A Trip to the Amalfi Coast, Italy - A Double 50th Birthday Celebration
Planning a trip to celebrate a fiftieth birthday can be daunting. When it came to my husband’s and my own fiftieth birthday trip, we knew exactly where to go. We had always wanted to visit the Amalfi coast and decided this was the time to do it. We visited other Italian destinations such as Rome, Venice, Tuscany, and Cinque Terre and loved every minute of our trips. For such a milestone birthday celebration and our first abroad trip since the pandemic, we had zero room for disappointment. Our Amalfi coast trip was everything we had hoped for and more! Below is our itinerary and what we did.
Our Itinerary:
We flew out of JFK International Airport (NYC) to Rome on a Saturday overnight flight and arrived Sunday morning. We had planned to take the train from Rome airport to Rome Termini train station, but the train was not operating that day, so we took the bus, instead. Then, we took a high-speed train to Naples, which took an hour. I recommend booking a private compartment on the train if there’s an option. The service, as well as the privacy, was just unbeatable. A car service, which was pre-arranged by our Sorrento apartment manager, picked us up at Naples train station and drove us to Sorrento (an hour drive).
We stayed in a 2-bedroom apartment (as our twin boys traveled with us) in Sorrento throughout our one-week trip. This apartment was available via VRBO and Booking.com. Sorrento served as our home base as we explored other towns along the Amalfi coast.
Sorrento (Sunday, our arrival day):
After a long day of traveling via plane, train, and automobile, we finally arrived Sunday late afternoon at our VRBO apartment in Sorrento. Our rental manager greeted us and got us settled into the apartment. He recommended a few restaurants at the harbor. As we made our way to the harbor for dinner, we saw beautiful shops, restaurants, and views of the sea. There were several restaurants lining the harbor and we ended up choosing the one at the end. When you’re this close to the sea, you order seafood, which happens to be our favorite. We enjoyed delicious fried calamari, grilled fish, and seafood pasta at an alfresco seating overlooking the beach. Much to our delight, we got to view the fireworks that Sorrento puts on a few times a week during the summer months while we had dessert.
Positano (Monday)
On our first full day, we took a bus, which cost only two Euro per person, to Positano. We had a late start and ended up waiting awhile for the bus as there was a long line to get on. When we finally got to Positano, we walked from the top of the town where the bus stopped to the lower beach area via the winding, steep steps. There must’ve been more than a thousand steps! As we descended to the harbor, we were mesmerized by the breathtaking, postcard-worthy scenery. We enjoyed roaming the village and browsing shops. One of our boys forgot to pack swimwear, so we needed to buy a pair of swimshorts before our afternoon beach plan. We found a wonderful shop selling Italian-made swimwear and clothes, where we ended up buying several items for the entire family. Then, we had lunch at a hotel restaurant in front of the beach club. The meal was delicious and fresh, and the restaurant had a nice bustling vibe. The cappuccino that I had here turned out to be the best one during our entire trip on the Amalfi coast. As we roamed around the restaurant, we learned that this place was quite popular with celebrities, as their pictures were hung on the wall along the stairs leading up to the hotel. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach, relaxing on the sand and playing in the water. We took the ferry back to Sorrento in the early evening.
Sorrento (Tuesday)
We decided to take it easy and chill in Sorrento. We had lunch at the restaurant at the beginning of the harbor and seafood was again our choice. We spent the afternoon at the beach, lounging and playing in the water. A trip to a gelateria for gelato became our typical afternoon routine during our time in Sorrento. The gelateria near the bus stop was one of the best ones.
For dinner, we got carryout food from our neighborhood grocery store which also sold prepared meals. Their meal offerings changed daily and there were usually a few options for each day, such as a roast of some kind, cooked vegetables, and pasta. This shop came in very handy during our time on the Amalfi coast. After tiring day trips to various towns, all we wanted to do was just relax at the apartment and having this food market around the corner was fantastic.
Pompei (Wednesday)
In the morning, we took the train to Pompei and spent a half day with the private tour guide that was recommended by Rick Steves’s Website. There was so much to take in and having a private guide was helpful and entertaining as we learned about the various aspects of life at Pompei prior to its destruction by the eruption of Vesuvius volcano in 79 AD. Then, we took the train back to Sorrento and had a nice lunch at the restaurant in the main square of town. It was a popular cafe as it was in a beautiful, central locale and a great place for people watching. We normally would not eat at this kind of place as this type of place usually would not have great food, but our boys wanted to try. Surprisingly, we all had a wonderful meal here. I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, while hubby and kids relaxed at the apartment. As for dinner, we had carryout pizzas from a nearby pizza shop and ate them at the apartment.
Capri (Thursday)
We chartered a private boat to Capri. Our excursion began early in the morning. The skipper of the boat took us to various caves, rocks, and sites that are accessible only by boats on the island of Capri. He stopped the boat at a few swimming holes. As I am not a big swimming person, I didn’t jump in the water. My boys and hubby did. The water was warm but refreshing (not freezing) and the color is a beautiful blue. The scenery of the island and the surroundings were incredibly breathtaking. The skipper booked us a lunch spot and when it was time for lunch a paddleboat picked us up from our boat. The restaurant was on the shore and next to one of the beach clubs. The restaurant was known for fresh seafood and the dining room was adorned with beautiful white and blue tablecloths. We were planning to visit the towns of Capri after lunch. Unfortunately, a windstorm was approaching, and our skipper informed us we should return to Sorrento to avoid a turbulent boat ride. My husband gets seasick easily, so we returned to Sorrento.
Amalfi town (Friday)
We had a late start to the day. Hubby didn’t feel well and decided not to join us in visiting the Amalfi town via a bus ride. There was a long line to get on the bus. Luckily, the three of us got seats, we just weren’t able to sit together. During peak season, the bus tends to get crowded, especially later in the day, which is why an early start is a must. For some reason, perhaps Friday traffic, the bus ride to Amalfi took twice as long. In addition, a rainstorm started as we were halfway there. We finally made it to Amalfi and luckily the rain stopped. As it was around three o’clock in the afternoon, many restaurants had already closed for lunch. We eventually found a lunch spot next to the church at the main square, which has a great view of the church steps. Two of us ordered individual pizzas which were giant and delicious, and one kid ordered grilled whole fish. Once lunch was complete, we had a little time to check out a few shops and walked around the main square. Then, it was time to catch a bus back to Sorrento. We were concerned the trip back would be long, and we needed to return for our last dinner in Sorrento. Luckily, the bus ride back ran smoothly without any delays. My husband had fun exploring Sorrento on his own, while we were in Amalfi town. For our last night in Sorrento, we found a restaurant tucked away in the alley with a beautiful patio and Latin American vibe. Although we didn’t order any of the cocktails from their extensive cocktail menu, we had delicious meals.
Naples (Saturday)
We checked out of our rental Saturday morning and had a private driver which was helpfully pre-arranged by our rental manager to drive us to Naples. We booked one night at the Hilton Hotel, using our points. The hotel located on a hill with a view of the sea was beautiful and immaculate. We could see cruise ships and ferries heading to Sorrento from our hotel room balcony. The hotel also has a gorgeous rooftop for evening cocktails which were complimentary for guests. The rooftop also houses a restaurant that serves breakfast. We walked around the neighborhood near the hotel and found a cute lunch spot. It was one of my favorite meals during our trip. We didn’t have much time to explore Naples. However, my husband and kids tried to get pizza from the first pizza place in the world (note that pizza was born in Naples). The line to the restaurant wrapped around the block a few times and there was no chance they would get in. They eventually opted for pizza from a nearby place and were just as happy to eat pizza in Naples. Next morning, we were off to Naples airport to fly to the next leg of our trip, Sardinia!
