The Awe-Inspiring Amalfi Coast

If you’re not arriving early, schedule a flight that arrives at Naples International Airport (NAP) by midday. Hop in a taxi at the airport taxi stand – they are plentiful – and head to your 4-star hotel, the Grand Hotel Santa Lucia.

Take some time to settle in and freshen up before meeting the rest of the GG2P group in the lobby for a drink and orientation in the late afternoon / early evening.

We’ll then head out for an enjoyable welcome dinner. Get to know the other women on this trip and learn about what’s scheduled for our week together.

After breakfast at the hotel, we’re paying a visit to Vulcan – or Hephaestus if you prefer his Greek incarnation. Vulcan ruled fire and volcanoes in ancient times and today we’ll discover Vesuvius, the volcano that stopped time in 79AD. Get ready to explore one of the most impressive archaeological sites in Italy. An expert local guide will lead us through Pompeii, the ancient city buried in 20 feet of volcanic ash when Vesuvius erupted. This natural disaster gives us a unique opportunity to now look upon life as it was almost 2000 years ago. 

*You may like to bring your walking poles for this visit since Pompeii has uneven, ancient streets.

From Pompeii, we’ll hop in our private transport and zip off to lunch and a wine tasting on Mt. Vesuvius. We’ll sample wines from this volcanic area before heading to Sorrento and checking into our new hotel, the Hotel Continental.

We’ll have time to relax a bit in the hotel and get to know your base for the next few days.

In the evening, we’ll enjoy dinner together in Sorrento.

After breakfast at the hotel, get ready to taste the best of the Amalfi area.

Our first stop is a local olive oil mill where you will see how the most important ingredient in much of Italian food is made. We’ll explore an olive oil mill and taste local oil varieties. We’ll also have the opportunity to purchase olive oil from the source if you’d like.

Then we’ll tour a limoncello factory and walk-through lemon groves. Learn from locals how this golden sunshine digestive is made and why the regional lemons are so important to its production.

Lunch will be served among the lemons at a farmhouse.

In the afternoon, we’ll zip back to Sorrento where you’ll have some free time to relax with a drink on the terrace, go shopping and explore this charming seaside town, or read a great book with an Aperol spritz in hand as your gaze at the jaw-dropping view of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Around 5:00PM, we will come together for a pizza-making class. We’ll learn to bake a traditional pizza and then enjoy it with wine as we swap stories together.

Sip your cappuccino at the hotel and then grab your sunglasses and swimsuit – we’re off to Capri! We’re on a private boat to Capri from Sorrento, a thrilling way to see the Amalfi Coastline. Weather permitting, we will visit the famous Blue Grotto.

We’ll dock for lunch on the island and have our meal at a seaside eatery with the waves lapping nearby.  Tuck into a Caprese salad and some pasta and leave room for dessert.

Then, we’ll stop in Capri Town for some gelato and shopping. If you like, take the funicular up the mountain and enjoy the views.

At the end of our day, our captain will take us back to our hotel in Sorrento.

It’s been a big day – enjoy dinner on your own in Sorrento or order room service and relax.

After breakfast at the hotel, our private driver will pick us up to explore the highlights of the Amalfi Coast. This is the Amalfi you’ve seen on postcards and travel shows, the curling coastline featuring dramatic cliffs and colorful villas juxtaposed against the azure sea.

We’ll visit Ravello, Amalfi, and Positano, three villages guaranteed to fill your camera with snapshots of La Dolce Vita! Fragrant lemon groves line the hillsides, darling shops and cafes hide along cobblestone alleyways. Getting from Positano to Amalfi is part of the fun because we’ll take a mini-cruise in a boat from one beach-side town to the next. The rest of the tour will be by minibus.

We’ll enjoy a traditional lunch with our GG2P crew during this all-day trip.

This is our last night in Sorrento. Enjoy this beautiful place for one more spring night before we leave for Naples tomorrow. Dinner on your own this evening.

We say arrivederci to Sorrento today. Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and another long look at the seaside. We’ll have free time this morning to relax or explore.

We’ll have lunch together in Sorrento before we hop in the mini-bus and head back to big city of Naples, about a 90-minute drive.

We’ll check into our hotel in Naples – The Royal Continental – and have some downtime.

In the late afternoon, we’ll enjoy a guided tour of one of the best museums in Italy, the National Archaeological Museum.

After our tour of the museum, we will head out for our last dinner together and toast to a great trip shared.

To quote one famous fictional Italian, “parting is such sweet sorrow.” Alas, our adventure has come to an end.

After breakfast at the hotel, it’s time to say farewell to all your GG2P pals. Take a taxi to the airport to fly out of the Naples International Airport. We can help you arrange this at the hotel. It is a quick ride to the airport from Naples.