our italian honeymoon itinerary part 1: amalfi coast
Marriage involves a lot of compromise and our honeymoon was exactly that. Ryan – hailing from the PNW – is through-and-through a mountain guy, eagerly awaiting the next hiking or backpacking adventure. I, on the other hand, grew up in Southern California where I am in constant need of sunshine and saltwater so the Amalfi Coast had always been my dream honeymoon destination (the photo above might have well been pulled from my Pinterest vision boards).
One day at a coffee shop when honeymoon planning, we watched this video of Top 100 Places in Italy to Visit (spoiler: this guy sends a lot of ‘gainers’ everywhere ha) and Ryan fell in love with The Italian Dolomites. So that was that! We decided we’d spend half the trip in the Amalfi Coast and half in The Italian Dolomites. I’ll do another full length post about the Dolomites after this as a part 2!
So without further ado, here’s a play-by-play of the dreamy Amalfi Coast leg of our honeymoon.
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Timing: Mid-Late October – not overly crowded at all!
Weather: Warm during the day, but warranted a light jacket with the breeze and at night. If you’re looking for a time to go, I’d say late September/early October would probably be perfect! You miss the summer crowds but catch the tail end of the heat. We swam once and our boat driver welcomed us back with shots of vodka if that gives you any indication on what the water was like that day.
Transportation: We flew Lufthansa from Los Angeles to Munich and Munich to Naples. This is the closest airport if you’re visiting the Amalfi Coast! We rented a car in Naples and drove to the Amalfi Coast. PLEASE NOTE: I do not recommend this to everyone. Almost all of the rental cars are manual (stick) so please be aware of this before you book. Also, the roads in Amalfi are not for the faint of heart (aka me). So even though Ryan has driven stick for nearly 15 years and was super safe, I still nearly vomited from stress. If you are a worry wart like me and/or don’t have a manual driver with you, I’d look into a private transfer, bus, etc!
Where we stayed: We knew next to nothing about Atrani when booking our trip but after seeing this Airbnb, we essentially built the trip around staying here. I mean look at this!! These are directly from the Airbnb listing.
Now I’ve made it my life purpose to have someone take our recommendation and stay here because it was so magical (and affordable!). We slept with the windows open every night because I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful it was to wake up to the fresh fall air and birds chirping paired with this view from bed. We did wake up abruptly to a marching band one morning not knowing it was a holiday but the terror quickly turned to wonder – this place just got more magical by the day.
PLEASE NOTE: I do not believe this place is ADA compliant as there are many stairs not only to get to the apartment, but to get into the town of Atrani there are about 700-800 STEPS EACH WAY. So please be warned! We joked that there was more hiking on the Amalfi half of our trip than the Dolomites half. That being said, I’d do it over again in a heartbeat.
It takes about 10-15 minutes to walk to the heart of Atrani and another 10-15 or so to get to the town center of Amalfi where you’ll find the ferries, buses, etc. The Airbnb says it’s technically in Ravello but I’d say you are essentially right below Ravello and right at the top of Atrani. You have to drive to Ravello but can walk into Atrani easily so that’s why I refer to it being in Atrani.
If apartment 6 is booked, nearly every apartment in that complex has its own beautiful, unique features and you’ll get a new angle of the beautiful view of the town and ocean. The pool was beautiful (cold in October) and we made use of the coffee and laundry machines often.
Ok I’ll get to the itinerary now but I could seriously give a Ted Talk on this place.
Day 1: Arrive in Naples + Drive to Atrani
We arrived at our Airbnb in Atrani around 8PM. Upon arrival, our Airbnb host informed us that the whole town of Atrani was bought out by the studio filming Equalizer 3 – the Denzel Washington/Dakota Fanning action film series. Meaning all the shops, restaurants, etc. were all closed. Just our luck! Having to wait for scenes to cut every day walking in and out of town was definitely not on our honeymoon bingo card, but we rolled with it.
We walked over to Amalfi and had dinner at Taverna Degli Apostoli right underneath the Amalfi Cathedral. Please order their lemon pesto pasta and think of me when you do - by far one of the standouts of the entire trip.
Day 2: Atrani + Amalfi
Waking up and seeing Atrani in the daylight was mind blowing. I think we both agree it’s the most beautiful place we’ve ever been.
We spent the day getting lost in the twists and turners of the town of Amalfi, walking up and down the narrow streets and stairs and stumbling upon cute shops and restaurants. For lunch we ate at the highly reviewed Donna Stella Pizzeria which held up to its reputation for sure. For dinner we ate at L’Abside on the other side of the Piazza. I don’t remember much from this restaurant so that might tell you all you need to know.
Day 3: Ferry to Positano
This day was the hottest day of our trip so we seized the opportunity to head to Positano to sip cocktails at a beach club and try to get warm enough for a dip! We walked to the ferry ticketing booths in Amalfi and shortly after were on our way to Positano. The ferry is super easy to use so if you don’t rent a car - don’t worry - you won’t be stuck in one place! We had brunch at Casa E Bottega which felt comically like the most LA restaurant I’ve ever seen in Italy, but it was worth the drop in for sure. After exploring the town for a while, we headed back to the beach to grab some chairs at Lido L’Incanto. Was this necessary to enjoy the beach at Positano or worth 30 euros per person? No, not necessarily. But it was a bucket list thing for me and I was perfectly happy on my second row chair drinking a few spritzes (first row would have been an extra 5 euro each, ha).
Before catching the ferry back, we grabbed some focaccia sandwiches and beers at Delicatessen S.N.C. for us to enjoy on our Airbnb balcony.
Day 4: Amalfi Coast Boat Tour + Capri
This was the activity of the whole honeymoon for me. We asked our wedding guests to contribute towards a boat cruise on our wedding registry and Ryan’s family was kind enough to gift us the whole boat cruise! I felt like we were in a movie – seemingly endless wine and grapes, a big cushy bed with pillows to cuddle on as we took in the sunshine and views of the coast. Seriously a ‘pinch me’ moment. Our captain’s name was Giancarlo and his boat is called The Blue Angel! If you’re interested in booking a tour - you can inquire here! Just make sure to mention his name and boat.
Our cruise started in Amalfi and made its way up the coast towards Positano, past incredible beaches and over to Capri! Once on Capri, we bought funicular tickets and rode up to the top of the island to explore. I had been to Capri before when I was in high school, so I was more eager to get back to the boat and keep living that fantasy. Ryan agreed so we made a quick loop of some of the viewpoints on the island, grabbed some gelato from Gelateria Buonocore and made our way back to the boat.
Back on the coast we stopped for lunch at Maria Grazia on a beach in Nerano which was delicious. The area felt more local heavy than touristy which was a nice change.
On our way back towards Amalfi, Giancarlo showed us a blue cave that we could access only by swimming. This isn’t the blue grotto/cave you probably are thinking of – the one in Capri where you have to lay down in a boat – but it was also incredibly beautiful and we had it all to ourselves (yes, I was terrified the whole time, but I’m glad I did it). If you too want to feel like you’re in a spooky action movie sequence – it’s called grotta d’o pertuso (grotta del buco) and iss near Nerano. After our cruise we were too exhausted to make another roundtrip stair journey to Atrani or Amalfi for dinner so we drove to Ravello for a quick dinner at Mimi Ristorante Pizzeria. This place is very highly rated and I think we just didn’t order the right things seemingly so don’t take our word one way or another here!
Day 5: Atrani + Amalfi + Ravello
Day 5 we woke up super early to hike down our side of Atrani and go back up to the church and caves almost directly across from our Airbnb. The church is called Santa Maria Del Bando and for tours of the church and caves, you need to Facebook message Signor Giovanni who has been looking after the place for nearly 25 years. He messaged us back quickly to let us know that he wasn’t able to show us around because they were shooting scenes for Equalizer 3 that day. Curse you Denzel Washington. The view was worth it though!
Defeated, we made our way down to Amalfi for some coffee and pastries in the Piazza at Pasticceria Pansa Amalfi. Afterwards we took a quick tour of the Duomo di Amalfi which was beautiful! The whole oozing crypt thing kinda freaked me out, but I’ll let you learn about that one yourself - no spoilers. On our way back towards Atrani, we walked around Cimitero Monumentale – a gorgeous cemetery with beautiful views.
For lunch, we hopped in the car and drove to Ravello since until then we had only visited at night. We stumbled upon Osteria Ravello and had one of the more interesting meals of the trip! This photo which consists of our crucial honeymoon beverages is now commemorated on our wall in our bedroom: still water, espresso, hugo spritz for me and negroni sbagliato for Ryan.
so many people requested digital prints of this photo after I showed this TikTok of our bedroom. so if you want to have matching cute bevvies on your wall like we do - check it out here on my Etsy store. <3
This was his first time adding the ~sbagliato~ to his negroni and this was the result: a post-lunch nap in the gardens of Villa Cimbrone. Which is a must see in Ravello! For dinner we picked up some takeout pizza at Pizzeria a Gradillo and went home to watch some Lord of the Rings.
Day 6: Minori
On our last full day, we decided to drive to another town nearby called Minori. The ferry also operates between Minori and Amalfi if you don’t have a car! We hung out by the beach before walking up to a family-run farm and restaurant called Cuonc Cuonc – a hidden gem with an incredible view of Minori. We spent a warm, quiet afternoon admiring the view of our last day on the coast as their pet birds chirped away. Beautiful, delicious, unique and inexpensive – we had juice, cheese, jam, salad and pasta all made from scratch with the ingredients from their farm. We ended the afternoon back in Atrani for one last dip in the ocean.
At this point we realized that we had been eating out pretty casually and we thought we might as well end the fanciest day of our trip with a fancy, honeymoon-feeling meal. With a little help from Giancarlo, we were able to nab a reservation at one of his most highly recommended restaurants in Amalfi – Da Ciccio Cielo Mare E Terra. This is a family run and operated farm and restaurant a short drive down the coast from Amalfi. If you time it correctly and depending on where you are staying, the grandfather will even drive you to and from the restaurant which is adorable and super convenient considering we took a taxi there and it was 40 euros for a 10 minute drive.
The space didn’t necessarily feel overly fancy but the family took care of you like you were the most important people in Amalfi. They were all very sweet! What would later turn out to be a mistake was we opted in for one of the intense 10-ish course chef’s tasting meals. TMI WARNING: Why I say it was a mistake was because this entire trip we had what my mom calls “traveler’s butt” aka we had “gone to the bathroom” a total of 2 times in the week we were there. Fun start to married life, right? Anyways! Not only did they bring us each course on the menu we chose, they brought us additional complimentary courses and different bread with almost each one. Normally - I’m all for more bread, but considering our stomach issues we were struggling to hang in by course 7 or 8. And for context, we learned the hard way last year in Italy and Croatia that leaving uneaten food is pretty rude and looked down upon more so than in the U.S. So since the fear of getting in trouble paralyzes me and we didn’t want to waste food, we embarrassingly had to ask them to not feed us anymore hahah. They were super confused and still brought us dessert and liquor and although it was painful we did our best to oblige. The food itself was great and interesting – just make sure to come extra hungry!
Day 7: Leave Naples + Arrive in Venice
We left super early in the morning to catch our flight to Venice on Volotea. Keep in mind when booking your dates if you are flying within Italy that some of those short domestic flights don’t happen every day on some airlines!
And that was a wrap on part 1! Dolomites breakdown is next! If you have any questions on anything Amalfi related please shoot me a message!
Read part 2 of our honeymoon itinerary here: The Italian Dolomites.
xoxo, squid
