Late 20's Food Obsessed Visit Naples/Amalfi Coast
 

Hello Hello!
My boyfriend and I have an Italy part of our upcoming early September Europe trip. We're in our late 20's/early 30s and are into food, exploring cities, and serious sun time with wine and water gazing :)


I'd like to stay in Naples a little so we can eat lots/think about my ancestors who are from there/go to Pompeii and/or Vesuvio/explore the city. We both live in SF so we aren't strangers to cities or public transit.

The second part of our trip will be somewhere on the Amalfi Coast. I'd like to use public transit if we can to get there/explore the area. I'm open to any of the areas (Amalfi, Sorrento, Positano, Ravello, Capri..) as long as we have some relaxing beach time/perhaps seafood eating and maybe stay at reasonable-ish hotel (I think we can swing about 200 euro a night?).

We're thinking 2-3 nights in Naples and 2 somewhere on the Amalfi coast. (we're going to 2 other countries during out trip as well)

Thanks so much!

I must admit that I think you trip unreasonably rushed, but you asked for recommendations about food, so here are two:

- Consider sampling pizza in Napoli, perhaps at L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele.

- Whether you make time to visit the magnificent Greek temples of Paestum or not, try to sample some of the region's delicious fresh buffalo mozzarella.

Sounds like you would benefit from a good guidebook or two. You can consult them at your local library or a bookstore.

Good luck!

Consider staying in Cetara, which is closer to Salerno, and which has a nice beach and moderate priced lodgings & a particularly good reputation for food.

There is a huge amount of information online about eating in Naples. It has become a cliche to talk about pizza there (Da Michele is where Julia Roberts went to eat it) but the everyday city cuisine more variety in its pasta dishes than almost any other region of Italy. In addition Naples has a wide varety of sweet pastries and fantastic coffee. Naples has excellent food shops, and if you are going to Pompeii, take along food from the city to eat as a picnic. The pastry sfogliatella, which is filled with cheese, eggs & sugar, was designed to be a portable breakfast, best when eaten while still warm. Some of the best sofgliatelle in the city are made in a shop close to the train called Attanasio. It's open at 6.30 in the morning every day except Monday.

I also agree with the Cetara suggestion, especially since there is now ferry service from Cetara. But if you are talking about THIS September, start looking for lodging ASAP.

Accommodation is slim in Cetara, but the restaurants are so great. You can pay far less than 200 euros and even have a sea view. This is a 20 minute walk above the town, with super friendly owners: http://www.ilglicinebb.it/
If you want to get to Positano, Cetara is a bit far, but we did not find it too onerous to get to Amalfi by bus to do some hiking. (Ferry was not available then). We also visited Pompeii from there, by catching a train in Vietri. Paestum would also be an easy day trip.

Thanks so much for your help! Cetara sounds amazing, especially given our interests :) I notice that it seems a little challenging to get to (from Naples) and I'm having a hard time finding hotels there...we might have to open up how much we'll spend per night so we can stay somewhere else I imagine.

Is there somewhere closer/more accessible we could stay that we could just visit Cetara from there?


Thanks again,

Excited and Overwhelmed

Simply take the train from Naples to Salerno or Vietri sul Mare and then pay for a taxi to take you to Cetara (rather than spend more money per night to stay someplace other than Cetara). If you can't find a hotel in Cetara consider staying in Vietri sul Mare or Salerno. The latter is a 30 minute train ride from Naples and one of easiest place to reach on the coast. Salerno also has good (and slightly different) pizza if you end up there.

Don't forget to look at AirBnb when looking for places to stay.

The problem with staying elsewhere is shelling out for taxis after dinner. I believe there are at least three b&bs in Cetara plus one large hotel, plus some airbnb. Cetara is not any more difficult to get to than anywhere else on the coast--buses and ferries.