Amalfi Coast in May - never been, need advice!

[LifeInAHamsterWheel]

We're hoping to visit the Amalfi Coast in May but am reading mixed reviews about Sorrento so looking for some advice on where to stay. It will just be 2 adults so we're hoping for nice accommodation with restaurants etc nearby for the evenings and accessible for sightseeing during the day (but not every day, we'd like a day or two just relaxing by the pool!) I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the info when I google it! Would love to hear some first-hand recommendations.

Also hoping for some advice! We are arriving in sorrento in Saturday and I haven’t done much research! Hopefully someone will reply op. I’ve heard it’s beautiful, we are looking forward to it.

I’ve stayed in Amalfi. I’ve visited Sorrento twice but not stayed there. It is attractive but just felt overly developed with quite a lot of hotels and very touristy. It is easy to get to from Naples (there is a direct train).

Amalfi did have its share of tourists but as a lot of them were Italian it felt less ‘Brits abroad’. It is more of a pain to get to - I think there may be a direct hydrofoil service from Naples (I could be wrong on this!) but we got the bus from outside Sorrento station. Amalfi is very pretty with a nice (if busy!)beach. Next door Atrani was pretty too. It’s a walk a long the coastal road and also has a beach.

We went last year for 5 days but I wouldn't recommend our hotel as it was quite a distance from the main town.
Sorrento is lovely and we arrived via a train from Naples as part of a travelling holiday. The trains in Italy are cheap and quite regular.
There seemed to be plenty of buses running through the town but we didn't catch one so I can't comment on prices etc.
We caught a train to Pompeii one day which was amazing and we caught a ferry to Capri another day, which was beautiful (the ferries also were regular).
We'd like to go back so that we could see more of the coast.

We went last year end of April/first week May and this was the first week of holiday season and it was already very busy with tours but apparently nothing compared to high summer. Sorrento, Capri, Positano etc are full of tours and then there are cruise ship dockings.

I can't remember and specifics for restaurants but food was reasonable except for Capri. I think we paid €12 for half a pint 😬

Our hotel was all inclusive about a 20 min walk from Sorrento but people we got talking to on a tour liked their hotel in Sorrento but drinks were expensive so felt they couldn't really enjoy themselves. Think €10 a pint. So maybe look out for something like that.

The other thing was a couple of our tours were cancelled due to poor weather. Both were boat tours. Unless the sea is really calm the boats don't get permission to go.

But from Sorrento there is loads to do from Amalfi coast tours, Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius and Naples via boat or bus

Lovely part of the world. Gets very busy but if you’re prepared for that, it’s fine. Stay somewhere with a pool as the beaches are very crowded.

Italy does t have the whole ‘Brits abroad’ culture which is why I like it.

I've been to the Amalfi Coast twice; first time we stayed in Sorrento, the second in Praiano. As nice as Sorrento is to visit (and easy to access all the tourist spots from the train station) I much preferred the quaint Praiano. I don't remember the hotel we stayed at but there a few really nice ones there! I'd also maybe suggest Ravello, I absolutely loved this town! Beautiful views! The Villa Cimbrone is beautiful, and they have rooms!

Don't go to Sorrento, go to Ravello, it's just stunning!

Thanks for all the info, we're off to google some more now!

When we went an Italian friend of mine said whatever you do don't stay in sorrento itself. She told me about a little town just down the road/coast called St angnelo (so?) where it's a fraction of the price and a little train runs to sorrento in 10 mins. We actually walked it one night and it was 30 mins. We saved a fortune but spent all our actual short break in sorrento itself.

I loved Ravello. It's like a film set.

Ravello is lovely, as are Positano and Amalfi. But it is harder to get to Pompeii and Herculaneum from those towns, whereas Sorrento is an easy train ride from them. And you do not want to hire a car, the roads are terrifying. It depends on whether you want something quainter and more scenic or access to sightseeing. Sorrento isn’t horrible by any means, it’s just not as postcard-perfect as the smaller Amalfi coast towns.

Sorrento is a really good base for exploring the Amalfi coast, both north and south. It’s really easy to get around on the train and bus and boat. I’ve stayed twice at the hotel Metropole with children, but the last time must be about nine years ago now, so I couldn’t say what it’s like now. I know Italy well and Sorrento is a pleasant town. Yes, there are tourists, because a lot of package holiday companies go there, but it’s still nice. Places like Malfi are lovely but much smaller.