ITALY

On our fourth day in Italy, we made arrangements to visit the nearby island of Capri. From the Amalfi Coast, Capri is just a 30 or 40 minute boat ride away. In the summer months, hydrofoils operate direct from Positano and Amalfi, but if you are visiting in the winter months, you will need to catch a boat from Sorrento. Public sea connections between the island and the mainland do not run after 8pm, so keep this in mind when planning out your accommodations. If you would like to spend an evening on the island, enjoy dinner and drinks, etc, my recommendation would be to book at least one night on Capri.

Another option is taking a private boat tour around the island. There are several companies who all offer similar tours, but after checking out all our options, we decided on L’uomo e il mare. For only 55 euros each, we took an 8 hour tour complete with towels, drinks, and desserts. The tour began with 4 hours on the boat touring around the island and stopping at several sites along the way, including a stop to swim in the sparkling Mediterranean, sailing under the Faraglioni Rock, as well as a stop at the infamous Blue Grotto and Green Grotto. After the tour around the island, we had 4 hours to explore the mainland on our own. During the ride home, we stopped again for a final swim and toasted to a wonderful day with champagne and cakes. The private boat tour was a perfect way to see Capri and I highly recommend taking this route. Our tour guide and captain were very funny and informative, and spending a day out on a boat with visitors from all over the world was an experience I’ll never forget.

It can be hard to understand the perspective from photos, but the Faraglioni rock is extremely large—our boat drove straight through the center. Crazy! What a beautiful piece of Mother Nature.

Pulling up to Marina Grande, the island was much larger than we were expecting. The beautiful white buildings sparkled against the turquoise waters.

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After two days exploring Positano, we headed along the coast to visit neighboring towns Amalfi and Ravello. Beginning in Positano and ending in Vietri sul Mare, the 55km coastline takes its name from the most central and historically important town of Amalfi. Getting to Amalfi from Positano is extremely easy. SITA buses run approximately every half hour from Positano to Amalfi, and the trip takes about 40 minutes. Tickets can be purchased in several bars and tobacconist around the area, but not on the bus. Sold as both a one way or as a round trip, tickets are good for any time, so to make things easy, buying a round trip ticket is the way to go if you plan to return same day. For us, the easiest location for purchasing all our bus tickets was Bar Internazionale in Positano. Not only do they sell tickets, but there is a bus stop located just across the street. Getting up to the town of Ravello requires first going to Amalfi, and then purchasing a separate SITA bus ticket up to Ravello. We decided to spend an entire day visiting both towns, and had so much fun adventuring around.

The Duomo in the center of Amalfi is very impressive, and after climbing all those stairs, gelato was a must. The port town of Amalfi is definitely more touristy and busy than Positano. A few hours of exploring and we were ready to venture up to the far more peaceful and secluded Ravello.

The second we stepped foot in Ravello, it was love at first site. The drive up the cliffs is pretty impressive, tiny winding streets and garden after garden. And what a view from the top.

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Oh, Positano. I think I found my little slice of heaven on the Amalfi Coast.

Joe and I celebrate birthdays only 1 week apart, and with his 30th birthday and my “golden birthday” falling in the same year, we decided to plan the trip of all trips. Additionally, our good friends who live in Austria were practically begging us to come visit. So after doing some research, we decided to begin our trip on the Amalfi Coast, head to Paris, then to Cologne (for Joe’s bucket list experience: Nurburgring), Vienna, and finally Prague. It was the trip of a lifetime and I’m so glad we took the plunge and made it happen.

Getting to the Amalfi Coast is very easy with just a little planning. We flew from Chicago to Naples International Airport and had a car service arranged to take us directly to Positano city center. Because we shared a van with a few others, the price was very reasonable at 35 euros each. I prefer this method of transport over using the trains and buses for convenience and saving time. The drive from Naples to Positano is just over an hour, and once you hit the coast line from Sorrento to Positano, the views are priceless.

After being dropped off by our shuttle in front of Bar Internazionale, we made our way up to our AirBnb in Montepertuso, a little village directly above Positano. We chose to stay in Montepertuso in a private apartment because we wanted more of a local feel. The little village is only a 10 minute ride up from Positano by bus, and tickets are very inexpensive at 1,15 euros each. The Montepertuso bus also runs early morning to late at night, so it’s easy to spend all day down in Positano without worrying about missing your bus later. We enjoyed returning to the quiet and peaceful Montepertuso after a long day adventuring, savoring a glass of wine on one of our balconies overlooking the coast. There was a small grocery/convenience store just down the street which had everything we needed, including a great selection of wines, pasta, fresh vegetables and fruit, meats, cheeses and desserts. One of our favorite restaurants, Il Ritrovo, was also just down the street. And the hike up to Montepertuso Rock was absolutely spectacular. In about 15 minutes, we climbed 400ft to what felt like the top of the world. If you are planning to hike the Sentiero degli Dei, Montepertuso is also a great starting point for this panoramic footpath along the Amalfi Coast.

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