DanF750, May 2025
Memorable Tour of the Amalfi Coast with Umberto!
There were a total of eight of us for our custom land tour of the Amalfi Coast in Umberto's Mercedes van, and while it was a full load, we were all comfortable, could get in and out with relative ease, and had great views no matter where you sat. Our guide, Umberto, grew up in the Salerno area and is now raising his family near Sorrento, so he knows the Sorrento peninsula and the Amalfi Coast intimately. Our cruise was originally scheduled to stop in Naples, but the itinerary was changed to Salerno just a few weeks before our trip. That was fine by me, because it meant I could return to the Amalfi Coast--a place I dearly love--instead of visiting Naples again.When the itinerary changed, it meant all of the shore excursions from Naples were cancelled and new ones needed to be researched and chosen, and since it took Royal Caribbean three weeks to coordinate new options, we chose not to wait--we found Salerno Discovery (and Umberto, our guide) on Cool Destinations. We felt good about booking him because of some very good reviews (like this one), but since the price is fixed no matter how many people you have, I set out to use Facebook and Cruise Critic to find others interested in doing the same thing. Thankfully, we successfully signed up two other Americans and two more couples from Australia, for our final group of 8, and that kept the tour a reasonable cost for all of us.We started out with a leisurely drive from the ship in Salerno to the town of Amalfi, the heartbeat of the coast. I had told him we needed to find someplace to sample our beloved Delizia al Limone (Lemon Delight), a remarkable pastry featuring the famous Amalfi lemon, made of sponge cake and a fresh lemony frosting with a light lemon cream in the center, so he took us to the Pansa bakery in Amalfi where it was invented, and we enjoyed the pastry and cappuccino. Then we had an hour of free time to discover the beautiful Amalfi Cathedral (it was Sunday and mass was being said, but visitors could still view from the back). You can shop for local favorites like limoncello, lemon-chocolate coated almonds, lemon candies, leather goods, an expansive array of ceramics, and assorted linen dresses.We then headed to Ravello, a town up the side of the Monti Lattari (Lattari Mountains), reknown for its stunning views up and down the Amalfi coastline. While there, we toured the gardens of Villa Rufolo, with lovely flowering plants and many terraces with spectacular vistas of the coast. Ceramics is also a well-known product from the area, and we visited the store of the family-run Ceramiche d'Arte Pascal, whose exquisite (though not inexpensive) pieces are crafted and hand-painted by artisans right in Ravello. We purchased a beautiful large bowl as a memento of our trip. Then to cap off our time in Ravello, we headed to a wonderful pasta lunch at the rooftop restaurant of the Hotel Villa Fraulo--overlooking the Amalfi coast.Next, we headed further into the Monti Lattori, and stopped by another family-run business, Cello Liquore di Limone, where they made a number of liqueur products, which we all were able to sample. We have had a wide variety of limoncellos over the years, with varied tastes, but we learned that the Amalfi limoncello is less sweet than many others, so to us this is a more authentic and desirable flavor, and this place did not disappoint. Furthermore, they make a variety of cream liqueurs that are to die for, limone crema, melone crema (canteloupe) and, my absolute favorite, pistachio crema! My, oh my! We purchased 4 liters and 2 decorative bottles of limoncello to ship home--something to look forward to when the freshness of our trip memories began to fade.The remainder of our tour was a nice drive through the mountains as we made our way back to the ship. We passed the most picturesque valley where the town of Tramonti was nestled. Tramonti literally translates as "among the mountains," but in this case it refers to towns "between the mountains."And now, a little something about my new friend Umberto. First, his English is very good, and we understood everything he was sharing with us. You could tell he was passionate about his homeland, and proud to show it off to new friends. As I mentioned, he grew up in Salerno, and his mother still lives a couple of blocks from where our ship docked. He was patient but also gave very clear directions, so that we knew when we had to regroup. He also helped us formulate our tour, as I originally wanted to try and get to the more distant Positano, which would have meant that 3 hours of our 8-hour tour would have been spent to drive there and back. In the end, we followed his advice, and ended up with a memorable day. He kissed the cheeks of all the women, and I felt as though I wanted to return with our friends on our next visit to Italy, because I wanted them to experience Umberto's Amalfi. This day will remain one of our fondest memories of Italy.