Ciaoo! Wooh, time flew since my last post! I made our photo album of our holiday already in november, but I didn’t make the time yet to write the blog! But here it is, finally and long overdue: our roadtrip along the Amalfi Coast!
Naples – Napoli
We flew in to Naples, and spent our first 2 nights in B&B Anastasia. A beautiful place, at walking distance of the center (20 min) but still affordable. The only “weird” thing about it, is that we never saw the owner. They opened the door remotely when we arrived. But ok, other than that it was great! Our first day, we took it easy. Ah Naples, the city of pizza and Dries Mertens 😉
Castel dell’Ovo
We took a walk after we arrived, and ended up at the boardwalk leading to castel dell’ovo (meaning egg castle). The entrance is free, so we took a stroll around. A few nice views there, perfect for our first afternoon!
Piazza del Plebiscito
Next, we went the other way and towards the center of Naples. We did everything by foot, so no taxi or public transport needed! This was a large square with on one side the Royal Palace, and on the other the church of San Francesco di Paolo. This is the church:
Galleria Umberto I
I really loved this gallery, so luxurious, bright and spacious!
Castello Nuovo
For the Castello Nuovo, you had to pay an entrance fee so we just passed by it, we didn’t feel like going in. But it was quite impressive from the outside!
Restaurant Sorbillo Napoli
If you are in Napoli, you are in the city where pizza was invented. So chances are, you will have a decent pizza on every corner of every street here. But we talked to a few locals, and they all recommended us Sorbillo as the BEST pizza place of Napoli. We were in the area around lunchtime (they open at 12) so decided to hang around and go for an aperitivo nearby. We were at Sorbillo at 12.03 and we got THE LAST TABLE. Incredible. But: the pizza was AMAZING. So worth it. Oh my, take me back!
Babà al Rum
Also – when in Naples, you have to try babà al rum – it’s their local specialty. It’s basically a small yeast cake, very light, but saturated in rum.
Pompeii
After Naples, we started our descent to the Amalfi coast and our first stop was of course Pompeii. Do some research before where to put your car and how to get the best tickets, because otherwise you get ripped off easily. We did a guided tour, but afterwards I’m not really sure if it was worth the money. If you are on a rush, and don’t want to spend more than 3h there, maybe.
Sorrento
Aaah, personally, this was my favourite city that we visited during our roadtrip! Beautiful views, cosy streets with many shops and restaurants. With the benefit of insight, I would have stayed here a few more days!
Restaurant Recommendation: we went for dinner at Refood Sorrento and had a wonderful evening there. Great service, an amazing pasta vongole (dente, a lot of vongole and very tasteful) and a glass of prosecco on the house.
Capri
From Sorrento, we took a day trip to Capri. The owner of our B&B arranged a pick-up and boat trip for us (we probably paid too much for this as well). We were a bit unlucky, because the weather was grey and it had been raining all morning, so the Grotta Azzura (Blue Cave) was closed. We were not planning on going in there anyway because we heard it was expensive (like € 15 pp to go in there 5 min). Here are some pictures I took during the boat ride there:
The Island itself was nice, but somehow I imagined it more impressive. What bothered me on this trip is that they really treat you like a milk cow on the whole trip. You pay a lot of money for the boat to go there, and then they offer a bus tour around the Island to visit both Capri and Anacapri (by foot it is impossible to see both in a day).
So we just stayed in Capri. We did find a beautiful viewpoint, called “Belvedere of Punta Cannone“. You can find this point on Google. Look at this:
Other than that, we strolled around. Since the weather wasn’t amazing, the beaches were also not very crowded. We relaxed a bit on the beach before taking the boat home.
Positano
The next day, we left for our next stop, which was Positano! I didn’t say this before, but if you do a roadtrip in the Amalfi coast as well, make sure to get a little car. We ordered a BMW1 series, but got a BMW4 series (unless we wanted to wait until our car was ready..). It’s a trap! The streets in this regions are narrow and the bends sharp.
Hotel Villa delle palme
I have to give a shoutout to this hotel, only because of the owner. She was so nice to reserve a spot for our car, but not only that – she moves around the cars like tetris blocks so everything fits perfectly. It is family run, and they speak perfect English (without an accent even). You get a discount if you go eat at the restaurant nextdoor (which we can also recommend). I booked a standard room, and this is what that looks like:
Positano is a beautiful city with a nice beach! The only downside is the thousands of stairs you will have to climb when here. Because of course: what goes down, must come up. I really wish I went more on the Stairmaster in the gym before coming here…
Tip: if you are looking to party, you might give “Music on the rocks” a try. This is a nightclub in Positano built on a cliff, that looks spectacular inside!
Amalfi
Ah, finally we will find out what Hooverphonic was so lyrical about in their song 😉 Make sure to stay awake during the drive there because you are in for a treat! Because of the big car, we didn’t make any stops along the way, but there are various viewpoints you can stop at to take in the beauty of it.
Cattedrale di Sant’Andrea of Duomo di Amalfi
This beautiful church is a must see when you are in Amalfi. I can beat myself in the head we didn’t make it back in time in the evening to go in, because would have loved to take a walk in there:
Tip: Restaurant Da Gemma – make sure to make a reservation here, otherwise you will either have to wait a very long time or go somewhere else! In our case, we didn’t make a reservation and they recommended us their “sister” company next door (the wine cellar). A great tip, because the food surprised us in a good way (daring combinations like truffle with fish) and a great accompanying wine.
Amalfi by night:
Vietri sul mare
The last stop of our trip – and with the benefit of insight, this is one you can skip. There was not much to do end of September (season is over for them) but we were just happy to stroll around and lay on the beach.
The only reason I would go back, is to visit again the B&B we slept in – B&B Lo Scrigno. Giuseppe came and picked us up from the central square, had a car spot for us on a private and closed parking, and the room was made ready sooner than normal (we already arrived at 11 in the morning). He recommended some restaurants and was also there for breakfast to make sure we had everything we wanted.
Oh wait – I would also go back for this place called Passariello Cantina Mediterranea! We ended up here after dinner because I saw a sign for cocktails on the street. It’s a place that also has tapas and a nice cocktail list (I believe € 5 for a Mojito!). There’s a very friendly Cuban girl working there – so of course we ordere Mojito’s because she knows her shit! Yuup, would come back here to try more on the menu for sure!
Ischia
Our last 5 days, we spent in Ischia in a place called Albergo Terme Villa Svizzera. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a high flyer for us either. Like a 6.5 on a scale of 10. The staff of the hotel was extremely friendly, but the people of the Terme (Massages and face treatments) not so much. You could feel the tourist season was over for them, and they were not motivated at all to make you feel relaxed or even explain what was about to happen ( I booked a face treatment). The pool is sea water (which is mentioned on Booking.com) but if I wanted to swim in the sea, I would cross the road and go to the actual sea. Next to the hotel was a bus stop with a bus that takes you directly to the centre of Ischia.
My highlight of the hotel, were the stray cats and in particular this one:
Castello Aragonese
A must visit in Ischia is this impressive castle. It’s well worth the price of € 10 p.p. since you get a nice leaflet with information and can spend a full afternoon here. The views were among the best we have seen here on this holiday. Have a look:
My last tip: after visiting this castle, go for a nice wine and at Ischia Salumi and have the Tagliere ricco di Salumi. I promise you will go inside and order some salami to take home (at least I did!). They wrap them airtight for you, so you can take it in your luggage without having to consume it within a week (although you will want to!)
This was an amazing trip that I enjoyed every minute of! I love Italy, with the pizza, wine, beautiful places and language. I could go on holiday there every year and be a happy camper.
Until next time! xoxo
Claudia
labellita.com 
This entire trip is my absolute dream! I love Italy but have hardly visited the country. Your photos look beautiful.
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Great blog!
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Awww thank you! I should write another blog soon.. My office job is preventing me from wanting to spend more time behind the computer though 😀
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