Perched on dramatic cliffs overlooking the sparkling Tyrrhenian Sea, Positano is the crown jewel of Italy’s Amalfi Coast. We’ll walk you through its pastel-colored houses on the hillside, luxury chic boutiques, sunny beaches, and winding cobblestone streets, and recommend the best beach clubs, cooking classes, restaurants, and nightlife in town.
Positano Tips in this Episode:
- How to get to Positano, Italy (book your train through RailEurope)
- Where to stay in Positano
- Tips for getting into and around Positano
Our top recommended Hotels in Positano
- Albergo Miramare – great location with a beautiful ocean view restaurant
- Le Sirenuse – great location, swanky interior
- Nino’s in Nochelle (where we stayed) – affordable and had a great view but hard to get to and from
- Or check out these amazing hotels in Positano
Check out our Positano Activities & Tours for all activities we recommend and even some that we wanted to do but couldn’t get to. Looking for more Italian inspiration,
Looking for more Italian inspiration? Check out Rome and Florence.
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Positano Trip – Episode Transcript
0:35
Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad Podcast. `1Today we are taking you to the beautiful Positano, Italy along the Amalfi Coast.
0:52
Oh, I’m super excited to dive into this episode because the Amalfi Coast has been on my list and Positano is high up there too.
So I can’t wait to hear all of the things that you did while you were here.
I know in the recent weeks we posted an episode on Georgia, then you went to Switzerland, and then you spent your last few days in Positano and I feel like you did a lot of beach vibes.
1:15
So maybe it was a little bit of a relax from the first half of your trip, but it could be not.
I know you like to party when you’re on vacation.
It’s not even a party.
We’re going to get into it.
Positano is not a relaxing destination.
Oh, OK.
Did you only stay here in Positano Kim?
1:31
Because I was just recently looking at a map as we were about to be recording this episode to be like, OK, where is it?
Because I know you said you’re going to the Amalfi Coast and then you only ended up going here, which is part of the Amalfi Coast, but you didn’t do the full thing.
But then I realized how close it is to Naples.
1:49
And when Brittany and I were in Italy last, we went to Rome and we took a day trip to Naples specifically to go to Pompeii.
And it’s just right there.
So I know Brittany mentioned that you’re coming off a big long trip.
Georgia, Switzerland did a lot of things.
2:06
So did you just stay here or were you able to make your way up into Naples, Pompeii?
Check all that out.
So this was the longest trip that I’ve ever taken.
It was about 3 weeks and I started in Georgia.
I went to Switzerland.
We went from Zermatt to Positano.
2:24
So it was train, train, 2 hour bus, train, flight, private car.
Sounds terrible already, just as you describe it.
Honestly, to get here, that’s terrible.
Well, that is if you’re coming from Switzerland’s or not.
But yeah, it sounds like it took a long time.
2:39
It took 14 hours.
So we did fly into Naples from Milan, but at this point we don’t really want to go to Pompeii.
We want to go to Positano.
We’ve already been traveling for so long.
And then also our private car driver was like an hour late.
2:55
So that kind of just added on to it.
But we could have gone to Pompeii on the way leaving.
We just didn’t.
We went from Naples into Rome to fly out.
I was just curious in general because, like I said, I didn’t realize how close this was to some place that we’ve been, let alone you could always hear the Amalfi Coast and we were just right there, and I had no clue that Naples was even in that region.
3:18
But you’re confused like we weren’t.
This is one of the big things about this area is that, yeah, Naples is right there, but it’s really not.
It will take you an hour and 40 minute ferry to get from Naples to Positano.
It will take you an hour and a half drive from Naples airport to Positano.
3:36
I mean, I guess it is right there.
In the grand scheme of things, an hour and a half is not that big of a deal.
But that is one thing I learned about this area is that it’s just not that easy to get around well.
Because this is a really hilly, mountainous region too.
As I’m looking at the maps, I can see not a lot of roads.
Again, general curiosity question because Brittany and I have been there.
3:52
But nevertheless, really excited to hear about your time here.
When we started planning this trip, we did intend to explore more of the Almafi coast.
I really wanted to go to Ravello.
We did go into Almafi, the town.
We took a little 10 minute ferry over there.
I really wanted to see a tranny and Prayiano, maybe even go into Salerno a little bit.
4:14
We just didn’t have the time.
We were there for five days, but one of those days was coming in and one of those days was leaving.
So really three days to do a lot of stuff and there’s only so much you can do.
And I’m excited to talk about it because it is a beautiful place.
4:30
The people, the Italian people in Positano are so amazing, so welcoming.
It’s a gorgeous this place and the food is so good.
I went from Switzerland, where we’re eating at Coop every single day, we’re eating cheese and crackers and microwavable meals, to going to Positano where we’re eating everything.
4:50
Insight and everything is so good.
Well, at least you did it in the right direction.
Be a bummer to eat all this good food and then go to Coop for your everyday meal.
Not that it’s bad, it’s really good.
But why don’t you tell our squatties about Positano?
Positano is one of the main cities in the Almafi coast that it’s one of the big Vegas, one of the main.
5:08
It’s also one of the most expensive.
Amafi Coast in general has 13 towns.
So just being in Positano, it’s actually very small and it is a town built into the side of the Cliff.
So there are steps everywhere.
You will be walking like crazy.
5:24
Pretty much nobody wears heels here because it’s just steps everywhere you go and it makes it more fun.
It is a very, very picturesque cliffside village.
Like it has colorful buildings.
And when you go out onto a boat and you look back Compositano, you just see colorful buildings and built up on the side of the Cliff.
5:41
It’s just amazing, great sea views.
And then of course, there’s, you know, luxury boutiques and really, really beautiful restaurants that have amazing views of the ocean.
And the culture is beautiful.
If you have a chance to go, I would recommend going and just staying a while and enjoying it.
5:57
It’s beautiful.
I have a trillion tips for Positano.
Let’s get into it.
Let’s share them with our squaties.
Because you see on social media or in blogs things to do in Positano and it’s like do a cooking class, go up to Ravello, go to a beach club, but they just don’t tell you anything in between.
6:17
And so let’s just start with the roads.
There is absolutely no way I would recommend renting a car here.
The roads are very narrow.
It’s like a one way Rd. in America, very, very narrow, extremely windy and there’s buses going through these roads.
6:33
There’s cars parked along the side of the road.
There’s mopeds, Vespas, and they’re all sharing that one road and the roads, there’s not a lot of them.
There’s one way up this way, one way, this way.
You really only have one option.
So do not drive.
6:48
You can get to Positano by ferry.
Like I mentioned, you can take a bus, you can take a private car.
I kind of recommend the private car because you will learn it very quickly.
It’s actually a very a small place, but when you’re first arriving, you’re kind of like, where do I go?
Even when you’re walking through the town of Positano, it’s not a grid.
7:07
You, you walk up this way, do like a little U-turn into this next alley, walk up an entire flight of stairs.
It’s a little bit wild at first, but you’ll get your bearings quickly.
Because it’s small buses, you’re going to probably take the bus.
I mean, you could hire a private driver for the whole trip, but it’s going to be very expensive.
7:24
I mean, one point, we were looking at a bus from a mafia into Positano.
It’s 100, 100 bucks.
They only have Uber black or taxis.
So a driver sure, if you want to spend the money on it, driver would be great.
Otherwise you’re taking the bus.
Buses are very affordable, about €150 I should say.
7:41
Bus schedules are mostly correct, but not always.
Sometimes the bus leaves early, sometimes the bus leaves late, sometimes they skip a route.
So you never know.
Yeah, you never know.
I keep saying I feel like it’s 1996 out here with the buses, the transportation and the Internet connection, which I’ll get to.
8:01
So more on transportation though like I said, they only have Uber Black taxis are pretty expensive, but you can negotiate a little bit.
But here’s what I did find is they have unofficial taxis or unofficial Ubers, essentially just Italians who drive around and ask if you need a ride.
8:16
And then they’re much, much more affordable than taxis.
And this is really good for late at night when the buses are no longer working and taxi is your only option or someone who could offer you a ride.
For example, when we were waiting for a bus one night, taxi wanted $70.00 to take us home.
8:33
Unofficial, Uber said 30.
Oh, what a savings.
Or I should stop saying dollars?
Euros is always what I mean.
Quite a savings, just a little risk.
So another thing about luggage, you always want to try to go carry on size luggage.
Especially with all the steps here, you are not going to want a big luggage, it’s just going to make it that much harder.
8:54
In addition, ferries and buses will make you pay for your luggage.
On the bus we did not have to pay for our carry on bag, but the bus did charge an extra ticket to someone with a check size bag.
The ferry did charge us €3 for a carry on bag.
They charge the check bag €5.00.
9:11
So if you’re trying to save money and then bring a smaller bag, you will also save yourself a lot of pain on the steps.
Something else I learned when we were there, if you order take away, say take away cappuccino, take away croissant, you will go up to the cash register and pay and then you bring your receipt to the coffee counter and then they make it.
9:30
You bring your receipt to the croissant or the pizza counter and then they will prepare it for you.
We had at one point just paid and then we were kind of waiting for them to call us out, you know, like they do in America.
You’re going to be waiting a long time.
Just bring up to the counter getting into phone service or data service.
9:46
Download offline maps because you actually will need it here.
I usually don’t do this even though this is one of our best tips because I always have Internet.
You won’t have Internet.
I had international data and it would not work outside of Wi-Fi at an establishment.
You really were living in the past here.
10:02
Yes, and then think about it.
You’re in a village on the side of a Cliff and the ocean.
It makes sense why you don’t have much Internet connection.
But in fairness, you just got back from Switzerland and you were at the top of a mountain, 10,000 feet high, and somehow there was data up there.
But you know, I understand what you’re saying.
10:18
So good to know is download that offline maps or pocket Wi-Fi or do something because you aren’t.
Really going to have service?
I don’t think pocket Wi-Fi would help you.
Really.
I don’t think so, no.
I mean I had purchased intern international data.
10:33
I don’t think maybe it would, maybe it wouldn’t.
I wouldn’t count on it.
Good to know.
That’s why I also don’t think it’s a good place for remote work.
Our Airbnb’s Wi-Fi connection was terrible.
We didn’t even have Wi-Fi a lot at the Airbnb.
Now, if you’re going to stay in Positano, there’s a lot of Airbnbs because their homes built into a Cliff.
10:51
There’s just not that many hotels.
The hotels are going to be expensive.
We met a American and her mom who were traveling together and they said they are paying $600 a night for a hotel in Positano.
So book early and try to stay lower down in Positano at a hotel or an Airbnb.
11:10
Next, most sit down restaurants don’t open for lunch until noon.
Most dinner places don’t open until 7:30, so you’re eating a little bit later.
That sounds pretty standard for Europe and in this region though, you know they’ll have lunch hours and then close for several hours, then reopen for dinner and it won’t be late.
11:28
But definitely good to know.
There were beach clubs in Positano, but after going to a lot of them, they weren’t really selling it for me.
They were more just beach beds than I would consider it what a beach club is.
And like, I need to kind of get out of my head the comparison with Mykonos because I went there earlier this year and that’s kind of what I thought a Mafi would be or Positano would be.
11:51
It’s not like Mykonos at all.
It’s not a party destination really.
It’s much more laid back, relaxed, couples, honey mooners, older people, chill, like nice restaurants.
So if you’re looking for more of like that beach club kind of I Positano is just really not it.
12:11
But they do have what they call beach clubs.
We are there kind of asking around at about 11:00 AM and they were like completely dead on a really nice sunny day around 1:00 PM is when a lot of people start showing up and then the beds fill up.
And I would say book in advance, especially if you want to go to Arienzo, which is the most popular beach club here.
12:29
They take you on a boat to a beach down the way where you can’t walk to.
And I would highly recommend that beach club book in advance.
It’s paid by row, so if you want to pay the lowest amount, you get a row farther back.
And for value wise exactly what you would pay at a beach club in Positano.
12:47
That’s not as cool.
That’s my opinion.
If someone else has done a different beach club in Positano and had a good time, I am so happy for you, but that was my experience.
I do recommend as a big tip you get out onto a boat.
Posta Tunnel, like I said, is small.
You want to see it from a boat.
13:02
You want to be out on the water and look back at it.
It’s so beautiful from the water.
Even if you’re just taking a ferry over to Naples or another Almafi town, get out on the water.
Did you take it just as a ferry from one spot to the next, or did you actually go out on a boat cruise or something while you were there?
13:19
Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to do an actual day out on a boat, like snorkeling and swimming with drinks and food.
I would have loved to do that or take a boat out to Capri.
If we had one more day, we would have.
And then two last tips for you, Souvenirs.
We did a bunch of shopping in Positano and then we took a ferry over to Amafi for a couple hours and everything in Almafi was 30% less cost for the same stuff.
13:44
So if you’re going to want to do shopping for souvenirs, I would do that in Almafi.
And then restaurants, everything I read about Positano said reserve restaurants, you need a reservation.
And I think that might be true if you’re going in the high season.
We went the first week of September, getting to be lower season, then that might be true if you want to go to like the top, most rated, best restaurant.
14:07
But we did not make a reservation at a single place in advance and we had no problem getting in anywhere.
Maybe we waited 5 minutes for one restaurant and they gave us a glass of Prosecco while we waited and it was.
Every single thing we ate was absolutely delicious.
14:23
You really can’t go wrong with any restaurant there.
I don’t think that you need to eat at the best of the best of the best.
Every single place is amazing and.
What’s the price point that you’re normally looking at?
In Positano, you’re looking at 20 to 30 per dish.
That’s actually not too bad.
14:39
I would possibly expect more, so that’s not bad.
In Almafi, you can actually expect a lot less.
Like we ate at one restaurant in Almafi that I’ll talk about that was anywhere between like 10 and 18 per dish.
That’s a great price.
And maybe, you know, we didn’t explore everything about Positano, like there’s alleyways and pathways and so much stuff up there that we couldn’t have possibly seen at all.
15:03
So maybe there are more affordable restaurants.
I’m just talking about more main roads lower down by the beach.
Well, that was a lot of tips.
I’m glad you covered them because as you said, you don’t see these in the reels and the TikTok.
They talk about the highlights, but they don’t talk about everything in between.
15:19
So I’m sure our squaties appreciate all of the tips that you just provided.
And before we get into where to stay in the beach clubs and what you did, I just want to reminder squaties that head on over to our website, travelsquadpodcast.com.
We have a ton of different resources there for you.
You can find our itineraries.
15:35
We have domestic and international itineraries.
You can find our blog posts for every single episode where we link hotels and the excursions and things that we did.
We have our Amazon shop connected for our recommended travel products, and there’s also a way to sign up for our newsletter so you can stay up to date with all of our travels and hear the latest news.
15:55
I recommend staying in Positano at a couple different places, the Albergo Miramar.
It’s a great location.
It’s a beautiful hotel, amazing, beautiful ocean view restaurant.
I actually walked in here and they were so friendly.
16:12
They were like, yes, you can come in, we have Wi-Fi.
They have this beautiful lounge area with couches and tables and ocean view.
I did some work in here for a few hours, had a cappuccino and a tiramisu that was really good, good.
This would be a great hotel to stay in.
16:27
It’s also a very good location.
Another one, La Ceranucci, great location, very swanky interior.
A bit more of a high end hotel if you’re looking for that kind of a vibe.
We had had some drinks at the bar here and if the drinks are any reflection of the hotel price, you’re definitely on the higher end.
16:46
But it’s a beautiful place and a great location.
Where we stayed was we booked it on booking.com, but it was an Airbnb.
You’ll actually see a lot of that with booking.com and even Expedia.
They are homes that have been converted now into quote UN quote hotels.
It’s called Nino’s in Nochele.
17:03
It’s spelled like no cell, but in Italian it’s pronounced Nochele.
It’s affordable.
I think we paid 500 bucks for four nights, so extremely affordable when you consider the woman paying 600 a night down below.
17:20
Oh yeah, definitely.
Amazing, beautiful ocean view from above.
The problem is Nocelli is above Positano.
It’s technically Positano, but it’s a different part of it, right?
So, you know, the maps don’t always explain that to you, but it’s about a 30 minute bus ride down from Nocelli to the center of Positano.
17:43
You can’t walk.
Well, you could walk it, but it’s very difficult and the roads are tiny.
There’s no sidewalks, right?
It’s going to take you quite a while to do that.
So you’re always driving.
You have to take the bus or an expensive taxi.
Would I recommend it?
If you’re trying to save money?
Hell yeah.
17:59
If you are wanting to save time and squished bus rides, probably not.
What’s funny about Nocelli is once you get dropped off at the top of this windy mountain, then you have 250 more steps up to the Airbnb.
18:17
Easy day every time you go to the hotel.
Well, that’s why you were saying definitely don’t bring the check size either.
You know, one of the first times, way, way, way back in the day, Brittany and I’s traveling adventures, when we went to Europe, we brought checked luggage.
I think we each had like a checked luggage plus a carry on size 1.
18:34
My gosh.
I know, I know.
Well, we, in fairness, we were going during the dead of winter and it was a long trip.
Winter requires like layers, like it was freezing out there and wow, you, you don’t want to lug luggage around around in Europe.
That’s something that the American mind, until you’ve done it, you can’t really comprehend, let alone going up 250 stairs.
18:54
So yeah, carry on.
Size for sure.
Yes.
And so when we checked in, we actually the man who checked us in, Rafaeli, who runs the lemonade little shop right by the bus stop, he carried our bags up for us.
So that was nice.
But I mean, the view is beautiful.
19:09
The ocean is gorgeous.
It is kind of wild up there.
I will say there’s a lot of farm animals.
There’s chickens, tons of dogs, cats.
At one point we run into a herd of goat who were trying to come down the same path as we’re walking up.
19:27
It’s crazy up there and you don’t really realize it because you can’t really see anything, but everything’s built into the side of the Cliff.
There’s actually restaurants up there.
There’s a grocery store up there.
There’s tons of different B and BS up there.
This is where the path of the gods begins to.
19:44
So that’s a pro of being right there where the path of the gods begins.
All right, So what did we do when we were there?
We got there on Sunday, but when we got there, we didn’t really do anything.
We walked down to the Refugee de Mile for dinner.
19:59
It’s actually a more of an upscale restaurant that was right by our B&B.
We got steak.
We cooked it on a hot stone.
It came with all these sauces and spices.
So delicious.
We got tortellini that was stuffed with beef and had an onion sauce that was made in got red wine slices of baguette.
20:15
It also came with like this little mini starter.
It was like a little cheese with.
Red wine drizzle on it and then for dessert came out with this like little mini scoop of ice cream with little toppings.
And that’s about all we really had the energy for after that 14 hour long day of travel.
We just kind of wanted to go to sleep.
20:32
I wouldn’t want to do much more.
And actually I just looked on the map to see where Nocelle is in comparison to Positano, and yeah, it looks close.
But when you really look at the roads and see like, yeah, it’s windy and far in that sense of things.
20:48
So I wouldn’t have wanted to venture further than that either.
Yeah.
I mean, hey, if you’re trying to save the money, it’s totally worth it.
And there’s pros.
No, no, on a normal day, you’re right, Like, okay, whatever.
But that travel day, yeah, I wouldn’t do much more than that after arriving.
It’s like once you go down to post a Tono 2, you’re not coming back up till the end of the night.
21:08
OK, so Monday we wake up, we are ready to go because we’re so excited to be in Positano.
We go down to the bus, we get on, get 30 minutes.
We think, wow, this bus is great.
It’s easy, came on time, got on.
No one was on.
It went down.
21:23
We started walking around Positano.
We go into this little cafe called Lagara.
We get our take away cappuccino and arancini, and it actually has this big outdoor patio too.
If you wanted to sit down and eat, it would be a great place to sit down in the morning, a slow breakfast and the Today was kind of just like a shopping and eating day and walking around.
21:43
So after there we walk down toward the beach.
We see that we have drinks right on the boardwalk at La Pergola Restaurante.
This was one of our favorite spots.
We came back here a couple of times.
They had really strong spritz cocktails and great Wi-Fi.
21:58
Gotta love a spritz.
We had lots of spritzes in Positano here so we did some shopping around.
We bought some like souvenirs and gifts and things.
Then we went into Ohaima for Margarita pizza and Hugo Spritz.
Really really good pizza here.
22:14
Would highly recommend it.
Ohaima is right next to the Plaza bus stop which is the last bus stop.
Most of the buses here in Positano from a new Chile come down.
They stop here so it’s like the center of Positano.
Super good location.
Highly recommend the pizza there.
22:31
But by this time we’re kind of like, is this all Positano is?
Just eating and drinking and shopping?
We kind of were like, OK, we’ve seen it, what else is there to do?
And so we decided to get on a ferry and go over to a Mafi.
We bought a ferry ticket for €10 per person.
22:48
We jumped on.
It was about a 10 minute ferry over to a Mafi.
It was really cool to see Positano by water as we’re pulling away, so beautiful.
And then we get into Almafi and it is quite a different vibe.
This is the only time we left Positano and we kind of just did similar things, right?
23:06
We got off the ferry, we went to Savoya, which was right there.
We got Gelato and cannolis.
They had so many cannolis to choose from here.
We walked down the alleyway some more.
There’s shops and this is where we realized the shopping we just did like it was quite a bit more affordable in Almafi.
23:23
We walked some more.
We run into this like Renaissance Parade starts coming down the alleyway.
I’m not sure what it was for, but it was cool to see Renaissance Parade in a brass band.
Then we come upon a restaurant called La Dolce Vita, and this is where those prices were really good, like €10 to €18 per dish depending on what you were getting.
23:43
Amazing price.
I got a gorgonzola gnocchi, Charlotte got a lasagna.
So good.
Like the menu here was amazing.
I would highly, highly recommend it.
So then we’re like, well, we just missed the last ferry, which was at 7.
The restaurant guy told us maybe there’s another ferry at 8:00.
23:58
So we were like, all right, let’s run.
Let’s see if it is actually going to come.
It doesn’t, but there’s buses.
The buses run to like 10.
I think they said 11:30.
We’re in line for the bus.
And this is where things start to get crazy.
So there’s Italian men who are directing people and which bus to get on because there’s buses going all different ways.
24:19
And we say bus for Positano.
He’s like 10 minutes.
Stand right here, 10 minutes.
We’re like, OK, cool, 10 minutes.
And then 10 minutes passes, and we’re like, what the Hell’s going on?
And so then the bus comes.
24:36
They get another guy in it.
They turn off the sign on it, and they drive away.
Everyone’s confused.
Bigger crowds are forming.
We’re like, where are the buses?
Where are the buses?
He’s like an hour.
It’s going to be an hour.
Like what?
How’d it go from 10 minutes to an hour?
Nobody explains anything.
Just they just yell at you an hour.
24:51
You wait 45 minutes, like, OK, we’re like, all right, well, we have an hour to wait.
OK, So we go like buy some water.
We go into this like pens, paper store, really nice guys in the paper store, go check them out.
And we’re just killing time.
We’re like, should we get another drink?
25:08
Should we get some wine?
Like this is kind of boring.
What are we going to do?
And we’re still waiting.
We go back finally where the bus is supposed to come, and it’s still not here.
I’m like, what is going on?
So now it’s like 9930.
And then the same man, it’s probably like in his 50s, Italian man, he just yells at you like 15 minutes.
25:27
We’re like, OK.
And then he’s separating everyone.
So he’s like, Positano, you stay here, Rento, you stay there, Salerno here.
Prayiano is yelling at everybody.
None of us know what’s going on.
But it starts to get so late.
Like it’s 10:15, I’m looking at Uber and it’s like $100 to get back to Posta Tano.
25:46
I’m like, I don’t know if we should do it, like what’s going on because the buses are supposed to stop, I think at 11:30 or 10:30.
I don’t know what time sometime around there and we’re like, you completely skipped a bus now, are the buses even going to come?
No one’s telling us, but the whole crowd is there.
26:01
We’re like, they can’t leave all of us, can they?
So everyone starts to get really antsy and then like kind of 1/2 the crowd moves and the guys like we’re in the Sorrento bus because that’s the direction it’s going.
And he’s like Sorrento, I told you not to move.
He’s getting wild.
26:20
All these buses are coming to like park for the end of the night and finally our bus comes and then it’s like a bum rush to get on the bus.
Everyone is like pushing, pushing, pushing and like getting on the bus.
They open up the back door like no one’s even paying to get on the bus.
We’re just getting on squish on the bus.
26:37
We’re like sardines in this bus.
Like, at least we’re just on this bus, right?
We finally do make it back to Positano and yeah, everything’s fine after that.
But actually, no, I take that back.
Everything is not fine.
This is the night where we don’t get the bus up to Nocelli.
26:55
We have to switch bus lines and take that bus line up.
So now we’re waiting at that bus stop to get the one to Nocelli and it looks like we just missed it and we’re like crap, Another hour is going to go by before it comes back.
And so we’re waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting.
The time is coming, it passes, and then another bus comes as a different line that I was confused on and it was completely packed like sardines.
27:17
And he’s like Nocelli, no, you wait here, that bus comes later.
I’m like, OK, but when?
And it’s just like getting later and later and later and it’s like 11:30 at night and it was supposed to be there at 11:20.
That bus leaves.
The other people that were waiting for their bus, they finally get on too because they thought they missed theirs.
27:37
So we just sit there and we’re like, we have sad faces on.
We don’t know what’s going to happen.
The taxi told us €70 to go up to Nocelli.
Like shoot, that’s a lot of money for like a 30 minute ride.
Then this little Angel in a tiny car appears, this older jolly Italian man in a tiny car.
27:56
He does a little U-turn and he’s like, do you need a ride?
And so we’re like Nocelli, yes.
And he says 30 year olds get in and he opens his door.
And so honestly, at this point, we’re just like, we’re doing it.
This might be a murderer, but we need a ride.
28:13
Well, you’re still here to tell the story, so he was not a murderer and I take it for €30 he got you up to Nocelli.
Yeah, and he’s like, OK, we’re Nocelli.
He doesn’t speak any English and we are the very last stop in Nocelli.
You can’t go any further.
28:28
So I have Google Translate downloaded.
I downloaded Italian.
That’s a great tip.
Squatty’s download Italian in your Google Translate ’cause if you don’t have Internet, you can still use it.
I don’t have Google Maps downloaded at this point.
I had done it later in the trip.
And so I tell him like we’re the last stop in Ocelli, the at the bus.
28:47
So it was actually perfectly fine.
He was the funniest guy.
He has this music on from like Night at the Roxbury.
Like do you believe in love after love?
Me and him are in the front seat singing it.
He’s doing pointy fingers dancing, fist bumping, we’re dancing together.
29:04
It was really, really funny actually.
And he gets us there 30 years and we’re done.
Dominico shout out.
Well, he picked up the vibes for sure because it sounds like things are going a little downhill there for a minute, but he brought things right back up to speed.
29:20
I mean, obviously later in the trip I come to find out this is somewhat common here.
But at first we’re like, oh, OK, I guess we’re doing this.
So we finally get home at like midnight, right?
We tried to leave at 8:00 PM.
We get home at midnight.
That’s why I’m saying it’s so hard to get around Positano.
29:38
We wanted to go to Ravello.
We wanted to go to Prayiano.
Not like that.
It’s just too hard.
You need almost a day to do one thing.
A day for Ravello, a day for Almapi, a day for whatever else.
Tuesday we wake up and we know we want to hike the path of the Gods.
Luckily we can literally walk to it because a lot of people say it’s very hard to get up to the beginning of it, and it is.
30:00
But we’re staying up there, so it’s not for us.
We just walk down the steps, we get a little cappuccino and we do our hike.
And so you can walk all the way to the end of it and it’s about a 5 hour hike.
But for us, since we’re staying up there, we don’t want to go to the end.
30:17
We don’t want to do a 10 hour hike there and back, so we can do a loop.
Actually, you walk to the number 10 and then you turn back and there’s a loop.
So that’s what we did.
It took us about 3 hours.
It was a rainy day, like it was cloudy and foggy and then we did get rained on at one point.
30:33
So the views weren’t always the best like they would be on a sunny day.
Even though if you’re hiking this on a sunny day it’s going to be very hot, I would recommend doing it on a sunny day for the views.
Something I have never seen on a hiking trail before was two big pigs laying on the trail taking a nap.
30:51
Were there any ones or was it just local pigs?
They were tagged, so they belong to someone, but they’re just napping in the middle of the trail.
And then on their way back we see them just munching on the side of the Cliff.
Two big pigs.
I told you, it’s wild up here.
Yeah, you did say that.
31:07
Chickens, pigs, dogs.
Goats.
Yeah, all of that.
Whole farm up there.
Yes, we do.
And so so you know, we had a beautiful hike and I do recommend doing this.
I don’t think it’s that hard of a hike.
There’s some up and down in it, but you know, moderate well worth it for the beautiful views up there.
31:26
And if you do this hike, you’ll now know at our BNB, this is the views that we had the whole time.
So at that spot where we got the cappuccino, we also then at the end of our hike, stopped in for a lemonade.
It is called Illinois Chiosco del Santiado de Glee de.
31:42
It’s a cute little shop.
It’s a man, his wife makes the lemon cake there.
His dad was kind of in and out before.
Definitely worth a stop there.
A lemon slush is so good after that long hike.
We did this pretty early in the morning.
31:58
I think we started at 9.
I guess it’s not that early, but we wanted to do it early because we had a cooking class.
And so we went back to the room, you know, got ready for the day.
We knew that we weren’t coming back until the very, very end of the night.
32:14
So I had brought a outfit change because we had some other plans later.
And I did bring heels because I really wanted to wear these pair of heels that I brought.
We were doing a cooking class at Buca di Baco, which is right down by the water in Positano.
32:29
We booked this cooking class in person the day before.
Again, maybe during busy season it would be harder, but for us, reservations in advance were really not needed.
The cost for the cooking class was 150 year old per person and we booked that the day before.
In person reservations really aren’t needed unless you’re doing like La Tagliate.
32:49
You need to book that six months to a year in advance and that one is like two €5300 per person.
It’s probably not really worth it.
I think this one was fantastic and we had a really great time here.
Buca Debaco is down by the water, so it was a great location, really central.
33:04
And so we were there with seven other girls.
So it was fairly small group.
There was one really good looking male chef, one pretty good looking male chef, and then one little bit older, like dad kind of man, who was the translator.
33:21
He’s the one who spoke English.
All I got to say is 3 Italian men teaching you how to cook is the way to do it.
And I’m sure you got to eat everything that you did cook, right?
And how was it?
Is so when you check in, we were there a little bit early.
They told us to come early.
33:36
So they gave us free glass of wine and snacks while we waited.
Then they gave us an apron, A cookbook, A gnocchi rolling tool as souvenirs to take home.
So we put on the apron and then we start cooking and of course we get to eat what we cooked, but this is what we cooked.
33:54
We actually made fried eggplant Parmesan, and I never really liked eggplant that much, but the way we made it was so good.
We salted it to get all the moisture out.
Then we squeezed it to get the moisture out.
Then we rinsed it, then we breaded it.
34:09
Then we fried it, cooked it, and we ate some of the fried.
The fried eggplant like that was so good.
I want to make it just like that.
Salt it, rinse it, squeeze it.
Do you do that, Jamal, when you make it?
But when I do make my eggplant Parmesan, yeah, you definitely want to salt it to get all the liquid out, let it sit for a little bit.
34:28
I don’t really rinse it under the sink.
I’ll just pat it dry actually, with some paper towels.
Well, I mean, when I pat it up with the paper towels, it gets the salt.
But of course, if I’m going to make eggplant Parmesan, I do want the eggplant salted a little bit, minus just what’s on the coating.
34:43
But if you liked just the fried eggplant, let me tell you something.
I don’t know how we didn’t have this when we went to Lebanon.
Very common to just deep fry eggplant and they prep it that way and it’s delicious.
Eat it with some pita bread bomb.
Yeah, I’m going to have to make that now that I know it’s good, because it was even better than actually being in the eggplant parmesan.
35:03
It was just great, just fried by itself.
So we did that.
We made our own pesto, and then we made our own gnocchi, put it together, and we made pizza.
So we made the dough, topped it all, made it, and then a chocolate almond cake.
Sounds really good.
35:19
And then we had champagne while we were cooking or Prosecco, and then we had wine on the table for us while we ate our dinner.
And so the girls that were there, we’re all American girls, and they were in their 20s and 30s, and maybe one girl was in her 40s.
We made friends with them.
35:35
We had really great conversation with them at the dinner table, just right in front of the ocean.
We stayed for like an hour or two just eating and drinking and talking.
And then because we made such good friends with them, we had made plans to meet them at Don’t Worry Bar, which is actually the bar that’s in that swanky hotel I mentioned earlier, Lacer Anuse.
35:55
That bar is really good.
Even if you’re not staying at that hotel, you should go have a drink at that bar.
Just be warned, the espresso martinis are €70.
Oh my gosh, steep price.
Why are they so much?
Because they’re special.
I don’t know why I didn’t have one of those because I actually just had an espresso martini right before that, but I did get a different cocktail off the menu and they’re €30.
36:19
Much more affordable in comparison.
I mean, that was definitely the most expensive drink that I saw in Positano.
So one of the other major things that I wanted to do in Positano, guess what it involved?
A cave.
A cave?
Yes, it did.
36:35
You know what I’m going to say?
I would guess you love nightclubs and caves.
So that’s my.
Yes, imagine my surprise, my pleasant surprise, when I find out that in Positano, Music on the Rocks is a nightclub in The Cave on the Coast.
36:53
And of course I have to visit this.
This is like really one of the only things I really wanted to do.
And how was it in comparison to the Cuba nightclub in a cave?
Because I know you had some wild stories on that.
So what is it like with the Italian men and tourists out here?
It was much, much smaller than The Cave in Trinidad, Cuba, but still really fun.
37:13
I mean, it still could fit hundreds of people in there.
And when we first got there around 11, the music was terrible.
I felt like we were on a cruise ship and there was hardly anybody there.
I already knew that 1:00 AM is when it gets busy.
37:29
That’s very well publicized. 1:00 AM is the time to go.
But we weren’t going back to the hotel, so we just went.
Charlotte was like, I don’t want to go in and there’s nobody here.
And I’m like, we’re going in.
Suck it up, Charlotte.
37:45
So they do have ladies nights where it’s free, but this night wasn’t one of those.
It was €30 per person, but it comes with a drink included.
So we go in and you know, whatever, I’m going to make the most of it.
I’m vibing to this music.
There’s one Italian man on the dance floor just keeping the vibe alive, dancing and having a great time.
38:05
People do start to show up as the night goes on and like by 1:00 AM they put on a different DJ who’s playing house music.
He plays disco lines.
No, the boys.
That’s the kind of vibe.
From then on, it gets much, much more packed.
It was so much fun.
I had the best time.
We were still dancing at like three, 3:30 in the morning.
38:22
I loved it.
Sounds right up your alley.
Well, if you finished at 3:00 because you said this is Tuesday, what did your Wednesday have in store for you if you guys were partying all through the night?
I don’t, I don’t want to get to Wednesday just yet because the night is not over.
Oh, OK.
Excuse me.
You know, I really thought that Italian men, I thought I would have like, an Italian lover on this trip.
38:43
And I’ve always heard Italian men.
They’re much more aggressive and loving and like, where were they?
I don’t know.
But I thought if any place it’d be music on the rocks.
But no, I didn’t mean an Italian man.
I did meet a guy from New York whose name was Vincenzo.
39:00
He was Italian, but he was from New York.
And so I met him at the very end of the night when we were about to be leaving.
Anyway, So we walk out with him and he’s like, you girls should come back to my hotel or my B&B.
I’m right here.
39:15
And I’m not sure why we’re going with him, but he tries to get a taxi because it’s like a 20 minute walk up the hill and weird stuff starts happening with the taxi drivers.
They won’t give him a ride.
They will not.
I don’t know if he’d been there a while, they knew him or like they didn’t want him taking us home or what.
39:32
But like an Italian lady, old Italian men, they would just sit on the bench and just be stone faced.
No, it was weird.
And then he goes behind the taxi and we could hear him arguing and like yelling and we’re like, what the hell is going on?
39:48
This is getting crazy.
And he comes back over to us and he’s like, that woman wants to take you home and she doesn’t want you to go with me.
So he was started now saying like derogatory things about her to it was getting weird.
And Charlotte was kept asking the taxis like, would you take us to Nocelli?
40:04
And finally, we just sat down next to the Italians and we’re like, we’re not going with you and like.
He left but the Italian dad and the lady, like they protected us, we just sat there like stone faced at him.
I wonder like what his back story is and why they wouldn’t take you with him.
40:21
I know it was really weird.
It was like maybe a little bit of the universe protecting us.
I don’t know, very weird.
And so from the hotel I know buses stop running.
So to get from The Cave to back to Nocelli, how much is the taxi ride?
40:37
Yeah, we ended up paying €60 for this taxi and then I did see other cars like stopping and asking people if they needed a ride, but at that point we were already just like whatever, we’ll pay the €60.
Well, the taxi driver saved you apparently from who knows what, but nevertheless.
40:53
So $60.00 is a bargain if you think about it that way.
Totally.
So it seems like the night in The Cave wrapped up, I may have gotten a little bit ahead of myself, Kim, when I was thinking you were done and I didn’t realize the crazy story that you had right there.
But tell us about your Wednesday, because I think it’s like your last full day here, is it not?
41:13
Yes, last full day and I do have to work tonight.
I probably start working around 4:00 PM, but today’s a big day.
We are going to Arienzo Beach Club.
I’m surprised it took you this long to just get to a beach club at all.
I know, I know.
So the first day when we were doing the shopping, we wanted to do the beach club but they were sold out.
41:32
Then the next day it was rainy and so Wednesday was going to be the day.
We booked this on Monday for Wednesday.
That’s another thing people like you have to book Aria and so ahead of time, I don’t know, maybe in the in the high season.
So because they do sell by row and we got the second to last row which was €550 for two people.
41:52
The first row is like €1000 for two people.
So do book ahead, do book online, but we were OK to book last minute with that €550 for a couple.
You get 1 bottle of champagne, 2 bottles of water, 2 appetizers, 2 meals, 2 beds, one umbrella, 2 towels and the boat ride from Positano to Arienzo beach.
42:12
So based on the other prices I was comparing in Positano, 1 beach club wanted €45 just for the chair, no towel, no food, no drinks.
Another one wanted 110 for bed towel and like I think a bottle of champagne Aryanza is not that expensive.
42:28
When you compare it in that way and you get one of the farther back rows, it’s actually worth the price.
I mean, even just getting the champagne or the Prosecco and the meals alone without the bed and the day would almost equal the same price.
So you thought it was worth it?
I thought it was 100% worth it and the boat ride was really fun.
42:48
The beach club is so cute with like orange and white and it has a guest takeover.
I would recommend and ladies to wear swimsuit colors that coordinate with the orange.
Charlotte was wearing an Aqua like turquoise swimsuit.
It looked so good against the orange.
43:04
Navy or white would look really good with the orange.
I was wearing Pink, didn’t grow so great with the orange but whatever, it looked good anyway.
I love that that’s your tip, is that you’re going to coordinate your bathing suit to the umbrellas at the beach club.
43:20
Umbrellas and towels in bed so everything’s orange there.
OK, OK.
And are you there all day?
Like is that price good for a few hours all day?
Yes, all day.
So we missed the bus.
The first bus coming down that day.
43:35
We ended up getting there a little later than we wanted.
We got there at like noon.
You can get there I believe as early as ten.
I would get there right thing in the morning and just post up.
They have great Wi-Fi.
It’s goodbye, the water’s right there.
It’s a private beach for them.
There is a portion of the beach that is public, but it’s a small beach area.
43:55
If you were coming on your own without the beach club, there are stairs that you can get down that way.
But we arrived by boat.
Totally great to stay all day.
And your ticket comes with an appetizer and a meal.
So you set yourself a lunchtime, You go up to the restaurant and you have lunch.
44:10
And the food was amazing there, too.
Me and Charlotte got burrata that came with sauteed zucchini, zucchini flour stuffed with cheese for apps and we shared and then she got the sea bass and I got the tagliate with red sauce and meatballs.
44:27
All of that sounds delicious.
And usually, you know, when I think beach clubs or anything that’s not that a beach club’s a bar, but you know what I mean, If that type of vibe, I don’t expect the food to be on par, but it sounds like you’re saying the food here was good.
Too.
Absolutely.
44:43
And they do this really fun thing around 3:00 PM called Limoncello Time.
So our friends that we had met at the cooking club were also at the beach club.
And they were like girls, it’s Limoncello time, come upstairs.
So we go up there and then they start handing out these big poster sized signs that say Limoncello time.
45:01
And all of us like basically do a parade down through the chairs to the water, Limoncello time, Limoncello time.
And they have set up three chairs where you can sit and they will pour limoncello in your mouth and then they pour it basically on your face and your chest.
45:18
So of course we had to do that.
I saw the Instagram videos of it and it looked like you guys were having a good time.
Yeah, it was really fun.
Since this kind of sort of overlapping with my work time, I just brought my laptop with me and I was working from the beach club.
45:34
It was amazing.
Work doesn’t have to know about it.
You’re getting your work done.
I mean, I’m still working.
I’m just working from Beach Club.
And then after that, so the last boat back to Positano leaves at six.
45:49
We got on that boat.
We went to that hotel, Albergo Miramare, which I do recommend staying up, did a bunch of work there for a few hours.
And then just to like cap off our last night in Positano, we decided to get dinner before we headed back up to Nocelli.
And this is probably around 10:00 PM.
46:07
We walked up to Cafe Positano.
The whole time when we’re coming down on the bus, we’re going on these teeny tiny roads and we’re seeing tables and chairs of restaurants right on the side of the road, and we’re like, who would want to eat there?
You’re right where the bus is driving by.
46:23
It’s so narrow.
Cafe Positano was one of those restaurants and we sat in one of those tables.
And how was it when the bus went by?
So we were fine where we were sitting but there was a server talking to the table next to us and the bus looked like it was like if he would have stepped back even an inch he would have been on the bus.
46:44
It was so close to him.
Me and Charlotte were eyes wide like Oh my God the server didn’t even notice.
Happens every day.
That’s the norm for him.
They’re so nonchalant in Italy, like, yeah, come over here.
The bus is here.
Like OK.
Well, what did you have to eat then?
47:01
So Cafe Positano, I would highly recommend coming here.
I think it’s one of the best places we ate to eat in Positano.
So I got the ricotta, spinach, lemon ravioli.
Charlotte got the chicken fettuccine Alfredo.
We had to wait about 5 minutes for a table, so they gave us a glass of Prosecco.
47:18
We’re sitting there having a drink, waiting for it.
Complimentary.
Yeah, complimentary.
Love it.
Then we sit down to eat.
We order all this stuff and the 2 owners are going around to all the tables, talking to people, meeting people.
They’re so friendly.
It’s one of the owners birthdays.
So he’s in a good mood.
47:34
He’s joking around with us.
He’s obviously older than us and he asks our age, and then he’s like, oh, 24, you girls are too old for me, but he’s obviously like 54.
And so he’s really funny.
And then he gives us another glass of Prosecco, complimentary.
47:50
Can’t go wrong with.
That amazing love you and then they bring out Limoncello complimentary.
This is like other than that one at the beach club, the only Limoncello we got with a meal.
You know, I have found this in Italy.
When we were in Rome, there was a restaurant we went to at the end of our meal.
48:05
They brought out complimentary shots.
Limoncello.
It was meloncello too, and.
Melon cello and then a pistachio 1.
And at another restaurant that we ate at in Rome, same sort of thing.
So I feel like this is common.
Yeah, I was actually surprised that we hadn’t had a limoncello brought out to us yet.
48:22
So Cafe Positano keeping it real.
It sounds like a great way to cap off your final night though, just with a nice dinner, experiencing the bus stop table dining, so to speak.
Even though it’s really not.
Even though you were saying I don’t know who would eat there.
48:38
Then you find yourself eating at a place like that too, but ironically enough, one of the highly recommended places that you.
Guys ate that too, actually very highly rated as well.
So other people believe that too.
Yeah.
So it was a great last night.
And would I come back to Boston?
48:53
100%.
It was an amazing place, but it’s just got its quirks to it for sure.
Well, you have the learning curve now, right?
Because you said you think, oh, you could go from one place to the next, but you really need a day in each spot.
So now that you have the learning curve and know what you’re getting into, then you can make the most of it I think, the next time.
49:13
Definitely.
Thursday was our day to leave, so we took the 6:50 AM bus from Nocelli down to Positano.
And buses don’t just leave late.
Sometimes they leave early.
Sometimes this one left 6 minutes ahead of schedule.
For someone rushing and getting there at the last minute, this would not be good for them, so good thing you got on early.
49:32
And we had missed the bus the day before and we were a couple minutes late, but just air on the side of caution for that one.
We took the ferry from Positano 2, Naples, 8:30 in the morning.
It was an hour and 40 minute ferry from Naples.
You have to take a taxi or bus to the airport.
49:48
We did a taxi for 20 EUR, 10 minutes.
The cars are very, very small.
So four people Max with small luggage can fit in one of those taxis.
If you have a big luggage or more people that you’re going to need more taxis.
So from the Naples airport we took the train to Rome airport and then took the shuttle from the Rome airport to our Rome airport hotel.
50:09
Lots of travel again on this day.
I just worked from the hotel.
We had catch up Pepe after all spritz went by the pool for a little bit.
Charlotte went out in Rome, which was great for her.
And then Friday morning we got up.
We went to the Rome airport.
We were flying standby.
Normally I would skip talking about this because you know squatty’s you don’t really care about our travel transit anyway.
50:30
But I do want to share just something really exciting if you’re still with us.
I I got to fly for the first time ever live flat first class seats.
Was it first class or business?
Class it was first class D1 first class.
50:46
OK.
And what how would you rate your experience?
One to 10 Oh my God 1000% out of 10.
It was so amazing First of all, it’s a 10 hour flight.
I have my own little cubby.
The seats go flat, I have a mattress pad.
They bring me a mimosa right when I get on.
51:02
I have short rib dinner.
I I have two glasses of French wine.
Amazing movie situation.
Got a cute little amenity bag.
And then I wake up because I’m still working this day.
So I actually wake up.
I have full Wi-Fi, do my work from the plane.
51:19
It was the best flight I’ve ever taken.
I’ll tell you what, Kim, the next time you’re forced to fly economy for a long haul, you’re going to hate life.
Now that you’re spoiled, let me.
Tell you so.
Charlotte’s dad.
This is how I got it.
I did not pay for it, sort of.
Charlotte’s dad is a retired pilot from Delta.
51:35
She gets free flights and can get a buddy pass.
So I still had to pay like 300 bucks for fees.
But it was a $300 first class flight.
So it was 10 hours to JFK and then my flight from JFK to Austin was Delta Comfort.
Oh, there you go.
Look at that.
51:50
Not too bad at all.
That’s exciting.
I’m happy for you, but like I said, you’re going to be spoiled now the next time that you have to fly back there, it’s not fun.
Take it from somebody who’s done it.
It’s not fun at.
All maybe maybe we just won’t do it then Squatty, thank you so much for tuning in to our post Itano episode.
52:08
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52:26
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