Travel Diaries: Amalfi Coast

Hellooooo and welcome to my Amalfi Coast travel diaries! If you’re new to my blog, think of my travel diaries post as a hybrid informal travel guide / photo journal… I have a ton of photos that never made it to Instagram that I am dying to share (because as I’m sure you’re well aware, the Amalfi Coast is DREAM), along with a bunch of random tips and takeaways my family and I experienced firsthand on our trip. Some of them may surprise you! Spoiler: in my professional opinion, Positano has been somewhat ruined by Instagram.

Read on to find out where we stayed, how we got around, the restaurants you need to put on your list, and how I would do this trip differently in the future. Because, again, in my professional opinion, I sometimes think it takes experiencing a place once to truly know how to do a trip there “perfectly.” However, it’s worth mentioning that maybe there is no such thing as a perfect trip. It was freezing and poured rain 70% of the time we were in Italy, and it was through that circumstance that led us down a path of unexpected and unplanned adventures and memories. Always worth keeping in mind to avoid any let downs 🙂 Plus, taking a look at a blogger travel guide is never a bad idea to get the inside scoop. I hope mine is of use!

Rome

So! First things first, we flew out of Chicago O’hare to the Rome International Airport (Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino). Our plan was to stay in Rome for 24 hours to adjust to the jet lag and break up the trip a bit before heading to the Amalfi Coast. The flight was just about 9.5 hours; we took off, were served dinner relatively quickly, my sister and I binged our way through season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise (off topic but highly recommend watching old seasons of Bach if you’re a fan lol), and then tried but failed to sleep. We landed around 8:30 am Rome time and went straight to our hotel, Hotel Sina Berini Bristol. We waited for our rooms to be ready and then immediately went back to sleep for a few hours. We quickly learned that the walls at this hotel were insanely thin, and it was very loud in the hall. Also, for some reason we had like three different staff come into our room not knowing we had checked in and were in there, so that was somewhat frustrating.

What we absolutely loved about this hotel was the daily breakfast spread! The restaurant is located on the rooftop level and has amazing views; breakfast is buffet style and had the most unbelievable croissants and pastries, fresh berries, eggs, potatoes, roasted cherry tomatoes, meats and cheeses… Honestly, every time I’m in Europe I’m blown away by the breakfasts, regardless of where we are or where we’re staying… The quality and freshness is always out of this world.

The hotel was also in a great location. We were walking distance to the Trevi Fountain along with tons of great shopping. One of our highlights from our full day in Rome was going to the Zara, which takes on a whole new meaning in Europe… It was a true fashion experience with amazing pieces, very different than the stores I’ve been to in the States.

Outfit details:

Jeans: AGOLDE | Revolve

Tee: ZARA (similar)

PVC Mules: Steve Madden | Nordstrom

Jacket: Old ZARA (similar)

Our time in Rome was very short, very wet, but we truly made the most of it. Another highlight was stumbling across this local neighborhood restaurant about 20 min outside the main city center. It was all locals, enjoying their Sunday night dinner with friends and family, and had such a homey vibe to it; we were welcomed with glasses of spumante, which we learned we like WAY more than prosecco, and ordered a bunch of pastas and apps to split. Absolute heaven.

The following day we headed to the train station to catch our train to Naples, which took about an hour and a half. We had arranged for a driver to pick us up and take us to our hotel in Ravello, which was also bout an hour and half, so definitely a big travel day. It quite frankly was one of the gnarliest car rides of my life… Ravello is a little mountainside town and the roads are very windy getting up there… The higher up we went, the foggier it got. To the point where we were literally driving in pure opaque whiteness… Which was fairly unsettling since we were so close to the edge of a fucking mountain haha. Luckily our driver was unfazed and used to the conditions, but I’m pretty sure we would’ve died if my dad had been driving. Highly recommend booking a driver whenever you can when you’re in Italy.

Ravello

We could not have been more excited to arrive in the beautiful and charming town of Ravello. It seriously is like something out of a storybook fairytale— medieval streets, buildings, cathedrals, little shops selling pottery and wine… Oh, and stray kitties EVERYWHERE.  It’s the most charming place I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. And the views were absolutely incredible. It is such a lush and mountainous region, on the coast, overlooking the sea. Again, we had some bad luck with the weather and we had a couple chilly days with rain, but luckily the sun came out throughout our time there.

We stayed at the Hotel Palazzo Avino, which is without a doubt one of the most spectacular hotels I’ve ever stayed at. Located 1,000 ft above the Mediterranean, the hotel is situated in what was once a 12th century private villa for an Italian noble family. It’s been ranked as one of the top hotels in the world by numerous publications, has a one Michelin star restaurant, a lobster and martini bar, spa, beach club… Another amazing thing about the hotel is how small and intimate and private it is. There are only 33 rooms and 10 suites, and a staff ratio of 2 employees per room. Also worth noting that the staff are amaaaazing. Happy to assist you with literally anything under the sun.

In addition to being a stunning hotel, they had the most incredible food. The daily breakfast buffet was literally to die for: eggs your way, plus unlimited sampling of roasted vegetables, balls of burrata, olives, smoked fish and meats, potatoes, fruit, fresh honey off the comb, make your own mimosas… The pastries were also insane, and we were served them by the basket. Worth nothing that I did not bring workout gear and planned on eating and drink whatever I goddamn wanted to on this trip lol.

We stayed in Ravello for the entire 4 days we were in the Amalfi Coast and planned day trips to Positano and Capri, which allowed for plenty of exploring. I’m glad that we got a bit of diversity; however, I easily could have had more time in Ravello to lounge by the pool or go to the hotel’s beach club, especially once the weather turned around. Ravello felt very remote and peaceful, and I loved that there were hardly any tourists, unlike Positano, which was very busy and crowded. 

Where We Ate

Including all of my Ravello restaurant recommendations for you guys here!

Rossellini’s at Palazzo Avino

A true fine finding experience at a Michelin star restaurant. We sat on the patio, overlooking the mountains and sea, while a live guitarist serenaded the crowd. There is a prix fixe menu option, but we ended up doing a la carte. Which, honestly, was definitely for the best because we were served SO many complimentary bites as part of our dinner. Some of the items on the menu are a little funky sounding (we stayed clear of the bottom feeder fish that were being served); however, everything we ate was fantastic. Definitely pricey but worth it for the experience; plus, you get to check out the beautiful hotel! Come for a pre-dinner drink in the hotel lobby area— they have the most incredible cocktail list and you are served little charcuterie bites to enjoy with your drink!

Trattoria Da Cumpa’ Cosimo

Keep scrolling for the photo of the amazing seafood pasta I had… One of my favorite pasta dishes of the entire trip! This little hidden gem was a neighborhood find, about a 5 min walk from our hotel in Ravello. It is very authentic, offering your typical pizzas and pastas, all cooked by Mamma Netta, this darling Italian grandmother who will come and greet you at the end of the meal.

Trattoria da Lorenzo

An absolute MUST for dinner if you are staying in Ravello. We had a driver from our hotel take us there, as it was about a 15 min car ride. This is family owned restaurant, like to the extreme. The hosts, waiters, cooks, everyone is from the same family! The restaurant is located on a mountainside and is known specifically for their seafood. At the start of our meal, the waiter brought out a cart of all of the fish that that had just been caught to showcase how fresh it was. He asked our family what kind of things we liked to eat and then made a custom menu selection for us. We ended up having eggplant parm, a caprese salad, some grilled mozzarella wrapped in grape leaves, and an entire branzino that had been poached in what he called “crazy water,” aka water, garlic, oil, and cherry tomatoes, a classic Neapolitan dish.

Hotel Villa Maria 

This was another neighborhood find we came across one afternoon when we were out exploring Ravello. We actually came here twice, once for drinks and a light lunch and another for a proper sit down dinner. The patio has amazing views of the coast and they had a very expansive aperol spritz menu (the limoncello one was something else haha). For lunch, I ordered what I would describe as a deconstructed nicoise salad— it had two pieces of tuna, green beans, cherry tomatoes, boiled potatoes, and a baby sized house made bagel. For dinner, we ended up ordering a truffle pasta, which was heavenly, and a bunch of items from their vegetarian menu! 

Positano

There was no way we could come to the Amalfi Coast and not visit Positano. It’s been on my travel bucket list for AGES! In hindsight, I am very glad we didn’t decide to center our trip around it. We had a driver from our hotel take us there and pick us up (it took about an hour and a half). Alternatively, you can drive down the mountain into the town of Amalfi and take a ferry.

We got dropped off at our lunch spot and got strait to eating. We ate at Le Sirenuse hotel and ohhhhmygosh it was just as beautiful as it looks on Instagram (scroll down for pics!). Maybe the most incredible table side view I’ve ever experienced in my life. Worth noting that we were definitely able to get in because our hotel booked the reservation… We saw a couple people try and come in from off the street and the restaurant turned them away.

I had another aperol spritz followed by a bottle of rosé that I split with my sister because we are #FUN. The pastas we ordered were all amazing, the sun was shining, and we were all truly just loving life. A must do if you are in Positano!

After we were done eating, we just walked around and explored, went into some shops, checked out the beach. Damn, this place was freaking crooooowded. Which for me definitely look away from the experience a bit. Very touristy, a lot of the shops are clearly tailored towards tourists… I just didn’t think it felt super authentic, unlike Ravello which feels fairly untouched. One of those moments where I realized how large a role Instagram and Pinterest had played in shaping what I expected a place to be like… Don’t get me wrong, it is a beautiful place, but  I was not ~as~ blown away as I was by Ravello and Capri.

My sister and I also bought made in Positano linen shirts for our boyfriends, one in pink, one in turquoise. Just wanted to include that tidbit. 

Capri

The following day we took another day trip to Capri, taking the ferry this time. It was about a 25 min drive down to the Amalfi Coast, once again we had a driver from the hotel take us, where we then took a ferry. Pro tip, make sure to buy your tickets in advance, because we showed up in time to take the 11 am ferry to Capri and were told it was sold out!

The ferry we took started in Amalfi, made a drop off in Positano, and then headed to Capri. It was really cool getting to see the coast from the water, especially because this was the first nice day we had had and the only boating opportunity we got. Weather permitting, getting to go out boating for a day in Capri would have been magical, especially to check out the famous Blue Grotto. Definitely a must do if you can.

I absolutely fell in love with Capri and would’ve killed to have another day or two to explore and hang on a beach! It had a very different feel than Ravello and Positano; it reminded me a bit of some coastal towns I’ve been to on the south of France. Once our ferry dropped us off, we immediately headed to our lunch spot, which was a little over a 10 min walk. This was by far my absolute favorite meal throughout all our time in Italy; Ristorante da Paolino was not only one of the coolest restaurants I’ve ever been to, but the food was out of this world good. We ate outside, under a canopy of freaking lemon trees! Scroll down for the pics. They had an amazing cocktail menu, and I had the hardest time deciding what to order because everything sounded so good… I ended up getting a pasta with zucchini flowers and shrimp and an Italian take on a mojito. We also split an appetizer of eggplant parmesan and grilled mozzarella wrapped in lemon leaves. SO good.

After our lunch we took a taxi up the mountain to where all of the shopping is (as well as some incredible views; I don’t know what they put in the water over there but it is so blue and beautiful I could cry!). All of the cabs were convertible style so we got to really take in the views, (and the breeze!), on the way up. I thought the shopping was way better than in Positano; there were a ton of luxury designer brands, but also a ton of upscale local boutiques selling Italian goods. There also was a pretty good mix of more affordable options too, so really a wide range for whatever you’re in the market for. I wish we had had more time to explore; our time was somewhat limited because we had to catch the last ferry back. We ended up taking the chair lift back down the mountain… It was kind of like a gondola but with a public transportation kinda feel haha!

Outfit details:

Linen blazer | (similar)

Gingham dress | (similar)

Sandals | M. Gemi

Bucket bag | (similar)

The following day we said goodbye to the beautiful Ravello on THE nicest day we had seen since arriving in the country (of course right?), and headed to the Naples International airport to catch our flight to Munich for the weekend. Which, PS, stay tuned for that travel guide!

I hope this was of use and feel free to email (theblondeinpink@gmail.com) or DM me (@theblondeinpink) with any of your Amalfi Coast related travel questions!