but totally worth it to us. We went back to Amalfi the next day to visit Ravello and made sure to take the ferry instead of the bus over.

Go to Ravello on a clear day—we still had beautiful views even though it was a bit cloudy. But it would have been magnificent if it had been a clear day.

Explore- Definitely take the time to explore the towns—walk up small side streets—you never know what beautiful and interesting things you might find!

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Hotel Marincanto

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Hotel | "The best views from a hotel room balcony, ever"

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We really enjoyed this hotel. The views were magnificent. Actually, I don’t think I have ever stayed in a hotel that had as beautiful views as the Marincanto. We were in room #228, which was in the lower part of the hotel, but still had wonderful views from our small balcony (I think our balcony was one of the smaller ones in the hotel, but that was ok). The front view from our balcony was a view over the sundeck to the blue sea (and lots of boats moored), and the side view was of the town and beach. The room was spacious and comfortable, but not particularly luxurious. The bed was pretty comfortable, but a bit on the hard side as I expected it to be. The bathroom was quite spacious. ...Read More

We really enjoyed this hotel. The views were magnificent. Actually, I don’t think I have ever stayed in a hotel that had as beautiful views as the Marincanto. We were in room #228, which was in the lower part of the hotel, but still had wonderful views from our small balcony (I think our balcony was one of the smaller ones in the hotel, but that was ok). The front view from our balcony was a view over the sundeck to the blue sea (and lots of boats moored), and the side view was of the town and beach. The room was spacious and comfortable, but not particularly luxurious. The bed was pretty comfortable, but a bit on the hard side as I expected it to be. The bathroom was quite spacious.

We did have a problem with the refrigerator leaking all over the floor one day because the master power switch in the room had been turned off. I’m not sure if the staff turned it off, or if my husband did. But it was never explained to us that there was a master switch—actually no one ever went over the features of the room once we were in it. If they had, I’m sure we would have steered clear of that master switch.

The breakfast was good with lots of choices of breads, meats, cheeses and pastries. If you wanted scrambled eggs it was an extra charge. We also had lunch there on our first day. I had some delicious ravioli and my husband had risotto. After the meal they gave complimentary chocolate mousse which was a nice treat. Surprisingly, it wasn’t anymore expensive than the restaurants in town.

There is a small but refreshing pool. Also a sundeck with lots of chairs and umbrellas, along with chairs on a lawn below, and even more chairs on the "beach" for rental (actually on the rocks). The beach chairs were part of a beach club and hotel guests received a discount at the club.

Even though the hotel was fully booked, we never saw many people around. This was a great respite from the crowds in Positano town. The hotel was also in a great location- high enough up for a great view, but just a short walk into town. There was also a bus stop very close by which was convenient.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on June 26, 2011

Hotel Marincanto
Via Cristoforo Colombo 50
Positano, Campania 84017
877-662-6988

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