Where to stay in Rome/Naples?

[ghady]

Hey all,

I've decided to add around 4 nights in Italy at the end of my trip .... I'm still not sure if I'm going to stay exclusively in rome or to also go to Naples, but does anyone know any good places to stay in both these cities?

I'm 20 if it makes any difference.

thanks

[herrbert]

Always nice to find some extra time,

For Rome I would check the Beehive, but it is a very popular place, so if that doesn't work out, you could also consider the Alessando (Downtown or Palace Hostel)

Instead of Naples I would stay at the Amalfi coast (Sorrento)

[ghady]

Now i'm tempted...

Fine fine, i'll do 4 nights in rome, 2 in the Amalfi coast ... is sorrento the name of the hostel or of the area? cuz i can't find a hostel called sorrento, so it's probably the area.. do you know any hostels there?

[me]

Sorrento is a well know town. there was a widely known song by Ernesto DeCurtis: Come Back To Sorrento. it's near the Amalfi coast - North side of the peninsula - not far from Capri. (it's a good place to catch the ferry to Capri)

Edit: just found www.ComeBackToSorrento.com/index.htm a directory of Sorrento hotels. the site plays that song. ;D

but, i've never been there. i just know the song/the name, and see it on a map.

if you have just 4 days, i'd suggest spending it all in Rome. Rome, the most important city in the history of Western civilization, deserves even more than 4 days. in '04, i spent about that long there yet left feeling there was too much i hadn't seen.

- d

[ghady]

www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/MamCamilla-Sorrento-4897

--> for the "mami camilla backpaper hostel" in sorrento.. check it out, tell me if you think it works..

and...4 nights in rome... 3 in sorrento.. cuz i wanna get to sorrento in the afternoon (ish).. so that's one day gone.. and i wanna go to capri and see pompeii and naples too possibly ;D

[madamtrashheap]

ghady, just answered a previous post of yours about Rome/Sorrento. If it's where I think it is, this hostel is more like a 20min walk to the centre of town (down the hill), which would make it about 30 down to the Marina Grande to catch a ferry to Capri. Look at this post for other ideas on accommodation in Sorrento (the last paragraph) pretravel.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=Accommodation&action=display&n=1&thread=6670&page=1

Here's a map of where Sorrento lies in Italy: www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/int/dyn/controller/mapPerformPage?strCountry=612&strAddress=&strCP=&strLocation=sorrento&x=26&y=5#locid=2141nku10cNDAuNjI2MzQ_cMTQuMzc1Nw__

Can't believe you found that song, David - cheesey but good! Check this out for the different "tarantella" dances of the region: www.sicilianculture.com/folklore/tarantella.htm just for something different!

[lia]

I don't think that sorrento is the best place to stay in that area..amalfi or positano are much nicer, in my opinion - though "torna a surriento" is a heartbreaking song (for neapolitan traditional songs, try Renzo Arbore e l'Orchestra Italiana ;D - it's the name of the group). a friend of mine told me about a hotel in naples, cheap and nice (a good combination ). it was on the lungomare - just in front of the sea; he could see the Castel dell'Ovo (which is actually on the sea) and the gulf from his window. i'll try to find out the name of the hotel; anyway, whatever you'll decide, that's a wonderful area - and the food is just marvellous!!! there are some things you absolutely have to try in naples and surroundings: pizza, caffè, sfogliatelle (it's a little wonderful cake) and limoncello (lemon liquor). have fun!!

[ghady]

lia, you mentioned in another post (http://pretravel.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=Accommodation&action=display&n=1&thread=6670&page=1) that A' Scalinatella is an ideal place to stay in... in NEED to see capri and pompeii...and i also want something very VERY close to a beach (preferably having the beach as a backyard).. will that do? as in will that be more convenient than staying in sorrento?

[ghady]

hmm.. ive been looking over things..

how much more convenient will it be to stay in amalfi not sorrento, knowing that i wanna see capri and pompeii? also, are they both pretty pretty places?

[madamtrashheap]

ghady, in relation to another question you've posted in the Itinerary section, if you are leaning towards Amalfi then go with that. I prefer Sorrento, but that's a personal choice - Amalfi is gorgeous, just a little more expensive in terms of accommodation (IMO).

[ghady]

they have lemon groves in amalfi ;D

yea, i'll stick with that..

[lia]

yes, i did say that a scalinatella was a good place to stay..and still think it! but if you're staying in that area just a few days and you want to go to naples, pompei and capri, i'd just suggest directly staying in naples (which, anyway, i think is much nicer than sorrento). the hotel i was trying to recall is "Le fontane al mare", in via Partenope (it's the street right in front of the sea..). Not expensive and has gorgeous view (no private bathroom, though). BUT..if you want to have a beach next to your hotel and everything, then ok, don't go to naples - it's easy to go to pompei and capri from there, but certainly there are no beaches at a walking distance.

[ghady]

so a scalinatella it is..

3 nights there would give me a whole day in capri, a whole day in pompeii...and a whole day wasting away over there..

thanks..

[madamtrashheap]

lia said:

naples (which, anyway, i think is much nicer than sorrento).

Really??! While I enjoy Naples, I wouldn't say that it was nicer than Sorrento, for tourists at least.

ghady, glad you've decided on what suits you in terms of accommodation. Let us know what you think of Amalfi when you get back.

[lia]

Well yes, really! ;D it's a big city with thousands of things to see, and yet you don't feel "lost" as it sometimes happens in big cities. people are friendly and solar - ok, there are exceptions, of course, but this is my general view... i like naples sooooo much! the lungomare is breathless, i could spend there whole days just looking at the gulf, the castle on the sea and the vesuvio, and then...piazza plebiscito, the other castles, the old part of the city... there are so many things to see! anyway, ghady, sorrento will be wonderful, you'll enjoy it a lot!!