Aaaaaah… Amalfi!

“Go! Go to Naples! Eat more pizza!” 
Elizabeth Gilbert, Author of Eat Pray Love

The Amalfi Coast is a stretch of coastline about 150 miles south of Rome.  Planning a trip there was challenging but the rewards (and the views) were well worth the effort.  The first decision to make is whether to fly into Rome or Naples.  We actually did both.  We flew on connecting flights to Naples and then on a nonstop back from Rome. There is one airline, Meridiana, that flies one nonstop a day from JFK to Naples.
    We made our base in Sorrento and did day trips from there.  Naples airport (NAP) is about an hour ride from Sorrento.  There are buses that go from the airport to Sorrento or you can hire a private ($100) or shared ($30pp) car service to take you to Sorrento.  
    Once you are in Sorrento there is the Circumvesuviana train that you can use to travel to Pompeii and Naples.  If you want to take public transport to the other towns in Amalfi such as Positano and
Ravello there are local buses that can take you. 
A great website for timetables and all transportation information is www.rometoolkit.com.  If you aren’t feeling particularly adventurous you can always book a day trip to any of these places through your hotel’s concierge.
    We took a day trip to the island of Capri, which was just wonderful.  You can do it on your own by taking one of the ferries from the port of Sorrento.  The trip is about half an hour and costs $35 round trip.  Be sure to take the chairlift up to the top of Mount Solaro.  The views are stunning as is the view from inside the Blue Grotto if the seas are cooperating that day and the grotto is open.  You can join a boat tour to the Grotto at Capri’s Marina Grande.  It’s a sight you won’t soon forget. For information click on www.capritourism.com.
     We didn’t visit Pompeii because frankly it was just too darn hot (going in the spring or fall is a great idea for this trip) but we did take a day trip to Naples on our own using the local Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento.  Our ticket was less than $10 round trip.  Be prepared in the summer though, the train was very crowded and hot.  We sampled the BEST fresh sfogliatelle pastry from Antico Forno delle Sfogliatelle. We also ate at L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, the pizza place made famous in “Eat Pray and Love.”  Their menu is limited (just 2 types of pies and drinks) but the pizza is the hottest, freshest and tastiest you will ever try. There is always a line-it’s truly worth the wait.
    Later in the week we took 2 trains back to Rome and spent one full day in The Eternal City.  They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you can’t see it all in a day but we certainly tried.
        Ciao and happy travels!