Where to holiday in Italy?? anyone know Naples, Pompeii and surrounding area?

[noonar]

I am thinking of this as a possible summer holiday destination for DH and i with our 8 and 10 yo in August.

dh and are went to rome last year and now want to go to italy again.

We are looking for... relaxation, ancient history , stunning scenery and good food.

any tips? places to visit? ideas about where to stay?

everyone seems to go on and on about Tuscany... but is the Naples area a good bet for a family holiday?

Thanks for any info!

Sicily! Hire a car and go to agrigento and monreale ... Taormina is also a must. Enjoy !

Sorrento is a good base - frequent trains via Pompeii to Naples. Naples itself is beautiful but v v v hectic, and lots of traffic an scooters/mopeds. Sorrento doesn't really have a beach IIRC. Also there are ferries from Sorrento to islands like Capri and Ischia

thanks....am storing all this info ... sicily..hmmm
are any of these areas cheaper than others when you get there?

Sicily is expensive, this is partly because they import everything from the mainland and partly because the Italians holiday there. It is beautiful though and my favourite place in Italy!

Sorrento is cheaper, a lot of this is because there are a lot of british tourists there and is very popular. They cater for their market... It's great though and I think children would love it! A lot of Italian resorts are lacking on the beach front as it can be a very rocky coastline. Get a hotel with a pool if this is important for your kids. History wise Sorrento is fab and it's all very accessible, be warned Naples deserves its dodgy reputation!

Have you considered the lakes? Haven't been there myself yet but plan to soon. I've heard great things. I've driven through and the scenery is stunning! Lake Garda is close to Verona so you can get some history there. Venice is doable as a day trip... personally not a Venice fan though (unless you go there in the winter/spring and outside of tourist hours then it's wonderful). Plenty for kids to do at the lakes too and worth hiring a car when your there.

Have fun, makes me want to go again.... hmmmmm

Parts of Naples are nice. I remember, when I was there we found one of the nice parts and my friend said 'ah, this is just like Rome'. I wouldn't go to Naples again.

The drive down the Amalfi Coast is effing spectacular. Just stunning. I would go to Sorrento and explore.

We went on a family holiday when I was 12 and my sister was 10. I loved it. We took a boat to Capri which was one of my favourite days, also went to Pompei. We also did go to a beach a few times - from what I remember there were little beaches rather than one long beach.

Can't remember little details as it was about 15 years ago, but I loved it. One of the better holidays we took :)

Oops. Meant to say we went on a family holiday to Sorrento mumsnetting on phone whilst being distracted by kids!

We went Lake Garda last summer. Access to Verona and even Venice at a push for culture. Will watch this thread as would love to go back to Pompeii with dc but haven't found a family friendly way to do so. Blisteringly hot when dh and I went before in September and no real beaches. Someone suggested agriturismo but they tend to be off the beaten track and roads are precipitous and , er, very typically Italian !

actually, we did verona and lake garda 4 years ago. was great... keep those ideas coming! will look at sorrento more closely...

I've been to that area twice, once on my own and I took ds a couple of years ago.

Naples is very grim IMO, I stayed once and wouldn't stay there again. It might be OK when you're with your family but within half an hour of arriving I'd seen a dead dog in the street near my hotel, been propositioned by several kerb crawlers, and seen an old lady get mugged. On the plus side it is a very characterful city (!) and has an amazing archaeological museum.

When I took ds we stayed self-catering in a village near Sorrento and used that as our base for day trips. Sorrento is very touristy (a cruise ship stop off, for one thing) but lovely little shops and cafes. We went to Naples (in and out quick, just for the museum) and also did trips to Pompeii, up Mt Vesuvius and over to Capri. It was a really good holiday there's a lot to see and do. Pompeii is amazing though a lot of walking in hot weather, take plenty snacks and drinks.

Liz, i just copied and pasted this from the Family Adventure company website (cant do links!!) i may steal their itinerary!

Vesuvius & Pompeii
8 Days
You can...
Discover the ancient ruins of Pompeii
Take a boat trip to the Blue Grotto and Capri
Visit a working Agriturismo farm and experience rural Italian life
Learn to make pasta!
Based in Sorrento, you'll be perfectly positioned for visiting some of Italy's finest ancient sites, spectacular coastline and tiny islands.

Uncover the secrets of Pompeii and enjoy optional trips to Herculaneum and Mount Vesuvius. Speed across to chic Capri and discover the dramatic scenery on a cruise around the island.

Explore the Greek temples at Paestum and visit a working buffalo farm to see how mozzarella is made. Have fun with a cookery lesson learning to make authentic Italian pasta and tiramisu and you can eat what you've made of course!

Day 1. Join trip at Sorrento.
Day 2. Paestrum and Buffalos!
Countryside tour to visit a working Agriturismo farm and ruins at Paestum.
Day 3. Free day
Take a boat trip along the Amalfi coast or visit Naples and the Archaeological Museum.
Day 4. Pompeii
Train to Pompeii to explore the ruins. Optional visit to Mt Vesuvius.
Day 5. Visit Capri
Enjoy a boat trip around Capri and Blue Grotto, free time to explore the island.
Day 6. Activities
Optional visit to Herculaneum ruins. Afternoon cookery lesson
Day 7. Free day

Sorrento deffo!

Beautiful and lots to do. Near to Pompeii and Naples. Then you can travel down to beautiful Positano and Amalfi.

Amazing.

Oh yes, we did Capri as well which is great fun

tamoo, thanks for that.

and cat, thanks to you too. x post

We love the Neopolitan coast. Naples, imo, isn't particularly nice. Sorrento is accessible and a good base for exploring. Plenty of restaurants, cafes etc and a good range of hotels. There is no beach but is a bathing platform. A lot of hotels have pools. We've also stayed a bit further down the Amalfi coast in Positano and that is beautiful.

Pompeii, Capri, Ischia are all well worth a visit.

We stayed a week in Sorrento then a week in an amazing fishing harbour between Positano and Amalfi. The harbour hotel was on the beachfront and brill for the kids (if they love the sea!)

PM me if you want more details

ok, so naples isnt going to be our base... where would you stay? would you move around and stay in diff hotels or stay in sorrento and do day trips?

ooh cat soundf fab! was it v exp? any other ideas for villages with beaches near sorrento?

In August will be blistering hot..... Don't visit Pompeii till evening.

We went to Sorrento over Easter a few years ago (without dc). The train is really cheap for trips out and we went to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples for the museum (agree with everyone else that Naples isn't very nice otherwise). We went to Capri and hated it - pretty much got on the next ferry back.

Sorrento itself has some nice shops, cafes and backstreets to explore and the scenery is superb.

Another one recommending the amalfi coast. We stayed in a beautiful turret on the coast at positano. Was fab!
Can I ask who that family travel company is please? Quite fancy taking the dc to Pompeii

We stayed on Ischia - which is gorgeous - and did day trips to Pompeii/Mt Vesuvius and Capri. I think we went with Thomsons.

Pompeii is amazing, I must add. One of the most incredible places I have ever been.

The first week we were in a hotel with a pool in the hills behind Sorrento. Most hotels seem to run shuttle buses in and out of the town reguarly (10 mins). As said up the thread, Sorrento is a good base for exploring the area, doing day trips etc. The beaches are small though and they charge you a fortune for sun loungers etc.

It was hard to find a beachfront hotel anywhere on the Amalfi coast as it they are mostly set up in the towns. After a real hunt we found here - the harbour hotel we stayed in. It was amazing. Not luxurious but a wonderful little cove with several bars and restaurants. Buses which were so so easy to use and only about 1E run up and down the coastline to to Amalfi and Positano.

I can't recommend it highly enough.