If you’re wondering why you haven’t seen any posts recently, it’s because we made our trip to Italy! This is the first in a series of reports on our journey, which went very smoothly. We made it to Rome just before Italy imposed a Covid testing requirement on all travelers. Everyone traveling to Italy must now show proof of a negative Covid test within 72 hours of arriving in the country, regardless of vaccination status. . .matching the US requirement for returning travelers.
Our first stop was Positano, and that’s what we’ll focus on in this post. Landing in Rome after an all-night flight is a challenging way to start a trip. We decided to book a car and driver for the trip to Positano and it was worth every euro we paid. We were lucky enough to connect with Antonio Ruggiero, who, along with his son Mario, owns Autoservizi Ruggiero, a limo company based in Sorrento and Rome (Email: autoserviziruggiero@gmail.com). Antonio is a retired policeman and special Italian Navy Forces veteran and a consummate professional. He whisked us down to Positano in about three hours, and we arrived in time for lunch.
The rooftop pool at Hotel Villa Franca, Positano, Italy.
We stayed at the spectacular Hotel Villa Franca, located way up at the top of Positano. It’s very contemporary, featuring interesting art and sculpture all over the property. We were upgraded to a room with a seaside view, and it was fabulous. Our room was very clean and comfortable, with great amenities. The rooftop pool and bar area were the best we’ve ever experienced, with great food and drinks and breathtaking 360 degree views. The complimentary hotel shuttle made it easy to get down to the town and harbor and back up again. And the best part of our stay is that we paid for it with World of Hyatt points, made possible by Hyatt’s association with Small Luxury Hotels of the World. At 40K points per night, this hotel is at the top of Hyatt’s point chart, but it was still a great value with a room rate of about $1500 per night. All we had to pay was a $40 per day resort fee.
The Bay of Naples, off Positano.
Positano is amazing, as is the rest of the Amalfi coast. Everywhere you look, the views are spectacular. From precarious cliffside perches to the beautiful blue waters of the Bay of Naples, with colorful homes, hotels, and restaurants in between, it’s even prettier than the pictures we’ve posted. It’s a resort town, with shops everywhere. Some are very exclusive and expensive, but we found some good prices for linen, leather goods, ceramics and art. Of course there’s a church that’s worth a visit, right next to the center of town, but not a lot of other historical attractions.
Da Adolfo Beach Club.
There are public and private beaches right in town, but we opted to go to one of several beach clubs. They’re accessible by boat right from the town’s harbor, only about ten minutes away. You’ll need to make a reservation in advance and pay a fee of $20-$30 per person, which gets you a chaise lounge, umbrella, and a table for lunch. We chose Da Adolfo and had an enjoyable time on its pebbly beach. We didn’t realize that we were given a specific time for our lunch table, and by the time we got hungry for lunch we had missed our reservation window. Luckily, we could go right next door to the Hotel Treville Beach Club, where we had lunch at their upscale terrace restaurant.
There are many wonderful restaurants in Positano, so we asked Antonio for some recommendations. The best was Ristorante Max, set in a beautiful garden courtyard about halfway down the hill to the beach. They offered great food, friendly and efficient staff, and an extensive wine list that offered some terrific inexpensive choices. A tip on choosing a wine in Italy: The country boasts over 200 different wine grape varietals, most of which Americans have never tasted. We wanted to try some of them, so we told the sommelier or waiter what we liked back home (Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, etc.) and they suggested an “Italian alternative”. Most were very good, very local and usually $20-30 a bottle.
Positano harbor at night.
We also had great meals at Ristorante Bruno and Next2, both of which were situated on terraces overlooking the harbor. After dinner one night, we stopped into a cozy wine bar and, prompted by a comment overheard about The Ohio State Buckeyes, met a couple from Columbus and a family from Texas. Of course we had some common schools and friends, proving once again how small the world really can be.
Positano, like the rest of Italy on our trip, was not very crowded. The weather was perfect, and the combination made for a terrific three days. For more pictures from our trip, check out our Facebook and Instagram accounts. . .we’re @TheExceptionalTraveler on both. We could have stayed longer, but it was time to move on to our next destination, the relatively unknown island of Ischia. For now, it’s arrivederci to Bella Positano, although we look forward to returning sometime soon.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip and good suggestions!
More to come. Stay tuned!