We had one full day at sea between Barcelona and our next port, Naples. We didn’t really do much that day, other than lounge around the deck with our Kindles, so I’m not going to do a blog post about that.
Our last and final port was Naples, Italy where I had signed us up for a tour of the Amalfi Coast. Our driver met us after we got off the ship, and we all hopped into his van to get on our way. The drive to the Amalfi Coast is long, but it gets very scenic along the way, so we didn’t mind it. We also appreciated that our driver shared a lot of interesting facts and knowledge with us about the area. Once we arrived to the first scenic spot of the Amalfi Coast, our driver pulled over for us to take a few pictures of the amazing view.
Our whole tour was suppose to include 4 stops: Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello. However, as soon as we arrived to the first stop, I had a feeling that we wouldn’t have enough time for all 4, because he barely gave us one hour to walk around Sorrento. It felt so rushed as soon as we got off the van. Sorrento was jammed pack with tourists, making it hard to get anywhere in a short amount of time. We wandered to some of the back streets where there were cute little local shops, bought us some limoncello souvenirs, and then nearly ran back to the van as not to be late.
The second stop at Positano was worse. We still only got one hour, but our driver had to park further away because there simply was no parking spaces nearby. The streets were narrow and windy, shared by both pedestrians and cars, and it was really hard to get around on such a crowded day. I had heard such great things about Positano, so it was disappointing to have to experience it in such a rushed, chaotic way.
By our third stop, Amalfi, we were all tired of being so rushed. Our driver suggested we skip the fourth stop and just spend a little more time in Amalfi. By that, he meant an extra 45 minutes, so we really weren’t going to have enough time for a fourth stop anyways. Still, we were happy to have enough time to actually sit down for a proper meal in Amalfi!
In hindsight, I probably would’ve chosen a different excursion for us at this port. Amalfi Coast is such a beautiful place and you simply cannot do it justice by trying to rush through it in one day. It really ruins the experience, so if you’re considering to do the same, I would urge you to pick a closer place to explore. Naples has its world renown pizzas, so maybe even staying in and close to Naples is worthwhile!
We disembarked the ship when we arrived back in Rome the next day, and since we arrived in the morning, we still had a whole day to enjoy Rome again before we all flew home on our separate ways the next day. It was wonderful to be able to experience this last part of our Europe trip with our family, which left us flying back home exhausted, fulfilled, and grateful. ❤
