Amalfi coasting

The Washington Post would have us not go to the Amalfi Coast, because the influencers have ruined it! They’re not entirely wrong, of course, because it is full to overflowing, and every once in a while as you’re walking you come upon some scene the influencers have highlighted, with people lined up to take a particular photo. (Yes, that’s weird.)

But, as with Capri, it’s not a place you want to miss, either.

Amalfi is one city on the coast, which faces roughly south from a peninsula that is south-east of Naples. Positano is also famous on the Amalfi coast, and Sorrento – which is on the other side of the peninsula. We took a train to Salerno and walked a few minutes to the port, to catch a ferry to Amalfi. We had a short wait – maybe half an hour – during which time we sang 80s songs with the barista (Shane and I were vying for “loudest” and “most off key”.) We also watched a barefoot man, dressed only in a tattered speedo and his well-tanned skin, make friends with everyone and ask nothing of anyone. Memorable.

It’s no exaggeration to call the arrival on the ferry at Amalfi breathtaking: the mountainsides are deep green, the sky brilliant blue, the houses and churches pink and cream…

Lucky guess

It wasn’t previous experience that led me to pick a place to stay in Atrani – this was our first time this far up the Coast. But we all highly recommend it. It butts up against Amalfi but is itself a municipality, the smallest one in all of Italy. It is also listed among the most beautiful towns in Italy. What makes it a great launch pad is that you can go by foot to Amalfi and the port in fewer than ten minutes, but it is separate enough that it has its own little square, beach, restaurants, and pace. It’s just a gorgeous little spot, far from the madding crowds without adding to transport challenges. (When you arrive with suitcases, you may want to take one of the little golf carts, but otherwise we walked to and fro.)

Magnificent place for dinner

Our hosts in Atrani recommended a list of places to try for lunch or dinner, and we ended up at two of them: the first night, we ate at Savo, and it would be hard to top it. The food and wine were inexpensive and delicious, and we sat on the edge of Atrani’s tiny piazza to enjoy it.

Amalfi

The city of Amalfi is much more bustling and touristy, though it is a small town. There’s a gorgeous striped cathedral at the central plaza, tons of restaurants and shops, and gelaterias to try the famous lemon gelato served in one of the giant lemons. If you walk up far enough on the main drag, you leave the crowds behind. In addition to seeing how Amalfitanos live, we also found an adorable little museum dedicated to paper making, which apparently was an Amalfi specialty. Another local specialty are sweet red peppers, which were touted here as “natural viagra.”

Posing in Positano

It is not incorrect to say that Positano is overrun, and if you’ve ever seen grown people lined up to take a particular photo at a particular angle at a particular time of day, you’ll agree: this influencer thing has gone too far! It’s really substantial – there are times when you’re walking up or down the steep main routes through town and it’s like trying to get out of a crowded stadium – wall to wall people.

Luckily, all you have to do to escape is: be curious. Early in the day we found a beautiful climbing trail with almost no one on it.

For lunch we tried the restaurant of a posh-looking hotel that was almost empty and might have been the best thing we ate. Later in the day we found a laid-back resort just five minutes on down the coast by foot, with about 5% of the crowd just around the corner in Positano. Before the sun set, we jumped on a ferry to return to Atrani.

Can’t escape Atrani

Even though lunch had been pretty substantial, we also walked another 20k steps. When we returned to Atrani we tried A’ Paranza, which had been recommended to us, and we were not disappointed.

Stuffed calamari for the guys, and a lemon “pesto” on my pasta. A little more modest than the big fat lobster they shared at lunch but no less delicious.