Dreaming Of The Amalfi Coast

You know when you see something that looks so stunning that it’s almost too good to be true? That is how I felt about the Amalfi Coast. Italy has been on my list of places to visit for a long time so when a great opportunity presented itself, I booked my trip on the spot. Most travelers go directly to the major cities like Rome, Pisa, Florence, etc. (which I absolutely plan to visit one day), but my eye was always on the coast. There was just something magical about it. Even more than what pictures can showcase. Many think of this area as just relaxing and romantic, but there were so many great activities and things to do. The coast is also known to be pretty expensive, but there are also ways to save money while traveling and exploring the area. Read on to read tips on the best ways to make the most of your experience and save a little while you’re at it!

 

Saving Tip: Look into flying out of a different city 

I live in Cincinnati where international flight prices are almost never in my favor. To get to the Amalfi Coast, the closest airport to fly into is Naples. From Cincinnati, flights were about $1400 roundtrip at the time. Um, no thanks! Instead of paying that price, I did a quick google search to find out which airports were the cheapest to fly to Italy. I then set up alerts on Hopper (an app you can download on your phone) with a variation of US cities flying to either Naples or Rome to get the best deal. In the end, the best option was to do a one way ticket from Cincinnati to Newark (about $150) then a roundtrip ticket from Newark to Rome (about $450). I ended up changing my return option to get home faster, but in the end, I saved several hundred dollars, which I will use for another trip in the future :). If you do fly into Rome, it is really easy and super cheap to take a train from Rome to Naples (about $20-50 USD). From there, you can quickly get to the Amalfi Coast. I know the research part can be a lot. Considering I am a travel agent on the side, I’d be happy to help you piece this together if you’re considering going.

 

Saving Tip: If you fly into or take the train to Naples, take the ferry to the Amalfi Coast 

Unless you are renting a car (which I highly DO NOT suggest), most of your closest drop off points are in Naples. Naples is about an hour drive from the Amalfi Coast. Considering Uber and private transportation can get pretty pricey, I would suggest taking the ferry from Naples to the Amalfi Coast and getting transportation to your hotel or home from there. It will only cost about $30-40 USD (sometimes cheaper) which is much less than the alternative. You’ll also have a nice ride in the water along the way!

 

Safety Tip: Do NOT Rent a car 

Renting a car in some parts of Italy makes sense. However, once you get to the coast, I would ditch the car and rely on taxis, private transportation, ferries, or Ubers. Reason being is, as you see in the beautiful pictures many post online, you are on a very large and very high cliff the entire time. Depending on what part you are staying in, you can be as high as 2,000 feet up with very narrow roads. I  consider myself to be a pretty good driver, but would not take the chance. The chance is not you falling off of the cliff. It is the possibility of hitting someone coming around the corner because you don’t know the roads. There are blind spots everywhere. If you do have an accident, it would block drivers going up or down for hours. So safety first in this area- no matter how skilled you are.

 

Now, let’s get on to the fun stuff….

 

Convenience Tip: Chose A Group Travel Company

Most of you know I enjoy going on group trips where often I will not know anyone there. In my opinion, it’s a great way to meet new people and have a unique experience. This trip was no different.

The travel company I chose for the Amalfi Coast was Dipaways , which was launched by Chad Everette. I met Chad in Brazil on Travel Noire’s final group trip. He was our host there and mentioned he’d just launched trips of his own. I did not hesitant in reserving my spot for Amalfi because he’d done so well in leading our group in Brazil. He does an excellent job of arranging custom activities that you normally would not have as a tourist. Speaking of activities, here are some of the fun things we did:

 

Pottery Class

I’ve always wanted to try my hand at making pottery. What better time to do it than in Italy?! They have lovely ceramic shops all around so I knew it’d be good. Chad was able to arrange for a well-known shop to open their creative space to teach us how to make pottery of our own. We were even able to paint our own designs on them. Receiving our own creations back a few days later (after finishing the baking process) was amazing!

 

Sunset Hike on the Path to the Gods

The Path to the Gods is a popular hiking path to go on if you want to get a little fitness in while seeing a view like none other. From start to finish, it’s about four miles. Four miles of hiking may not seem like a lot to you fitness gurus, but when you add in the ups and downs of the cliffs I previously mentioned and the rocks (which were sometimes huge and other times small enough for you to slip on), it’s A LOT. So prepare yourself. It is very rewarding from a fitness and view standpoint, but be mindful of the challenges if you have weak knees or ankles!

 

Wine Pairing 

We went to a wine pairing class that was also combined with a feast! The private wine pairing focused on the difference in Italian wines (DOCG, DOC, IGT, Vino Da Tavola with DOCG being top tier). What I loved most was the intimacy of this class. Since it was just for our group, we were able to freely ask as many questions as we’d like without feeling rushed. While we tasted their top wines, we were also stuffed with delicious pastas. I mean, what more could we ask for to close out an already great day?!

 

Yacht Ride to Positano 

When you see Positano, it is as gorgeous as you can imagine! Especially at night. I was in awe of it when we pulled up via yacht to our docking port. It’s a great place to shop, eat, have gelato (of course!), and hang out for a bit. We were only there for a few hours, but this was enough time to relax, be around the water and enjoy our time together. The yacht ride getting there was also incredible. The water was soooo blue! I usually don’t get in large bodies of water, but I couldn’t resist. It felt so freeing and refreshing! the water was also so clear which allowed me to see pretty far down. This made it much less intimidating.

Now, let me put out a disclaimer about Positano: If you are not interested in being by a lot of tourists, I would avoid staying in this area the whole time. We went when it was not peak season and it was still much busier than the other areas of the coast that we were in. I was told it gets NYC busy during peak season. This area is not very large so thinking of it being that busy is a no go for me. We stayed in Ravello which is another area of the Amalfi Coast. It was beautiful, relaxing, had many activities, great food, and stunning views all around us. I much preferred staying in this area rather than the busiest parts. But, if you’re a hustle and bustle type and like to be around large groups of people, Positano is for you! If you’re not, still make time to at least see it and roam around for a while.

 

Lemon Tour 

Did you know Amalfi was known for its lemon production? I sure didn’t, but it was quite the experience to learn about it. Chad set up a tour for us to view a family-owned private property with over 1,000 lemon trees. We learned about how pirates brought lemons with them to fight off illness. The residents then began building a large business by planting trees and exporting lemons all over. The lemons are so different there. You can actually eat the skin, which is sweet, due to their organic and chemical free production. Today, they are also using the skin to make limoncello, a popular liquor that is also exported all over. Going back to the lemon farm we toured… the owners are in their upper 80s and were still out manning the farm. Talk about motivation to stay healthy and hard working!

 

Cooking Class!

Last but not least, one of my favorite activities was the cooking class we attended. We went to another family owned home which has been transformed into a successful business. We were there for about 5 hours and made a super tasty meal. To start, we picked all of our produce directly from their garden. This included tomatoes, basil, plums, and more! We then took a break for appetizers and champagne. (That’s a pretty nice way to get us ready to get down in the kitchen!) Next we split up into different stations and learned to make homemade ravioli, swordfish wrapped in lemon leaves, roasted squash, and plum pie! We definitely increased our cooking skills with this one! To be able to eat the food we picked and prepared from scratch was so gratifying. It was a nice way for us all to work together and have fun while doing it.

 

Wrapping up the group tour 

There were other activities we did together, but this post would be so long if I went through each one. You will just have to book one through Dipaways to get the full experience! As explained, going on a trip with strangers can put you out of your comfort zone, but it is so rewarding. I have traveled to see friends I’ve met on these trips and and even attended their wedding! You never know who you’ll connect with! I highly encourage you all to try it out!

A few additional things to do while visiting Amalfi Coast:

EAT ALL OF THE FOOD! 

I’m pretty sure food in Italy has zero calories so no need to worry about the waistband (hahaha I  wish!) But seriously… eat all of the bread, all of the pasta, all of the pastries, and more! The great thing is, at most places, the food is not refined which is horrible for your body. I found myself hungry much sooner than usual and not feeling bad after I ate. We were also moving around a lot which helped. So enjoy the food and think nothing about the calories!

 

Take time to visit other cities

If I had to do it all over again, I would extend my trip by a few days (which was the original plan) and visit Capri and Sorrento which were so close, but I ran out of time. I would have taken the ferry I  mentioned to these areas and also spent at least a day in Rome considering that’s where I flew into. Knowing this, I am already thinking about my trip back!

 

This post is a little longer than my usual ones, but there was just so much to see and do! It is definitely the prettiest place I’ve been and one of my overall favorites. If you’ve been to Italy, comment below with your favorite parts.

Again, special kudos to our travel host/creator of Dipaways  ,Chad Everette. I know I would have enjoyed the coast, but the private tours made it extra special. Thank you also to Ashleigh who was our photographer throughout the trip. She did an amazing job capturing us in our natural elements. All shots taken by her are labeled. You can follow them on instagram at @dipaways and @stayreddy

 

Ciao for now!