Ferry from Salerno to Amalfi
Amalfi time! This had been on both of our bucket lists more or less forever so we were super exited. The travel plan from Tropea was a little complex - Drive up the coast and drop off our car in Salerno, grab the bags and jump on a ferry from there to Amalfi and then find ourselves a taxi to Praiano where we were staying.
I won’t say it went off without a hitch, Hashie was feeling awful with a little car sickness, the Avis guy tried to foist a 50 euro cleaning fee on us and the taxi was pretty expensive. But.. and this is a significant but, the ferry ride along the coast was such a perfect introduction, that it was well and truly worth the effort.
We all stood (in Hashie’s case, sat) with the wind and a little sea spray in our faces and took in one of the most impressive coast lines you can imagine on a picture perfect afternoon.
Praiano Accommodation
After being dropped off by the most stylishly dressed and coiffed taxi driver (at the bottom of the hill 600 metres from our accomodation for a lazy 100 euros) we spent the next 10 minutes attempting to find our accomodation (due to David and Paul’s terrible direction following). Steph finally found our home for the next 5 nights and what a home it was…
Dinner at La Posteria
We hadn’t booked dinner in advance so Steph and I wandered up the street and popped our head in to a couple of restaurants in the hope of getting a booking without really checking out the menu or vibe. We ended up at La Posteria, and I cannot begin to tell you how perfect it was. We were outside on the street looking out over the cliffs, the weather was perfect, the food better and the company acceptable :) We had a wonderful waiter who referred to local wineries as factories, but was super engaged, fun, knowledgable and simply good value.
It was perfect and we were in heaven.
Praia Beach
The walk down (and hellish walk back) to our local “beach” was through tiny streets along stairs and past traditional ceramics dealers who had decorated the paths with their wares. The beach itself is somewhat of a canyon, with quintessential Italian umbrellas in rows, stones running into the water and is surrounded by tiny restaurants and bars.
The thing we loved most about the Amalfi as a whole, but particularly Praiano, was that it still felt like the locals owned it. Yes there were tourists, but the place wasn’t built for them and the tourists were at best a side hustle to the locals who seemed far more interested in living their best lives. To be honest, most of Italy felt this way: it was as touristy, but never a tourist trap. The hotels are never chains, they are weird and charming…the same with the supermarkets, it always feels organic and not forced. We loved it.
