Italy was our last stop on our first Europe trip of 9 days!  My husband has owned an italian restaurant in North Carolina (Babymoon Cafe) for 13 years now and had never been to Italy!  This trip was planned over a year in advance and I wanted it to be perfect for his first experience.  I was VERY overwhelmed when I first started planning this trip since I was use to one destination, and this included several one off trips daily.  After vacationing there, I realized how many people spoke English and it was relatively easy to navigate. We chose to stay in Sorrento because we were only there 4 days and wanted easy access to all the other day trips we were doing.  Sorrento is the center point of amalfi coast, so you can get to Capri, Positano, Ravello, and several other cities within 30-45 minutes.  We did Memorial week/weekend and the weather was in the low 70’s the entire time.  I was pretty chilly at night, so definitely bring layers!

How to get there:

We arrived to Italy by flying from the Mykonos,Greece airport directly into Milan, then connecting to Naples.  I think once the summer is busier there are typically direct flights from Mykonos to Naples.  Once we arrived in Naples, we had a pre-arranged driver pick us up and drive us an hour into Sorrento.  I highly recommend pre-arranged drivers when flying into foreign countries- it takes the ease off as soon as you land knowing you have someone there to direct you immediately on where to go.  You can also fly into Rome to get to the Amalfi coast, but its a 3 hour drive instead of 1.

(Positano)

Where we stayed:

Sorrento– I mentioned earlier this seemed to be the most convenient spot when accessing multiple areas in a short amount of time.  If we were to visit again, I probably would stay in positano or Capri the entire time!
Airbnb:  I booked this specific airbnb 6+ months in advance because the reviews were amazing and it had 3 bedrooms for our party in the heart of Sorrento.  I communicated directly with the owner, Guiseppe immediately after booking and he stayed in touch the entire time!  I loved having a local as a point of contact because he was able to set up all the excursions we wanted to do and connect us with local drivers.   I really felt like Guiseppe went above and beyond to make sure our entire stay was amazing.  The property was very comfortable & clean!  I loved the huge wrap around patio that opened up in every room to the fresh lemon gardens out front.   You can get a discount off booking airbnb rental here!

(balcony of airbnb overlooking lemon trees)

Where to eat

(advance recommendations 3 months+ minimum all these places!)
-We were suprised that a lot of the pasta dishes were around $20, same price as you would see in America!

• Sorrento:
  –Lantica Trattoria – this was my favorite meal of the entire trip!! Get the lemon linguine, I still dream about it.
  –Il Buco– Michelin star
• Capri:
  –La Fontelina– Beach club, reserve beach chairs 3 days in advance and have lunch here!
  –Da Paolino– Dinner under lemon trees!
  –Il Riccio– another lunch spot, michelin star
• Positano:
  –Le Serinuse hotel– Lunch (la sponda), dinner (Oyster bar, terrace area)
  –Terazza Cele- dinner
  -Chez Black- Lunch- ask for heart shapped pizza
  –La Tagliata– dinner

 

What to do:

• Day trip to Capri–  We used Fernandos Boats and we booked him a little longer than usual from 9am-7pm!  This was my favorite day and island in Italy.  You can spend the entire day exploring Capri, or ask the crew to take you to the blue grotto or caves to swim.  When on Capri request a convertible taxi to enjoy the ride up! Also stop by the sandal shop in Ana Capri to get custom made leather sandals! (see my Instagram story highlights here for more info).  Then take the gondola up to the highest point and see the island from that view.    Spend the day at one of the beach clubs I mentioned earlier, we immediately started there when we got off the boat.  To get the famous Rock pictures you see in my photo, tell the boat driver to take you to Faraglioni, and stop the boat for pictures :).
• Tour the Amalfi Coast-  We did this our first full day to get a grip on the geography of the coast!  It was a warm & easy welcome.  We used Salvatore’s Touring company here.  Our driver stopped at beautiful sites along the coast and gave as limonchello every time!  We stopped for lunch in Amalfi at what seemed like a castle over looking the beach.  We did a little shopping there then headed back to Sorrento around 4pm.
• Rent Vespas–  Okay we did this the VERY last day, and by then the guys felt more comfortable after driving all other ATVS across europe cities.  We rented them from Jolly’s in Sorrento, and drove them to positano Saturday morning.  Surprisingly, the roads were very calm and the directions on my GPS fairly easy with signs.  The day before it looked like a nightmare on the roads, so definitely be careful if you rent them.  But I LOVED the ride and views this day!
• Visit the Pompeii Ruins– My sister & brother in law did this one morning.  Salvatore’s team arranged this as well and set up a lunch for them before heading back!
• Rent a boat for Amalfi Coast– If we had more time, I would have loved to do a boat tour for the amalfi view!
• Booking a cooking class– again if we had more time I would have loved to do this too!* Thank you again Guiseppe, our airbnb rental, for arranging all the above for us, it made our trip seamless! Cant wait to be back!