ASC IN ITALY TRAVEL GUIDE PT 2: AMALFI COAST

Rolling hills, colorful homes, delicious ristorantes, and Instagram-worthy scenery...

What do all these things have in common?

All are located along the beautiful Amalfi Coast. 

There is a quaint, intricate simplicity about the towns and villages this area is made up of, and every square is a beautiful tribute to the maintenance of its unique Italian culture. On our anniversary trip to Italy, after spending the first day and a half in Rome, my husband and I began our journey by purchasing a Trenitalia train ticket to Naples, Italy. 

While their are many small towns that make up Amalfi Coast, one of the most popular and my favorite is Positano. Full of unique shops, stairways, and beautiful "spaggios" (beaches in Italian), it is a largely touristy area by day and romantically lit by night. However, due to its popularity, it is an expensive place to stay in relation to some of the other surrounding areas. One suggestion (courtesy of Rick Steves) is to stay nearby and take the local bus down to Positano--and this is exactly what we did.

Do know however, that staying outside of the area can be a trek, involving walking, waiting, and or riding a crowded local bus down to the town and beaches.

But if you're down for the ride, it's the best part of the journey! One of my favorite things about using AirBnB is the option to live as the locals do, immersing yourself in the culture of the country you're visiting. With that being said, we stayed in the small village of Montepertuso, approximately a windy, 20-minute local bus ride from Positano. After arriving in Naples from Rome via Trenitalia, we purchased tickets at a Tabbachi (Tobacco shop) for the local Circumvesuviana train. This train took us all the way to Sorrento, where we promptly got off, leaving the train station to purchase tickets for the Sita bus, which would take us up the windy hill towards Positano.

Now, if you are staying in Positano (which is what I would recommend if you can afford it and aren't opposed to the touristy feel), the Sita bus will stop in Positano. If you happen to stay in Montepertuso or Nochelle, you would get off the Sita bus at a small shop called Bar Nazionale, past Positano.

After getting off at this stop, you would then purchase a ticket inside the Bar Nazionale shop, and wait for the local bus, "Mobility Amalfi Coast."

The local bus is often crowded, especially in the morning and late afternoons, when tourists are headed down to the beach and the locals to/from work. The ride gets even more interesting closer to the top of the mountain where it becomes more of a one-way street!

Vespas, pedestrians, and small smart cars all share the single-lane roads leading up to Positano. Hang on for the ride of your life and at least one almost near miss with drivers coming down the hill in the opposite direction.Now, as frightening as this might sound to someone from the states, this is everyday life for those native to Amalfi, and your driver is more than likely quite experienced. Just hold on and enjoy the ride.

When we finally reached our stop in Montepertuso, we were nearly at the end of the bus route. Our AirBnB hosts met us for an introduction to the very small village with one main square and families that he told us have lived there for generations.Fun fact: if you are a person of color, with natural hair like I had/have, you will be met with gazes. These may vary from whispers of "Bella" to wide-eyed stares. Take them with stride and enjoy your trip. Many areas, as even Rick Steves mentioned aren't frequently traveled by people of color, and your arrival may definitely be an out of the ordinary event for some of the locals. Be polite, culturally competent and learn some minor conversational Italian and you will have a fantastic time.After settling into our lovely AirBnB overlooking the hillside, we set out to have dinner around the corner at the local "Ristorante" owned by friends of our hosts.

The food was delicious and the views were spectacular!On our second day in Positano (the day of our anniversary), we headed back on the Mobility bus down to Positano for a lovely afternoon at the beach!

It was a little warmer than we expected and a lot of walking, but well worth the views once we arrived in town.

One of my favorite shops was Antica Sartoria, where colors and free-flowing summer pieces abounded!

There were shirts and skirts with Pom-poms, men's clothing, and jeweled bags and sandals, all very reasonably priced.

If you're in Positano, make sure to stop there, especially if you're carrying back gifts for friends and family.

If you're looking for high-end shopping, you can find that as well, and I visited the most lovely boutique with beautiful 100% Italian linen pieces! I definitely left with a few favorites!

But the best parts of the day were yet to come.

After sightseeing amongst the architecture, we descended through several covered cobblestone pathways and steps to the beach.

We often talk about how beautiful we believe the beaches in California to be, and how much we love the ocean; but our Cali beaches were no comparison to the clear waters of Amalfi!

After stumbling upon this private beach (see picture above), we finally decided to relax on the Spiaggia del Fornillo.

At many of the beaches you pay a small fee for using the beach chairs and umbrellas.

But after the long walk down to the beach, it is well worth the price (and the shade too if it's hot).

As the sun began to go down, we gathered our things to head back to the main beach on Positano towards the restaurant where Dave had made us reservations for dinner.

As an added bonus, if you rent lawn chairs from Spiaggia Del Fornillo, there is free WiFi, and you have the option to take a lovely boat ride back to the main beach...which of course we didn't turn down!

Italians, as I mentioned in my other blogpost, take great pride in everything they do. It was very refreshing to be surrounded by people who enjoyed their work and enjoyed living life.

Their enjoyment and dedication to their individual craft manifested in the food we ate as well! We enjoyed our anniversary dinner at a small ristorante called "Lo Guarracino."

Now, it being that Dave and I are vegetarian, there were times that we had only a few options for food choices.

Amalfi is made up of coastal towns, and seafood is the highlighted specialty in most restaurants; however, we had some of the most delicious pasta and fried veggies at this restaurant!

We were also unafraid to try fish, so Dave ordered some as well! I am much more inclined to fish that I knew earlier that morning were happy and healthy, vs some of the stories we hear about here in the states. In either case, I remained a vegetarian, so I'll talk more about what that was like and where to eat in Italy in another post!

The ristorante was located on the water with spectacular views, so as the sun began to set we had a wonderful light show between the moon and the varying sizes of boats docked on the water for the night.

Eventually we headed back to the top of Positano from the beach below, but not without experiencing an unexpected/involuntary shower of rain. Note: always check the weather if visiting during the fall season as it can change at any time!

Approximately an hour and a half later we arrived back at our AirBnB, tired, slightly damp from the rain but happy, with new souvenirs, new friends, and some lovely memories!

The next morning we would head back down the mountain via local and Sita bus to our next adventure, and my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE part of the whole trip....Venice!! Stay tuned for my next travel guide on Venice, including where we stayed, what we did, and how we got there!

If you've read this far you're ready to navigate Amalfi like a pro! Be sure to let me know if you have any questions about Amalfi, Positano or anything else we did!

Have a wonderful Tuesday! Ciao!

-ASC