DO NOT get Taxi’s
Taxi’s in Italy are a rip-off and not worth it unless it’s an emergency or you need to be somewhere important for a certain time. If you want to take a taxi somewhere find people to split the cost with, we did this when we went from Sorrento to Positano and it only cost us 10 euros per person.
Take the bus!
The bus in Italy is stupidly cheap. Buy your bus tickets at the Tabacchi before your journey and buy your connection tickets too- buses don’t let you pay on board.
-It’s 10e to get from Naples to Sorrento one-way per person.
-The bus from our B&B in Sorrento to the town centre was 1.50 per person one-way.
-The bus from Positano to Amalfi is 1.20 per person one-way.
-The bus from Amalfi to Maiori is 1.20 per person one-way.
DON’T rent a car
This was our plan originally. I thought it would be super easy and romantic to roam around the coastline in the sun, we’d driven in Portugal and it was great.
DO NOT DRIVE.
It’s not worth the price of the rental car (we were quoted 450 euros for 10 days, not including fuel and the security deposit) and drivers in Sorrento and on the Amalfi coast are crazy! Not to mention the number of scooters on the roads, they float in and out of cars like there’s no danger to them. I wouldn’t recommend driving, to be honest as it takes a lot of patience and nerve.
Don’t set your food expectations too high
Not going to lie, the food was one of the things I was looking forward to the most in Italy. I ❤ Italian food. However unless you’re going to a more upmarket place, don’t expect anything amazing. The food was nice for sure, but I was not blown away by it except for 1 or 2 restaurants we went to. As a side note, we went to mid-price to low-price restaurants exclusively.
Not a lot of food choice for vegetarians/ absolutely none for vegans
Adam is vegetarian and I mainly eat the same diet as him. There are lots of pasta and pizza options but the main diet in this area is made around seafood. So if you love fish, clams etc you’ll be a happy camper.
Italy is a service country
Unlike in Ireland where it’s fine to bring your food to the table, in Italy the system is that you sit down and someone will come and serve you. You might as well take advantage of it because you will still have to pay a service charge if you eat in but serve yourself.
Don’t assume every B&B/hotel has air conditioning
They don’t.
Glam is not always possible
There are lots of steps and uneven surfaces in many of the towns which means heels are a death trap. Don’t even bring them with you, leave them at home.
Avoid peak time if you don’t like crowds
A lot of the people visiting the Amalfi coast and Sorrento are Italian families. Schools let out in mid-June and return in mid-September. If you want to avoid crowds of people go outside of this time.
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