Culture, cuisine, cliffs and coastlines:
12 days in Campania
12 days in Campania
June 2005
This trip was a bit different for us in some respects. We didn’t try to cover a
lot of ground, for a change. We did not drive at all. And we rented a vacation
apartment for the first time. Not quite slow travel, but a step in the right
direction.
With plenty of time to read and plan, we went into this trip with a very full
wish list. We were able to accomplish much of it, but we could have used a
couple of extra days in each location. There were some notable things that
we did not have time to see: Paestum, Herculaneum, Caserta, the
Capodimonte Museum, a full walk on the Path of the Gods, and so on.
Our top 10 highlights, in no particular order:
1. A boat trip along the Amalfi Coast with Gennaro e Salvatore (captained
on this particular day by Salvatore). The epic lunch included with this trip
featured a variety of Salvatore’s morning catch and was, by most accounts,
the best meal of the trip.
2. Napoli Sotterranea, the tour of one small part of the 400 kilometers of
aqueducts and caverns that exist below modern Naples and date to the
city's ancient Greek civilization.
3. Walking the small pathways away from the centers of Capri and
Anacapri – offering a look at the island’s daily life as well as some
stunning views of land and sea. Our favorite was the walk from the Arco
Naturale back to the Punta Tragara Hotel.
4. And on the subject of walks, a small taste of Il Sentiero degli Dei, the
pathway of the Gods that runs above the towns of the Amalfi Coast. The
walk from Nocelle to Positano through olive and lemon groves was one to
savor; we wished we could have done more.
5. Pompeii. How could it not be a highlight? Despite a less-than-
enlightening experience with one of the local guides, it is still a fascinating
and unique place. We spent more than five hours there and left only
because we were hot and fatigued.
6. Discovering so many jewels, such as the small church with
Caravaggio's The Seven Acts of Mercy at its altar or the tiled cloisters of
Santa Chiara, amid the clutter and chaos of Naples.
7. The view from the terrace of our apartment in Positano – morning, noon,
and night.
8. The food and the local Campania wines. Let’s just say it was a good
thing we walked so much. Even though we come from a town known for its
pizza, there is nothing like the pizza here.
9. The gardens and views of Villa Cimbrone in Ravello, made all the more
fragrant and magical after a passing rainstorm.
10. Just relaxing on the beach and in the water one afternoon in Positano,
and renting a pedal-boat for an impromptu excursion.
11. (Just because we couldn't keep it to 10 highlights) Waving to our
Fodor's friends on the Sorrento webcam.
Some overall observations
Capri is touristy, but with good reason. The shopping areas are elegant
(for the most part, if you exclude Marina Grande). The views, from all points,
must be seen to be believed; the real pleasure is in taking the time to
savor them. The fragrance of flowers follows you as you walk along Capri’s
pedestrian streets, which are really more like narrow, garden-lined paths.
The sense of history is never far from you, especially in and around the
scenic Roman ruins of Villa Jovis. We found the cliché – it’s better when
the day trippers leave – to be absolutely true. If you can get away from the
towns and the prime tourist spots during the day, you’ll feel like you’re in a
different world. By staying overnight, we were able to enjoy the relaxed,
much slower pace of evenings in Capri.
Positano is a beautiful town from all angles. We probably took 200 photos
of it and found that it is hard to make it look bad. True, there isn’t much to
‘do’ in Positano proper unless you like shopping and rocky beaches or
unless your accommodation has a pool (which ours did not). We’d read
varying reports of whether Positano would make a good base for the Amalfi
Coast. Certainly Sorrento offers more connections, by more means. We
stayed near the top of town, away from most of the hotels and near the bus
stop, which made it very easy for us to get around. This also enabled us to
get away from the shops and the masses when we needed to do so. We
are not much into shopping, and we found the maze of shops and crowds
near the beach part of town to be a bit of a turn-off in an otherwise
charming setting. Speaking of ‘down’ by the beach, we didn’t find getting
around Positano to be difficult at all, but you can certainly see more of it if
your back and legs are in good shape. We prepared for this trip with some
pretty intensive walking for several months, and it paid off.
The Amalfi Coast is simply beautiful, and the best way to see it is from the
water. We were fortunate to do so twice during our trip, once at a very
leisurely pace. Our only regret is that we went into this trip with so many
things to do, and we simply did not have time – even with a week in
Positano. In particular, we did not do justice to Ravello, spending only a
few hours there one afternoon, and dodging a rainstorm for part of that
time. While we’re not sure it would make sense to stay in both Positano
and Sorrento, spending a night or two in Ravello probably would be a nice
change of pace.
Naples was a real contrast from two very charming, tourist-oriented
destinations – the ‘culture’ of our trip. It is dirty, gritty, and graffiti-littered, but
vibrant and alive. While we so often hear that there isn’t anything to do in
Naples except go to the Archeological Museum, we found so very much to
see and do there. We spent 2 ½ days, but we could have spent four or five
days and still have missed some things. Naples is unique in that it has
been continuously settled since Greek times, and in so many places
throughout the city you are able to see and feel this. Yes, you must be on
your guard in Naples, and it is a little off-putting to feel the need for such a
police presence. But if you are used to negotiating big cities, you will do
fine in Naples. It was probably good to stay in Naples at the end of our trip
when we were more relaxed. If we had tried to negotiate the city while jet-
lagged, we may not have liked it quite as much.
All in all, the whole area is, as they say, a feast for the senses. Always have
that camera ready. Don’t forget to bring binoculars (we forgot). And bring a
big appetite.
Capri
Amalfi Coast, part 1
Amalfi Coast, part 2
Pompeii Day Trip
Amalfi Coast, part 3
Naples, part 1
Naples, part 2
Logistics, part 1: transportation and other aspects
Logistics, part 2: accommodations and food
Next -- Capri
See all of our photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
This trip was a bit different for us in some respects. We didn’t try to cover a
lot of ground, for a change. We did not drive at all. And we rented a vacation
apartment for the first time. Not quite slow travel, but a step in the right
direction.
With plenty of time to read and plan, we went into this trip with a very full
wish list. We were able to accomplish much of it, but we could have used a
couple of extra days in each location. There were some notable things that
we did not have time to see: Paestum, Herculaneum, Caserta, the
Capodimonte Museum, a full walk on the Path of the Gods, and so on.
Our top 10 highlights, in no particular order:
1. A boat trip along the Amalfi Coast with Gennaro e Salvatore (captained
on this particular day by Salvatore). The epic lunch included with this trip
featured a variety of Salvatore’s morning catch and was, by most accounts,
the best meal of the trip.
2. Napoli Sotterranea, the tour of one small part of the 400 kilometers of
aqueducts and caverns that exist below modern Naples and date to the
city's ancient Greek civilization.
3. Walking the small pathways away from the centers of Capri and
Anacapri – offering a look at the island’s daily life as well as some
stunning views of land and sea. Our favorite was the walk from the Arco
Naturale back to the Punta Tragara Hotel.
4. And on the subject of walks, a small taste of Il Sentiero degli Dei, the
pathway of the Gods that runs above the towns of the Amalfi Coast. The
walk from Nocelle to Positano through olive and lemon groves was one to
savor; we wished we could have done more.
5. Pompeii. How could it not be a highlight? Despite a less-than-
enlightening experience with one of the local guides, it is still a fascinating
and unique place. We spent more than five hours there and left only
because we were hot and fatigued.
6. Discovering so many jewels, such as the small church with
Caravaggio's The Seven Acts of Mercy at its altar or the tiled cloisters of
Santa Chiara, amid the clutter and chaos of Naples.
7. The view from the terrace of our apartment in Positano – morning, noon,
and night.
8. The food and the local Campania wines. Let’s just say it was a good
thing we walked so much. Even though we come from a town known for its
pizza, there is nothing like the pizza here.
9. The gardens and views of Villa Cimbrone in Ravello, made all the more
fragrant and magical after a passing rainstorm.
10. Just relaxing on the beach and in the water one afternoon in Positano,
and renting a pedal-boat for an impromptu excursion.
11. (Just because we couldn't keep it to 10 highlights) Waving to our
Fodor's friends on the Sorrento webcam.
Some overall observations
Capri is touristy, but with good reason. The shopping areas are elegant
(for the most part, if you exclude Marina Grande). The views, from all points,
must be seen to be believed; the real pleasure is in taking the time to
savor them. The fragrance of flowers follows you as you walk along Capri’s
pedestrian streets, which are really more like narrow, garden-lined paths.
The sense of history is never far from you, especially in and around the
scenic Roman ruins of Villa Jovis. We found the cliché – it’s better when
the day trippers leave – to be absolutely true. If you can get away from the
towns and the prime tourist spots during the day, you’ll feel like you’re in a
different world. By staying overnight, we were able to enjoy the relaxed,
much slower pace of evenings in Capri.
Positano is a beautiful town from all angles. We probably took 200 photos
of it and found that it is hard to make it look bad. True, there isn’t much to
‘do’ in Positano proper unless you like shopping and rocky beaches or
unless your accommodation has a pool (which ours did not). We’d read
varying reports of whether Positano would make a good base for the Amalfi
Coast. Certainly Sorrento offers more connections, by more means. We
stayed near the top of town, away from most of the hotels and near the bus
stop, which made it very easy for us to get around. This also enabled us to
get away from the shops and the masses when we needed to do so. We
are not much into shopping, and we found the maze of shops and crowds
near the beach part of town to be a bit of a turn-off in an otherwise
charming setting. Speaking of ‘down’ by the beach, we didn’t find getting
around Positano to be difficult at all, but you can certainly see more of it if
your back and legs are in good shape. We prepared for this trip with some
pretty intensive walking for several months, and it paid off.
The Amalfi Coast is simply beautiful, and the best way to see it is from the
water. We were fortunate to do so twice during our trip, once at a very
leisurely pace. Our only regret is that we went into this trip with so many
things to do, and we simply did not have time – even with a week in
Positano. In particular, we did not do justice to Ravello, spending only a
few hours there one afternoon, and dodging a rainstorm for part of that
time. While we’re not sure it would make sense to stay in both Positano
and Sorrento, spending a night or two in Ravello probably would be a nice
change of pace.
Naples was a real contrast from two very charming, tourist-oriented
destinations – the ‘culture’ of our trip. It is dirty, gritty, and graffiti-littered, but
vibrant and alive. While we so often hear that there isn’t anything to do in
Naples except go to the Archeological Museum, we found so very much to
see and do there. We spent 2 ½ days, but we could have spent four or five
days and still have missed some things. Naples is unique in that it has
been continuously settled since Greek times, and in so many places
throughout the city you are able to see and feel this. Yes, you must be on
your guard in Naples, and it is a little off-putting to feel the need for such a
police presence. But if you are used to negotiating big cities, you will do
fine in Naples. It was probably good to stay in Naples at the end of our trip
when we were more relaxed. If we had tried to negotiate the city while jet-
lagged, we may not have liked it quite as much.
All in all, the whole area is, as they say, a feast for the senses. Always have
that camera ready. Don’t forget to bring binoculars (we forgot). And bring a
big appetite.
Capri
Amalfi Coast, part 1
Amalfi Coast, part 2
Pompeii Day Trip
Amalfi Coast, part 3
Naples, part 1
Naples, part 2
Logistics, part 1: transportation and other aspects
Logistics, part 2: accommodations and food
Next -- Capri
See all of our photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
Positano
Capri - Faraglioni
Naples Archeological Museum -
Farnese Atlas
Farnese Atlas
Naples - Santa Maria Donnaregina
Ravello - Villa Cimbrone
Pompeii
Sunset on Capri
Neptune Fountain, Naples
