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February 21, 2018
Our itinerary In A Nutshell
Thanks to an affordable, reliable, and frequent rail service, along with several budget airlines, travelling through Italy couldn’t be any easier. Follow this simple 10-day itinerary for a taste of Italy’s Southern Coastal highlights!
Adam and I were invited to a friend’s wedding in Sicily, so made the most of the trip by tagging on another week beforehand. This enabled us to spend a week before the big day exploring the Amalfi Coast and Capri. Out of all my holidays over the past few years, this was probably one of my favourites!
Read on to see what we got up to!
Days One – Four | Amalfi Coast
Check into Hostel Ulysse De Luxe
Day One: Fly into Naples and connect by train or taxi south to Sorrento. Note, the train line only goes as far as Sorrento, and the last train departs around 21:00, so ideally you want to arrive before then if you can. Sorrento is the largest of the coastal towns, and therefore naturally the busiest. It is however a pretty handy village to base yourself in during a short stay.
Day Two: Hire a car or scooter and go explore! Sorrento, Positano, Praiano, Amalfi, and Ravello, are all within a 40 km distance of one another. Stop by Café Positano for lunch with a stunning view overlooking the bay. Head up to Ravello to visit the Ravello Gardens.
Views looking out along the coast from Cafe Positano.
Day Three: Take the local train from Sorrento and spend the best part of the day visiting the remains of Pompeii. Italy’s most famous archaeological site definitely deserves a visit. Make your way back to Sorrento for an afternoon wander through the laneways. As the sun begins to set, take a walk to the Marina Grande and have dinner at one of the many waterfront restaurants such as Ristorante Bagni Delfino.
Click here to see what Pompeii really looks like!
Day Four (AM): Head back to Positano by scooter or local bus, and take a gentle hike along the Path of Gods with views overlooking the coast. Depending how hot it is, you might appreciate a quick dip in the ocean to cool down. After a bite to eat, make your way back to Sorrento to catch an afternoon ferry over to Capri for the next part of this trip! Note, ferries also depart from Positano should you prefer to stay there.
Click here to read more about The Path of Gods!
Watch the sun set over the boats in front of The Marina Grande.
Days Four – Seven | Capri
Check into Hotel Casa Mariantonia
Day Four (PM): Arrive late afternoon to avoid the mass of day trippers, and head straight up to Anacapri. Check into Casa Mariantonia – a pretty boutique hotel that sits on its own lemon grove! Grab dinner at La Taberna, a family run restaurant round the corner. Top tip – order the gnocchi, but make sure you share it as the portion size is gargantuan!
Day Five: After waking up in your own piece of paradise, it’s time to see what Capri is really about! Explore the hidden side of Anacapri by hiking one of the many island routes. We hiked from Anacapri’s main town down to the Lighthouse, where we ended up by Lido del Faro. Dip your toes (or dunk your entire body!) in the fresh water, but be careful as you’ll be accessing the water from slippery rocks – not a sandy beach!
Spend your afternoon strolling through Anacapri, followed by dinner at La Zagara, the restaurant within Casa Mariantonia. Enjoy dinner under all those fresh lemons and make sure you order some prosecco! If you have room, make sure you pick up a late night gelato too. Obviously that will help your dinner go down 😉
Click here to view my first timer’s guide to Capri!
La Zagara, the restaurant within Casa Mariantonia, is set within this beautiful lemon grove.
Day Six: Spend your morning visiting The Blue Grotto before the day trippers arrive. There’s a large hotel opposite the entrance to The Grotto, but make sure you walk along the narrow passageways behind it. The Cliffside paths leads to some really nice restaurants tucked away, including the Il Riccio, a one-start Michelin restaurant.
Spend your afternoon among the rich (and possibly famous) folks of Capri town. You can take the Monte Solaro Chairlift down to Capri, or if you are a scaredy cat like me, take the bus! Visit the Augusto Gardens, St James Monastery, Villa Jovis, and the Arco Naturale. Keep an eye out for the cute but touristy cave restaurant en-route to the Arco Naturale. A good place to remeber in-case you need a pit stop to hydrate.
Just one of the many statues and colourful flowers that complete Augusto Gardens.
Day Seven (AM): Back in Anacapri, visit Villa San Michele, and pop into the shops along Piazza Vittoria. After lunch at one of the nearby restaurants, it’s time to pack up, and head down to the harbour to catch the ferry back to Naples.
Take an afternoon flight from Naples to Catania, and transfer to your hotel. We stayed in Syracuse, on the island of Ortigia, as we were actually visiting for a wedding.
Note, you may wish to switch this part of the itinerary out for one of Sicily’s beach resorts instead.
Venture further past Villa San Michele for this view over Capri town.
Days Seven – Ten | Sicily
Check into La Via Della Giudecca
Day Seven (PM): Check into La Via della Giudecca, a really nice B&B situated in a converted old building. Take a late afternoon walk along the Marina and settle down with a bottle of something as the sun sets. For dinner, visit Giove, a small family run restaurant tucked up the backstreets.
Every street in Sicily looked like this!
Day Eight: You’ll have to make your own plans for this day, as we spent the morning prepping for the best wedding we’ve ever been too! The ceremony was held in the stunning Duomo di Siracusa, the islands main church that dates back to something ridiculous like the 5th century!
After the wedding, all the guests were whisked off to a remote venue on the main island. As we approached what looked like some castle come vineyard, we knew we were in for a good time! Amazing food, endless prosecco, and to top it off, DJ Luck and MC Neat turned up for a late night set.
As if the Duomo di Siracusa wasn’t grand enough without 100+ wedding guests in attendance for a beautiful ceremony.
Day Nine: This should have been our hangover day, but instead a boat trip was arranged by the wedding party for a few hours of sunshine and playtime in the ocean. Boat trips can be easily arranged, but I fear these may be really touristy. Instead, head to the west of the island past the Aquarium, where there is a set of stairs leading to a pebble beach. You can directly access the ocean from here, but be careful as the waters are strong and there are a lot of rocks about!
Day Ten: Enjoy your final day with a morning visit to the Ortigia Street Market. You’ll find loads of fresh produce here, including a million herbs and spices to take home! For lunch, make a beeline for Fratelli Burgio, located at the end of the market, for amazing sandwiches.
As you wander back to your hotel, take a moment to pass the Temple of Apollo. This is not only the oldest Greek temple in Sicily, but the second oldest Greek temple in the world. If you have time before your flight home, then stop by Fish House Art before enjoying one final gelato!
Spices, herbs, dried fruit, and small sweets filled the majority of most stalls.
Travel Links
Fancy planning a similar trip as above? Here’s some help travel links if so. Enjoy!
Flights – Check out BA and Easyjet for direct flights from Europe.
Ferries – Three different companies run similar routes from the mainland to Capri. Use this handy website which consolidates all the providers and their timetables on one page.
Trains – Use Trenitalia to book all your internal trains, linking Naples, Pompei and Sorrento.
Scooter Hire – Rent your two wheels from Jolly, a Sorrento based company.
