Sorrento, Italy Port Reviews
Amalfi and Positano On Your Own Shore Excursion
By Jeannine Cantine
Sorrento - what a wonderful
port of call - too many choices - should we visit Pompei,
Capri or the Amalfi coast towns of Amalfi, Positano and
Sorrento?? We only had enough time in port to do justice to
one spot. After talking to a few friends, who had already
had the pleasure of visiting more than once, and doing lots
of reading, we made our choice - The Amalfi Coast it would
be.....
We tendered to shore early in
Sorrento with a ferry schedule that I had printed (prior to
our cruise) in hand. We decided to go to Amalfi and work our
way back to Sorrento. We purchased a ticket for 9.50 euros
( 1 EUR = 1.65 USD at the time). The ferry would first stop
in Positano, but once there, very few went on to Amalfi -
it was best to stay aboard. There is seating both outside
and in - but wanting to take pictures and really enjoy the
landscape, we chose outside - the seats were all taken, so
we stood along the rail - that was great....what a beautiful
ride - calm, clear blue water - green, mountainous hillside
with villages tumbling on down to the rocky shoreline. You
could see the traffic along the narrow road on the hillside.
A half hour to Positano and Amalfi is another 20 minutes
further.
The La Siraneuse Hotel
More small homes, hotels,
seaside restaurants, boats lazily bobbing in shallow water
--- Oh.....a beautiful hotel....could it be the Siraneuse...or
the San Pietro etc. etc??? Too soon we arrive to our port -
Amalfi.
Approaching Amalfi on the
Ferry
First Impressions: Old
buildings along the seashore - open shutters to let the air
and sunlight in - chipped facades, peeling paint, black
rocky beach....needs a facelift.....but suddenly, as you
walk a few hundred feet and see the colorful merchandise in
the shops, fruit and flower markets, people enjoying
cappuccino.....the lifestyle....oh my gosh!!!
The Amalfi Cathedral
We start walking slightly
uphill toward the cathedral and yes, we did climb all those
steps. The narrow streets and alley-ways are charming.
Our Cappuccino Table
We covered the shopping area
in about 1/2 hour. Wandering in and out of a few side
streets, we found a small cafe with an available table on
the street for cappuccino. We sat and people watched for a
while. The cafe felt like a tea salon...small wrought iron
table covered with a cloth and topped with a smaller
crocheted lacy cloth and a small pot of dried flowers.
Delicious cappuccino and tasty pastries and too soon it's
time to move on. We make our way back downhill to the
waterfront and purchase a 3 Euro bus ticket to Positano to
experience the Amalfi Coast drive - we were told that the
portion of the drive from Amalfi to Positano is the most
exciting.
We purchased our tickets 3
Euros.....hint: Board the bus early - 10 to 15 minutes at
least, to get a good seat. The busses are crowded and people
stand. For the best view, sit on the driver's side (left) on
your trip from Amalfi to Positano. If coming from Positano
to Amalfi sit on the right - You want to be on the water
side of the bus - not along the rocky side – unless you are
afraid of heights. Make sure that you validate your ticket
in the machine as you board so as not to be fined. We take
our seat behind the driver.....
It is exciting.....the views
are awesome.....the cliffs very steep....the roads very
narrow and curvy.....and the busses very large!!! Makes for
a thrilling ride. It is a local bus and the trip should take
20 minutes....but ours was 1/2 hour - depends on traffic and
how many other busses you meet. When busses meet, they stop
and depending on the curvature or narrowness of the road -
one of them creeps on past the other within a few inches -
but....if there isn't enough room - it's “back-up” time. Our
bus backed up three times-sometimes only a few feet and once
for about 1/4 mile until the road curved enough to allow
traffic to pass us and move on. So allow yourself plenty of
time to get back to the ship. You cannot capture the
dramatic views with a camera.
There are two bus stops in
Positano.....both are on the hillside. We got off at the
first one and walked on down past small shops and hotels.
Next to a small covered car park on the left, we spotted a
small non-descript sign "La Sirenuse" (a very luxurious
hotel) - WOW - what luck - easy to miss . We asked
permission to walk through to visit. The desk clerk told us
that we were on the 5th floor and to walk down to 3 where
the bar and restaurant were - we would see more rather than
by taking the elevator. this is a magnificent hotel with
wonderful views - built into the hillside - we even got to
see a balcony room.
Positano's Wonderful Beach
and Colorful Buildings
Positano is charming with all
of it's colorful buildings - lots more shops here than in
Amalfi - some selling touristy souvenirs but also lovely
gifts and stylish clothing and shoes.
Pizza and Wine, What Could
Be Better?
We meandered around soaking up
the atmosphere and ended up at the "Cafe Black" along the
water for a bottle of wine and the "best" pizza we have ever
had - wood fired oven - crisp dough - covered with wonderful
garden tomatoes, fresh cheese and basil. We spent a long
time sipping and just enjoying the parade of tourist and the
activity on the water a few feet beyond.
Too soon again it's time to
leave - We don't care to trek uphill to the bus stop, so we
take the ferry back to Sorrento for 8 Euros. Another
pleasant sightseeing tour. We have only one hour left - so
we decide to climb about 200 steps to Sorrento. There is a
bus for 1 Euro, but we weren't sure where to board or how
often it ran - we were pressed for time.
Sorrento is on a plateau about
500 feet above sea level Larger than I had imagined. Again -
shops, cafes and lots of traffic. We wandered through a few
streets and narrow alleys of the old town and walked on back
to the port via the roadway instead of the steps. We
definitely need to spend more time visiting the Amalfi
Coast.
Caught the last tender back to
the cruise ship and were very satisfied with how our day
turned out. For 20 Euros each we think we fared much better
than the ship's pricey tours and could go along at our own
pace. Don't be afraid to explore – getting lost in these
small villages makes for wonderful memories.
