Amalfi Coast

Monday 12th October 2026 – a quiet day just mooching…

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The weather forecast was for a wet day, so even though it was wrong and apart from a few spots here and there it was fine, we had rather got used to the idea of a quiet day.

Early afternoon though we were both ready for a walk and set off in the direction of the nearest resort (heading back towards Salerno). As the sea is still a bit choppy and there is very little wet sand to walk on we chose to walk along the footpath. I will say it was not the prettiest walk as on our left is a series of closed either seasonally or permanently cafes and bars, obscuring our view of the sea and beach and to our right is the main road, not massively busy but not attractive either!

I will also at this point mention the fact that I am rather shocked and very disappointed with the amount of roadside rubbish that is in my opinion a real blight on this journey through Italy. The main roads are just littered all the way along and most lay-bys have piles of sacks of rubbish in them such that a few times where I have wanted to pull in to take a scenic photo, I just haven’t. Why? and what a real shame.

We walked as far as Pontecagnano with more derelict buildings and litter before joining the beach Spiaggia del Sud….

And choosing to walk back along the beach, much to Tilly’s disgust as it is significantly more appealing than the alternative.

The beach at the campsite, Spiaggia di Magazzano was pretty empty so I did encourage Tilly to have a bit of a play, before a big white dog appeared in the distance and she decided enough was enough!….

The highlight of our day was being treated to this stunning sunset….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 4
  • Beaches – 2
  • O/N – £21.00

Sunday 11th October 2026 – moving away from the city and further down the Amalfi coast to Salerno….

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A much better day with plenty of warm sunshine as we left Pompeii and the hustle and bustle of neighbouring Napoli behind and headed a little further down to the coast to just south of Salerno.

The drive was a little tedious as the non toll route took us through a string of outlying suburbs, full of Sunday drivers reversing in and out without a care in the world, stopping starting and completing U-turns, pedestrians stepping out without looking and clusters of cyclists thrown into the mix. We then had to venture up into the hills with narrow winding roads, more cyclists and randomly parked cars, so it took us several hours to complete a relatively short journey!

Hey ho though, we arrived in one piece and were soon settled at Camping Lido di Salerno just a few short steps from a lovely sandy beach….

Without further ado we set off to explore our new surroundings and embrace the warmth of the sun (now down to an acceptable 22-25 degrees) and cool gentle breeze.

Not a very deep beach so Tilly was not a great fan as the waves were crashing a little to fiercely for her!….

A breath of fresh air (literally) after the last couple of days on the edge of a city.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 37
  • Miles walked – 4
  • Beaches – 1
  • O/N – £21.45

Saturday 10th October 2026 – a wet day in Sorrento….

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Quite a bit of rain overnight and light rain throughout the morning and some pretty torrential downpours, however, we have a plan and so late morning we made our way the short distance to the train station just as the heavens opened….

and caught a very busy (standing room only) clanky old train into the heart of the gentile town of Sorrento….

A gap in the rain allowed us to wander the busy streets lined with eateries and soak up the the atmosphere….

Find a little respite from the crowds in the Cloisters of San Fransisco….

And walk down the quieter back alleys…

The sun came out right on cue for us to enjoy the amazing coastal views, spot the crusie ships in the bay, accounting for at least some of the visitors and the turquoise seas and the smidge of sand that is Spiaggia de San Fransisco…

After a bit of ferritting around we did also find the forgotten ‘Valley of the Ferns’ with its derelict old Mills which were cut off from the sea in 1866 when the main Piazza Tasso (first photo above) was built and closed down by the 1940’s because of rising humidity and industrial obsolescence….

Having had our fill of wandering around the town we headed back to the station and is still relatively early bought bus tickets to visit Positano. However at this point our luck ran out as the queue was quite shambolic with people jumping in where ever they felt like it, no actual pavement to stand out of the the way of arriving and reversing buses, Tilly having to be carried to prevent her getting trodden on or run over, no indication of when the next bus would arrive and to crown it all, a half and hour in the rain came – seriously!

We gave it another 15 minutes by which time it was nearly 4pm and we were both soaked and there was a return train just after four, so we hurried back to the station and luckily managed to get a seat on said train.

Slightly disappointed to have not made it to Positano but thankful to be out of the rain and in the warmth of the van by 5, we settled down for a nice cosy evening.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 7
  • Train / bus tickets (which I did get to use in Amalfi) – £8.99
  • O/N – £20