On paper, it should have been a complete nonstarter: a fat thumb of
precipitous limestone sticking rudely into the Mediterranean just south of
Naples, with barely a beach or decent road to its name.
But the spectacular scenery of the Amalfi coast and islands, with its
vineyards, citrus and olive groves, almond trees, oleanders, camellias and
bougainvillea, proved irresistible. First to come were the Greek gods,
flying in for short breaks in between bouts with minotaurs and consulting
oracles. Then it was the turn of the Roman emperors, including the sex fiend
Tiberius, who switched the HQ of the entire empire to his villa on Capri. A
few centuries later, the Amalfi shores became a popular haunt for writers
and artists, with the rich and royal hot on their heels. And in the 1960s,
it was the turn of the world.
Sorrento is the most mass-marketed of its resorts, with virtually no beaches —
but with some classic hotels, lots of shops and boats sending salvos of
trippers off in all directions. Positano is the pretty postcard town,
cascading down the side of a mountain in a shower of flowers and boutiques,
while Amalfi remains the working town, with real character and a deep sense
of history. There is a choice of islands, most famously Capri, which is rich
in both scenery and designer labels. Maiori is for families who need a beach
and don’t mind sacrificing fancy hotels. And, should you tire of the coast,
there is the exquisite hilltop retreat of Ravello, with its palaces and
gardens.
Read on for a resort-by-resort guide to the best of the coast.
Package prices are per person for one week in August, including flights
from London and transfers. For UK regional and Irish departures, ask the
operator. In general, packages offer better value than booking
independently. Also, because the Amalfi coast is not a particularly good
choice for families, prices in August may well be lower than in September.
When comparing operators’ prices, check whether they include private or
coach transfer, and whether the room has a sea view. Restaurant prices are
for a three-course meal
Sorrento
ALTHOUGH the big tour operators have marched in on what was once a
sophisticated winter retreat, it is still far from being the land of the
yobbo. It’s the peninsula’s largest resort, lively but at the same time a
rather genteel place and a perfect toe-in-the-Med experience.
Sorrento is a seaside resort not on the sea, but above it, perched on the top
of a line of cliffs with superb wraparound views of the Bay of Naples.
There’s an elegance to much of the architecture, including several grand
hotels, some of which have been around since the 18th-century grand
tourists.
Swimming happens off wooden T-bar jetties 150ft below town, with soldierly
rows of sunbeds, sentry-box changing huts and steps leading to the big blue.
Toddler-friendly it is not; nor is it suitable for anyone weak on their pins
(although there is a public lift to the sea, and some hotels have their
own).
Sorrento’s social epicentre is Piazza Tasso, built over a ravine, with the
ruins of an old watermill at the bottom. Top of the essential in-town sights
are the Moorish-style 13th-century cloisters of San Francisco; the
collection of Sorrento-as-was paintings, porcelain and furniture in the
Villa Correale (closed Tuesday; 00 39-081 878 1846); and the Societa
Operaia, on Via San Cesareo, not a venue for the Three Tenors, but a
working-men’s club where card- players sit in a shrine of trompe l’oeil
frescoes that would not be out of place in St Peter’s.
Sorrento is also a place to shop, especially along Corso Italia and the
narrow, flagstoned streets of the old town. Popular buys include leather
gloves, marquetry musical boxes and Capodimonte figurines. But all is not
given over to tourism; plenty of salumeria (delicatessens), hole-in-the-wall
watch- repairers and old cobblers still occupy prime real-estate slots.
Nowhere on the Med beats Sorrento for outings. Its Marina Piccola is a
maritime Clapham Junction, with ferries, hydrofoils and jetboats whizzing
off to Positano, Amalfi, Minori, Capri, Ischia and Naples.
Where to stay: ideally in one of the hotels perched on the
lip of the escarpment, overlooking the bay. The Excelsior Vittoria (081 807
1044, www.exvitt.it), is old-fashioned in the nicest sense, with mosaic
floors, marble staircases, potted palms, pitted mirrors, podgy nymphs, and
busts of ancient Romans perched on the terrace, Vesuvius over their
shoulders. It costs £1,399, half-board, with Citalia (020 8686 5533,
www.citalia.com). Or try the Tramontano (00 39-081 878 2588,
www.tramontano.com), in business since the 18th century, with Shelley, Byron
and Goethe among its guests. Or the beautiful Parco dei Principi (081 878
4644, www.hotelparcoprincipi.com).
Where to eat: Caruso (081 807 3156; £30) is a shrine to the
singer (with his life in pic- tures on the wall), as well as Sorrento’s top
noshery. For distinctly unfrilly but tasty fish, go to D’Emilia (081 807
2720; £15), one of several seafood places in the Marina Grande, Sorrento’s
grubby but full-of-character fishing port. The best restaurant on the
peninsula is the three-Michelin-starred Don Alfonso (081 878 0026; closed
Monday; £80) in the hills at Sant’Agata, where the owners, Alfonso and
Livia, make their own organic olive oil, grow organic vegetables, raise
their own poultry and smoke their own fish.
Positano
IF DISNEY were to turn its hand to creating a Mediterranean theme park, it
would look like Positano, all confetti pinks and peaches, flowers and
flash-bright clothes. The houses cling to the mountainside like a cubist
canvas, tumbling down to a small, crowded beach. The best view in Positano
is from the cemetery at the top (pity the pallbearers who have to carry the
coffins all the way up. It must kill them).
Steinbeck reckoned that it would never be ruined by tourists because “the
cliffs are all taken”. So are all the parking spots, especially on summer
Sundays, when cars line the coast road several hundred yards from town. Come
by boat instead, and hoof it up the calf-wrenching steps. If you are
staying, be sure not to leave the suncream in the room as you roll all the
way down to the beach — which, incidentally, is grit-grey and pebbly. A more
attractive option is Fornillo, just around the west end headland, linked by
a short coast path past a Sara- cen tower.
Where to stay: the Sirenuse (00 39 089 875066,
www.sirenuse.it), overlooking the tiled dome of the church, is one of a
“diamond triangle” of hotels (along with Quisisana on Capri, and Palazzo
Sasso in Ravello) popular with quietly rich Americans doing the Amalfi
rounds. It’s family-run and the 62 rooms are filled with priceless antiques
and paintings — nearly all have sea views and many have balconies. It costs
£2,355, B&B, with Magic of Italy (0870 888 0220,
www.magictravelgroup.co.uk).
Alternatives include the Poseidon (00 39-089 811111, www.starnet.it/poseidon),
built on the bones of a private villa; and the San Pietro (089 875455,
www.ilsanpietro.it), a 10-storey down-rise half a mile from town, its rooms
exotically grafted onto a 250ft cliff face.
Where to eat: La Cambusa (089 875432; £28), on a terrace
above the prom, or Chez Black (089 875036; £22), nautically themed and bang
on the promenade.
Amalfi
A PLAQUE in the middle of town declares: “For those natives of Amalfi who are
called to Paradise, Judgment Day will be just another day.” Well, you’d
hardly call its beach heavenly, but Amalfi is the most interesting town on
the coast.
At its core is Piazza Duomo, from which a flight of stairs sweeps to an
immense, humbug-striped marble cathedral. The scale and grandeur seem oddly
out of place in a town of 8,000, but in its prime, Amalfi was a maritime
republic of 70,000, rivalling Pisa, Genoa and Venice.
If you’re in town on a Wednesday, check out the market at the upper end of the
Via delle Cartiere, or the Street of the Mills, named after the 20 paper
mills that once flourished here (one still functions, and is open to
visitors; another is a museum).
Where to stay: the clifftop Santa Caterina (00 39-089 871
012, www.hotelsantacaterina.it) is the star hotel, its 60 rooms layered in a
king-size hanging basket of garden terraces and orchards. There’s a lift
with a glass front to take you down to the sea, the pool and lunch. It costs
£1,340, B&B, including car hire, with Italian Journeys (020 7373
8058, www.italianjourneys.com). Or consider the Luna Convento (00 39-089 871
002), built around the 13th-century cloisters of a Franciscan convent; or
the small and friendly Marina Riviera (089 871104, www.marinariviera.it).
Where to eat: La Caravella (089 871029; £22) has probably the
best food, but the roadside location lets it down. Two popular trattorias
are Da Gemma (089 871345; £18) and Da Barracca (089 871285; £17), the oldest
in town, tucked away on a square in the back streets.
Minori and Maiori
THE LITTLE and Large of the Amalfi coast have the best beaches, especially
Maiori, with its half-mile of grey sand and soldierly rows of sun-bed and
parasol concessions. As resorts go, they are utterly uninspiring, although
relatively cheap packages make them an option for families. Minori is the
prettier sister, with a distinct edge on character and the advantage of
boats to Amalfi, Sorrento, Positano and Capri, but the beach is rather,
well, minori.
Where to stay: the Panorama, in Maiori (089 877202,
www.hotelpanorama.biz), is your best bet: well run, with a small pool, an
attractive roof-terrace bar and a private beach right opposite. It costs
£559, half-board, with Thomson (0870 550 2555, www.thomson.co.uk).
Where to eat: nowhere of particular note.
Ravello
WHATEVER your coastal perch, take a trip to the cool, quiet medieval hill town
of Ravello, a place of elegant palaces, old churches and gardens suspended
between the sky and the sea. As well as narrow, car-free lanes to wander,
there are two gardens to visit.
Villa Cimbrone, created at the beginning of the last century by Lord
Grimthorpe, has what Ravello resident Gore Vidal described as “the most
beautiful view in the world”. Stroll down the wisteria-draped Avenue of the
Immensity until you reach the Belvedere of Infinity, a sheer, stomach-
curdling 1,300ft drop, with busts of emperors and the thinnest of railings
between you and your maker. The 13th-century Villa Rufolo, with its Moorish
cloister, is more famous for virtuosos than views. Every summer, the gardens
are the stage for a festival in honour of Wagner, who was inspired by the
setting to write Parsifal. Details at www.ravellofestival.com.
Ravello is worth a stay to enjoy the tranquillity and the evening scene on the
square, a standing and sitting version of the passeggiata, and a perfect
place to sip some prosecco. If, however, you are just visiting, consider
walking back to the coast. There’s a choice of easy paths, including the
longest stairway in the world, down to Minori.
Where to stay: the Palumbo (00 39 089 857244,
www.hotel-palumbo.it) was a 12th-century nobleman’s home. There’s no pool,
but there is a private beach club down at the shore. Through Harle-quin
(01708 850333, www.harlequinholidays.com), it costs £1,665, half-board. Or
try the newly converted Palazzo Sasso (00 39-089 818181,
www.palazzosasso.com), staggered on a series of terraces, with a
Michelin-starred restaurant.
Where to eat: the Garden (089 857226; £20) is the place for
an excellent lunch with a coastal panorama to die for. Or dine under the
lime trees of Villa Maria (089 857255; £20).
Capri
EVERYONE knows about Capri, and everyone comes, seemingly on the very day you
choose to go — especially if it is a Sunday, when numbers are swelled by
hundreds of Neapolitans. From the port, the pendolari (day-trippers, so
called because of their rhythmic entrances and exits) head for the
funicular, which carries them up to Piazza Umberto I, Capri’s distinctly
pretty open-air drawing room. Sit long enough at a cafe table — which you’ll
want to do anyway, to justify the price of the drinks — and you’re bound to
see someone you know.
Tourism to Mediterranean islands began here with the discovery of the Blue
Grotto in 1826; before then, they were considered fit only for prisoners,
exiles, madmen and monks. The grotto is still the big draw (boats constantly
shuttle out from the harbour to the oarsmen waiting at the floating cash
till), but it is now up against the gauntlet of designer shops that lead off
from the square.
Although there are no beaches, Capri has some wonderful walks, along
shoulder-width lanes bordering the prettiest of gardens and into wilder
terrain. Here’s one that works well for a day trip: carry on past the
boutiques until you come to the Punta Tragara hotel, pass through a gate to
the right of the entrance and follow the path along the edge of the island,
above the dramatic, hag-tooth Faraglioni rocks. The last leg is a
heart-thumping staircase that brings you to a simple trattoria, Le Grotelle
(00 39-081 8375 7190; about £15), built in the shadow of a cave, for lunch.
Then the final hump of high ground and down to the marina.
Another route leads to the extensive ruins of Villa Jovis, home to Tiberius
and once a scene of utter depravity. His simple solution for getting rid of
his hundreds of exes (girls and boys, the younger the better) was to throw
them off the cliffs at the end of the garden.
Where to stay: the best reason to stay is to see the island without the mob.
For every 20 who come, only one will stay over. The Quisisana (081 837 0788,
www.quisi.com) is the most des res: service is impeccable, but the rather
modest pool gets crowded in summer and the prices are hard to credit. It
costs £1,179, B&B, with Abercrombie & Kent (0845 070 0612,
www.abercrombiekent.co.uk).
A cheaper option is the terrific three-star, 32-room La Floridiana (00 39 081
8370166, www.lafloridiana-capri.com), with sea views, great service and good
food. The drawback? There’s no pool (it is planning one; in the meantime,
guests have squatters’ rights at the hotel next door). It costs £979,
half-board, with Citalia (020 8686 5533, www.citalia.com).
Where to eat: in the “winter garden” of La Capannina (00 39
081 837 0732; £25).
Ischia for the day
FROM SORRENTO, there is a daily hydrofoil — out at 9.30am, back at 5.20pm — to
Ischia, famous for its natural springs. Recorded in both the Iliad and the
Aeneid, they have been tapped for 2,000 years. There are other pleasures,
too, including several sandy beaches.
The hydrofoils dock in busy Ischia Porto, from where you can catch one of two
Sepsa buses: the Circolare Sinistra, which circles the island
anti-clockwise; and the Circolare Destra, which goes clockwise. Get a day
ticket, take whichever leaves first (30-minute intervals) and stop off along
the way, especially at Forio, the main resort on the west coast, and Lacco
Ameno, in the north.
David Wickers travelled as a guest of Citalia
Travel brief
Getting there: if you do decide to go it alone, you can fly
to Naples from Gatwick with British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com),
from £99; from Gatwick or Stansted with EasyJet (0870 600 0000,
www.easyjet.com), from £61; or from Heathrow with BMI (0870 607 0555,
www.flybmi.com), from £80.
Getting around: hopping around by boat is a pleasure, and all
the above destinations are well connected by ferry, jetboat and hydrofoil.
For example, Salerno-Amalfi takes 35 minutes and costs £3, with eight
departures daily. Tickets are best purchased locally.
Car rental? The Amalfi drive, the scariest and most gorgeous
corniche on the Med (nicknamed “the road of a thousand bends”) has been
hacked out of solid rock, with discreet curtains on the cliff face to catch
the occasional falling morsels of stone. The views — from 1,000ft above the
sea in places — are superb, but a car could be more of a hassle than a help
in peak season, when parking is a nightmare.
More packages: operators not mentioned above include
Exclusive Italy (01892 619650, www.exclusiveworldwide.com); Italiatour (0870
733 3000, 01 671 7821 in Ireland); and, for self-catering, The Owners’
Syndicate (020 7801 9807, www.ownerssyndicate.com).
