Naples, Capri & Amalfi Coast

Italy for me is always a good idea. Whether it was my trip to Tuscany while Covid was hitting Europe still pretty hard in 2021 or my New Years Eve trip to Rome back in 2022/2023, I always had a blast. I love Italy, I love the food, I love the people and their wonderful mindset and I love the diversity of each province. So December 2024 I decided to get to know another really interesting part of this wonderful country. I traveled 11 hours from Graz via Venice to Rome all the way down to Naples by train. Since Inner-Europe flights around X-Mas are getting crazy expensive, this was quite a cheap option for this trip. I booked an AirBnB in advance for 7 nights and man, this was one cool trip.

I managed to get a nice little flat in the middle of "Quartieri Spagnoli" - the spanish quarter. This area used to be kind of rough a few years ago. I've been told that 10-15 years from today it wouldn't be a good idea to stay in these streets. Today they are full of pure italian lifestyle. Bars, Restaurants, Trattorias and Cafes are to be found all over in this narrow paths made of cobblestones.

The AirBnB was called "Musica & Aperitivi" Stefano, the owner was one cool dude. This place had everything you wish for and was located directly above an Aperol-Spritz-Bar - how good is that. Also this accommodation was located near a subway station which is kind of nice for coming in and leaving downtown. To be honest it was getting pretty loud at night, since the people of Naples just love to party all day every day - still this was a perfect little place for a few days. I assume there are way more chilled and less crowded areas in Naples to stay, still for me this was part of the Italy experience I wanted to have anyway.  

The city located an hour away from the capital Rome is, to be honest, not the prettiest place in the world. You can see that there are a lot of people struggling with life. It's dirty, it's loud, it's chaotic - maybe the first city within the European Union that reminded me of Asia. The first day we spent in Chiaia - a shore located area a bit outside from all the hustle and bustle. There you find some wonderful views to Vesuv (the huge still active volcano). The streets are way more beautiful as in the spanish quarter, less chaos but higher prices. You can spend some good 2-3 hours there before heading back into the rougher neighborhood again.

The area around Santa Lucia offers a lot of massive buildings, reminding me of Rome. Maybe Piazza del Plebiscito is worth a photo-stop for you. Located right next to Galleria Umberto, which I first thought is a big dome just to find out that it's basically a shopping center. From there it's not too far to walk down to the harbor where you find Castel dell'Ovo - a huge fortress. 

Centro Storico was a place I really loved. Narrow streets, people trying to sell you pretty much all you need and never wanted & one typical Trattoria and cafe after another. Take the Subway to Dante Station and make your way into the center of the city. You'll soon get lost since there are tons of wonderful things you can explore. You'll find il Duomo di Napoli just around the corner. Since visiting La Sagrada Familia back in Barcelona - I'm kind of not that impressed with huge churches anymore. Still "il Duomo" is worse a visit when you are in this area.

If you like Italian food just as much as I do, Naples will be paradise for you. I can't remember being in a city with more restaurants. Every little corner is selling amazing little bits - you will definitely gain weight if you let loose for a few days. Here are some of my favorite spots I went to:

Pizzeria con Cucina 'Ntretella, Antica Trattoria e Pizzeria da Peppino and Trattoria Nanninella. Also in Naples you can find the allegedly best Pizza in the world called: L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele - this place is known from the motion picture "Eat, pray, love". Unfortunately since Julia ate there, this place is always packed. The line was just to busy - so we skipped that experience.

If you are heading out for cocktails you might want to check out - La Fioreria Cafe or the H2NO Bar, never the less you will find tons of good wine bars all over the place. Always try to order the "house-wine" which most of the time is half the price of a regular bottle.

Oh yeah and there is one more thing. The absolute over the top obsession with Diego Maradona - or as locales call him in Naples "Dio" -> God.

Guys I tell you, I think I've never seen such a cult of personality. Almost in every restaurant, every little bar, every cafe and all over the streets you'll find pictures and murals of the south american football legend. It's been decades since Diego used to play for SSC Napoli - he died in 2020 and still he is omnipresent. The sheer craziness ends in Via Emanuele de Deo 62 where the city occupied a whole area to honor D10. The crazy obsession is something you have to suck in when in Naples.

There are 4 main things you want to do when you are in the Naples area. Visit Pompeii, climb the volcano Vesuv, take a ship to Capri and go visit Amalfi Coast. You know my kind of travel preferences...I've seen enough old stones in Angkor Wat in 2024 and climbed the massive volcano "Bromo" in Indonesia back in 2022 - so I skipped culture, stones and volcanoes and decided it would be way more fun to have some "Limoncello Spritz" on some of the most beautiful beaches in all over Italy.

Going to Capri from Naples is really convenient. Hourly there are leaving ships from the main harbor - you can book your ticket and return ticket for around 50 Euro (in 2025). The ride it self takes about an hour and you'll get a wonderful view on Vesuv and the little islands that surround the city. You will arrive at "Marina Grande" from their make your way up the hills of this beautiful little place. I recommend going early in the morning, I was their in December and it was already pretty warm, so I guess the sun will blast down if you are there in summer. 

Once you reach the top, you'll find some Boutiques and some small restaurants where you can enjoy a totally overpriced coffee or some snacks (Espresso in 2025 -> 6 Euro). Walk past the hospital and make your way to the other side of the island till you reach "Marina Piccola". There's a bus going up and down but I recommend walking since you will find some of the most beautiful photospots in this area. The whole path is full of orange and lemon trees and you'll have a stunning view onto the Tyrrhenian sea.

Another wonderful spot you don't want to miss is "Belvedere Tragara" located on the south-eastern part of the island. Stroll down the narrow alleys of Capri and enjoy some more sun with a crazy good view.

If you don't have a car down in Naples, it is kind of a pain in the ass to go to the wonderful coast of Amalfi. We tried really hard to find an easy way from Downtown to go south but it is kind of not possible to take a bus without a stop in between the two places. There are Tour Boats going down but I wanted to avoid travel groups since there is pretty much nothing more I hate than groups like that.

So I found out, that one of the easiest ways to go to the coast by public transport is to take a train from Naples to Salerno which costs you around 5 Euro. Catch a bus at the Salerno train station, leaving every hour and you are on your way to one of the most beautiful coasts in the whole world.

The scenic road from Salerno to Amalfi is so beautiful. When you enter the bus, try to get a window seat on the left side so you can enjoy the curvy road down to the coast.

Amalfi itself is not that big of a city, it's a picturesque little town with cute little shops, cafes and restaurants. The whole town screams the motto "Lemons". You'll find them in all kinds, in every shop. Like I mentioned before, I visited the province in December. Still there where heaps of people - so you definitely want to go there in low season. This place was packed!

I can't really express or tell what to do, we where just strolling around and enjoying the moment. If you walk up the hills you find some nice spots for photos but they told us it would take up to 3 hours to walk the highest peak and that was no on our agenda on this day. We visited the nearby beach "Spiaggia di Atrani"and had some freaking expensive Mimosas the Bar Birecto. If you are staying till the sun goes down, I would really recommend to get a front row seat at some of the beach bars. Probably one of the most beautiful moments on this trip.

• Eat as much Pizza as possible
• Enjoy the hustle and bustle in the Spanish quarter
• Get a picture with D10
• Don't miss the chance to go to Capri
• Enjoy a Limoncello Spritz at a beach bar in Amalfi