In september 2019 we went to Italy for our vacation. We planned three different accommodations to stay close to sights we wanted to visit. We landed in Naples. We picked up our rental car and drove to our first stay, at the foot of the Vesuvius.

Mount Vesuvius

On our second day we drove to Strada per Belvedere Vesuvio, parked our car and walked up to where the hike began to the top. About a 330 meter incline and 4km to the top.

You can have a glass of wine at the top.

Herculaneum

From Wikipedia: “Like the nearby city of Pompeii, Herculaneum is famous as one of the few ancient cities to be preserved nearly intact, as the ash that blanketed the town protected it against looting and the elements. Although less known than Pompeii today, it was the first and, for a long time, the only discovered Vesuvian city (in 1709)”

There are skeletal remains of people in Herculaneum (and Pompeï). I did take some pictures of them, but I decided not to post them here.

Pompeii

The next day we visited Pompeii.

I can’t put it all in images. You have to see Pompeii for yourself to fully understand the ancient city. I made plenty images that seem dull, but seeing the sights with your own eyes make them more interesting.

Eating something close to the Pompeii cente.

After spending the whole day exploring Pompeii, we made it back to our B&B. We bought a (massive) bottle of wine and some snacks to enjoy for that evening.

The next stay; further south.

The next day we travelled to our second accommodations; Villa Cinzia Appartamenti. It’s roughly a 40 km drive, about 1 hour with no stops. But we did stop to enjoy the country and views it has to offer.

First stop: Castellammare di Stabia

After we grabbed a bite to eat, we went on our way to our next stop.

Next stop: Vico Equense

Almost at our destination…One final stop to enjoy the view, and some sorbet.

Arrived! - Villa Cinzia

Even though it was a travel day, we’ve seen a lot on our route to Villa Cinzia. It was a great ride along the coast.

After checking in, we got two bottles of wine. Perfect time to open one and enjoy the evening on our terras with a view.

With (Piano di) Sorrento in the foreground and Napels in the background. Vesuvius being the furthest mountain.

After we finished our wine, we walked a bit to find a place to eat and ended up at Stelluccia. A little restaurant by the road.

I feel like I got caught taking a picture. Great pizza, though!

After coming back from our dinner, we were invited in to enjoy the Italian hospitality. Giovanni showed up in his pyjamas watching the latest football game. We hardly speak any Italian, and he doesn’t speak English. He insisted we had a drink with him. So I did, drinking for both of us. :)

You don’t get this at your 5-star all-inclusive hotel.

The Termini hike.

Next day we drove to Termini to hike. Nothing was specifically planned, we figured it out along the way. We made a quick stop for this awesome view. You can see the Gulf of Napels on the left and the Gulf of Policastro on the right.

Punta Lagno

After our hike we wanted to go for a swim, so we drove north (east) to Punta Lagno. We parked the car somewhere ‘close‘ to the sea and started walking. It was quite steep and a bit further than we thought.

On our way back to our apartment, we had dinner in Sorrento.

Funivia del Monte Faito

The next day we went back to Castellammare di Stabia. We took the cable car to Monte Faito.

Another busy day. Let’s relax a bit.

And have dinner. Pizza again, why not? La Rosa is great, probably the best pizza I’ve ever had.

Next up: The Amalfi Coast

For the next few days we stayed in Scala. A small town a little up the mountain on the Amalfi coast.

First day at Scala we went to explore Ravello.

We had dinner in Scala at Il Pinguino. They opened at 19:00, we were a bit early, but it was no problem to take a seat and have a glass of wine while we wait.

Back at our room we enjoyed the night view of Ravello, with the moon rise.

Path of the Gods

One of the things we’ve planned was to hike the Path of the Gods. It was one of our main goals to do. We took an early bus to drive us to the starting point.