Capri, Amalfi Coast & Rome

We took a morning hike up Monte Solaro. It's about 45 min straight up to the top (589 meters above sea level). Beautiful panoramic views of Capri! We rode the chairlift back down which was fun and much needed after the climb. Then we jumped on a city bus to The Blue Grotto (to get there by car/bus, you take a windy road towards the bottom). The cave was closed that day due to high water levels so we didn't get to go inside. Suggest making a reservation at La Fontelina Beach Club. We just sat on the rocks at the public beach which was ok, but no beach chairs available. There's a restaurant near the public beach, Da Luigi ai Faraglioni but you need a reservation ahead of time. Note - there was also a Dior Pop Up beach club - looked adorable but again, needed a reservation. After some cliff jumping we waited in line to get back on the bus and walked around town. That evening we had dinner at da Gelsomina (another favorite night). The dinner was amazing - especially the handmade pasta. It has a pool that you can use if you're staying nearby (in Anacapri). They also provide transportation so ask when you are making a reservation. We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset view!

Went to Capri Marina Grande for a boat tour. Booked a boat tour on one of those little wooden boats (just the 5 of us). However, our captain did not speak a word of English so that was interesting. The tour went around the whole island (passed the lighthouse, Blue Grotto, Faraglionis, etc). The tour was supposed to be 4 hours but we cut it short because I was so sea sick. It's very choppy during the high season due to all the boats and yachts. Then we walked around the very crowded shops of Capri. We had a dinner reservation at a lemon orchard in Capri, but it was so crowded and touristy, we just wanted to go back to our quiet neighborhood in Anacapri and found a small pizza place for dinner.

We packed up and took a ferry to Amalfi (25 min ride). Again, the port was very crowded. We walked right into the cute town center and found a place for lunch. Our VRBO was 1/2 mile from port and no taxis would take us because it was so close. It was uphill and we had our luggage, so we jumped on a golf cart porter. We relaxed for a bit in our beautiful condo overlooking the Mediterranean sea and then walked into town for dinner. Stopped at a lonely little restaurant where the food wasn't great, but the owner serenaded us singing and playing his accordion. The next morning we walked to a cliffside coffeeshop and found some chocolate croissants. Along the way, we found a beach club (Lido degli artisti) 500 steps down the cliff (about $30-$50 per beach chair). You can take a boat from the town center as it's a ways up the beach roadside from town, but walking down the steps was fun too. There was a cute restaurant/bar and great people watching! Then we walked into town for dinner. My daughter and I had leather sandals made for us - fun process! We ate at a seafood restaurant outside down by the harbor.

We went for a hike straight through the town of Amalfi to the lemon orchards, climbing lots of stairs uphill along the way. We arrived at the sweetest little store/cafe where you could get fresh lemon slushies. Then you go through a forest and pass a couple of waterfalls. The hike goes all the way to Ravello but our teenagers were complaining so we turned around at this point. We weren't prepared for an all day hike but I would've liked to hike the Path Of Gods instead. We ended the afternoon at another low-key beach club in town by the Amalfi Pier. Dinner that night was in the next town over, Atrani at Le Palme (right under the arches). My husband had the 8-course meal and was very pleased!

We rented a boat down at the marina. We got a 22ft Scafo vtr with a sunroof for 4 hours. We picked up caprese sandwiches from our favorite lunch spot/store in town and explored up and down the Amalfi coast. We really wanted to go to Fiordo di Furoire (a beach beyond an arch bridge) but it was too hard to figure out how to enter with the boat (very choppy) so we just looked from afar. We had a great morning on the boat! After we cleaned up, we jumped on a ferry to Positano (20 min ride). We had dinner reservations at Adamo ed Eva. It was a climb to find our restaurant - way up on the cliff. We had to have an early dinner because the ferries don't travel once it's dark. The last ferry was at 8:00pm. Once we arrived back in Amalfi, we stopped for a drink at Santa Caterina Hotel (nice hotel on the cliff). The next day was our last full day in Amalfi. We took a ferry to Minori (15 min ride). We decided to hit one of the beach clubs right up front - Chalet de Mar. We rented a pedal boat and played at the beach for a while. Back in Amalfi we had dinner where we would get our morning coffee/croissants. It was a rooftop patio with a beautiful view. We fell in love with Amalfi!!

We took a cab from Amalfi to Salerno train station. From there we took a high speed train to Rome (less than 3 hours). We caught a taxi to our hotel, The Building Hotel. It was one of the only ones I could find that had 3 single beds (for the kids). It was on the outskirts of the busy part of town and had a small pool (which was nice as it was 98 degrees). We dropped our bags and walked to the subway to the Trevi Fountain. We ate lunch and walked to the Pantheon. After we showered and cleaned up, we took the subway to the Vatican City during sunset. We walked to a piazza and stopped for dinner at Ristorante Maccheroni (good chianti). Then we went to the Spanish Steps. Very active spot at night! The next morning we took a guided tour of the Colleseum through Viator. I really wanted to book the golf cart hop/off tour but it was full (next time...). We walked around and found a spot for dinner, then went down to the Tiber River where they had some pop up shops and cafe/bars (on a Friday night). Then, we went back to our hotel via the subway and flew out of Rome back to Chicago the next morning.