Day 9 – Naples, Italy

Our last port of call was Naples, one of the oldest cities in the world, and Italy’s third largest city. Common day trips from Naples include Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, and Capri. Since we knew we wanted to visit Pompeii as well as the Amalfi Coast, a private tour seemed like the best way to go. I met two couples on CruiseCritic’s Roll Call for our cruise and we booked a private tour with Umberto at ItalyDrivers. He picked us up, drove us to Pompeii for a tour with a separate tour guide, and then drove us down to the Amalfi Coast for lunch in Positano and free time in Sorrento.

Our first stop was a morning tour at Pompeii. We actually arrived before it opened, so our tour was one of the first ones in. Our tour guide, Teresa, was amazing – she was informative, funny, and super nice. It was so surreal being in Pompeii, especially as Teresa gave us so much more context and information about the place.

We then drove up the winding roads to the Amalfi Coast – these are definitely roads that a huge tour bus could not make it up!

Lunch was at La Tagliata, at my request. La Tagliata stands on the top of the hill in Positano, overlooking the gorgeous coast. The restaurant is family owned and run. There is no menu – you eat that they cook that day. First to arrive at the table was a bunch of appetizers – family style. Then our waiters delivered an assortment of pastas, also family style. And finally, we received dessert and a shot of lemoncello. For 25€ we left absolutely stuffed! The food was so delicious!

After our delicious meal, we drove back down the mountain to Sorrento for some light shopping. And of course, despite the fact that we were absolutely full, we had to have one last gelato! Raki had a delightfully tart lemoncello gelato that paired really well with the mango. It was definitely one of the best lemon gelato’s that I’ve had this trip!

Umberto brought us safety back to the ship – with time to spare. We were so tired from the day that we just crashed in our room, despite the fact that we had 1-2 hours left.

Ah Amalfi Coast, why are you do beautiful?