Buongiorno darlings!

When we were first deciding where to go for our honeymoon, we automatically thought of somewhere tropical. Drinking mai tais in the sand with clear blue water and palm trees over our heads… Well, that all sounded great until we started looking into booking our hotels in places like Fiji + Tahiti. Not sure any 25 year old wants to drop over $600 a night for accommodations – unless your parents are paying! We went back to the drawing board and began researching other romantic spots to travel. We quickly agreed that Italy was our best option…. more specifically, the Almafi Coast. Beautiful hotels and houses right on the water, delicious food and LOTS of wine can’t be beat. All of our favorite things combined. We spent hours looking up the best places to stay, nicest restaurants and top activities all listed below. Take a peek darling, we hope this list will help with all your honeymoon planning!

HOW TO GET TO SOUTHERN ITALY:
Most flights from the U.S. will stop in Heathrow, London or Munich, Germany. From there, you can fly directly into Naples or stop in Rome + take a short 45 minute flight to Naples. We stopped in London, flew into Rome + took another airline to Naples. The London airport is extremely nice, but soooooo busy. Take caution with your timing of layovers.

CAPRI –

This island was definitely our favorite spot of our trip! It has the perfect mixture of small town charm with up-scale shopping + incredible food.

HOW TO GET THERE: 
From Naples – Take the train to Sorrento where you can walk 10 minutes down to the dock. From there you can purchase a boat ticket to Capri. It takes about an hour to get to the island. Boats leave every hour, except during lunch time there is a small break.

TO STAY: 
Excelsior Parco – This is HANDS DOWN the best hotel we’ve ever stayed at. It was also the most expensive hotel we stayed at during our trip but I would pay even more to go back! Not because of the beautiful property + views, but because of the customer service. The service was on point from the moment we arrived (they picked us up at the dock) to the moment we left (they bought our boat tickets + brought down all our bags).

They also offer a free private car around the city, a local cell phone to use, a welcome bottle of wine, complimentary breakfast to the room every morning and great tips for places to eat/things to do. All we had to do was call down in the morning + they would organize all of our reservations for the day!

Our room was also out of this world. Since they knew we were on our honeymoon, they upgraded us to the owners suite which had a huge balcony overlooking the ocean with a private hot tub. I still have day dreams about staying here!

TO EAT:
JK Place – you MUST get the shrimp linguine…. best lunch of the trip
Ristorante Mamma – make a reservation for dinner during sunset
Buonocore Gelataria  – pistachio flavor with a fresh waffle cone

TO DO:
Gianni’s Boat Tour – Our favorite activity in Capri was taking a private boat around the island with a tour guide named Gianni. It was the most romantic ride where we explored hidden grottos and relaxed on the sun deck with cushions + wine. Watch out for their homemade limencello though…. it will get you!

La Fontelina – The “It” Beach Club: For lunch one day, we decided it was time to check out the famous beach clubs of Capri. Capri doesn’t really have “beaches” per say, but they do rocks that have been chiseled down with cushions laid on top for lounging by the ocean. Eat at La Fontelina’s restaurant + then walk down the steps to lay by the water for a few hours.  

Shopping – Stroll down Via Camerelle, famous for the luxury shops and designer fashion boutiques, which line the street. Make sure to get custom leather sandals made!

The Blue Grotto – Take a small canoe through this dark cave where the sea glows electric blue. Unfortunately, we were unable to do this because the tide / water levels were too high to go into the cave, but we still took a tour around the island.

Anacapri – Take a bus to the other side of the island, Anacapri which is about 15 minutes away.
Quick tip: DO NOT take a cab. That will cost you about 40 euro and the bus costs 1 euro… We learned this the hard way. Also, heads up… the driving here is likely to cause extreme anxiety. The roads are only meant to fit one car, but they fit two… including busses!

Sight Seeing – In Anacapri, take the chair lift to the top of Mt. Solaro to get a breathtaking 360-degree view of the island. Costs 11€ and is 15 minutes up and 15 minutes back. 

POSITANO –

Hope you’re ready for lots of walking…but don’t worry, the walks are well worth the gorgeous views of colorful houses and bougainvillea lined streets.

HOW TO GET THERE: Take a 30 minute boat from the island of Capri.

TO STAY:
Hotel Marincanto – Nothing can compare to our hotel in Capri, but this one was pretty close. This hotel is built straight into the cliffs with the terraces offering a view of both the city and bay. Complimentary breakfast included.

TO EAT:
Chez Black
Next2

TO DO:
Positano Home Cooking – YOU HAVE NO CHOICE, MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS. This family owned cooking school was hands down the best food we had on the trip + we made it all from scratch! Costs 120 euros per person, but I promise you it’s worth every penny. You’ll learn how to make the most delicious Italian appetizers and entrees paired with the most exquisite wines. The class is taught from the owners home overlooking the ocean, so it’s an intimate setting with the chef. Classes are offered during lunchtime at 1:30 p.m. or for dinner at 6:00 p.m.
We would go back to Positano just to take this class again!

Vini e Panini – Go to this tiny wine shop where there is a small deli located inside. Order the sandwich they recommend (Foccacia, mozzarella, argula, pesto, etc) It’s wine shop with a deli inside. Bring your fresh sandwiches and Pinot Grigio down to the main beach + eat lunch on the sand!

Music On The Rocks – This is pretty much the only night life in the city, but it is definitely worth a visit. Enjoy music right by the sea and a taste of true Italian partying. We heard that Saturdays are the night to go, but don’t arrive before 12:00 p.m. or you will be considered a rookie.

Path of The Gods – I can’t give you much information on this because we accidentally missed the entrance to the path and ended up walking an hour in the wrong direction. However, it is supposed to be gorgeous and takes you up into the highest point of Positano. Want to work off all that panini and gelato? This is the time to do it.

If you stay at Hotel Marincanto, walk down the stairs to the beach + rent lawn chairs on the rocks off to the side of the main beach. You get away from all the tourists + have the best lounging view in town. Even if you don’t stay at Marincanto, make sure you find this hidden area.

POMPEII – 

TO DO: 
Take a day trip to Pompeii where you can explore the excavated ruins of the Roman city. The city was buried in meters of ash and pumice after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 C.E. Walking around the remains is crazzzyyyyy. I highly suggest getting a certified tour guide for around 90 euros for 2 hours. Find another couple or family to split this cost with you!

TO EAT:
Pizza Marghertia – Probably the most delicious margarita pizza we had the whole trip. A great find!

Tips: Do not stay in Naples for a long period of time. It is not the best area… Especially watch out for pickpocketing on the trains.

Example itinerary: 

May 1st —-> Depart Phoenix, AZ

May 2nd —> Land in Rome, Take 45 minute flight to NAPLES
Sleep overnight in Naples (Stelle Hotel) 

May 3rd – May 6th —-> CAPRI
Take train to Sorrento (1 hour)
Take boat to Capri (30 minutes)
3 nights in Capri

May 6th – May 10th —–> POSITANO
Take boat to Positano (30 minutes)
3 nights in Positano

May 10th – May 12th —-> ALMAFI/VIETRE
Take private driver to Vietre (1 hour)
Take bus to Ravello / Almafi (1.5 hours total)

May 12th – May 13th ——> POMPEII
Take the train to POMPEII
Take the train to Naples

May 13th —–> NAPLES to HOME
Back to America 🙁

I wouldn’t have changed a minute about this trip. Our honeymoon was a dream come true. We hope you take some of these recommendations and have an absolute blast!

CIAO, DARLING.