Four days spent on the Amalfi Coast…
I’ve had the Amalfi Coast on my travel bucket list for as long as I can remember, it really was my dream holiday, and last year, all of my wishes finally came true. This post has been a long time coming, but what can I say, the last 8 months have been busy! Last May, Jake turned 30 and I then also turned 30 a month later in June. So a few months prior, we decided that we were going to celebrate our 30th birthdays by booking a trip away, and it had to be the Amalfi Coast. 30 is a big birthday, so what better way to celebrate than to book a dream trip?!
This post will be a little bit of a photo diary of my own trip, but I’ll tell you where we stayed, what we did and where we visited – so that there’s lots of helpful inspo and tips for if you’re planning an Amalfi Coast trip of your own.
Arriving on the Amalfi Coast
There’s always a lot of questions on forums online about how to actually travel to the Amalfi Coast, so I thought that it would be helpful if I started with how we got there. We live in South Yorkshire but we flew from London Gatwick directly to Naples as that was the best flight deal that we found, it was significantly cheaper than from any other airport. When we arrived in Naples, we got a taxi from the airport to Naples train station, and then got on a train to Salerno. We had pre-booked the train from Naples to Salerno when booking our trip, with plenty of time to allow for any flight delays. When we arrived at Salerno station, we walked 10 minutes (900m) to the ferry port where we bought tickets for the next ferry to Amalfi.
There was a little cafe at the ferry port in Salerno, so whilst waiting for the ferry to arrive we sat and had a cold drink and a sandwich which was lovely. The ferry ride to Amalfi was dreamy, it was roughly 30-40 minutes to arrive and the views as you cross the Amalfi Coast are just out of this world. It was the perfect way to arrive on the Amalfi Coast in my opinion, you literally see the whole of the Amalfi Coast from the sea as you travel towards it and I honestly wouldn’t want to arrive any other way, it was breathtaking!
Atrani: Where we stayed
For the majority of our trip, we’d booked a lovely little hotel in Atrani called Palazzo Ferraioli. The Amalfi Coast and it’s famous steps aren’t for the weak, but neither is this hotel, taking roughly 83 steps to reach. We certainly had a workout each day being back and forth from the hotel, but it was all good fun. There’s a lovely bellhop called Carlo who will meet you at the bottom of the steps and carry your luggage all the way up for you, we always gave him a good tip because what a guy! Atrani is quite literally, right next to Amalfi, so from our hotel we walked for about three minutes under a bridge, and we were in Amalfi. Staying right in the thick of the Amalfi Coast was exactly what we wanted, and it was the perfect base.
Palazzo Ferraioli is such a lovely place to stay, as far as the Amalfi Coast goes this was one of the more affordable hotels but the views from our room were incredible. We had a little balcony with doors opening up onto a partial sea view with Atrani town below and it was gorgeous. The staff were really lovely, and the rooftop bar was gorgeous. The whole time we were there, whenever we went to the roof for some drinks there was either nobody, or two or three others about so it was utter perfection for our little romantic break away. We just sat up there watching the sunset over the sea with some cocktails, and it was such bliss.
Atrani: Where to eat
Our hotel was right above a pizzeria called Le Palme so we ate here one night and it was really good, the service wasn’t as good as at other places but the pizza was delicious.
There was another restaurant in Atrani square called Il Birecto where we went for some lunch one day, and both ordered pasta dishes. Jake ordered a carbonara and I ordered an obligatory spag bol, they both came served in the pans they were cooked in which I thought was really cool, and wow – were they the best pasta dishes that we’ve ever eaten. You just can’t beat traditional Italian food. I feel like this place would be somewhere you could easily miss as it’s just a little spot in Atrani square, but it’s definitely one to add to your list.
Amalfi
Amalfi is an adorable little town to explore, we spent our first evening here with it being a couple of minutes walk from our hotel and we loved venturing around the little streets and the market. We had the most incredible ice cream from one little spot along the market, I had pistachio and I can’t remember what Jake had but they were insanely good.
Amalfi: Where to eat
Jake did his research and made us a reservation plenty in advance at Donna Stella, which is a little pizzeria where you dine under the lemon trees. It’s so romantic and lovely. Thank goodness we made that reservation, as whilst we were there so many people got turned away at the entrance. The pizza was incredible and we then shared a Lemon Delight dessert which is a famous Amalfi Coast dessert that is essentially a Lemon Tiramisu. Let me tell you – we had a few of these desserts during our trip and the one from Donna Stella was unbeatable, I’m still thinking about it!
Positano
You can’t go to the Amalfi Coast without a day trip to Positano. It’s incredibly tourist heavy, but it’s a must-see. We planned to head to Positano on our first full day on the Amalfi Coast, with a view to seeing what it had to offer, and heading elsewhere if we got a bit fed up of the hustle and bustle. We got up bright and early and walked through the tunnel to Amalfi harbour where we jumped on a ferry direct to Positano, the ferries were really reasonable and you could getc on and off them at pretty much any time.
The best bit about Positano, in my own opinion, is seeing it from the sea. It is so insanely beautiful and seeing all the colours and the coastline is just heavenly. I was staring at it with wide eyes as we approached it for the first time on the ferry!
There was lots to do whilst in Positano, lots of lovely little bars and cafes, market stalls and little shops everywhere you turned, lots and lots to keep you busy. We spent hours walking all the way up to the top and the view from the top was sensational.
Positano: Where to eat
Jake had made another reservation for Positano well in advance, which again I would highly recommend doing as it’s the place to be when on the Amalfi Coast and is so busy. Jake had booked us a table on the terrace at Il Tridente for lunch where we had starters, mains and dessert and fully indulged. It was very posh here and more expensive than other places, but we had the most stunning view from the terrace and it was well worth it. The food wasn’t better than anywhere else, but it was worth the money for the table with a view, and how peaceful it was.
Amalfi: Hiring our own boat
We woke up one day with no plans set in stone, so we decided to do something that Jake really wanted to do, and that was hire our own boat and tour the Amalfi Coast. We managed to get an alright deal down at the dock, and paid 200 euro in cash for our own boat (no driver, but you can get one if you want) for up to four hours, the only additional cost was to pay for the fuel you used. So we hired it full, and then had to take it to be filled up when we got back again, the fuel station was just next to the dock.
This was an experience that I cannot recommend more, it wasn’t something I was particularly keen on doing but had the best time. It was so cool being able to drive wherever we wanted, see the whole of the Amalfi Coast from the sea and Jake even went for a quick dip at one point. I did get slightly sea sick at one point, as some of the sea can be a little rough, but after a lie down I was fine again. The breeze in the hot sun was so refreshing too, I would 100% do this again.
Ravello: Where we stayed
The next day, Jake had booked us a different hotel in Ravello which is further up in the mountains away from the sea. We had a private transfer booked who picked us up at the bottom of the steps at our hotel in Atrani, and drove us up the bendy climb to Ravello. It only took about 20 minutes but the private transfer was just a godsend with our luggage and in that heat. In Ravello we stayed at La Moresca Hotel which was such a gorgeous hotel. We had a superior double room with a sea view, and we had the Amalfi Coast in full view out of some double doors with our own little balcony. On the other side was another set of doors with a view of Ravello, so we had the best of both worlds.
I wasn’t sure what Ravello was going to be like, but it was absolutely stunning. It was just so whimsical and quaint, the little town was adorable, and the views everywhere being so high up were just second to none. We had traditional Italian iced coffees in the square at a little bistro which were very different to iced coffees at home, but were delicious. We also ordered some sandwiches but only had a light bite as Jake had booked us dinner that evening, which was a surprise I’ll get into in a second…
Ravello: Our Engagement at Hotel Caruso
That evening after getting ready to go out for some drinks, Jake took me to Caruso, A Belmond Hotel in Ravello which was a short walk from our hotel. When we got there he said he’d booked me a little surprise and we waited for the manager to come and lead us to the surprise. She walked us through the hotel and out down some stairs to the famous Wagner Gardens, where Jake had booked private use of it for 2.5 hours. Here, the most stunning picnic was set up which you can see above, and Jake popped out a ring and got down on one knee. He planned the evening to perfection, even hiring a photographer so we can keep the memory forever!
I obviously said yes, and we then had some photos taken post-engagement and enjoyed a little picnic the hotel had put together which consisted of lots of delicious little bits like watermelon and fresh mozzarella. We also had some bubbly that Jake had picked himself and it was the most gorgeous wine I’ve ever drank, so I was mostly just enjoying that and being in a little bubble on cloud nine – quite literally, as we were amongst the clouds in the gardens. Dreamy. We then facetimed all of our family with the news and it was just so, so lovely. Although pretty much everyone had known about it in advance as our families are terrible at secret keeping!
Hotel Caruso, Ravello: The Chefs Table
After the proposal and our garden picnic, Jake had extended the evening by booking The Chefs Table experience at Hotel Caruso, where we were lead up some steps to a private table, just the two of us and our lovely waiter. Now here, as you can see from the pictures, we were quite literally dining above the clouds as the sun set. It was the most romantic setting and just completed the evening to perfection. Everything we ate was picked and cooked for us personally, by the chefs. It was a seafood menu and absolutely everything was sensational. They even waved to us from the kitchen window and cheered for us during our last course which was so cute.
We ate like king and queen, with the catch of the day to start, veal tartare and oysters, sea urchins capers and caviar, seabass and mussels, and for dessert, the famous Amalfi lemon tiramisu which was utter perfection. I would highly, highly recommend booking the chefs table experience for a special occasion, or just a treat for date night, if you’re ever in Ravello. I think we may have to go back for our honeymoon and do it all again!
That’s a wrap for our Amalfi Coast trip, we crammed so much into the few days we were there and it was the most unforgettable week. I would have cherished this holiday regardless, but getting engaged really made it all the more special.
Have you been to the Amalfi Coast?
