Almost 3 months overdue, (but an exciting 3 months nonetheless..) and we’ve finally written up the remainder of our Amalfi trip!
After a leisurely 3 days exploring Rome, we took the train from Termini Station to the airport to collect our rental car. (See our ‘How to rent a car in Rome!’, blog for the specifics on this).
Chris took charge of the driving, I tried my best on the navigation (neither task lends itself to my natural strengths) and we headed south down to Pompeii.
Pompeii is an impressive ancient city in the Bay of the Naples region. It dates back to 310BC on earliest record, and was later cultivated by the Romans into a trading centre for wine and olives. When neighbouring Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD, it buried the city in ash, undiscovered again for centuries.
The nearby modern town was a busy tourist trap, and having arrived later in the day than planned, we debated continuing on through to Amalfi without stopping. A local restaurant owner offered us a parking spot and this made our minds up. Good decision. At this point, it’s worth mentioning that Pompeii is often advertised in conjunction with a short hike up Vesuvius. I was mistakenly of the impression that the two were within walking distance of each other. They aren’t. If you want to hike Vesuvius (apparently worth doing) it’s 15 miles away by road- north towards Rome. Anyway, Pompeii was certainly a site to see. The streets, walkways, homes, amphitheatres, market squares, monuments (I could go on) survived intact to an impressive extent. Walking around we were astounded by how advanced the Romans were in their daily lives, and it didn’t take much imagination put yourself back in this once vibrant and thriving town.
After a quick pizza stop we were relieved to find our car where we left it (said restaurant owner came across a little suspect) and made the final hour of journey down to Positano. This is a small village in the north region of Amalfi where we were spending our first two nights.
Positano is magical. An upscale village carved into the cliffs, picturesque beyond belief. Driving in Positano isn’t for the faint hearted. The single coast road through edges along the cliffs and the bends weren’t designed to take passing vehicles. Nevermind the coast hopper buses which ran continuously and regularly. We didn’t pass many local cars that weren’t dented or scraped- but nobody seemed to mind. At this point we were thankful we’d maxed out on insurance.
Our hotel had to have been in one of the best spots in the whole village. Secluded and high in the cliff its views were ridiculous. To enable you to conjur up the image in your minds, the April climate was humid, and were surrounded by vibrant flowers and so much vegetation. Not to mention the backdrop sound of tumbling water from the top of the mountains. The atmosphere was surreal.
1000 steps take you down to the beach, past tiny boutique stores, bars and restaurants. (Climbing back up isn’t quite such a breeze). The first evening we stopped halfway down at a bar for the obligatory Hugo Spritz, and ordered a charcuterie ‘snack’ to keep us going until dinner. What arrived wasn’t a snack. One board of cheese, one board of meat, a basket of bread and a complimentary board of pizza later, it was apparent we were going to need to re-think dinner plans. It didn’t matter though, as it turns out Positano gets lively in the evening. In a charming way. By the time we made it down to the beach a party was in full swing. Very European. The whole village plus a few tourists were dancing around a makeshift DJ booth and a nearby restaurant was providing drinks. So I appreciate this doesn’t sound very glamourous, but that’s the point. It was great.
Day 2 in Positano was a trip highlight. We caught a local bus to the next town (bus tickets were around €2) to the start of ‘Il Sentiero Degli Dei’, also known as The Path of the Gods. The hike connects all of the medieval villages and towns along the coast and follows a weaving path through the mountains. The weather wasn’t ideal, but it was atmospheric to say the least. For the first hour we were walking mostly in mist. Frustrating knowing what the view to our right should look like if only we could see it. But we took a granola break, turned on the jambox, and the thick cloud cover rolled back towards the sea until it mostly disappeared. The view was spectacular. The island of Capri was clear in the distance across the water. Furthermore, a herd of goats with jingling cow bells and a rabid dog kept us on our toes, until we finally ventured down into another village ‘Praiano’.
Praiano is special in it’s own way. Secluded passageways and beautiful white villas that wouldn’t look out of place in Santorini. We had a drink in the only hotel/ restaurant we could find, and the waitress was great. If I could remember her name I’d give her a special mention. Anyhow, after my caffeine fix and Chris’s Aperol spritz she sent us away with directions and free bus tickets back to Positano.
That night, feeling like we’d earned, we celebrated with an outrageous amount of pizza and pasta and prosecco (because we were in Italy 
).
Day 3 on the Amalfi coast and we actually hit up Amalfi town. We were staying here for 3 nights in an Airbnb. At this stage I’m gonna mention parking. Parking in Amalfi out of season was a nightmare. In season, I literally cannot imagine. Streets are few and far between in any of these villages. Homes and shops are built up into the rocks, so forget the idea of parking on a side street. There are a number of car parks, basically just constructed platforms with a flimsy roof (which wouldn’t protect against falling boulders), which are charged out at a rate of 20 euros per day. We got lucky, and the Airbnb family helped us out with a spot in a neighbours garage. This required some skilful uphill reverse round a bend manoeuvre on Chris’s part (imagine the subtle brags which followed), but it was a job well done and saved us some euros!
Amalfi Town felt smaller than Positano (it most likely isn’t), and was more geared up to cater for tourism. Don’t let this put you off though. By this I simply mean there are more amenities, more hotels, and slightly less evidence of local life. Nevertheless it’s still very picturesque and retains it’s medieval character. Boat tours and taxi boats leave frequently from the pier at reasonable rates for day trips up and down the coast or over to Capri. We ventured further south, down to the village of Cetara*.
From Amalfi you can also walk round (in the direction of Positano) to the emerald grotto. The grotto is a money spinner, and not something I’d recommend unless you’re really stuck for ideas, but the walk itself was great. Amalfi is famous for its lemons, and we must have walked past thousands on the way. Walking, talking, taking in the views, and capturing it on go-pro. Travel memories like this are priceless. There’s a bar we stopped at for some lunch about halfway which looks out over a huge mansion once owned by Sophia Loren.