Amalfi Coast…..a magnificent road trip to one of the most beautiful and iconic places in Italy

We departed from the ferry building on Feb 13th and weaved our way through the morning rush hour traffic….or at least our driver was weaving through morning traffic. We were enjoying seeing all the people going by on the streets. We finally made our way to the express way, and after 20 minutes we were zipping in between the bay and Mt. Vesuvius. As we got to the other side of Naples, we made the turn West and headed out towards our first stop in Sorrento.

This coastal town faces the Bay of Naples on the Sorrentine Peninsula. It is perched high atop cliffs that separate the town from its busy marinas. It has sweeping water views and a very cute Piazza Tasso, a café-lined square. There are several streets with high end shopping, for those visiting during the summer season. This was another place where we saw many men standing around in circles chatting with their friends….we continued to see this same type of activity throughout the rest of our monthlong visit to Italy. Not sure what they were talking about, but if I had to guess it would be women, sports, cars, and women! 😊😊 (Editor note: oh brother! 🤦‍♀️)

After a nice break from the passenger van, we were back on the road to the Amalfi coast. Not long after we left Sorrento, we headed around the peninsula and got our first glimpses of this iconic, stunning coast line. It definitely lived up to the hype. As we weaved in and around narrow curves, I was glad we had a driver that had been driving in this area for 20+ years. One wrong turn and over the cliff into the Gulf of Naples.

We continued our drive through quaint little seaside and cliffside towns….and then stopped on the side of the road to grab some fresh squeezed juice. Yum! A vendor’s dog just hung out on a fence…very cute…but, little did we know until we came up to pet the little one, the fence was on the side of a 100+ foot cliff. That dog had cat-like balance!!!

Back in the van and headed to our next stop, a very Italian lunch on the top of cliffside restaurant, near the town of Positano. The vistas were heart stopping. We had a wonderful lunch catching up with others on our trip….a lovely woman from Canada whose cruise had been delayed due to covid, a newly married couple from the States, and others. A really nice lunch with a nice group of people.

We then were back on the crazy, windy road and headed forour last destination, Amalfi. This was one of a dozen fabulous seaside towns along this stretch of coast. We walked into a stunning church, walked up alley ways that dated back thousands of years, ate some decent gelato, and then walked along the shore lined with boats. A lovely end to our day along the amazing Amalfi Coast.

Our trip wasn’t quit over. We proceeded to drive up several thousand feet to cut over the peninsula vs. going back the way we came. At the top, we ran into some fog that cut visibility down in this forested area. Glad we went this way because we had some incredible views of the coast behind us, and as we came over the top of the hill, some incredible views of Pompeii and the other towns that circle Mt. Vesuvius.

What a glorious day of sun, road, delightful company, and unbelievable views of the Amalfi Coast. Would love to visit here again when we are back in Italy.