Casa Marina di Praia Seaside Villa - Standalone Villa - Green Vacations - Family Lodgings

THESE ARE SOME OF THE DATES ALREADY BOOKED IN 2012: April 21-27 Are your dates booked? Click here for a similar villa very nearby. Character: Bright and charming apartment occupying the entire top floor of a panoramic cliffside house. Advantages: Great views, nice privacy, very pretty furnishings and fittings, location at the mid-point of the Amalfi Coast. Location: Just outside Praiano, easily reached on foot. 7 km from Positano and 12 km to Amalfi. Click here to see the map for Casa Marina di Praia. Size: sleeps 4+1; large living room (with sleep sofa) opening onto the 750-square-foot terrace; dining area and kitchenette; one bedroom with sitting area, queen bed, en suite bathroom with stall shower; one bedroom with queen bed and sliding doors onto the terrace; second bathroom with stall shower; paved side garden. Features: Air conditioning, heating, washing machine, dishwasher, telephone with dial-up Internet access, satellite TV, CD. Minimum stay: Saturday-to-Saturday. Disadvantages: 800 yards and 90 steps from the road (but this path is pedestrian only and the steps are quite easy to do, compared to most of the Amalfi Coast!) Car needed: We do not recommend having a car at this house, but if you have one you can park at a private garage 800 yards from the house for 85 Euro/week (subject to change).

The little town of Praiano, perched exactly halfway along the Amalfi Coast between Positano and Ravello, is a perfect place to stay if you want to experience the authentic charms of this breathtaking area, rather than just hang around the boutiques and night spots frequented by tourists. Besides being one of the few places where you can see both the western and eastern ends of the coast, Praiano is a small nucleus of whitewashed houses inhabited by friendly families whose kids play soccer in front of the cathedral, often joined by the priest in his long black cassock. Almost every day of the year there's a spectacular sunset at the edge of this piazza, after which the moms call the youngsters and their dads home for a big plate of homemade pasta. Things don't change very rapidly around these parts, which is just how we like it. And if you're hankering for an evening at the discotheque, don't worry -- there are several just down the road.

On a side road just above the town, there's a public garage and a very good food store. Off to the side is an inviting sidewalk that wends its way along the side of the hill, past the rear doors of homes and past terraced gardens where lemon trees flourish next to vineyards, olive groves and vegetable gardens. Now and then you go up or down a few steps, and after 800 yards you come to a three-story family home, whose entire top floor is occupied by this delightful 1000-square-foot air-conditioned apartment. You enter via the private 750-square-foot terrace, but not before stopping to marvel at the amazing view, with Positano on your right, the whole eastern coast on your left, and the pretty little half moon bay beach called Marina di Praia straight down below. If you miss your Stairmaster, you can walk to that beach in ten minutes, thanks to the steps that were carved into the hillside back in the days before the Amalfi Coast Road existed. (Or you can take the bus down the hill!).

The house's two bedrooms are on either side of a hallway. One is a spacious bedroom with queen bed, big wardrobe and sliding doors onto the terrace. The other has a sitting area with sofa, a queen bed, wardrobe, and en suite bathroom with shower. Farther down the hall is the big living room, fitted with good-quality furniture (including a single sleep sofa) gathered around the fireplace, as well as a satellite TV, telephone, table, and sliding glass doors to the terrace.

For this property:
Prices include: all taxes, services, electricity, air conditioning, heating, and one set of linens per person.
Mandatory extras: 180 Euro/week for weekly or final cleaning and for baggage porterage at arrival and departure.
Optional extras: 52 Euro/week for baby crib and linens, paid In Italy.

To get to the property you walk along an 800-yard path for pedestrians only that incorporates 90 steps. If you have a car, you will need to park in the public garage at the end of this road, for 85 Euro/week. Also at this end of the road is an excellent food shop. Other shops and restaurants are about a 20-minute walk or 5-minute drive away, on the main road.

The bus stops 20 minutes' walk from the house and takes you to the pebble beach below the house, or to Positano (7 km), Amalfi (12 km) or Ravello (16 km). Sorrento is18 km, Salerno 45 km, Naples airport 55 km. Ferries and hydrofoils ply daily during summer months from Amalfi to Capri (1½ h.), Positano (20 min.), Ischia (2½ h) and Salerno (1 h.).

Check-in: 3-8pm (arrivals after 8pm or at any time on Sunday are subject to a 50 Euro late fee paid in cash in Italy)
Check-out: 10am
Refundable security deposit: 250 Euro paid in Euros cash or double-signed travelers checks ONLY

Click here for information about regular boat service between Naples, the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Agropoli and Cilento.

Click here for information about private transfers to the property.