Budget Slow Travel

By Patrick Robertson

Last month I wrote about our upcoming trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The Amalfi Coast is an outstanding cultural landscape with exceptional cultural and natural scenic values resulting from its dramatic topography and historical evolution. The architecture and artistic works are a fusion of eastern and western influences.

There are 13 villages along the dramatic coastline. Each village is at the bottom of a steep ravine created by the erosion of the Lattari Mountains that make up the Sorrentine peninsula and separates the Gulf of Naples from the Gulf of Salerno.

The two most popular towns are Amalfi and Positano.

Amalfi is the major town of the coast with important architecture and history. The cathedral contains the relics of Saint Andrew and there is a paper museum that demonstrates how paper was made back in medieval times.

Positano has become a destination for luxury vacations and has lots of shopping, restaurants and hotels.

Atrani, a quaint fishing village right next to Amalfi, is the least touristy of the 13 villages and is listed in Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages.

Maori is the most budget friendly village with a long and sandy beach which is unusual along the coast with its pebble beaches. This stretch of coastline is full of coves and natural harbours and was a favourite place of the imperial Roman aristocracy to build their residences away from the city.

A seaside Roman villa was unearthed in 1932 in Minori, the next village to Maori and is now an archaeological site in the middle of the village.

The walking trail between Minori and Maori is called the Path of Lemons that has been used for hundreds of years and is rated as one of most scenic in Italy. The easy to moderate hike is an hour long as it passes through the lemon gardens that climb up the hillside and gives panoramic views of the coast.

The lemons are unique to the Amalfi Coast and are long and double the size of other lemons, with a thick and wrinkled skin and a sweet and juicy flesh without many seeds. They are used to make limoncello at the factory in Amalfi. The path is used by workers carrying baskets of lemons down to the coast.

We chose to stay at the south end of the Amalfi Coast in Salerno because of the ferry and train access.

Ferries go to the various villages along the coast several times a day. Fares range from $10 to $30 depending on the distance. If the weather is too stormy for the ferry you can take a bus that goes along the infamous Amalfi Drive to the various towns. You can also take a ferry to a village then take the bus to the next village. There are lots of options for getting around.

Close to the Amalfi Coast and Salerno are several archaeological sites.

Pompeii is just 40 minutes from Salerno on the train towards Naples. The fare is about $5 and there is a train every 30 minutes throughout the day. We have been to Naples twice but did not get over to Pompeii, so, we have to go this time. I have heard so many great things about the facility itself. I can’t wait to spend a day there.

Another archaeological site is Paestum just south of Salerno. The train takes 30 minutes and cost around $5. Paestum was a major Greek city. There are three ancient Greek temples here dating from about 500 BCE that are the best preserved Greek temples in the world.

The park has a national archaeological museum with artifacts on display. Just outside of the park is the Barlotti water buffalo dairy where mozzarella is made fresh every day. There are tours and a restaurant on site where you can eat the fresh mozzarella which is supposed to be out-of-the-world.

There is more than enough to do to fill up a week on the Amalfi Coast and we are looking forward to the experience. Next month I will write about Puglia which is the heel of Italy.

– Patrick Robertson is a travel writer and long-time resident of Fernie. He is an expert in planning independent travel and finding budget travel deals. Go to his website for more information and pictures of this trip to Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta.

Read more travel articles like this HERE. Like him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/budgetslowtravel for travel tips.

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