Salve!

This is a travel report about a road trip we did with my aunt. I want to give some travel details for anyone interested in tips and also share some of our beautiful pictures and experiences. To be more specific, we visited the Amalfi coast (including Positano), Capri island, Matera, Monopoli, Alberobello and Polignano a Mare and travelled by my car.

The drive from Rome to Amalfi took around four hours and apart from a small traffic jam, all went fine. We were especially keen on visiting the Amalfi area, because Suski had worked there 32 years ago as a tourist guide; entertaining visitors around Pompei, the costal parts and islands around Naples. I had never been there, but heard a lot; many Italians talk about the fact that the Amalfi coast is one of the most beautiful places in the country (they are right). We stayed close to a little up-hill town called San Lazzaro in an apartment and were super happy with the accommodation away from the hustle and bustle of the busy Amalfi area, but still close by.

San Lazzaro is such a cute village with two bars, a few restaurants and little grocery shops with local products. We especially fell in love with a little restaurant just outside of the heart of the town, where we not only enjoyed yummy food, but also outstanding hospitality, plus the amazing coastal views from up the hill. I’ve learned so much Italian in the past months (my “intensive course” during the lockdown clearly paid off – so still recommending adoption to a local family, if you want to learn a new language!) and with Suski’s Italian skills still partially alive from 30 years ago, we were quite the dynamic duo :) San Lazzaro has a cozy Italian atmosphere to it – we were very excited to start our exploration from here.

I had mentioned that in some parts of Italy people have been keen to speak English (e.g. Verona and Florence), but this is definitely not the case when traveling south from Rome. Certainly, staff at hotels etc. speak some English, but in general it really helps when you handle the basics of Italian, when visiting.

On our first day at Amalfi, we went to walk the famous “Path of Gods” hike (Il Santiero Degli Dei) that starts from Bomerano – not far from where we were staying – and leads all the way to Positano. This hike is around 10 km and we hugely enjoyed it! It was 35 degrees, but there were water points along the way of the path and generally speaking not too many other people. From its difficulty I’d say the path is a medium-level hike (Suski hiked in city trainers without any problems), but there are some smaller climbs that do require some level of stamina, so I wouldn’t try to walk it in heels or after a demanding spinning class. At the Positano end there are 1800 steps to get to or from the hiking path, and this part can be demanding for anyone with knee issues (this part made my legs wobble even without knee issues. However, there is also a bus for this bit.) It truly cannot be over-stated how beautiful the views are and it’s impossible to properly capture them in pictures; simply amazing!

Bruschette in San Lazzaro, Suski on Il Santiero Degli De and amazing views from the hike

Positano is picturesque, but for our liking, it was too crowded and touristic – the prices are understandably also high, which is good to be aware of, when planning a visit. Compared to San Lazzaro, the price differences between Amalfi and Positano were significant, but these places are 100 % worth a visit nevertheless. The fun part was taking a ferry from Positano to Amalfi, as from the beautiful Tyrrhenian sea Positano really looks its best. There is just something so very special about the sea – I had been missing it!

The next day we spent at Amalfi, taking it easy and browsing through shops - it’s a nice place to spend the day! We wanted to visit Ravello, but had trouble getting there. Due to Covid, only 20 persons were allowed to board the public busses (also masks are obligatory in all closed spaces, including ferries, shops and restaurants) and this meant the bus situation was quite disastrous during the busy holiday season in Amalfi. We did manage to board busses from the end station in Amalfi when going up the hill to our apartment, but boarding a bus in the middle of its route on our way down was mission impossible. This became evident, when we tried to commute to Amalfi from our apartment and ended up missing three busses that were full. Even though we are keen walkers, a two-hour walk was too much even for us, and so we managed to arrange a car service with the help of a very helpful shop owner at Bomerano. I love these encounters with the locals; they are so friendly! We very much enjoyed our stay at the Amalfi area and the absolute best part was the hike – I am keen to revisit to do other hikes, as there are several marked paths starting from e.g. Bomerano.

Views, vibes and bites

Capri is special. From Amalfi you can take a ferry and arrive there in approximately an hour (in Italy timetables are a bit so-so, the more south you get the more “flexible” also the perception of time…). At first glance I thought it looked similar to Amalfi, but there is more vegetation, colour and life on the island. I wasn’t aware that it was possible, but this place was even more stunning than some of the views we had witnessed during our hike to Positano. That peculiar island vibe is truly unique and there is a lively breeze. We loved our two-night stay; strolling around the island, visiting Anacapri and taking the chair lift up the Monte Solaro hill, going around shops, marvelling at the scenery, eating delicious sea food, taking a boat trip around the island and people-watching at the Piazzetta (we tried all but one of the cafés / bars on the square). Capri is expensive, but in our opinion, worth every penny. I also recommend to stay for at least one night, as traveling back and forth can be quite draining and time consuming during the summer months. Capri is “open” for the visitors between April and October and the island goes to sleep during the rest of the year, as we were told by locals. August is the busiest time, as it’s the main holiday season for the Italians, but we enjoyed the buzz and the feeling of excitement; people in chilled holiday mode, dressed up and connecting with each other.

Breath-taking Capri and Anacapri and the dynamic duo

The last three nights of our trip we spent in Matera. From Amalfi it was again a four-hour drive. I’ve become really comfortable behind the wheel (I guess after 7000 km of driving in Italy this could be expected) and love the days when I’m on the road. But I have to say that there’s a noticeable difference in the driving culture in the south of the country. We just had to laugh at the “speed limits” because we seriously were the only ones driving even remotely according to them. The locals speed like crazy and I’ve noted the usage of turn signals is generally not a custom over here (or if, then definitely not in the traditional way), but perhaps this is considered replaceable with honking the horn instead. The bigger streets leading to and from Matera, however, were in fantastic condition (this is not always the case here, so it surprised us). There was a construction work on the main road and a long queue of cars had collected behind me as I drove 60 km/h – with a speed limit of 40 – we got honks, stares and laughs when everyone eventually got to overtake us, as it just must have been totally unfathomable to the local drivers that someone would drive that slow :)

We again stayed in an apartment and enjoyed it, as we got to eat fresh goods from the local market at our home. Matera was a very different place – from both looks and ambiance – but oh so impressive. We spent a whole day in the historic center, the Sassi di Matera. This area consists of two districts, Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano. Matera is famous for its unique landscapes and ancient cave dwellings, which were inhabited by the citizens up until the 1950s, after which the Italian government forcefully relocated most of the Sassi population to the developing modern areas of the city.

The Sassi of Matera was named a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1993 and Matera was the European capital of Culture of 2019 and this was clearly visible; the area is well-kept and organized, with aesthetically pleasing signs and establishments. We visited one of the old cave houses and enjoyed a lovely lunch (Matera is very affordable compared with the Amalfi coast or other more northern cities). The tourism is centred around the Sassi area, and as we lived outside of it – yet within walking distance – we were clearly the “odd ones out” around town. The locals were very kind, but shy and curious to know where we are from and wanted to hear about exotic Finland. This surprised me, as I had thought Matera was a more frequently visited place by foreigners. We very much liked Matera and a day in the city flew by in no time. We highly recommend visiting this city when in the south, or on the way to Puglia for example.

The next day we spent on the road and first visited Alberobello. This place is known for its unique trulli houses, and is also a Unesco World Heritage site (since 1996). We had talked about this place for ages, as we found its name so intriguing and finally got to visit it! The town is cute and is full of little shops mostly – it’s nice for half-day visit, but I wouldn’t necessarily stay in town for longer as there isn’t really that much to see. We bought some fresh nuts and almonds from the market and strolled around – over here wearing a mask was mandatory also outdoors, and admittedly this was quite a challenge in the 37-degree heat. For the rest of the day we visited Monopoli and Polignano a Mare.

Monopoli offered us a wonderful sea food lunch, but left us a bit cold otherwise. The town’s streets are interesting and pretty, but the harbour is rather small, or maybe simply didn’t match up quite to our expectations. Also this place was great for a visit and we had a wonderful time! Polignano a Mare was livelier and buzzing with Italian tourists – this place was clearly popular amongst the younger citizens, although we also saw many families who had come down to enjoy the famous beach. There was a lovely promenade built along the seaside, which we enjoyed – even though we didn’t go for a swim, the view to the below beach was just as spectacular as in all the pictures we had seen online. The gelato in town was excellent. We were very happy with our day of exploration and returned to our Matera home smiling.

Matera, Alberobello, Monopoli’s sea food plate and Polignano a Mare

Wow, what a week! We both felt like we’d been on the road for a month, as we’d seen so many places – this trip left me feeling so very grateful; what a true gem Italy is. 

The next day I dropped Suski back to Rome airport and continued to Passoscuro to stay with my Italian bonus family, who was already waiting for my comeback :) A full week of being pampered by Nonna’s cooking, playing with the kids and relaxing on the beach & going for road trips in southern Tuscany with friends was just fantastic; a new travel report of these adventures will follow!

I hope you’re well. 

^{Bacio 💋 Cass}