Published on Oct, 2024
My husband and I just finished a 10 day Mediterranean cruise, and this was the highlight of our trip! Like most, I found Lovely Amalfi Coast Tours on TripAdvisor, and I chose them after reading all the great reviews. I can testify that the rave reviews are well-deserved! We had a fabulous day touring the Amalfi coast.
Giovanni (Gio) was our guide, and we could not have asked for a better host. He was professional, courteous, and very knowledgeable, providing us with lots of information about the local sites and the Neapolitan culture. He was also very funny and entertaining, providing us with a good deal of fun! Yes, we did sing Italian songs with him! Gio is also a great driver, and we felt very safe and comfortable driving with him along the narrow roads of the mountainous coastline. In addition, Gio was mindful of our limited schedule, and he insured that we got back to our cruise port on time.
We decided on an early start at 7:30 am in order to experience the full expanse of the Amalfi coast. Gio was on time and waiting for us with a sign as we exited the terminal. He drove a sparkling clean Mercedes van and it was very comfortable. Gio suggested to us some of the less touristy and less crowded sites to visit, and we agreed. We drove the milky mountains route to visit Ravello, which was a unique driving experience by itself. The mountains are majestic! At Ravello, we had free time and toured two beautiful famous villas, Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone. (Both villas have amazing sea and cliff views, but the path to Cimbrone is a rocky path with lots of steps and stones. You may want to skip Cimbrone if you are not up to a rocky 15 minute hike …)
After Ravello, we took a scenic drive along the Amalfi coast, stopping along the way for epic pictures with amazing views. We chose not to stop in Positano or Sorrento given the crowds. We instead visited a small olive oil factory and wine producer that had a great restaurant overlooking the beautiful coastline from the mountains. The food was very good, and the service was even better! We tasted several different types of olive oil, wine, and even Limoncello, which we were able to buy and ship to the states. Yay! We then drove back to the Naples port and arrived well within our boarding time. A perfect day living la dolce vita in the Lovely Amalfi Coast!
