ME and MY iPhone: Positano Amalfi Coast Plan Early Vacation Trip

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Positano Amalfi Coast Plan Early Vacation Trip

POSITANO

GOING to POSITANO ? The AMALFI COAST ?

Positano ? Are you thinking of going there this coming Spring, Summer, or Fall ? Be prepared. Prepared meaning, make hotel reservations months in advance. "That's like Now" !!! Yes Now ! And if you want to stay in Positano, make sure you've got a good amount of cash. Most rooms, start at $600 a night, and go up from there. Yes, I'm not kidding.

You may one of millions who have seen the millions more pictures posted on Instagram, in blogs, or wherever? Maybe you've seen the gorgeous town of Positano and The Amalfi Coast on an enticing travel show like Rick Steves, Samatha Brown, or whoever? Yes, Positano and the Amalfi Coast are gorgeous, and on the Bucket List of many. Are you one? Well, again, "be prepared." Go on Booking.com, Expedia, or any of the numerous hotel booking agents on the web, and get yourself a hotel. Either in Positano (if you can afford it), Praiano, Capri (island), Sorrento, as many do, or any one of the other quaint towns on the Amalfi Coast, of Southern Italy.

Yes Positano is the dream town, and top of the list on places to stay for many. But not everyone can afford the high price of a hotel room in this Dreamlike town. In this case, many will opt to stay in the much more affordable town of Sorrento, and use it as a base to explore : Capri, Pompeii, Positano, Amalfi, and the rest of the Amalfi Coast. You can take a hired-car, buses, or ferry boats to get around, place-to-place. Yes, there are several options, but one is better than all the rest. Take a Ferry Boat from town to town, as the one and only road gets packed with traffic and it can take you a long time to get from place to place. So take the ferry boats that go to all the towns on the coast, as well as to the islands of Capri, Ischia, and the lesser known Procida.

Another good alternative place to stay as a base, and explore from there, is Salerno. Salerno is a lovely little city that is the most affordable place to stay in the area. More affordable than the touristy town of Sorrento. Don't get us wrong, Sorrento is quite nice and the most popular town to use as a base to explore the area. Salerno is another option, and is quite lovely on it's own. And not only that, my favorite restaurant and favorite Pizzeria in the whole area, which comprises: Naples, Positano and the whole of the Amalfi Coast, and island of Capri and Ischia, my number one favorite restaurant and favorite Pizza (including Naples) are in Salerno. What are they you ask? My favorite restaurant in the entire region is La Spagnola in Salerno, and for Pizza it's L'Archetto Pizzaria - Trattoria by Gerardo and his lovely wife. If you seek a true "Mom & Pop" place that's authentic and the real deal, go to L'Archetto, you won't be disappointed.

Le SIRENUSE

WORLD RENOWNED

Info & Reservations

L'ARCHETTO PIZZERIA TRATTORIA

SALERNO VECCHIA

SALERNO, ITALY

My cousin Memo who lives in Salerno brought us to Salerno, otherwise we might never have found it. La Spagnola is one of those Italian restaurants that is what one might say has caual elegance. It's not fancy and ostentatious, nor dowdy or common, but as I've said it's what some would describe as casual elegance. It's a first rate restaurant with great service and food, and ambiance. They specialize in seafood, as many restaurants do in the area. We especially love the Razor Clams, Fried Anchovies, and the Polpette di Alici (Anchovy Meatballs) are a must. And they have a really good wine list. My cousin Tony and I love drinking Ferrari "Perla" Sparkling wine,as it has been a tradition for us, ever since our first time ding there.

With My Cousin Tony (R) and Our Friend Allan (L)

Outside of La SPAGNOLA

After and AMAZING LUNCH

SALERNO - Spring 2018

HOTELS - POSITANO AMALFI COAST

WORLDWIDE

BOOKING.com

MY FAVORITE HOTEL in SALERNO

The HOTEL PLAZA

SALERNO, ITALY

"My FAVORITE HOTEL in SALERNO"

My Favorite Hotel in Salerno, and a great place to make your base, exploring the beautiful Amalfi Coast and beyond. Make it your base too.

I was quite Lucky to stumble upon the Hotel Plaza back in the Summer of 2015. I had just stayed for 3 days at the awesome Lemon Farm Agriturismo Villa Maria, and was looking for a hotel to make my base on the coast, before heading to Capri for a few days stay. I looked on Booking.com and came up with the Hotel Plaza. The price was right, and I thought that it was the place my cousin Tony had said he stayed at the year before. I was wrong about that, but right about staying at the Plaza. It has turned out to be one of my favorite hotels of all-time. And I've done a lifetime of travel in my day.

I checked-in but my room wasn't ready. So I went out exploring Salerno. I made another lucky discovery. Walking around Salerno Vecchia, I stumble upon L'Archetto. It looked good, so I went in. I had a wonderful lunch of Seafood Salad, followed by Spaghetti a Mare, with Mussels and Clams/ I drank a small carafe of Falanghina with lunch, and finished up with and Amaro d Capo. Needless to say it was a wonderful lunch, and I have been back to L'Archetto many times, and have sent friends there, who love the place as well.

Now back to the Hotel Plaza.

I had lunch and walked back to the hotel. They brought me to my room, I took a shower, and then walked over to the Marine Ferry Terminal. Caught a ferry to Amalfi. I figured I hang out there a bit. Of course I made my way to Pasticceria Pansa for an espresso and the World's Best Sfogliatelle. Absolutely fantastic. I walked around Amalfi, looked in some shops, and had an Aperol Spritz, before heading back to Salerno.

When I got back to the hotel, the owner Gaetano greeted me and started up a conversation. He apologized (no need) that my room wasn't ready when I arrived, and so my room was upgraded, compliments of the hotel. "Grazie Mille Gaetano."

For the rest of my stay at the Hotel Plaza, I got to know Gaetano a bit. He's a real gentleman. Every day when I got back to the hotel from a day of activity Gaetano would greet me, make me an espresso and sit down and chit-chat with me. So nice. I really enjoyed my little talks with Gaetano.

Besides having such lovely people as owners, the Hotel Plaza has a number of things going for it, that make it a desirable place to stay, especially if you want to use it as a base to explore the Amalfi Coast. Number one is its ideal location for ease of getting around. The hotel is directly across the street from main train station of Salerno. Many people taking a vacation in the area have a flight into Rome. If you have a flight to Rome, and want to go down to the Amalfi Coast, and you want to take public transportation down to the Amalfi Coast, the easiest thing to do is to take a train from Termini Station in Rome to Salerno. Express Trains take only i hour and 15 minutes to get from Rome to Salerno. If you are staying at Hote Plaza (Salerno), when your train arrives in Salerno, you get off the train, walk out of the station and it takes you 2 minutes to walk to the Hotel Plaza across the street from the station. It couldn't be easier. Not only that, the Marine Terminal where you catch ferry boats from Salerno to Capri and anywhere on the Amalfi Coast is just 3 block from the hotel, and 4 blocks from the train station.

If you are staying in another town, like Amalfi, Minori, or Positano, you just walk from the train station to the ferry terminal (10 minute walk), and catch the next boat going to your destiantion. Simple as that.

The Hotel Plaza - Info & Reservations

MORE HOTELS - SALERNO, CAPRI, NAPLES, POSITANO, The AMALFI COAST.

To be Continued ...

Daniel Bellino Z