The Amalfi Coast, Italy

The Amalfi Coast, Italy

Driving from Rome towards the coast of Napoli was fun as we sung along to ‘That’s Amore’ and other cliché Italian songs. It was great seeing and hearing stories of the region from a tourist point of view. My family are from the island of Ischia, off the coast of Napoli in which I visited for a month back in 2004 however this time, I was on a guided 3 day tour with Busabout called the Italian Adventure and we were headed for Pompeii.

Arriving in Pompeii, temperatures were souring well above 30’C so we hid in any shade we could find whilst being led on a two hour walking tour through the ruins. The streets felt eerie as we walked down narrow paved lanes watching Mount Vesuvius tower above us, learning the history of this unknowingly town that soon lost everything.

We cruised around the winding road towards the town of Sorrento, our base for the next two nights. The views on the drive were spectacular and I was all the more excited for our orientation walk of the town tonight.

Sorrento is your picturesque, typical Italian town. Everyone is so friendly. Fruit & vegetables are sold fresh in almost every shop. We did lemoncello & chocolate tasting before heading to a restaurant our guide had picked out for a traditional Italian meal. The sun sets are beautiful in this part of the world. Our campsite was in a pretty spectacular location as we watched Mount Vesuvius glowing at night from all the houses that were built beneath it. The fate of Pompeii obviously doesn’t scare them from future occurrences.

Awaking early in the morning, we were led on a slight bush walk to an empty wharf awaiting us. Moments passed before our boat showed up to transfer us to the beautiful Isle of Capri.

On route, we stopped at an opening in a rock wall that was the entrance to the famous Blue Grotto. For €5, we jumped onto a smaller boat awaiting our turn to enter. Watch your heads! As the waves dip, the boat is able to slide under the low lying rock formation where you are greeted by this amazing blue glow. The inside of the cave is filled with the voices of singing Italian men. For an extra couple of euros, you can jump into the waters for a swim which all the boys did! Then it was time to duck our heads as we exit the blue grotto and continued on to Capri.

Relaxing & swimming in the beautiful shores near the wharf, we soon got dressed to explore what Capri had to offer. We jumped in a traditional open-air taxi, holding on tightly as the driver navigated the narrow streets before arriving in Anacapri. We jumped on the chair-lift to Mount Solaro for amazing views over Capri and other neighbouring islands such as Ischia where I had visited many years before. The scenery is amazing on this island, but I will be biassed and say that the island of Ischia still beats Capri.

Our final day on the tour had us cruising in the bus along the spectacular Amalfi Coast Road leading from Sorrento. One of the most scenic roads I have ever been on. We almost screamed as our highly skilled driver navigated a bus almost too large for the roads through tiny, almost one-way streets with a sheer cliff drop next to us. The views almost made you forget about the danger! We joined a boat cruise down the coast, past Positano and Amalfi where our guide pointed out houses who belonged to the likes of Sophia Loren & Gina Lollobrigida, Italian TV celebrities I grew up with – although not many others knew who our guide were talking about.

We stopped in Ravello for more beautiful views and a delicious Italian lunch as we relaxed in the centre of town staring at Ravello’s Duomo & surrounding gardens, apparently a filming location for Mr & Mrs Smith although I’ve never seen the movie. The views from this town are spectacular as we stared in awe at below.