Travel

Guide To Positano

November 8, 2016

Our last night in Cinque Terre, we suddenly realized there was a gaping hole in our plans. Our train to Naples was booked, but Adam had suggested we try to navigate the bus system to get to Positano. I looked at our luggage and envisioned us on the wrong bus, trying to speak Italian, exhausted and in the darkness of night. Thankfully, I contacted a shuttle service (literally think it was just called Positano Shuttle Bus) and they let us book just 24 hours before. So, the next day, we waited at the La Spezia station for our longest rail ride yet. It was a 7 hour journey to Naples and then the shuttle ride to our accommodation in Positano. Things got off to a tough start when our train was 45 minutes delayed, with no way of getting in touch with our shuttle driver. When we boarded, it was, of course, the first and only time that someone was sitting in our assigned seats. I nervously sat in other seats, probably staring at the man at our table, wishing we could just settle in our reserved spot (and too nervous to confront him, obviously). Luckily, he left about halfway through the trip and I was able to nap in peace. When we finally got to Napoli, we were crossing our fingers that the driver saw that our train was delayed and that he’d waited – thankfully, he was right there and happy to see us. We followed him out to the van, and I looked around, feeling extra thankful that we’d booked this inexpensive and convenient transportation. A short drive later, he parked at the Naples airport and mumbled something to us. “Did he just tell us to follow him into the airport?” I asked Adam. “I think he did,” he replied, as our driver opened the sliding door and motioned for us to leave the van. Giggling in confusion, we trailed behind him to the arrivals area where he instructed us to ‘wait here’ like we were his kids. He came back a few minutes later with 5 more people and we all awkwardly made our way back to the shuttle van. Adam and I moved to the rear of the van, which was courteous, but not ideal for my car sickness. Anyway, the drive ended up being a little longer because each group was being dropped off in a different spot, and Positano was last, but my goodness, what a delight it was to have a car service to and from Positano. A much better option than bus transfers and heavy luggage.

The next morning, we woke up in what felt like a different world. Perched on a hillside, Positano is an absolutely stunning spot on the Amalfi Coast. As I mentioned in the last post, we had an incredibly relaxing and romantic week there. We lived a simpler life, drinking good wine, eating good food, and enjoying/feeling grateful for those surreal views. Though we didn’t do a whole lot of exploring, I have tons of dinner recommendations outlined below, as well as a fun video of our travels!

STAY

Adam splurged on a water front spot at the bottom of the hill. The perks were definitely the proximity to the beach, but it doesn’t really matter where in Positano you stay, you’ll be walking tons of hills and stairs at some point. The Buca di Bacco was lovely and the daily patio breakfast with unobstructed water views is truly something special. I think you really could stay anywhere in Positano though, and I definitely think that next time I’d want to try a place further up into the hills.

EAT

Lucky for us, Adam spoke to a man at the front desk of our hotel when we check in, who grew up in Positano. He grilled him with food questions and got the insider scoop on his favourite restaurants and we simply worked away at the list for the week. It’s tough to choose, but our favourite dinner was probably at Next2. We’d thankfully made a reservation in advance and the food was superb. I still think about the flavours, the pasta course was next level. We had a lovely time watching the storm from our window seat at Lo Guarracino and enjoyed a casual and yummy dinner there. One night, we took a cooking class at our hotel Buca di Bacco and our dinner was enjoying what we’d just helped make. It was a blast and so much fun getting to know everyone in our class and then enjoying wine and food with them at a long table afterward. I’d also recommend Bruno for lunch or dinner, it was quite good and the patio seating has really iconic views. Our last dinner was at Da Vincenzo and we had the best time. Managed to get a patio table without a reservation and just a small wait time. The food was incredible and so was the service. We definitely have a photo with the servers who likely thought I was ridiculous for taking photos and video of our meal. Always an embarrassment, but must be documented! There’s a couple highly rated spots further up the hill that I wish we’d made it to, but that leaves us something new to try next visit, right?!

We hung out at the beach every single day. In fact, I was such a beach bum, that when the day came for our Flytographer photo shoot, I couldn’t even muster the energy to blow dry my hair. I left myself such a short amount of time to get ready, that my hair was still damp for at least the first half of our shoot. Honestly, what a goofball. Besides the daily beach time, our favourite thing to do was simply walk around. Everywhere you turn looks like a freaking postcard, it was a photographer’s dream. We watched the sun set every night on the beach and even got caught in an epic storm, flooding, water spout and all. The shopping is fun, lots of leather shoes (Adam got 2 pairs of loafers), and I made sure to get something fun from Antica Sartoria. Next time, we’d absolutely plan to take the boat over to Capri and probably stay over night. We do wish that we’d arranged for a boat ride of some kind, but we’ll just have to make sure it happens next time!

I always think that a little video footage does a better job of showcasing things, so be sure to watch our highlight video of the week in Positano: