Southern Italy

Wonders await down the twisty road. © TheRealDestinations 2009

This is place that will haunt your dreams, but in a good way. I first saw the Amalfi Coast, on the local bus traveling down an impossibly narrow road twisting it way hundreds of feet above the ocean. And there it was, around a bend, the wide open vista of Positano in the distance. This is, still, one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen.

This world of ours has scenic natural landscapes, and great man-made structures, but the Amalfi Coast is one of the few places where the two both come together. I’ve returned here over the years, and yet it still manages to take your breath away. This is a place to relax, slow down, have a drink. The large numbers of visitors over the years have ensured that shops and dining options here are plentiful. And you can even take a try and driving these roads yourself.

United MileagePlus: via Rome. United. Lufthansa. Swiss. TAP Portugal. SAS. Brussels Airlines. Turkish Airlines. Take your pick…

American AAdvantage: via Rome. American. British Airways. Iberia. FinnAir

Delta SkyMiles (good luck…): Alitalia. or via Rome: Delta, Air France, KLM.

The Good:

Do yourself a favor and check out the Amalfi Coast. Ideally by car, in the summertime, with time to unwind. The world has a lot of beautiful places, but this one will stand out.
The food. This is Italy, after all. Home of all that’s good in authentic Italian cooking that only recently has emerged into the mainstream back home.
Thanks to being over-shadowed by Italy's other iconic destinations like Rome and Venice, peak season won’t bring the massive crowds of tourists that can easily overwhelm the surroundings.

The Bad:

These are small towns, so nightlife’s more on the chill side.
No dazzling Roman ruins, vast Renaissance cathedral, or world class museums. Not too many days of jam packed sightseeing, though Sicily has some pretty good smaller sights. See earlier note on relaxing.
You’ll probably need a car to best get around these parts. You can reach by train or ferry, but there will be multiple connections. But without a set of wheels, hopping between towns is limited to local bus service.

The picture-perfect ⁨Castellammare del Golfo, you might recognize from the end of Oceans 12. © TheRealDestinations 2013 — The unique sight of ⁨Castellammare del Golfo, which you might recognize from the end of Oceans 12. © TheRealDestinations 2013

the Summary:

It might not have the name recognition of Rome or Florence, but the south of Italy has some of the most amazing sights in the world. First and foremost, the Amalfi Coast. Farther down, Sicily has its share of charming sights and places to see, but I would see the mainland first.

The Almafi Coast covers a stretch of steep coastal cliffs, where several towns like Positano and Almafi have somehow grown on its steep slopes. They’re connected by cliff-side hiking trails and a surprisingly narrow road precariously perched hundreds of feet above the sea below.

With enough time, you can explore the whole area by foot, migrating from town to town exploring all the little quaint historic details sprinkled along the way. Short of that, it really is best explored by car. But, the regular bus service connected the towns themselves will probably give you the single best view that you’ll ever likely see from public transportation.

On a detour up from the coast, the village of Ravello has a magical ambiance around twilight, far above the sea yet still able to see it in the distance, with its very own little town center, palace, and picture perfect restaurants.

While up in the mountains, from a different town, you can even hike all the way down into the town of Positano, with the distinctive wedding cake layout carved into the side of the cliff. And if all that wasn’t enough, the most well preserved ancient archeological site in the world, by far, is just up the coast thanks to the same volcano that overlooks Naples today. Pompeii, a stone time capsule buried under the ash from a giant eruption.

Ravello, off the Amalfi Coast. Mountains in the distance and the sea far, far below.

Twilight in Ravello, in a tree shrouded restaurant.

Hilltop hotel overlooking Catania, Sicily. © YC 2014

Pompeii’s fully preserved Roman streets.

Pro Tip: The rural parts of interior Sicily can be very remote and empty. Offline maps for Google Maps are recommended even if you have cell coverage and data.

Farther down the coast, and just across the Strait of Messinia, there is Sicily. I came here at the end of December—not the best time to visit—but at least it wasn’t that cold, and we still got some sunny days. This feels like a part of Western Europe still hidden from the modern world. It's a place you'd want to explore area by vehicle, small enough to easily drive from end to end, but sparsely populated and large enough that only a car will really cover the distances.

Sicily doesn’t really have the iconic, dazzling sights and attractions that have blessed mainland Italy, but it does have its share of impressive, picturesque towns and well preserved sights to explore, helped by the relative lack of development over the decades. It’s a place that’s probably best explained through its photos.

When to Visit

Summer, Spring or Fall. While winters aren't exactly freezing cold this far south, it's just not as vibrant or colorful. Add to that the frequent cloudy and rainy days of your typical Mediterranean winter.