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Post by johnc on Nov 19, 2024 12:16:17 GMT
It's our 25th wedding anniversary next year and we were considering going away for a holiday in late April/early May for a week or 10 days to somewhere we hadn't been before.
Susan has some Italian blood and thought it would be nice to go to the sun in Italy since we have only been skiing there previously.
Does anyone have any experience of Sorrento at that time of year? Are we going to find it is a bit quieter (suits our purpose), will it be too cool or is it going to be abandoned with nothing to do. I am not too bothered about taking a car and think we would just use the hydrofoil to explore the other coastal towns and islands and perhaps go up to Naples for a day.
It isn't exactly bargain basement pricing with nice hotels sitting around £4,000/£4,500 a week bed and breakfast so I want to be sure we are doing the right thing.
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Post by Martin on Nov 19, 2024 13:12:40 GMT
We had a week there in 2022, but it was a month later as we looking back we arrived on the 26th May. The weather was really good at that time and Sorrento was fairly quiet but it did get a little busier along the Amalfi coast, although nothing like it would be in the summer. We did like Sorrento and the region (inc Capri and Pompeii), the only negative was it really felt like the locals didn’t want you to be there (Sorrento in particular), not something I’d noticed anywhere else.
No plans to go back, but I’m glad we ticked it off the list.
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Post by bryan on Nov 19, 2024 15:04:01 GMT
Friends of mine were in a Spanish coastal resort could be Marbella, and said most of the restaurants were off with them, slow service, deliberately getting it wrong. Too frequent to be a coincidence
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Post by LandieMark on Nov 19, 2024 15:55:58 GMT
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Post by johnc on Nov 19, 2024 17:18:46 GMT
Capri was definitely on the cards for a day trip. I hope these economies realise that without tourists many of them won't have jobs.
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Post by racingteatray on Nov 19, 2024 17:39:03 GMT
If those are the prices, I'd think it wasn't particularly low season. I've only been once, in late August 2021 and I don't think we paid more than £200/night for a perfectly nice 4* hotel (Jaccarino) in Sant' Agata sui Due Golfi with a cracking view of Vesuvius. That was a nice place from which to explore the coast - you sort of retreat up from the crowds. And we took a boat trip over to Capri from the village of Nerano.
We went to the Cinque Terre in early May this year (9-13th) thinking it would be quiet and lovely, and instead it was heaving with people because there was a public holiday in various European countries.
So check your European public holiday dates as well. Easter is late in 2025 (20 April) which won't help.
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Post by Martin on Nov 19, 2024 17:55:20 GMT
It is worth checking other weeks around the one you’ve looked at to see if there is a difference in price, but there has generally been a fairly big increase in hotel prices since 2021, same as long haul flights. When I was looking at hotels in Dubai, the room we stayed in back in November 2021 has increased in price from £400 to £1,050 a night.
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Post by Roadrunner on Nov 19, 2024 18:10:13 GMT
We spent a week near there in October last year and absolutely loved it. We based ourselves at Vico Equense, which is just along the coast from Sorrento and would absolutely do the same again. While Sorrento is nice for a visit, it is very 'touristy' and I wouldn't want to be based there the whole time. I do realise though that others might prefer a busier place, with a multitude of bars etc. on the doorstep. Vico Equense is a nice little town, and is known as something of a gourmet destination, with some excellent restaurants. Accommodation etc. is considerably cheaper than Sorrento, too. You would be closer to Pompei, Vesuvius etc, but further away from the Amalfi Coast. There is a regular train service to Sorrento one way and Pompeii the other way. The Amalfi Coast is ridiculously scenic, but also can get ridiculously crowded. Going slightly out of season will make it bearable. In the last week of October we found it as crowded as we would ever want, with barely two parking spaces available in Positano all day long, and queues to get into all the decent restaurants in Amalfi. Driving the Amalfi Coast is stunning and frustrating in equal measure. The road and scenery are stunning, but much of the time you will be in a traffic jam. Still worth doing though, so long as you are happy sharing a narrow, twisty road with oncoming Italian bus drivers... If you are imagining an open, twisty road, the wind in your hair as you speed along in a classic Alfa Romeo Spider, think again. Looking at what I have written it looks a bit negative, but it isn't meant to be. We absolutely loved it and would happily return. We didn't do Capri, but would do that next time. Some photos to whet your appetite, starting the view from our villa in Vico, looking across to Naples and Vesuvius      |
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Post by johnc on Nov 19, 2024 18:23:45 GMT
If those are the prices, I'd think it wasn't particularly low season. I've only been once, in late August 2021 and I don't think we paid more than £200/night for a perfectly nice 4* hotel (Jaccarino) in Sant' Agata sui Due Golfi with a cracking view of Vesuvius. That was a nice place from which to explore the coast - you sort of retreat up from the crowds. And we took a boat trip over to Capri from the village of Nerano. We went to the Cinque Terre in early May this year (9-13th) thinking it would be quiet and lovely, and instead it was heaving with people because there was a public holiday in various European countries. So check your European public holiday dates as well. Easter is late in 2025 (20 April) which won't help. Part of the problem seems to be that the flights (from Glasgow or Edinburgh) don't start until around 19th April but as you pointed out, that's Easter, so we were looking at somewhere about 24th/25th to go which should be a bit quieter. The hotel rates start to crank up a lot in May but they really get offensive if you want a sea view or a small suite. You can easily spend £10K/£12K for a week for accommodation only!!! |
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Post by racingteatray on Nov 19, 2024 23:22:29 GMT
That would upset me and horrify my wife! Short of a lottery win, I couldn’t fathom being that extravagant. I think we treat ourselves pretty well but we generally baulk at paying much more than £200/night.
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Post by johnc on Nov 20, 2024 7:06:41 GMT
That would upset me and horrify my wife! Short of a lottery win, I couldn’t fathom being that extravagant. I think we treat ourselves pretty well but we generally baulk at paying much more than £200/night. I agree and I just wouldn't spend that kind of money but I can't find anything in the £200/night bracket either (or at least nothing we would particularly want to spend a week in unless we go inland a bit) |
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