Italy: Rome to the Amalfi Coast

Rome and the Amalfi Coast are best either side of the summer. May and June, or September into October, give you warm water and open restaurants without the August crush, when the city half-empties and the coast road seizes solid. The shoulders are warmer than people expect and quieter than they fear.

Thirteen nights, north to south. Rome to begin, deep and unhurried; then the Amalfi Coast around Ravello and Positano; Capri offshore; and, for those who want a third act, a few nights in Puglia among the olive country and the sea caves. The trip descends from the imperial city to the water and slows down as it goes.

Rome rewards private access, the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel before the public hours, the Forum with an archaeologist, and dinner somewhere that does not take a booking from a stranger. South of the city, Pompeii before the day-trippers; the gardens of Ravello above the sea; the drive, or better the boat, along the coast; and a day around Capri by private launch, the faraglioni and the grottoes reached before the ferries arrive.

The logistics point is that the coast defeats the car in season. Rome's Ciampino and Naples take the aircraft; from Naples the sensible way onto the Amalfi Coast is by helicopter or by boat rather than the corniche, which can turn twenty miles into three hours in July. Capri is by water, and Puglia by a short hop to Brindisi or Bari.

Among our preferred hotel partners we use Hotel de Russie and Hotel Eden in Rome, Le Sirenuse in Positano and Belmond Caruso in Ravello, and JK Place on Capri.

Ask your advisor about the Vatican before the public hours, a private boat around Capri rather than the ferries, and the Amalfi Coast reached by helicopter when the road is at its worst.