Where: Amalfi Coast, Italy
When: May 2019
Hotel: Hotel & Spa Bellavista Francischiello (Massa Lubrense, Italy)
Why the Amalfi Coast: Google pictures of Positano and it will be no surprise why I wanted to go there terribly. The towns built into the cliffs and painted bright colors – overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, who wouldn’t want to spend some time there? I was looking forward to this part of our trip for months!

The Trip: When I started planning the trip, I also spent a lot of time reading about Capri, and just had to figure out away to do both Capri and Positano. There are public ferries regularly to Capri and to the Amalfi Coast towns, but I really wanted it to be a special experience, so I booked us a private boat instead and worked out the itinerary with the skipper – Capri first, then Positano, then home. Complete with sparkling wine and local snacks – it was going to be amazing!

However, I am an avid weather watcher and the forecast was looking really bad for the trip starting earlier in the week and continuing through the day before we were scheduled to go. I was in constant contact with the skipper, who was amazing throughout the whole process, and was keeping my fingers crossed that it would be an early shower and we would still be able to go. He was unfortunately booked the day before so we couldn’t even switch days.

When we woke up, however, it was clear the rain wasn’t just a mild mist and the skipper told us it wouldn’t be worth it to go – that we wouldn’t enjoy it nearly as much. I was CRUSHED. I didn’t have a back-up plan and was feeling super sorry for myself at this point. We could possibly do Capri or the Amalfi Coast but not both. We considered calling a cab but prices for taxis are OUTRAGEOUS in that area. Our best bet was the bus from Sorrento to Positano (neither of us wanted to be in the water during the downpour).

So, we made our way to Sorrento and onto the nice bus (it was more like a mini tour bus than a gross public bus). It was actually really clean and comfortable. John was awesome through the whole thing – staying positive even though he probably would have rather rode it out in the hotel room.

From Sorrento to Positano, it is only a 16 km (9 mi) distance but the drive takes nearly 40 minutes. And it is one of the most terrifying but beautiful drives in the whole entire world. I don’t know how people who live there do it every day.

The bus drops you off literally on the side of the road, and then it is a walk down to Positano (plan on lots of steps if not arriving from the water!) It took awhile to even get down to the city center itself because some of the best views of Positano are from the bus to the town. Even in the rain it was as pretty as I had hoped it would be!

The weather was honestly horrific, which was actually good for walking around because the crowds were minimal. I can’t imagine how crowded and claustrophobic it would feel when the weather was nice walking down the little alleyways!

I had written down a few notes for when we visited to Positano, but I mainly just wanted to wander – popping into the quaint little stores that lined the roads. It worked out because it created a brief break from the rain!

We took our time wandering through the streets, picking up a gelato at the recommended Buca di Bacco, before climbing back up the many steps to catch the bus back to Sorrento.

The bus stop was definitely an experience! As was getting on the bus itself. The bus didn’t come when Google said it was scheduled to come, and we had no idea if we had missed it or if we were even in the right place because it was literally on the side of the road.

It took longer getting back and because of all the twists and turns we were getting a little car sick (which we don’t normally do) and we got out at the first stop in Sorrento. The rain had stopped and because we didn’t get a chance to walk around Sorrento the day before, we decided to walk through to the bus stop.

We made our way back to the hotel after our second gelato that day, and after a little relaxing, we sat out on the porch and enjoyed the view with wine and snacks before ending it with a yummy dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. What started out as an incredibly frustrating day actually turned out really, really good.

The Trip: While it wasn’t the boat trip I envisioned, the day actually was great. We were able to see Positano, walk through Sorrento and relax with drinks on a balcony. Positano is a beautiful town and definitely worth a stop. Touristy or not, it’s a must visit place if only because it lives up to all expectations!