Trip Report: Italy - Amalfi Coast June 15-22 2016 with pre-days in Rome

[TXTransplant]

Love the views from the hotel in Sorrento!!

Sayhello

This hotel is fabulous! It's actually one of the reasons I booked this trip, and it does not disappoint! The entire place is gorgeous!

 

[TXTransplant]

If I had to chose between seeing the Trevi Fountain or the Spanish Steps sans scaffolding, I'd pick the Trevi Fountain hands down! I think you got the better deal!

Sayhello

Me too! I love fountains and could have sat by Trevi all day!

 

[sayhello]

What hotel is it?

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[TXTransplant]

What hotel is it?

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Grand Hotel La Favorita.

 

[carpenta]

You will be overcome by "La Dolce Vita"......Love Sorrento and the entire coastal area. Love the pictures.

 

[emilymad]

Great pictures!

 

[Chirple]

Love your photos! The Trevi Fountain was under scaffolding when we were on our 2014 DCL Med cruise so it's nice to see the finished work.

 

[TXTransplant]

The welcome dinner last night was fantastic. We had a reception with wine and prosecco and snacks while we introduced ourselves and went over important information. Then we moved to the rooftop deck for dinner. The food was great...lots of fresh mozzarella, fruit, prosciutto, and seafood. The feeing is a lot less "formal"...no assigned seats at dinner, the guides are not wearing their ABD gear or carrying the orange sign, and we are not wearing our lanyards. We are still getting pins though. I think I read on another thread that this was for security reasons, but it also makes the vibe more laid-back.

Breakfast at this hotel was also fantastic - made to order omelettes, and fresh pastries, fruits, and cheeses.

We left at 8 to tour Positano and Amalfi. We took a bus part of the way to Positano, and then pulled over to the side of the road to switch to two smaller mini-buses for the rest of the trip. The drive is absolutely stunning! Sit on the right side of the bus (facing the driver) for the best views. We had some time on our own in Positano (maybe an hour or so) before we boarded a private boat for a 45 minute ride to Amalfi. More amazing scenery from the water!

We had a local guide named Michael for the entire day. He was great, but I'm not a fan of having to wear/schlep the whisper listening device.

We had a short walking tour of Amalfi before having about 2.5 hours of free time. I wanted to take a cab to Ravello, and in theory, it would have been doable, except for a grumpy cab driver. The "cab" was an 8 or 10 person van, and the driver didn't want to take only two people. He wanted to hang around for another 10-15 minutes to wait for more people, and we just didn't have that time to spare. I was also concerned about the price, since it was such a big vehicle.

So, instead we walked and shopped around Amalfi, which was just lovely. We also had a snack and some gelato. The shopping there is great...lots of ceramics and beautiful paper/stationery.

The ride back to Sorrento was equally as scenic and a little crazy, as there are tons of buses going both ways. And the road is not big enough for two buses to pass at the same time. We had a couple of very entertaining moments watching our driver navigate with the other drivers!

Tonight is pizza making and limoncello tasting at a farm. I'll try to upload and post some pics later.

 

[carpenta]

Sounds WONDERFUL! That highway (only in theory) goes back to Roman times and gives you amazing views of the Med. Did you try some local wine? Cheap and good. Thanks for my "daily fix". Looking forward to more.

 

[sayhello]

I *love* the Amalfi Coast! Sounds wonderful! And I'm always amazed by the skills of the motorcoach drivers!

Unfortunately, you'll need to get used to the whisperers. It's really the only way the Guides can handle talking to the whole group. You'd never hear a thing if all the Guides from all the tour groups just shouted to everyone. I think they're required in a lot of the venues. I always bring my own headset to use with them; I really need to remember to add that to the suggestion list when folks ask what to bring...

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[DollyM]

I'm really enjoying your trip report. I was on the May 22-29 adults only adventure. I'm especially interested in hearing about tomorrow's trip to Capri. It was incredibly windy the day we went so we weren't able to take the boat ride around the island or go swimming. Robyn and Marcello were our adventure guides and they were great.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I wonder if your pizza making is at Agriturismo Fondo Galatea. We visited there with the ABD Med add-on several years ago. If by some remote chance it is the same farm, the liquor is quite good. We bought strawberry and used it on ice cream and on occasion for special house guests. I still have the empty bottle on my bar tray because it is so pretty!

Enjoy your evening activities! I can't get enough of the fresh mozzarella in Italy! It's so so so good.

As a side note I checked Walks of Italy for Milan (where we are spending pre-days for our Italy / Switzerland trip in July) and they don't offer a cooking class ( Just 3 different walks. I hired a private guide for a day (before I read your reviews) and my son wants to visit the football (soccer in the US) stadium one day and I'll of course use the rest of the stadium day to SHOP (I mean how can one NOT shop in Milan - the virtual fashion capital of the world). I'm pretty sure I'll scare most fashion people away in the shops with my sneakers (I have to wear them due to a still-recovering foot injury) and not-so-pretty but very practical PacSafe handbag!

 

[TXTransplant]

I wonder if your pizza making is at Agriturismo Fondo Galatea. We visited there with the ABD Med add-on several years ago. If by some remote chance it is the same farm, the liquor is quite good. We bought strawberry and used it on ice cream and on occasion for special house guests. I still have the empty bottle on my bar tray because it is so pretty!

Enjoy your evening activities! I can't get enough of the fresh mozzarella in Italy! It's so so so good.

As a side note I checked Walks of Italy for Milan (where we are spending pre-days for our Italy / Switzerland trip in July) and they don't offer a cooking class ( Just 3 different walks. I hired a private guide for a day (before I read your reviews) and my son wants to visit the football (soccer in the US) stadium one day and I'll of course use the rest of the stadium day to SHOP (I mean how can one NOT shop in Milan - the virtual fashion capital of the world). I'm pretty sure I'll scare most fashion people away in the shops with my sneakers (I have to wear them due to a still-recovering foot injury) and not-so-pretty but very practical PacSafe handbag!

That's exactly the farm that we went to! We had a fantastic time...the fresh cheeses, meats, and wood-fired pizza was amazing. We all got into the dance presentation (I even got to wear a special skirt!), and all of the homemade goodies there are delicious. I bought some preserves and olive oil (it is packaged in a can, so no worry about breakage in the suitcase). I didn't buy any limoncello or other drinks, but we did sample, and it's wonderful!

Tomorrow is Capri. We are supposed to have great weather, so I will report back in 24 hours.

 

[TXTransplant]

I *love* the Amalfi Coast! Sounds wonderful! And I'm always amazed by the skills of the motorcoach drivers!

Unfortunately, you'll need to get used to the whisperers. It's really the only way the Guides can handle talking to the whole group. You'd never hear a thing if all the Guides from all the tour groups just shouted to everyone. I think they're required in a lot of the venues. I always bring my own headset to use with them; I really need to remember to add that to the suggestion list when folks ask what to bring...

Sayhello

Yeah...they are a necessary evil. The ones we are using are just bigger and bulkier than what we used with Walks of Italy. And I don't like having to keep them over multiple days...they are just one more thing to have to think about. I also hate having them in pictures, so we always take them off.

 

[TXTransplant]

Positano



Amalfi









Tiramisu and lemon and coconut



Pizza at La Galatea

 

[Cousin Orville]

Great photos! I can almost smell the lemons!

 

[sayhello]

I agree with Cousin Orville! Love your photos!

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[AquamarineSteph]

Gorgeous photos!!!

 

[TXTransplant]

Great photos! I can almost smell the lemons!

I bought perfume in Capri today that smells like the Amalfi Coast!

Are you in Germany now? I heard from our guide that Lexi knows we are here and said hello! I thought you might be on her tour now.

 

[Cousin Orville]

I bought perfume in Capri today that smells like the Amalfi Coast!

Are you in Germany now? I heard from our guide that Lexi knows we are here and said hello! I thought you might be on her tour now.

No. I'm going the very end of July.