Campania & The Amalfi Coast walking tour ... Naples to Ravello

The tour starts with three nights in Naples, a fascinating city, whose vibrant streets burst with life and hold some of the finest art, museums and food in Italy. The visit include a guided visit of the city centre, a walk up Mt Vesuvius and a guided visit of the archaeological site of Herculaneum.

After exploring Naples, we leave the madding crowds behind and head east driving across the plains of Campania to the foothills of the Appenine mountains, not far from the border with Puglia (stopping to visit the largest royal palace in Europe along the way).  We will stay for four nights in beautifully restored apartments in the medieval heart of a hill top town, which is within striking distance of the Monti Picentini National Park.  Here, we'll walk, explore and enjoy some fine southern cuisine and some of the best wines in the region.

After the mountainous interior, we’ll head south to the Tyrrhenian Coast (stopping to visit the largest monastery in Italy along the way) where we will stay for three in a family-run 4-star hotel in a gorgeous village overlooking the Policastro Gulf.  Here, we'll go for a beautiful ridge walk above thesea, as well as spending a day in a private boat, exploring the beautiful coastline.

For the grand finale of the tour we drive north to the Amalfi Coast (stopping to visit the ancient city of Paestum along the way) where we stay in stunning Ravello for the last two nights.  The final walk of the tour follows a trail through forest down to Amalfi, stopping for a picnic lunch beside a waterfall on the way: a fitting end to our visit to Campania!

The walks on this tour are as varied as the region itself; they include a short walk up to the crater of Mt Vesuvius; two beautiful walks in the dappled beech forests of the mountains of the Picentini National Park; a ridge walk above the Pollicastro Gulf, which finishes with lunch on a beach;  and a looping walk through forest that links Ravello with Amalfi, with spectacular views over the sea.  The walks are between 4 to 12 kilometres.  They follow good trails over generally undulating terrain.  There are a couple of short steep sections along the way.  Please see the daily for the details of each walk.

The accommodation is one of the highlights of the tour.  In Naples we stay in superior rooms in a charming historic hotel on a pedestrian street in the centre of the city near Via Toledo.  In the Apennines, our base is an hour and a half east of Naples, well off the beaten tourist trails.  We will be staying in beautifully-restored family-run apartments in the medieval heart of a small hilltop town. 

We then head south to the border between Campania and Basilicata.  Here we stay in a lovely the most beautiful coastline in Italy.  We spend three nights in a 4-star hote, a restored 18th century monastery, in the heart of a town with views over the Pollicastro Gulf.  The hotel has lovely gardens and a great swimming pool.

We finish the tour in marvellous Ravello, perched high above the Amalfi Coast. Our accommodation is another 4-star hotel, also with lovely gardens and a swimming pool.  The hotel is a short walk from the mian piazza and from Villa Cimbrone.

The one-time capital of a kingdom, Naples, and the surrounding region of Campania is a land of contrasts, and this is reflected in region's cuisine. The poorest and most authentic cooking is intermingled with that of the nobility, which draws heavily from French traditions. With pizza, spaghetti, mozzarella and expresso coffee, Campania created dishes that are not only part of the national cuisine but also part of international gastronomy.  Campanian cooking is often simple, the chefs respecting the freshness and integrity of their excellent ingredients: vegetables and fruit grown in volcanic soils as well as the abundant fresh fish.  We’ll have plenty of opportunity to sample this in all its variety as we move from the city to the mountains and then the coast.  Campania's excellent wines also have a very long history, dating back to Greek and Roman times.

Sarah grew up in Tasmania where she developed her love for the outdoors, particularly hiking and skiing.  She has lived in Italy for twenty years.  Along the way, she collected a Masters in Italian Studies from UC Berkeley (California) and a PhD in Italian History from Sydney University.  

During her time in Italy, she has had extensive experience guiding and administrating cultural tours for a number of American and English travel companies and universities.  Sarah is a great cook and an enthusiastic chorister.  

She currently lives with her husband Roberto and young son on a small farm in southern Umbria, where, among other things, she is honing her skills in growing and producing olive oil.