Italy - Naples, Amalfi & Pompeii

Gosh, finally! The last leg of our Italy trip. The land of Pizza and then Limoncellos. Rome to Naples was the simplest transition, the train ride is only an hour long and drops you to Naples station. We decided to take an Uber from the station to our Bread and Breakfast.

Getting an Uber from Naples Train Station was a bit tricky. The station has multiple exits, and we initially walked out through the wrong one. Once we found the correct Uber pickup area, several drivers either canceled or marked themselves as arrived when they weren’t there. We eventually got a ride, so just be a little patient when booking an Uber from the station.

We stayed at The Foria House, a small bed and breakfast. It’s not a luxury property, but it’s clean, comfortable, and a good option for families. It offers free breakfast, daily housekeeping, and a small garden terrace. Since we visited during a busy weekend, hotels were either fully booked or very expensive, so this turned out to be a great choice. The highlight was the incredibly helpful staff—they arranged reliable transportation to the beach and even helped us book our Pompeii trip.

We dropped our stuff at the B&B and then headed to some Beach time. There is a beach about 30mins drive from Naples, they also had a nice beach club area. We could pay a small amount per person and use the beach, chairs, shower area. We also enjoyed a delicious lunch here. I am going to have to come back and write the name of the beach, Its skipping my memory :D

After wrapping up at the beach, we all went back to the house, showered and rested a bit. Our only other goal for today was to go to the oldest continually operating Pizza places in the world, well at least they claim it, Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba. and no this is not where Julia Roberts went in Eat, Pray and Love. She went to L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele.

We almost decided to go there however, the Pizzeria da Michele serves only 2 types of Pizza and has a smaller place to sit. Given we were a group of 13 people with kids, we were to looking for a seated experience. Hence, the oldest Pizza place won, they have outside + 2 more floors of ample seating.

It is not but kind of almost crime to share a pizza in Naples so we each decided to get our own pie, and nope we could not finish it. My husband and I packed ours and then ate for dinner the next day. Yes, it was delicious, warm and gooey and perfect, Specially when you eat it with some nice Italian red.

We absolutely loved our time here and would highly recommend trying it out.

Our day 2 in Naples was mostly Amalfi Coast and Positano. We had booked a tour through GetyourGuide and they picked us up at 8am from the train station. We took an hour long Bus ride to Salerno and then a 45mins Ferry ride to first Positano and then Amalfi.

• You can also take this tour by yourself. You can choose to rent a car and travel to Salerno, park the car and take ferry route. OR
• You can drive all the way to Amalfi, this would take about 2 hours one way depending on the traffic. However, there is limited parking in Amalfi. Additionally, it is very expensive.
• Driving styles in the Naples area are also aggressive, and you must avoid entering Limited Traffic Zones (ZTL), which can result in heavy fines.

So choose what works for you but there are options available, if you like to try a different route, just know the pros and cons.

Our tour guide was nice, she shared the history of the islands which was nice. We reached Positano as our first stop and it was hot, like really hot. We all rushed to get off to get some Gelatos and drinks. My first choice, Sorbetto al Limone. Gosh it was so good, we also drank a local lemonade which finally cooled us a bit.

We then proceeded to walk up the island. There are many shops for you to buy any local products, liquor or olive oil you may like. We also visited the local Church here. The church in Positano is the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta it is famous for its majolica-tiled dome. Legend says pirates stole a Byzantine icon of the Madonna. During a storm, a voice from the painting commanded “Posa, posa!” (meaning “put me down”). The sailors complied, the icon was brought ashore, and the town took its name from those words. You can see the photo in the church even today.

We walked around the island a bit more and then made our way back to the ferry station to go to Amalfi.

Amalfi is beautiful, it is but in my opinion, it was a little touristy. Our guide took us to a local restaurant for lunch which was nice. we then proceeded for some shopping. I bought the famous Sandals from here. The cobbler will put the design you choose from his collection, my slippers were done in about 20mins and he charged 75 EUR, I loved it and still wear it quite a lot.

We relaxed and walked around a bit more. Our last call was to get Coffee and stumped upon Cafe Pansa. We ordered their cake and Sicilian Cannoli, both were iconic. We found out later that it is a historic cafe in Amalfi. This cafe was founded in 1830 by Pansa family. It is one of the oldest and most iconic cafes on the Amalfi Coast. Run by the Pansa family for five generations, it preserves its 19th-century elegance, featuring antique chandeliers and gilded mirror. We would highly recommend it!

We were officially done with Amalfi and got ready to head back. Our final morning in Naples was to go to Pompeii before taking the flight to go to Paris, right at the beginning of craziest heatwave.

Pompeii

It was not in our plan originally. Our group wanted to visit it but given its not shaded enough and extreme heat would not have been helpful for the kids. My husband and I decided to go anyway. We booked the tickets online and asked our Car guy to pick us up with luggage and drop us directly to the Airport. He charged us 500 EUR and it worked out for both of us. We met him at 9am, the drive to Pompii is about 45mins, he dropped us right at the entry gates.

Know, you can buy tickets just to see Pompeii OR Pompeii and villas of mysteries. We decided to take both to experience both.

When we reached there, we found out that Pompeii also has an official map with audio which you can download and as you walk around ruins, you can play to hear about them. We had mild difficulty but eventually figured it out. I would highly recommend downloading the app and audio guide in advance.

So what is Pompeii? Prior to the eruption, Pompeii was a prosperous, sun-drenched resort town for wealthy Romans. It was home to an estimated 11,000–20,000 residents, the city featured sophisticated infrastructure, including advanced plumbing, paved roads with raised stepping stones, bustling markets, and grand villas. Unbeknownst to them, the looming Mount Vesuvius was an active volcano. In August 79AD, devastated when the Volcano erupted. The city was buried under 20 feet of Ash and pumice, instantly killing thousands but preserving a remarkably detailed snapshot of ancient Roman life. The city was eventually rediscovered in the mid-18th century, sparking the birth of modern archaeology.

What I did not know was that many areas still have fully preserved mosaic artwork on the floors of houses. I would recommend visiting to witness this!

You can still see the amphitheater area.This was constructed around 70 BC, it is also the oldest surviving stone amphitheater in Roman world. Originally called a spectacula, the arena held up to 20,000 spectators for gladiatorial games. It famously features no subterranean chambers beneath the arena floor.

The Villa of the Mysteries (Villa dei Misteri) is a remarkably preserved suburban Roman villa located 400 meters northwest of Pompeii, it was built in 2nd Century BC. It is globally famous for its vibrant 1st-century BC frescoes depicting the initiation rites of a mystery cult dedicated to Dionysus, once you see it, you won’t forget it.