Few places are more hyped up by travelers than the Amalfi Coast. It’s oftentimes on the list of prettiest places on the planet and is a frequent destination for the rich and famous. Chiara and I, as low-budget college students with a penchant for cheap travel, were not exactly the clientele that usually travels to Amalfi. Yet at the same time, I’d almost argue that our version of traveling around Amalfi gave us a better glimpse of the coast than any private tour or luxury hotel stay could. Despite its touristy reputation, I found Amalfi an extraordinarily beautiful location, where the lazy tourist crowds huddled around the largest beaches and busiest towns. Reflecting back on our time there, I think it was not only memorable for how drop-dead gorgeous it was but how we went about seeing it. I hope this blog does at least some justice to the adventures we had. All set in one of the most spectacular places on Earth.
We arrived in Amalfi on Wednesday, the 19th of July. It was another scorching hot day in the mid-90s. To get to the coast, you either have to take a train to Sorrento or one to Salerno and then transfer on to a bus. Since our BnB was above Amalfi, it made more sense to travel to Salerno and then take the bus to Amalfi (which also helped us avoid the awful Circumvesuviana). We reached Salerno around noon and then took the over one-hour bus ride along the coast to Amalfi. If you’ve never seen a video of the bus ride along the Amalfi Coast, I highly recommend watching one on YouTube. I’ve actually linked an example of one HERE.
Anyway, the road along the coast is so narrow and windy that it's usually no more than a one-way road. To avoid crashing, buses literally honk around every corner to warn oncoming drivers. Sometimes, however, this doesn’t work perfectly, and the driver on the other end needs to back up to let the bus pass. The bus would literally get within inches of the cliff face and other vehicles to pass. The drivers along the coast are basically the best of the best. They are the real professional drivers of the bus world. Who needs F1 when you have the constantly exhilarating spectacle of hoping your bus driver doesn’t crash off the cliff, ram head-on into a car, or another bus? Oh, did I mention that the scooter and motorcycle drivers here have no rules? Basically, their objective is to get somewhere as fast as possible, even if that means sending a prayer up before every ride. The worst part might be the tourists walking to their hotel accommodations which hug the cliffside. Sidewalks- HA! NO! Not that there would be room for them anyway. It’s a terrifying but exhilarating mix of buses, scooters, pedestrians, and even cyclists (who I thought were basically suicidal).
We arrived in Amalfi at the hottest part of the day, probably mid-afternoon. We knew how to get to our BnB but weren’t sure how hard it might be. We also knew a bus went there, but we weren’t sure how difficult it might be to catch (this was a serious issue during our Italy trip). We also hadn’t bought tickets for it either. So instead, we decided to take what we called a “questionable decision” and walk the way up to our BnB. It was a harder walk than either of us imagined. We didn’t exactly know the full extent of how straight-up the climb would be, but it ended up being a nearly 800+ foot climb up stone steps the entire way to the top. Chiara and I took turns saying choice words as we made our way up the stairs, our backs laden with heavy backpacks.
By the time we reached the top, we were each sweating buckets. I had already gotten a bit accustomed to sweating in Italy since it’s hard not to sweat in 90+ degree weather. But this was on a whole different level. We were each dripping by the time we reached the top. We became shells of the giddy tourists we were at the bottom of the mountain. However, our spirits lifted upon our arrival at our BnB in the town of Pontone. Pontone might be one of the prettiest places I’ve ever stayed. It sits directly above Amalfi, halfway up the mountains, and on a ridgeline. The town is beyond cute, with a few small central squares and parish churches. An ancient 12th-century ruined basilica sits about a hundred feet above, keeping watch over the whole coast. It’s a spectacular town and remarkably free from tourists. I guess the 800-foot climb keeps them away! From Pontone, we could also see the famous gardens of Ravello across a steep valley.
Our host in Pontone was the cutest old lady named Angela. Now, Chiara had actually booked the BnB online through her son, who seems to run most day-to-day operations. However, he was out of town that week. That left Angela to take care of us and a pair of other BnB guests. The moment we arrived, Angela went into full Grandma mode- nearly scolding us for taking the steps in the middle of the day. But she certainly warmed up once she realized that Chiara spoke Italian since she didn’t speak English. She then gave us a whirlwind tour of the BnB and all of Pontone, with us still sopping wet from the hike up. She was an incredible host and even gifted us an Amalfi lemon from her family’s plot below the BnB. Amalfi lemons really are worth the hype- they’re unbelievably good. Definitely still a lemon, though, so I wouldn’t recommend it necessarily by itself- but it pairs magnificently with Limoncello. Maybe a bit too well . . .
Lisa’s Walk
The following day we woke up, ate breakfast at the local café (which partners with the BnB for breakfast), and then decided where we wanted to go for the day. Chiara suggested we try to walk towards the beaches around Conca dei Marini- a town a few miles down the coast from Amalfi. However, neither of us had the slightest clue how to get there. The main road was basically a death trap, and we had no good way to navigate the narrow stairs that zig-zag along the coast because Google Maps can’t figure them out. Fortunately, Chiara remembered an app that a friend of hers used that shows hiking trails made by other users (it was a bit like Strava if you’re familiar with that app). Through the app, we found that a single user had walked from Amalfi to Conca dei Marini. Since we knew it was possible and the person hadn’t died along the way, we decided to give it a go. For some reason, Chiara and I titled the user “Lisa.” So this walk became Lisa’s Walk, a legendary escapade along the Amalfi Coast following in the footsteps of greatness.
The walk started off in Amalfi, down by the main pier, and then quickly climbed up and out of the town. The majority of the walk was along narrow roads/staircases, which meant no car traffic (thank god!). However, a few sections of the walk did involve walking on roads. Fortunately, these roads were not nearly as busy as the main road along the coast, but they still represented challenges. The tunnels were difficult in particular. They weren’t well-lit, and cars could come flying into them. Luckily we had no problems and made sure to be super careful (putting on flashlights, basically hugging the rock wall, etc.). In one such tunnel, near the end of the walk, we also discovered an incredible rock cut-out that led to views of the entire coastline.
If there was one thing that amazed me about Lisa’s Walk, it’s that the entire time we ran into basically no tourists. Maybe nobody was crazy enough to walk from one town to another on the Amalfi Coast. Something definitely has to be said about being able to walk in the Amalfi Coast. Many tourists can’t walk that much (from age or health), and I truthfully believe that Amalfi is one of those places where it really hurts not to walk. We would have missed so much if we could only take the bus or drive. I think the vast majority of tourists were in that boat as well. They either took a public bus or private tours from one town to the next and never ventured outside the few main streets. Chiara and I were a great team because we both wanted to avoid that outcome as much as possible (for monetary reasons, as well). So we walked all over the place in Amalfi and collected incredible views along the way.
After sweating literal buckets along the walk, there was nothing more I wanted to do than go for a swim. By the time we finished the walk, it was now past midday, and the temperature was sweltering. Fortunately, the beach was beyond anything I could have imagined. A drop-dead gorgeous expanse of rocks tucked underneath a shear cliff. Far away from the packed beach at Amalfi, this beach was quieter and more leisurely. To make things even better, we sat down on beach chairs. Beach chairs on the beaches of the Amalfi Coast cost exorbitant amounts of money. However, in the classic “Act like you belong” fashion, Chiara and I plopped down on the chairs and made ourselves comfortable. Nobody came to question us the whole four hours we were there.
After relaxing at the beach, we took a packed bus ride back to Amalfi and tried to find a way to Ravello, a destination Chiara had in mind and one we could see from Pontone (as I previously mentioned). However, it was already very late by the time we got back, and the buses were an utter nightmare to figure out. Not to mention incredibly crowded (i.e., like Sardines). In the end, Chiara and I called it quits and said we’d try again tomorrow. Instead, we walked to the nearest grocery store from Pontone (about 20 minutes and a few hundred stone steps away) and bought a feast worth of food. Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella. Fresh bread. Oranges from Campania. Limoncello and beer (Peroni from Italy). Prosciutto, Italian chocolates, and apricot pastries. My mouth is watering just remembering it!
The following day we decided to take a short day trip to Cetara, a town about half an hour down the main road by bus and on the way towards Salerno. Cetara was well known for its seafood, and Chiara and I wanted to try the best of the coast. It didn’t disappoint. We ate an amazing fried seafood assortment of anchovies, shrimp (whole), calamari (the best I’ve ever had), and seaweed. Oh, and topped with a fresh squeeze of Amalfi lemon. Unreal.
The town of Cetara is quaint and has a wonderful seaside park (which Amalfi doesn’t have). It’s also significantly less touristy than other towns along the coast and still maintains its traditional fishing industry. In many ways, it reflects what the Amalfi Coast was like before mass tourism. A series of quaint fishing villages huddled along the coastline they depend on.
We also stopped at a nearby beach in Cetara. However, this time without the possibility of snagging a chair, we were left to sit on the hard (and scorching hot) beach rocks. We didn’t last that long and quickly decided to head back to Amalfi and go from there.
At this point along the bus ride back, Chiara and I discovered an easier way to get to Ravello from the main road than our BnB in Pontone. So we got off the bus a few stops early and made the straight-up hike to Ravello. Ravello is world-famous for its gardens, and they didn’t disappoint. The gardens of Villa Cimbrone (the ones we went to) looked almost like an imaginary painting of paradise. Except they were real. The only thing that stood out was Chiara and me. We had come straight after swimming in Cetera and were a sweaty mess from the hike up. I attempted to look semi-decent by putting on a nice button-up shirt I had (I think it’s trashed now, but that’s ok). Yes, in that photo below I am wearing a nice shirt with bright blue swim trunks. Fashion sense 10/10.
After chilling in the gardens for a few hours (really milking that 10 Euro entrance fee), we left Villa Cimbrone and attempted to find a cheap place to eat. That was rather hard in the bougie town of Ravello, but we made it work by finding a delicious pizzeria. If you’re counting, that’s pizza number four of a 9-night trip, and it’s not the last one either.
On our walk back to Pontone, we ran into Angela and her husband. Although I had no idea what she or her husband were saying, Chiara assured me she absolutely loved us. Calling us “really good at walking!” and stuff like that. Chiara and I remarked that the funniest thing about meeting her and her husband was that it seemed like we ran into them only when we were at our worst. We never seemed to catch her when we were fresh and ready for the day. Even so, I think she enjoyed having guests around that didn’t fit the usual bill. Maybe our poor outfits helped with that. . .
The Amalfi Coast and the small little towns look amazing! OMG you and Chiara are walking machines - so glad you didn't tell Mom about those tunnel experiences... The views are breathtaking - it really does seems to be paradise (and the pizza)!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pictures. Really loved the gardens of course!
ReplyDeleteWas thinking of you when I took the flower photos- knew you'd love them!
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