Amalfi-coast
By Jaimy de Vries
A Mediterranean road trip
A real attraction and certainly worthy of its name is the Amalfi coast! This is a beautiful car route in Mediterranean Italy. You’ll drive on narrow roads along steep rocks, the azure blue sea, lemon trees, vineyards and charming Italian villages. The Italians call the road Nastro azzurro, which means the blue ribbon. I think this name is well put. Taking this road trip you’ll need to have guts and some good driving skills. The roads are very narrow and you’ll meet all kind of traffic (person cars, trucks, tour buses). Besides that you have many hairpin bends.
The Amalfi coast is on the SS163 road, about 50 km long. If you drive straight ahead without any stops it will take you 2 hours to the end in Salerno. However, if you drive without any stops, you didn’t do it properly. It is one of the most beautiful car routes in Italy and Europe. The best thing is to take your time and make several stops. We didn’t plan enough time to visit all the villages unfortunately. But with the experience we had I can highly recommend to plan 2-3 days to discover the Amalfi-coast, then you’ll have all the time to discover the villages and stay in one of the great villages for 1-2 nights. I really loved taking this road trip on a day trip, even so that we didn’t see all the beautiful spots. So I will come back and book a hotel to discover more places, spots of the Amalfi-coast and enjoy the views in a quiet pace.
We started from Meta and ended in Salerno at the McDonalds. Why we shamelessly ended up at the un-culinary McDonalds in southern Italy, I will tell you more later. Chronologically I’ll go through the best spots with you.
A map to one of the most beautiful road-trips!
Starting point: Meta – take the SS163 road and have fun!
# 1 – Sorento
At the start of your tour do not forget to stop here. Even if you have just started and would like to continue, please stop for just a little while because it’s worth your time. Take a visit to the old town, buy a fridge magnet, relax at the bay, visit a limoncello farm (this region is famous for its fine limoncello!) and don’t forget: admire a gorge that’s called the Vallone Dei Mulini or the mill valley. Here you can see an ancient ruin in the gorge that is overgrown by nature.
On the picture you can see Sorento from a viewpoint. By the way: there are a lot of viewpoints on the way! So don’t get too bumped if you missed one (this will surely happen).
# 2 – Positano
The most popular village of the Amalfi-coast. Just like the other towns you can see pastel buildings stuck to the steep rocks along the azzure coast. It’s a very beautiful city and good for a nice walk. Let the wind with fresh sea air go through your hair, enjoy the warm sun and the Italian music in the background, the scooters driving by and Italians discussing/talking passionately to each other. The ultimate Mediterranean feeling. It’s a small place (less than 4000 residents), but now world famous! There is a long boulevard that runs (like a blue ribbon – meaning of Amalfi-coast) through the village. From there you can find shops and many restaurants & cafe’s. A delicacy is an Italian ice cream, a lemon tart and don’t forget the limoncello!! The Amalfi Coast is said to have the tastiest lemons in the world. It’s fun to go off route and explore the small (steep) streets.
We decided to have lunch in Positano. We took a restaurant with a beautiful view over the sea. We looked at the menu… ‘Pretty expensive, isn’t it?’ we said to each other. We looked to each other doubtfully, ‘do we want to stay here?’. The waiter noticed our doubts and walked towards us and enthusiastically told us about their menu. We couldn’t resist leaving now and it is also a nice experience having a chic Italian lunch… ‘ Come on, let’s eat here, let’s act crazy’ we said (Dutch people are known for being a bit stingy – so this was a crazy thing to do). I went for it and ordered ravioli filled with braised meat. Sounds yummy! My friend Amy didn’t feel like that fuss and just ordered fries with lettuce. She didn’t know that this was very unusual and even a little insult to the Italian culinary, this was a side dish. The waiter glared at Amy. I secretly laughed at her and when the waiter left she laughed with me. We got our food. Amy was given a large plate of salad and fries. A few minutes later I got my pasta raviolli. We laughed our ass off: I only got 6 pieces of ravioli and I paid twice as much (40 euros). Little sad, but happily Amy shared her salad and fries with me, so I didn’t have to leave with a half empty stomach. But I have to admit: the pasta was super delicious!!
On the picture of your right you can see me a little bit disappointed that I only got 6 pieces of ravioli…
# 3 – Famous fruit stand
You’ ll see several fruit-stalls along the road. But there is a spot with a fruit stand that you should not miss!! It’s the fruit stall just past Positano and in front of the 5 star hotel: Il San Pietro di Positano. We have been told by the stand-man that many celebrities come here to pose for a photo. He loved to take some photo’s of us and made us pose like Greek goddesses. Very funny! We also bought some delicious fresh fruit that came from a farmer close-by and we gave him a tip for the fun experience.
# 4 – Grotta des Esmeraldo
One of the natural highlights on the road: the Grotta des Esmeraldo. Along the road you will find the entrance to the grotta des Esmeraldo, after you get a ticket you need to walk down the stairs. Unfortunately for us it was closed due to strong winds. But if there is not too much wind, you can go on a rowing boat for a tour through the cave. We just enjoyed the view a bit and went to the village Amalfi.
The reviews are are quite varied. Some people thought it was a beautiful trip and enjoyed the clear water and vibrant green colors in the cave, but many tourists are unhappy with the rowing boat captains. They beg for tips throughout the tour and they’ll charge a lot of money for a small tour. The cave was also much smaller than they expected. So don’t set your expectations too high!
# 5 – Amalfi
The town of Amalfi – the namesake of the coast – should certainly not be missed! A place where getting lost almost goes without saying; the small streets look like a maze but are certainly a picture to see. Amalfi is a good place to spend the night. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants.
We enjoyed walking down the boulevard and the beach.
# 6 – Ravello
Not on the road, but well worth a visit is the small town of Ravello. This is also recommended by the locals themselves. It is the most romantic place on the Amalfi coast, it is set in the hills and the view is breathtakingly beautiful. Especially in the summer when all gardens are in bloom. Ravello is also a UNESCO world heritage. Tip: visit Villa Rufolo.
A good tip to save a fine. The Amalfi Coast is a draw and it is difficult to park along the road. In the villages there are bigger parking spaces for which you pay an amount. If you do visit an unpaid parking space…. In Italy there is a traffic rule that blue shaded parking spaces are public. The yellow shaded parking spaces are for the disabled. We accidentally stood on a yellow parking space and this cost us a fine of 85 euros! Oops!
The day we went the weather was not very nice; it was occasionally sunny but also rainy. I would like to go here again and then instead of one day trip, I’ll go on a 2-3 day trip with a stay on the Amalfi coast.
An impression of the Amalfi-coast
Underneath a short video of our road trip in Italy