Visiting Positano, the perfect B&B and whole lot of walking
We left Ravello and drove 45 minutes to the small town of Bomerano. On the way we stopped at the Fiordo di Furore, a fjord on the Amalfi Coast. This turned out to be more difficult to get to than we first thought. Find out more about how to access the Fiordo di Furore here.
Casa Pendola
We arrived and checked into a quaint little hotel called B&B Casa Pendola. This family-owned B&B is adorable and the most perfect location if you are wishing to embark on the Path of the Gods. The Path of the Gods is a popular Amalfi Coast hike which takes you from the tiny town of Agerola down into the ultimate Instagram photo spot, Positano. This hike provides you with continuous stunning views of the Amalfi Coast which get better and better as you descend into Positano.
We arrived to Casa Pendola and were greeted by Antonella who welcomed us with a coffee and gave us a brief rundown of the B&B, the facilities and Bomerano town. Bomerano is extremely small and there isn’t a whole lot on offer in terms of restaurants, bars and shops. I suppose this is part of its charm and it makes you feel like you really are enjoying a country escape. On the day we arrived we walked down into Bomerano and grabbed a sandwich from the centre. We then had a relaxing day enjoying the view from our balcony and playing some cards. On this evening we opted for a takeaway pizza and ate this in the communal dining area. We met a lovely family made up of a young couple and the man’s mother and talked for hours about our Amalfi Coast experiences. It was really nice to meet some like-minded people and hear about what they thought of this beautiful area of Italy. The couple had also tackled the Path of the Gods earlier that day so we got some tips on dos and don’ts for our hike the following day.
Path of the Gods
After an early night and a good night sleep, we woke up to a buffet breakfast at Casa Pendola. The buffet was continental with pastries, cakes, cereals, breads and yogurts. This was just enough to set us up ready for our day of trekking in the sunshine. We packed our bags and set off from the B&B to walk just over 10 minutes to reach the start of the Path of the Gods hike. This hike is glorious and, in my opinion, the perfect length and difficulty. It is not the easiest of hikes but we saw a number of children tackling the hike who seemed to be managing absolutely fine. The views down to the Amalfi Coast are just stunning and if you’re lucky enough to have sunny, glorious weather this is a great way to explore and soak up those rays.
Postiano
We took this path just a couple of days after there had been a large fire surrounding the centre of the path so we passed a lot of the vegetation which was black and destroyed by the flames. The fire had caused the Amalfi Coast road to close making getting back to Bomerano a little more difficult. The walk will take around 3 hours in total to get down into Positano. Once into Positano we stopped for a beer overlooking the colourful houses on the Positano peninsula. Feeling a little more refreshed we headed further down into Positano town to explore. We grabbed an ice cream and took a breather, absorbing as much of Positano as we could. It really is a stunning place to visit especially if you enjoy relaxing and sunbathing in style.
Praiano
Our next stop was to visit Praiano, Positano’s smaller neighbour but, we needed to find a way there. Public transport between Positano and Praiano is usually frequent and easy to take however, due to the fire the road was closed meaning there was only one way we could get across to Praiano – by boat. We asked around at different kiosks and secured a price of 30 euros. The boat was 20 minutes away so we had a little more time to enjoy Positano before it was time to leave. We hopped on our private water taxi which took us the short 10-minute journey into Praiano. Praiano is small and quaint and a lot quieter than Positano. It is a perfect sleepy little town if you want a relaxing holiday on the Amalfi Coast. When we visited, the place was a ghost town! We presumed this was due to the Coronavirus pandemic and different restrictions in place but there was just no one around. We weren’t in the right attire to sit and sunbathe so our walk around Praiano was brief and a little disappointing. We had read so many great things about Praiano but on this occasion it didn’t live up to expectations.
Off we set on our trip back to Bomerano and there were two options for getting back – public transport (with a few changes due to road closures) or walk. Well, if you’ve read my Ravello blog I’m sure you know which one we chose. Yes, that’s right - walking. We started from the main square in Praiano and walked uphill following a marked path until we reached a crossroads of the path of the gods trail (and a water fountain, yey!) The path then forks and one path takes you to Positano and the other back in the direction of Bomerano. The walk up to the fork involves a lot of steps and will really work those thighs and glutes! It is staircase after staircase so determination, re-fuelling and plenty of water are definitely needed. We powered through this hike as I was ready to get back to our hotel and relax by the pool before the sun went down. The hike took us around 2 hours to get back but if you walk at a more leisurely pace it will take 3 hours. You do get some stunning views on the way up to the fork but I personally thought the views on the way down to Positano were better.
Ristorante Fico D'India
We arrived back at our hotel tired and dehydrated but quickly changed into our swimwear to enjoy some time around the pool and the last bit of sunshine we could salvage before it disappeared behind the clouds. We had had a very jam-packed trip so we hadn’t had the chance to sunbathe and I wanted to soak up some of the beautiful Italian weather before we headed home the following day. After lazing around in the sun for an hour or so, the sun disappeared so it was back to our room to get showered and ready for the evening. As explained, there isn’t a huge amount of choice in terms of bars and restaurants in Bomerano so we ventured further afield and drove to a little restaurant called Ristorante Fico d’India. We ate on the terrace in the garden area and had a dish which we had been wanting to try the whole time we were exploring the Amalfi Coast – Pasta alla Vongole.
We woke up the following day and just like that it was time to go home and leave the Amalfi Coast behind. James and I have both spent a lot of time in Italy and both lived there previously but we had never explored the South of Italy. I would 100% recommend visiting and exploring the beautiful Amalfi Coast and don’t miss Ravello out of your itinerary. This was our favourite stop by far.
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