I want to stay somewhere beautiful that I can visit Pompeii etc from. Where do I go?

[CharleyDavidson]

And who do I book it through?

I need...
A package. Flight from Manchester or Liverpool, airport to hotel transfer, accommodation for 1 adult and 2 teens in probably Oct to avoid the heat (and price) of the Summer but to fit in with school hols. And for it to be somewhere that's easy (and safe) to get a tour to visit the site of Pompeii.

Doesn't have to be fully inclusive but half board would make it easier.

Currently looking at Thomson as that's the only company I've ever booked anything through.

Where, oh wise Mumsnetters, should I look? TIA

Citalia are the specialist tour operator for Italy

Thanks. Will take a look.

Don't know about packages, but we stayed in Sorrento and it was a good base for both Pompeii and the beautiful Amalfi coast. We felt it was a great mix - we really enjoyed the coastal scenery and Capri, and Pompeii provided the culture/ history.

Sorrento for fun and busy but Positano for peace and beauty

We found Citalia overpriced and less than constructive when we complained. Inghams Italy are worth a look. Thomson et al do packages to Sorrento and nearby towns , but for scenery you need either Capri/Ischia or the Amalfi Coast. Positano is lovely but steeply set on the cliff. Not that easy to get to Pompeii but possible. Alternatively go for a hotel above Sorrento with shuttles to the town centre and station.

Use Citalia for the info and then book cheaper with someone else

We stayed in a quiet little village just outside Sorrento; I think it was called St Agatha. Hired a car & booked flights to Naples ourselves. I think we booked self-catering accommodation using an owner's-direct type website.

Sorrento.

Ravello perched above Amalfi is beautiful, there are numerous hotels, we did a package with Citalia years ago but if I was doing it now I would book flights & accommodation myself. The town hosts an annual music festival in the summer, Wagner stayed there & apparently was inspired to write Parsifal there, the beautiful terraced gardens were the inspiration for Klingsors magic kingdom. If you want to do Pompeii there will be tours but a car hire would give you more freedom.
Ravello is fairly quite in the evening so if you have teens Positano or Sorrento might be a better bet.

Jet2.com fly from Manchester to Naples and I've found them to be far better than Thomson.

Sorrento. We stayed at the grand hotel tramotano (I think). It was great. Citalia are good but expensive. I think easyjet fly to Naples. And it's a train from there to sorrento

We stayed here - it was beautiful.

Cheap EayJet flights to Naples - train to Sorrento. Get the bus outside the station to Amalfi or Atrani (stayed in both Sorrento and Atrani and the later is prettier & less full of not very attractive hotels in my opinion - sorry Sorrento fans!).

Positano

Naples proper is crazy and beautiful and has great food and few tourists. Please go there.

Probably Sorrento if you want the ease of transport links. We stayed further along the Amalfi Coast (Sorrento is on the Sorrentine Peninsula) so we had to get a bus to Salerno, and a train to Pompeii from there. It was very quiet and peaceful where we stayed and not full of tourists, which is what we wanted. We were able to travel coast to coast easily by ferry or bus.

I would go with Sorrento. The towns on the southern side of the Amalfi coast (i.e. Positano, Amalfi, Ravello) are less accessible and if you go by road it takes ages along winding, narrow roads to get off the peninsula and back onto the mainland. You can take ferries/hydrofoils from all of them, but its quicker from Sorrento to Capri or Naples and with teens I think Sorrento would be better too as its a bit more lively. We stayed in Amalfi, which is stunning, but teens might find it a bit dull.

As for flights - Easyjet to Naples should do you. But if you prefer a package there are lots of them. How about popping into a travel agent and seeing what your options are? For packages their knowledge is really good.

Positano positano positano! We always stay at 'palazzo murat' the most beautiful hotel. Wonderful courtyard, amazing rooms, even a pool at the bottom of the garden. Dine at chez black. We get the bus from the top of the hill to sorrento and from their take the train straight into Pompeii.