It has always been a dream of mine to visit this ancient city, which has also been nominated the "Capital of Culture 2019" in Italy. We had crossed the entire region of Basilicata which gifted us with STUNNING views of  ocra yellow and green valleys, little villages here and there, and hundreds of wind turbines every meter. It literally looked like the screensaver of my computer, but in real life. We even tried taking videos but our camera didn't do justice. The highway was EMPTY, and that contributed to the "magicness" of the landscapes.





We stayed in a huge apartment that was just less then 10min by car from the historical center. There is a public covered parking area that costs less than 2eur/hour, and parkings around the Castle. You just have to cross the main road Via Lucana which is the road that separates the new part from the old one, follow the directions towards the Sassi. Even if you just stroll around with no direction, you will not get lost.

Chiesa dei santi Pietro e Paolo

Once you enter the old part, you'll feel immersed to the history of the city, you can feel it is ancient and extraordinarily UNIQUE. I felt like walking through the roads of Jerusalem or something.




The city has been build and carved from the mountain, and the caves you can see were once inhabitated; but the conditions of the ones living inside were decaying and primitive, no electricity, no gas, no hygiene, so it was later forbidden to live in those caves, and inhabitants were forced to move.




Fortunately, we've been doubly lucky because some Dalì sculptures were places across the city.

Salvador Dalì's Melting Watch

Speaking about FOOD, prices in south Italy are cheap (compared to the rest of the country), there are many little stores, literally in every corner, that sell typical Materan street food like panini, stuffed fried pizza dough, varieties of salamis along with cheeses and Altamura bread, and my favourite of them all (that I'm craving so bad while writing this post) are the peperoni cruschi which are small bellpeppers (a variety that can only be found in this area) fried in olive oil until crisp. Simple but oh, so delicious.


Finally, we took a rest from all the walking and decided to watch the sun set over Matera, watching the sky turn from cotton candy pink to a jet black night.

This south Italy tour has been epic for multiple reasons: my family and I travelled AAAAALL the way from our home in norhern Italy to reach, first of all, these southern gems which are all part of the famous AMALFI COAST: POMPEII, SORRENTO, CAPRI, POSITANO and AMALFI. We then drove to MATERA, ALBEROBELLO and ended the tour in BARI.

I decided to split this guide in 3 PARTS to make it a less heavy read, so I won't spoiler anything, if you're curious about this tour then go ahead to the following parts 2 and 3 😁

We don't fear long drives

My family has visited many foreign countries BY CAR such as Budapest, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Monaco, Nice and Cannes (you'll soon find my say about these cities in future posts), we love enjoying the view of the journey and stop to take photos. However, before heading to Campania region, we stopped by my aunt's house in Rome for 2 days to start fresh this Tour.

Depending on where you come from, obviously taking the plane or train will save you a lot of time but bare in mind there aren't direct flights or trains to the coastal area where you can find Positano or Amalfi. The main cities well connected to the public transportation for this area are Napoli, Sorrento and Salerno, from which you have to take a bus. Or you can always rent a car or a motorbike (highly suggested for couples), just choose your expert driver because the narrow road is made of steep climbs and hairpin turns.

POMPEII, Napoli

The first stop was Pompei, the city that has laid for centuries under the hardened lava of the volcano towering Napoli, Vesuvio. I have already been here but I was like 7 years old, not much I can remember. The Ruins and Archaeologic site are a must-include attraction to your South Italy tour. Check the official Pompei tourism website to see if you're eligible for free entrance, and sign the dates where the entry is free for everyone, you might plan your visit according to these days.

SORRENTO, Napoli

This is the first true coastal city we have seen, needless to say it was like a mirage. From Pompei we were heading to our apartment which was located in Sant' Agata sui Due Golfi (20min by bus from Sorrento) when we realized we were driving at the road overlooking Sorrento. We chose an apartment located a little bit outside the city because the town is not touristy at all, it wasn't chaotic and we truly lived like locals, even though for just 3 days.
From Sorrento you can take the buses to reach Positano, Amalfi and the coastal area, and from the naval port there are boat lines for Capri Island, Ischia, Napoli and so on. I suggest you to buy your tickets online although you still have to queue to collect you boat tickets.

CAPRI ISLAND

 First things first, the only way to reach the island is by ferry (unless you have an helicopter or your private yacht). The roundtrip ticket is pricey I have to say, we spent more than 200 euros for us 5 for a 20min ride. The price varies because there are different companies, but on average you'll spend around 40 euros each.
To reach the center of the island you have to take the cableway which is 2 euros just for one way, so the roundtrip costs 4 euros.

I suggest you to spend a whole day here to visit the island and go on a boat tour around the island to discover the typical views of Capri's faraglioni and grottos. If you are a small group (5-15 persons) it is better to rent a private boat/yacht which you can choose to drive on your own (if you have the license) or with the driver/boat chief (what we did). Prices can also vary, it's not cheap (nothing in Capri is cheap) but DEFINITELY WORTH the price. With the private boat the tour lasted 2h30 and we stopped by different grottos to take photos and swim, whereas with the large ferry tours that barely costs 20eur/pp the trip is only 1h long and it doesn't stop to let passengers swim.

POSITANO, Salerno

 Fortunately, Positano was just about 30min by car from our hotel. By 9 a.m. we had parked our car, went to the main beach SPIAGGIA GRANDE and were swimming. Sound easy right? Well...

It was July, not considered "high season" in Italy because people go on holiday in August, and there still weren't that much tourists around (the beach was empty when we arrived, people started to show up at around 12, plus it wasn't a sunny day but still hot enough to enjoy), it didn't take too long before we could find a public parking. Private parkings are expensive and most of the time, they almost pile up the cars to get the best out of their space, I would suggest you parking here as a last resort. The public parkings which have ordinary fares (not more than 2eur/hour) have blue lines, obviously they sell out quickly so you better "sacrifice" waking up at 4/5 in the morning. The road is narrow and steep, very chaotic during the day, so you won't get any of this if you rise before the sun.

To get to the MAIN BEACH, you have to go down a lot of stairs, it's quite tiring especially when going up, so girls, please wear you instagrammable shoes only after you got to the beach, trust your sistah :P

Another reason to get up really early is because the free beach is not a wide area, it gets crowded real fast, so if you want your sit  in the front row, you know what to do.
Rental of deckchairs is also pricey, that's why they're empty most of the time.

AMALFI, Salerno

 After spending just half a day in Positano (it's a small place and the buildings you see at the background are actually residential buildings or hotels), we headed straight to Amalfi to spend the rest of the day there. Just stroll around and you'll see the main attractions that are around the cathedral.

I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful to plan your next trip to the fabulous Amalfi Coast, see you on the next post!

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