The Amalfi Coast & Capri

Depart from home for Naples, Italy. The particulars of your arrival overseas are detailed with your flight itinerary.

Arrive at the Capodichino Airport in Naples, Italy, where a VBT representative meets you and helps you transfer (approximately 45 minutes) to your Naples hotel. The rest of the day is free to discover and dine on your own, using the VBT City Information as your guide.

If you are going to be delayed meeting our transfer representative for more than 15 minutes after the expected meeting time due to delayed or lost luggage, please let our driver know by calling or sending a text message to +39 3409525525. The driver is generally able to wait for up to 45 minutes from the time your flight lands, after which you would be responsible for your own transfer. You may also contact our One Call travel assistance to advise of your delay, and they will contact our transfer company.

Please note: If you arrive early, your hotel room may not be available until 1:00 p.m., in which case you may store your luggage with the reception desk.

Please note: VBT transfer times and departure points are finalized in advance and cannot be modified for individual guests. If you fly in earlier than the scheduled program dates, transportation from the airport will be at your own expense.

You have the rest of the day free to discover this fascinating city on your own. Perhaps you’ll explore one of its many museums, or stroll through the picturesque Borgo Marinaro neighborhood, located just across from our hotel. Tonight, dine on your own in one of the cozy restaurants nearby.

Hotel: Grand Hotel Santa Lucia

VBT No-Air Package guests: Meet your VBT Trip Leaders at 9:00 a.m. in the lobby of the Grand Hotel Santa Lucia (Via Partenope 46, Naples; Tel: +39 0817640666); they will be wearing VBT staff garments. Transfer to the hotel is on your own. Please come to the meeting dressed in your walking gear and carrying your backpack. A taxi from the railway station costs about 12-15 euros/$20 USD. If your arrival at the hotel is scheduled for later than 9:00 am, or if you are delayed, please contact the hotel, and the hotel staff will pass your message along to our VBT Trip Leaders. VBT highly recommends flying to Italy at least one day before the tour begins; this allows you to rest and recover from jet lag before you begin sightseeing and walking. If you are delayed past our 9:40 a.m. departure time, please transfer directly to our Sorrento hotel. However, you will miss the visit of Pompeii.

VBT Air Package and Pre-Extension guests: Meet your VBT Trip Leaders at 9:00 a.m. in the main lobby; they will be wearing VBT staff garments. Please come to the meeting dressed in your walking gear and carrying your backpack.

After an orientation and safety briefing led by our Trip Leaders, you’ll board a private motorcoach and transfer to Pompeii. Upon arrival, meet a local expert for a guided tour of the site. At dawn on August 25, 79 AD, the violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius caused the total destruction of Pompeii. In just a few moments, all the residents of the city perished, doing whatever they could to survive. Tremendous amounts of ash and cinder covered and preserved the scene exactly as it was at that instant. That’s why, today, we know exactly how Romans lived 2,000 years ago. Your guide will reveal, for example, that posters were used to advertise elections and support party candidates, and that the word “candidate” comes from candid, the name of a special tunic worn by those running for office to prove they had no criminal record. Lunch is on your own in Pompeii.

Later in the afternoon, shuttle to your hotel in Sorrento and settle in. Tonight, enjoy a welcome cocktail before dinner at your hotel.

Hotel:  Grand Hotel Cocumella
Alternate Hotel: Hotel Mediterraneo
Meals: B (included for Air Package guests only), D
Daily Options:  2 miles in Pompeii on flat, cobblestone roads, plus 1 mile in Sorrento on flat, paved city streets.

Today, you’ll drive to Sant’Agata dei Due Golfi to the Sorrento Peninsula, where you’ll follow the red-and-white markings of the Alta via dei Monti Lattari trail, a path that winds upwards into a beautiful chestnut forest. As the woods open up, masses of multicolored, aromatic flowers are on display. Right before the promontory of Malacoccola, the view of the entire Gulf of Salerno opens before you. Your lunch stop is an organic farm that has been owned by five generations of the De Gregorio family. You’ll visit their impressive vegetable garden and step into the rooms where olives, tomatoes, broccoli, eggplants, hot peppers and much more are created into delicious preserves and liquors.  Later, choose to return to Sorrento on foot or by shuttle, taking in more views of the gulf from above. In Sorrento, enjoy free time to shop, explore the town, or relax at our hotel’s swimming pool and private pier.

Dinner is on your own tonight. Perhaps you’ll try Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, made with a tomato sauce and fiordilatte (local mozzarella).

Hotel: Grand Hotel Cocumella
Alternate Hotel: Hotel Mediterraneo
Meals: B, L
Daily Options:  Morning: 2.4 or 3.8 miles on a dirt path with some rocks, kindly and constantly ascending, then downhill..
Afternoon Option: 3.8 miles downhill and relaxing, half on a dirt terrain, half on road, for the first mile. Then including many steps downhill into Sorrento.

Early this morning, board a hydrofoil to ferry across the Sorrento Peninsula to the celebrated island of Capri.

Arriving at the famous piazzetta, the hub of the island, you’ll set out along an easy walking path leading to Villa Jovis. As you stroll, your senses will be enchanted by the aroma of jasmine and views of manicured gardens full of flowers. You’ll explore Villa Jovis, built by Emperor Tiberius in the first century AD as a strategic point where he could dominate and control the opposite coast. Enjoy incredible views from here. The Jump of Tiberius—a sheer cliff soaring more than 1,100 feet—is the infamous site from which Tiberius had his enemies thrown into the sea.

Continue walking through a thick Mediterranean park where strawberry trees, myrtle, clematis, honeysuckle, laurel, wild asparagus and cyclamen thrive. After passing by Villa Lysis, built by an eccentric French count in 1905, you can choose to explore Capri’s inviting shops and cafés, or continue to Arco Naturale and Grotta di Matermania, a natural cove used to honor Cybele, the Magna Mater, or Great Mother, of the gods. It is located down a long flight of stairs and in a thick forest. This is also an ideal time to stop for lunch on your own in one of the island’s cozy restaurants or to picnic in the shade of a garden overlooking the azure sea.

Your small group will gather after lunch and walk to the eastern rim of the island. Here, you’ll see the amazing and famous Faraglioni cliffs, three rocky colossi protruding from the sea. Then, venture to the Augustus Gardens, where the views of the cliffs and the curled Via Krupp are gorgeous. The trail ends at Capri’s shopping district. From here, loop back to the piazzetta, where you began your walk.

You’ll have some time to discover the fascinating area around the piazzetta before returning via hydrofoil to the mainland—and your next destination, the town of Amalfi. En route, take in the panoramic vistas of the Amalfi Coast from the sea. In Amalfi, a short shuttle brings you to your hotel in Ravello, where you settle in and dine with your travel mates in the on-site restaurant, savoring scenic views of the surrounding area along with your meal.

Hotel: Villa Fraulo
Meals: B, D
Daily Options:  Morning: 4.1 or 5.9 miles on flat to slightly rolling paved and cobblestone paths.
Afternoon Option: 0.5 mile easy walking on paved road.

After breakfast, roam the terraces of Ravello with your Trip Leaders, beginning in the peaceful, pedestrian-only center. Admire the white-faced Duomo in Piazza Vescovado and the Arabic-Norman towers of Villa Rufolo, where German composer Richard Wagner was inspired to create music for the scene in Klingsor’s magic garden in his opera Parsifal.

Later, continue exploring Ravello on your own. Perhaps you’ll visit Villa Cimbrone and its beautiful gardens. Or join your Trip Leaders for a walk to Scala and Pontone. Early this afternoon, trace lemon-laden terraces to the Valley of the Ferriere, a magnificent nature reserve in the Valley of the Mills.

As you proceed along a trail covered in moss and ferns, your Trip Leaders will show you calcara, large pits where lime was made by burning huge blocks of limestone for days. You’ll also see the spandituri, or paper-hangers, buildings now in ruins but once used to dry paper. As you reach Amalfi, you’ll stop at the Museo della Carta, a unique museum housed in an ancient paper mill, where you’ll learn how paper was made from rags. During the 15th century, Amalfi’s paper was so prized that many foreign authors demanded to be published in Naples just so they could use the coveted material. You can buy some of this exquisite handmade paper in the museum’s gift shop, if you like.

In Amalfi, enjoy time at leisure to visit the beautiful Duomo and stroll along the charming side streets. You might also sit down at sidewalk café to enjoy a delizia al limone—a confection made from limoncello-soaked sponge cake and lemon custard—or a slice of pastiera, a cake made with ricotta cheese and ground wheat that’s been soaked for several days in running water.

Back in Ravello, you have time to relax by the scenic swimming pool of your elegant hotel. Dinner is on your own tonight.

Please note: Ravello is well known for its classical music festivals. For assistance with booking tickets, contact the reception desk.

Hotel: Villa Fraulo
Meals: B
Daily Options:  Morning: 3.2 miles on rolling terrain on paved roads and dirt paths with some steps.
Afternoon Option: 3.2 miles on a gentle uphill to start, then a 1-hour descent on rolling dirt paths and steps.

Today, shuttle to Agerola, Italy’s dairy capital, where you’ll gradually descend on foot along a scenic stretch between Biscotto Caves and Nocelle known as the “Path of the Gods” for its heavenly views. The path is well marked and offers views of Capri and the islets of Li Galli, or Sirenuse, where the mythical Sirens attracted seafarers with their melodious songs. At Colle Serra, cross the pass and continue down to Nocelle, where you’ll savor traditional Neapolitan dishes on an included buffet lunch at a family-run trattoria. Later, you can shuttle by van or continue walking to Montepertuso, where, according to legend, the Madonna was challenged by the devil to punch a hole in a towering mountain (pertuso means “hole” in Neapolitan dialect). The views from here are simply amazing.

From Montepertuso, you’ll shuttle to your next destination, Positano, built as a nativity scene set on the side of a mountain. From the balcony of your room, take in all the colors and beauty of the scene.

Spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure. Relax by the hotel swimming pool or at the sandy beach. You might also stroll through the town’s narrow streets, filled with art galleries and boutiques. The clothing industry in Positano was so popular and influential in the 1970s that the style they created became popularly known as “Positano Style.” In addition to clothing, you can find handmade ceramics, jewelry, leather footwear and paintings by the many artists who have been inspired by the beauty of the region.

Regroup with your Trip Leaders later tonight to get the best tips for dinner on your own. Browsing Positano’s labyrinthine hillside streets, you will find a large selection of fine local restaurants, pizzerias and cafés, or walk down to the beach for a nice local fish restaurant.

Hotel: Palazzo Murat
Alternate Hotel: Hotel Le Agavi
Meals: B, L
Daily Options: Morning: 4 miles on dirt path with some rocks and steps. Afternoon: 1.3 miles descending to sea level mostly on paved roads. Additional 1.4 miles mostly on steps.

This morning, you’ll shuttle up 2,000 feet to the town of Santa Maria del Castello, where many hillside trails converge from the surrounding Lattari Mountains. You’ll walk through a chestnut forest before stopping for a picnic lunch along the way, then continue your descent to Positano, delighting in spectacular views of the turquoise waters and the rugged, serpentine coast. This is one of our shortest walks, so take your time … linger at the overlooks and savor the aromas of rosemary and valerian growing wild on the hillsides.

After returning to Positano, enjoy time at leisure to browse its art studios, rest your legs with a beachside nap, or join your Trip Leaders for a short jaunt. Tonight, you’ll gather with your travel mates to feast on gourmet specialties during a festive farewell dinner at our hotel’s fine restaurant.

Hotel: Palazzo Murat
Alternate Hotel: Hotel Le Agavi
Meals: B, L, D
Daily Options:  Morning: 2.5 miles ascending, then descending on dirt paths with some rocks and steps.
Afternoon Option: 2.5 miles descending on dirt paths, some steps, and paved roads.

After breakfast, you’ll transfer to Rome aboard a private coach, stopping on the way at Naples Capodichino airport to drop land guests. Arrival time at Naples airport is approximately 10:30 a.m.

VBT No-Air Package guests: You are welcome to continue on our coach to Rome and get off at the Hotel Capo d’Africa, arriving at approximately 1:30 p.m.

VBT Air Package guests: You arrive at your Rome hotel at approximately 1:30 p.m. and have the rest of the day at leisure. Due to the location of the Hotel Capo d’Africa your driver is likely to drop you off a few blocks away, as this street is difficult for a bus or van to navigate. In this instance a porter will meet you at your bus to help you with your luggage. Upon arrival at the hotel, a VBT representative will answer your questions and offer optional city walks and visits that will help you make the most of the city. VBT provides City Information containing recommendations about what to see and do during your stay.

If you have chosen the independent Post-Trip Extension to Rome, you’ll remain at this hotel for a total of three nights.

Hotel: Hotel Capo d’Africa
Meals: B

After breakfast* this morning, transfer to the Rome airport (approximately 40 to 60 minutes, depending on traffic) for your departing flight**. Please ensure you are ready in the hotel reception area at the designated time.

*Please note: For guests with early-morning departures, breakfast at the hotel may not be available. Please check with the reception desk to verify the times when breakfast is served.

**VBT recommends that you check your transfer time in your “Transfer Reminder.” VBT transfer times and departure points are finalized in advance and cannot be modified for individual guests. If you extend your stay beyond the scheduled program dates, return transportation to the airport will be at your own expense.

Meals: B