Amalfi Coast....now that we're 1 month out....Anyone else going Oct 1 to 8???

[sayhello]

Swim from Boat at Capri .... no ... it is a High Speed boat from Dock to Dock

But there could be a place to swim at a beach

You are wrong. The private boat the ABD uses to sail around Capri stops and allows people to jump off the boat and swim in the Mediterranean. I wish you'd stop answering ABD specific questions that you don't know the answers to, since you've never been on an ABD.

Hi Sayhello

We were at Le Mont St. Michel on Thursday .... & driving around the Bay yesterday.

What a sight & Visit .

There is no local transport . You arrive & park your car ( like every theme park ) & walk to the

Shuttle bus ( going every 5 min ) then a 10 min walk to the entrance . .... from the start it is a steep climb

.... and crowded . but well worth it ... we stayed about 5 hours ..... cost € 15 per car

What in the world does this have to do with the conversation or my reply?

Sayhello

 

[wdwtheplacetobe]

Thank you SO very much for all of your insight! Yes, they just are not early morning risers and not really planners so not the best idea for them, unfortunately. I did have one question about Capri - did you actually get to swim in the Mediterranean from the boat? Or is it one of those you have 10 min if you want to get in the water and out? Just curious if you recall. Again thanks SO much!

Unfortunately, I can't tell you the length of time in the water. However, someone just posted pics on ABD Insiders on FB. We were there during a storm. The smaller boats were not going out. Our Med Swim was replaced by something else. Don't remember what!

 

[wdwtheplacetobe]

Thank you SO very much for all of your insight! Yes, they just are not early morning risers and not really planners so not the best idea for them, unfortunately. I did have one question about Capri - did you actually get to swim in the Mediterranean from the boat? Or is it one of those you have 10 min if you want to get in the water and out? Just curious if you recall. Again thanks SO much!

I can answer a lot of stuff because it was our last ABD in Oct 2019. sayhello is very knowledgeable about ABD and travel and I have read her advice over many years. If you have any other questions about Amalfi ABD, don't hesitate to ask. I can relay our experience and make suggestions, but keep an open mind. One ABD and you'll be hooked!

 

[AquaDame]

I find myself with more vacation time than my husband again next year and am looking at ABDs wondering which may be the best to do solo.... @sayhello how did you feel heading to dinner yourself during this ABD when you did it? I'm also looking at the Sicily tour but I don't believe they have done that one before, unless they rebranded?

 

[wdwtheplacetobe]

I find myself with more vacation time than my husband again next year and am looking at ABDs wondering which may be the best to do solo.... @sayhello how did you feel heading to dinner yourself during this ABD when you did it? I'm also looking at the Sicily tour but I don't believe they have done that one before, unless they rebranded?

I can answer part of your question. Sicily is New! It looks like a good one.

 

[sayhello]

I find myself with more vacation time than my husband again next year and am looking at ABDs wondering which may be the best to do solo.... @sayhello how did you feel heading to dinner yourself during this ABD when you did it? I'm also looking at the Sicily tour but I don't believe they have done that one before, unless they rebranded?

I actually did not do the Amalfi coast ABD. I did the Med Cruise ABD add-on, which included a lot of the same activities as the land ABD (the Agriturismo La Galatea Farm Visit & Pizza-Making, the private cruise around Capri and the visit to see Michelangelo's David and the walking tour of Florence). So I can't answer you specifically about heading to dinner by myself on this particular ABD. However, I've never had an issue eating meals by myself, whichever ABD I've been on. But you don't always have to eat by yourself even if you're traveling solo. Many times, I was invited to join others for dinner. It's one of the things I like about ABDs.

I'd be happy to give you my perspective on any of the ABDs I've done solo, if you're interested!

And as @wdwtheplacetobe said, Sicily is brand new this year. So no-one has first-hand knowledge of it yet. But it does look like a cool trip!

Sayhello

 

[pjacobi]

I've toured Italy on my own, but never considered stopping someplace to actually make pizza. Heck, I can do that at home! I don't understand why some people get so excited about this activity.

I'd rather spend the time eating pizza made master at a restaurant where nobody speaks English.


-Paul

 

[sayhello]

I've toured Italy on my own, but never considered stopping someplace to actually make pizza. Heck, I can do that at home! I don't understand why some people get so excited about this activity.

I'd rather spend the time eating pizza made master at a restaurant where nobody speaks English.


-Paul

Like a lot of the "crafty", hands-on activities that ABDs can have, it was actually one of the highlights of the trip. Most people don't have the space to spread out homemade pizza dough, or watch an expert spin it when it wasn't quite thin enough, or have a brick oven to bake it in. It was fun doing it all together, and then eating it for lunch. Making pizza at home is not even CLOSE to this activity! Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Sayhello

 

[holden]

Just here to say that we did this ABD several years ago (maybe 10?). We loved it! Highlights were our guides (Marcello and Anibal), Pompeii, swimming in the Mediterranean, Capri and Florence!

 

[AquaDame]

Like a lot of the "crafty", hands-on activities that ABDs can have, it was actually one of the highlights of the trip. Most people don't have the space to spread out homemade pizza dough, or watch an expert spin it when it wasn't quite thin enough, or have a brick oven to bake it in. It was fun doing it all together, and then eating it for lunch. Making pizza at home is not even CLOSE to this activity! Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Sayhello

It is done so early in this trip I thought perhaps its other use is as an ice breaker too. They do all the prep work and cleanup, so does it really add much time to the lunch?

 

[sayhello]

It is done so early in this trip I thought perhaps its other use is as an ice breaker too. They do all the prep work and cleanup, so does it really add much time to the lunch?

The only thing that adds time is that there's not room for everyone to do their pizzas all at the same time, so you do it in shifts. But the brick oven cooks the pizza *so* fast, it's not really that big of an issue. Totally worth it.

Sayhello

 

[wdwtheplacetobe]

It is done so early in this trip I thought perhaps its other use is as an ice breaker too. They do all the prep work and cleanup, so does it really add much time to the lunch?

Even tho my first job was in a Pizza joint...it was still a fun time. They also demonstrated how to make mozzarella, teach some dancing, and explain limoncello and how it's made. So....not without education and fun!

 

[wdwtheplacetobe]

We had a bonus....the power went out 3 times during the storm! Guides were holding the flashlights on their phones. Very entertaining! And a story to tell!

 

[cschaaf]

Thanks so much for this information! Do you feel it was worth doing v trying to piece it on your own? I really feel it would be but we have friends that want to go that think we could plan on our own. I think the bigger cities could be easier but really fell the smaller town part of trip and getting around is so much easier with ABD. Also, how do I find Cristina's contact information (if you have any idea!)? Thanks!

Hi, My husband and I are also interested in the Italy&Amalfi June 2023.
We have not traveled to Italy before and would also like to see Rome. I’m just not sure if as first timers to Italy we should do it on our own Any thoughts ,if u have done this before ? Thanks,Joan.

I planned an Italy trip for 4 (my wife and I plus my parents) this past July and we found Italy very do-able 'on our own'. We didn't hit the same spots as this ABD, so it's not apples to apples, but we were able to make choices that we couldn't have made on the ABD. For the 4 of us, we paid just over $1200 more than what it would have cost for one person's ABD fees.

Ours was 8 nights covering A. Naples, Vesuvius, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Amalfi Coast (Amalfi, Positano. Did not do Sorrento or Capri), B. Rome, and C. Florence.

For chunk A, we hired a private guide and driver (recommended by Rick Steves). Chunk B, we did a few group tours (Colosseum/Forum/Palatine and Vatican) and one private guide/driver (night tour of Rome sights) the rest was on our own. For chunk C, we booked a round trip on the high speed rail and toured Florence on our own.

It was a fantastic trip, as I am sure the ABD would be. We paid a LOT less and were able to tailor the trip to exactly what we wanted. It's totally doable on your own.

The 'price' I paid was more in the time that I spent figuring out what to see, what days/times things were open, best route to reduce wasted time, the added stress of being responsible for keeping it all straight, etc. Was it worth saving over $9000 per couple? I think it was.

 

[ngl]

I planned an Italy trip for 4 (my wife and I plus my parents) this past July and we found Italy very do-able 'on our own'. We didn't hit the same spots as this ABD, so it's not apples to apples, but we were able to make choices that we couldn't have made on the ABD. For the 4 of us, we paid just over $1200 more than what it would have cost for one person's ABD fees.

Ours was 8 nights covering A. Naples, Vesuvius, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Amalfi Coast (Amalfi, Positano. Did not do Sorrento or Capri), B. Rome, and C. Florence.

For chunk A, we hired a private guide and driver (recommended by Rick Steves). Chunk B, we did a few group tours (Colosseum/Forum/Palatine and Vatican) and one private guide/driver (night tour of Rome sights) the rest was on our own. For chunk C, we booked a round trip on the high speed rail and toured Florence on our own.

It was a fantastic trip, as I am sure the ABD would be. We paid a LOT less and were able to tailor the trip to exactly what we wanted. It's totally doable on your own.

The 'price' I paid was more in the time that I spent figuring out what to see, what days/times things were open, best route to reduce wasted time, the added stress of being responsible for keeping it all straight, etc. Was it worth saving over $9000 per couple? I think it was.

Thanks so much for this insight. We are still going back and forth. If it was just for adults I think I would do exactly what you did. The wild card for us is our kids - they really are great with travel (will be 14 & 12 then) but do like with ABD & Tauck Bridges how they do have many activities geared for them and being able to meet other kids. Just need to figure out the balance of "fun" things for them if we plan it on our own. Having said that, what was the private guide & driver that was recommended? I'm currently putting a "on our own" v ABD comparison together so that would be great to have a recommendation. Thanks!

 

[cschaaf]

Thanks so much for this insight. We are still going back and forth. If it was just for adults I think I would do exactly what you did. The wild card for us is our kids - they really are great with travel (will be 14 & 12 then) but do like with ABD & Tauck Bridges how they do have many activities geared for them and being able to meet other kids. Just need to figure out the balance of "fun" things for them if we plan it on our own. Having said that, what was the private guide & driver that was recommended? I'm currently putting a "on our own" v ABD comparison together so that would be great to have a recommendation. Thanks!

I can understand that for sure.

We worked with Pina Esposito - she was awesome. She was our guide and she works with transportation companies as needed. https://www.privateguide.com/en/pina/

Originally, I was only going to book her for the tours of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but after exchanging some emails and seeing how detail oriented she was, I started asking about other tours then about transfers.

She was particularly amazing in Pompeii and Herculaneum - she really helped bring the place to life. We'd slow down where appropriate and, when she saw our next place to stop was not crowded, she'd encourage us to "Seize the day," and walk a bit faster to beat any crowd. If we weren't going to beat the crowd, she'd redirect to something else and let the large groups move through, then we'd continue on.

We didn't book her as a guide on our arrival day, but she did arrange a driver to pick us up at the airport, take us to a pizza place, take us to the to the Archeological Museum, then transfer us to Pompei city. She got us the tickets for the museum and had them waiting for us at the pizza place. So we stopped for lunch, picked up the tickets, and went to the museum.

We threw her a curveball about 3 days before the trip when my dad asked to hike Vesuvius. She was able to quickly secure the driver for the longer day and get us the necessary passes so that we could do that on the drive from Naples to Pompei.

The driver spoke little English, but she was available to translate over the phone if needed. We mostly got by with hand gestures and Google Translate, but there was a point where he had to call her for something - I don't remember what.