Vico Equense and Sorrento🍋🍋🍋

Just a quick update as we have met up with our hiking group and the trails are calling! The Amalfi coast does not disappoint and we have a nice group of 8 other people and 2 guides to help us navigate the heavy traffic and tricky roads. When time is precious sometimes it’s definitely worth it to pay for the services of the experts and we are finding that to be so true. We are going to get to see a lot but not have to worry about transportation because we aren’t the only ones trying to have memories of this gorgeous area.

Monday was mainly a travel day from Naples. Getting back to the airport to meet the group and get to our first home base in a sweet little town called Vico Equense. Had a chance to explore the town before the meeting covering specifics for the hike and dinner. The views are pretty spectacular!

Our first hike was from Nerano up a rocky trail with beautiful views and down to an organic farm close to the water.

We had a tour of the farm which was so interesting. They have olive trees and produce a delicious oil which we got to sample. It’s challenging to farm on the steep terraces but the quality of the produce is excellent. They have lemon trees and quite a nice selection of other vegetables. Can you see the artichokes on this plant? Also a small beach which we walked down to and got to touch the water for the first time. The Amalfi coast is mostly rocky cliffs and plateaus so beaches are in short supply and typically in nice weather packed.

We had a picnic lunch at the farm and then hiked back up and down to Nerano where our driver met us and took us to Sorrento. We had some time to get a gelato and browse a bit in that pretty but extremely crowded town. It’s not even the busiest season yet so I can’t imagine what it will be like in June! Sorrento has no beach at all - in fact there is only one small spot where you can even get close to the water. But they have figured out a solution. They have built a number of piers out into the water that you can access by purchasing entry for a chair. Ingenuity!

There is an old area in Sorrento as the town itself is over 2000 years old. The streets are very narrow filled with lots of shops selling tons of stuff with lemons on them because it’s what they are known for - amazing delicious lemons. But it was so crowded I didn’t even want to take my phone out so we took a quick walk through and then escaped to a wider less crazy street.

Not my best pictures but I will try to do better. It was overwhelming with the mass amount of people so while I’m happy we got to see a bit of it glad we were staying in a smaller town close by. We headed back to our hotel which is no easy feat with all the traffic on basically one two lane road along the coast linking the towns. Time for a shower and then a great dinner at a restaurant that serves delicious pizza by the meter!