Hi guys! It's been so long since I've written a blog post, but my favorite posts to write are travel blogs. This past September, Tyler and I went to Italy for our honeymoon. I had always dreamed of going to the Amalfi coast for our honeymoon and we finally made it happen! I'm so excited to share our tips and everything we did! This was truly the best week of our life and you'll soon see why! Bear with me, this will be long- but I want it to be super informative and helpful! We planned this trip entirely by ourselves with a lot of research, so I'm hoping this can help those of you who are interested in visiting the Amalfi Coast one day! I've also detailed how we got from one area of Italy to another because I know that's very commonly asked. Let's get into our full itinerary:
To get started, if your sole purpose is to visit the Amalfi Coast, the easiest way to get there is to fly directly into Naples and then hire a driver to get to which spot on the coast is your destination. For us, we decided to fly into Rome first, because I've always dreamed of going to Rome, so we started there and then made our way to Naples.
10 DAY ITALY ITINERARY: FIRST STOP- ROME
Friday, September 2:
We flew to Rome- flying to Italy from America takes almost an entire day to get there. We left Friday night and landed in Rome on Saturday evening. We checked into Hotel Mancino 12. Although this hotel was smaller, it was in a great location! We were within walking distance to literally everything and couldn't recommend this hotel enough if you are fine with boutique style hotels. It was affordable, clean, private and great location!
*Pro Tip: Plan your flights overseas to land at your destination at night, so that you can just immediately go to sleep and not be jet lagged. Nothing is worse than flying all day and then landing at your destination at 8a.m. and having to force yourself to stay up when you're exhausted.
Sunday, September 4:
Because of the time change, we woke up at 4:45a.m. this morning (Crazy, I know) However, I knew I wanted to see the Trevi Fountain at sunrise before the crowd came so we just got up, got ready and walked 10 minutes to the Trevi Fountain. It was honestly so beautiful to watch the sunrise and sit at the fountain together. We met a few other couples that had the same idea, but other than that, had the entire fountain to ourselves. It was so special and we made our wish in the fountain which is a must do!
After we enjoyed our time at the fountain, we decided to just explore the city by foot. This was honestly such a highlight of Rome. Because we only had 1 full day to spend here, we wanted to see and do absolutely everything. We began by just roaming the streets with no destination in mind. We then found our way to the Spanish Steps and then had breakfast and coffee right outside the Pantheon. There was still no one awake by 8-9a.m. and felt like we were the only two in the city and it was just magical and so fun! After breakfast, we continued to roam and found ourselves at the Vatican. I grew up Catholic so this was very special for me to see and experience. They had a service going on outside and it was really neat.
Next up, we booked a pasta making class on Viator.com (We booked this class, the tour of the Colosseum and our private boat tour all through Viator and had no issues) We did the pasta making class with a small group in a restaurant and it was so fun! We got to eat what we made and it was delicious. Afterward, we headed to the Villa Borghese for some paddle boating. It was so romantic and located in this adorable park. It was then time for our Colosseum Tour. If you are a huge history buff, I would definitely recommend doing the guided tour. If not, and you'd rather just do it yourself, you absolutely can! This will save you time + money if you are on a time crunch. We ended our day with the most amazing dinner at Osteria Da Fortunata. This restaurant came highly recommend, so just beware that you WILL wait in a long line to get in. It's absolutely worth it though- so so delicious. Try the Cacio e Pepe... a staple in Rome!
*You must get a yummy croissant and cappuccino...Unlike anything you have in America. It's just out of this world and I thoroughly enjoyed this every single morning. We stopped at Dante's Bar one morning, but everywhere you turn there will be somewhere to get breakfast.
Monday, September 5,
ROME TO CAPRI
We were sad to leave Rome, but soooo excited to finally get to the Amalfi Coast. When doing our research, we decided that the 3 main places we wanted to visit on the coast were Capri, Positano and Ravello. You have many options to choose from depending on what kind of trip you're wanting. Many people also stay in Amalfi Town or Sorrento as a base and just do day trips to other places. We didn't want to do any day trips- we just chose to stay in each location we visited. It's personal preference, and maybe a lot more work to travel so much, but we felt like we got a more authentic experience by staying in these towns rather than just visiting for a few hours.
How to get from Rome to Capri: Capri was our next stop after Rome. So we headed to the train station and got the train to Naples. It's a short train ride, maybe a little over an hour. After we arrived in Naples, we got a quick 5 minute taxi to the ferry port, where we would ferry to Capri. The only way to get to Capri is by boat!
When you arrive in Capri, you'll stand in line for the CUTEST taxi's to take you to your hotel. We decided to stay at Hotel Webber Ambassador. We could not recommend this hotel enough- it was beautiful, breakfast included, had a pool, had a driver to take you to town, and it was more on the affordable side (Granted, you expect to pay a lot when you are visiting one of the most expensive places in the world, but we tried to stay budget friendly with our hotels!) We lounged at the pool all afternoon and then got ready and headed up to town for dinner. Capri is very fancy, they have designer shops everywhere and very nice restaurants. We didn't make any reservations and just happened to pop into a quaint little pizza shop called Pinseria Tre Farine.
Tuesday, September 6
We had a yummy breakfast at our hotel and then headed to Anacapri to explore that part of the Island. It's much higher than Capri is, but still on the same island. You have to get a bus, shuttle or taxi driver to get around anywhere on the island pretty much.
*Pro Tip: Taxi's are EXPENSIVE. It is what it is- just be prepared for insane pricing.
While in Anacapri, we took the chair lift up to the very top with the most stunning views. This is an absolute must do experience when visiting Capri. At the top, you can have a drink or snack and enjoy the view. We also walked around the shops of Anacapri. Tyler also had a great idea to walk down from Anacapri to the ferry port.... (do not do this, it will take you over an hour and a half, it's a really far walk if you're not prepared and very hot) LOL. The rest of the afternoon was spent on the water. We hired a private boat for just the two of us and it was THE HIGHLIGHT OF OUR TRIP. We had the best day ever on the boat. Our driver took us all around the island, we got to go into the Blue Grotto, Green Grotto and other spots. It was truly incredible and I would recommend every person coming to the coast to do this!
Wednesday, September 7
CAPRI TO RAVELLO
It was time to say goodbye to Capri, although Tyler and I both agree we wish we would've stayed here longer. I say 3 days minimum! (Many people say you can do Capri on just a small day trip, but we disagree. There's nothing like seeing this place morning, noon and night and experiencing all of its beauty! We got to the ferry port and took the ferry from Capri to Amalfi. Amalfi is the town which is pretty centrally located. After a short ride, we had lunch in Amalfi on the beach and it was spectacular! We ended up hiring a driver to take us from Amalfi all the way up to Ravello (probably a 40 minute drive)
Ravello is a town much higher in the mountains. It's very small, quaint and lush compared to the more touristy towns by the water. You will not regret the views in Ravello though. It's simply stunning and more relaxing. We decided to stay in a little B&B just for one night. We spent the day exploring the town, eating gelato and visiting Villa Rufolo (a must see) For pre dinner drinks, we went to the famous Palazzo Avino and enjoyed hours of mingling with other tourists and enjoying the incredible view before us. We had dinner at Trattoria Pizzeria Cumpa' Cusimo.
Thursday, September 8 - Saturday, September 10
RAVELLO TO POSITANO
We had a driver pick us up from our B&B and take us back down to Amalfi town where we then boarded a ferry to take us to Positano. The ferries are very fast and easy way to get from town to town.
Pro Tip: Once you arrive off the ferry in Positano, they have these men that take your bags and you just tell them where your hotel is and they promise to drop them off. This was SO SCARY to me because I didn't want to let go of our bags... but you honestly don't have a choice. To get to most hotels, you're probably going to walk up hundreds of steps and that just isn't doable with luggage. I just had to trust that the men would deliver our bags, and they did. But I'm just telling you now because I hadn't read that ANYWHERE and was so shocked.
We decided to stay at Hotel Reginella in Positano. We LOVED our stay here. The hotel was very beautiful and the staff was truly wonderful! They made us feel so special since they knew it was our honeymoon. The location was also fantastic because we were on the main strip of road where we could turn left or right and there would be restaurants and shops all around us. To get to the beach from our hotel you have 2 options: Walk down the hundreds of steps, or walk down a very windy roadway with more shops and restaurants. (We chose the road every single time because it wasn't as hard, more laid back and we plus we got to see everything!)
Things To Do in Positano:
There isn't much to actually do in Positano except Beach, Pool, Eat and Shop. The Italians call it the sweetness of doing nothing. You truly come here to bask in the beauty and relax.
-We visited 2 different beaches, the main beach which is Spiagga Grande and another beach that was more hidden called Fornillo Beach.
-We ate at Caffe Positano for dinner one evening and another restaurant not worth mentioning because we did not love it. I HIGHLY recommend making reservations before hand because we did not and were scrambling for dinner each night.
-We also had lunch at Poseidon Hotel and it was fabulous with wonderful views.
-Our other favorite lunch was on the beach at Chez Black (BEST PIZZA EVER)
-Another activity we did was rented a classic car and hired a photographer to do a sunrise photoshoot along the coast. This is not necessary, but such a fun memory for us to have and look back in with the most insane photos! We hired the car and driver from Positano Vintage Dream and used @amalfitana photographer- you can find him on Instagram
-A must do in Positano is to have custom shoes made! They have several shops in Positano that you can walk into and they make the shoe fit your foot exactly. It's a great souvenir that you will actually wear.
-The other MUST DO excursion is to do a boat tour. Because we did one in Capri, we opted not to do one in Positano. Many of the excursions going out of Positano end up boating around Capri anyway! But this is an absolute must if you're not visiting Capri. Get on the water and see the beauty of the coast- you will not regret it!
After our last day, we had a driver take us from Positano to Naples.
we stayed in a hotel right by the airport in Naples since we had an early flight. We definitely could've spent a few more days in Positano. There were so many more restaurants we wanted to try and I definitely could've lived at the beach. It was by far my favorite trip ever and we talk about going back all the time! Let me know if you have any questions or what your favorite parts of Rome or the Amalfi Coast are :)
Pro Tip: Positano is NOT very kid friendly. There's honestly just not a lot to do with little ones besides the beach. The stairs can be very hard and overwhelming for babies/kids and most hotels won't let kids stay there under 5 years old. So just keep that in mind if you are wanting to visit Positano!