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

Campania is a region of great variety: the excitement of Naples; active volcanoes; dis-entombed ancient cities; dramatic coastline; and bustling fishing islands contrast with the majesty and grace of its little-visited interior: forgotten palaces and monasteries; rolling hills draped in vineyards; soaring mountains covered in beech and chestnut forests; sleepy medieval villages where you won’t see another tourist for days.

We begin with three nights in Naples, exploring its vibrant streets, art, museums, and food. Next, we drive to the Apennine foothills for four nights at a family-run hotel in an ancient town near Monti Picentini National Park, where we'll walk and enjoy southern cuisine.  Then we head to the Tyrrhenian Coast for three nights at a 4-star hotel overlooking Policastro Gulf, featuring a ridge walk and a private boat trip along the coast.  Finally, we stay two nights in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast, ending our journey with a forest walk down to Amalfi.  This tour is a Hidden Italy special!

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, enjoying spectacular views over the sea along the way.  The walks are between 4 to 12 kilometres long.  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 a very nice 4-star 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 a lovely family-run country hotel in a small hilltop town that looks over to the mountai. 

We then head south to the border between Campania and Basilicata.  Here 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 beautiful gardens and a great swimming pool.

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

At one time the 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.  Wine is included with each meal.

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.

"Sarah's bright personality and cheerful disposition with her tour leadership was engaging to the delight of our group and my total enjoyment of this tour. I hope that I may have the good fortune to join another Hidden Italy tour in the not too distant future."  Alan A,  2025