Welcome to Part One of our detailed Eastern Mediterranean itinerary! We just returned from an unforgettable 17-day trip to the Mediterranean coast, where we explored the stunning coastal cities of Italy, Croatia, Greece, Malta, and Slovenia. Our journey included visiting 10 different port cities via the NCL Viva, along with extended stays in the Amalfi Coast, Rome, and Venice to begin and end our trip, bringing our total city count to 15!
In this blog post, we’ll share our day-by-day Mediterranean itinerary, complete with our favorite activities, meals, excursions, and tips. Whether you’re planning your own Mediterranean cruise, looking for the best places to visit in Italy, Croatia, Greece, Malta, and Slovenia, or just dreaming of a European vacation, we’ve got you covered. Dive into our comprehensive travel guide and get ready to be inspired for your next adventure!
DAY 0 – Travel Day
We like to call our travel days “Day 0” because we feel that a trip hasn’t really started until you step foot into your first destination! Our Day 0 began with a drive to the Charlotte airport (CLT) to then board a direct red-eye flight from 6:05 PM to 9:15 AM (local time) to Rome (FCO) on American Airlines. In total, this flight was around 9 hours wheels up to wheels down, and we flew in economy class. During this flight, we were given a small pillow and blanket, as well as provided with meals for dinner and breakfast, along with a few snacks as well.
Even though American Airlines provided us with enough food & drinks to keep us content, we made sure to pack a BUNCH of different snacks to make sure we were satiated throughout the flight, as well as a few different tools to help us sleep, including sleeping masks, earplugs, and melatonin gummies. Even with these tools, getting a quality night’s sleep on this flight was near-impossible, as you can see by Courtney’s Oura ring sleep score below!
DAY 1 – Travel to Sorrento, Italy
This is where the fun begins … but first, we had to get through some pretty hectic travel! We got to spend our trip with Austin’s sister and brother-in-law, who flew on a different flight out of Washington DC and met us at FCO. While our flight got in around 9 AM and the airport tasks like customs and baggage claim were pretty quick & easy, our family members did not get so lucky! Their flight on Air Canada was delayed by about 30 minutes, followed by an extremely lengthy wait at baggage claim – this would have all been alright, except for the fact that we pre-booked our train tickets, and ended up missing our first leg. As our first train from FCO to Roma Termini was a regional train, we were able to hop on the next train headed there quite easily, though the timing only left us with a 5-minute interval to make it from Platform 1 to Platform 24, across the station. Almost like it was straight out of a movie, we arrived at our connecting train right as the doors were closing and it was pulling away – WAH WAH WAH.
Unfortunately we had booked business class seats on that train, which ended up going to waste as this type of train required ticketed seating. We quickly booked tickets for the next train headed to Napoli Centrale (we typically book through Trenitalia), then grabbed a quick bite in the Roma Termini station with our extra time. We had also pre-scheduled transportation directly from Napoli Centrale to our AirBNB in Sorrento via DayTrip, but thankfully, we were able to adjust our pickup time to accommodate our new train arrival. Once in Napoli Centrale, our DayTrip driver was waiting for us with a sign, and escorted us to the vehicle, where we could finally take a deep breath and enjoy the view from Naples to Sorrento. Though this ride was a bit more costly than a typical taxi, we thought was very much worth it for the ease of transportation. Another option for transportation from Naples to Sorrento is the Circumvesuviana train, which costs ~5 euros per person, however, seems to be a bit hectic and difficult to navigate with suitcases.
We finally arrived in Sorrento around 4 PM and checked into our Airbnb, which was located right in the heart of the city center. We absolutely loved staying here and would highly recommend, though it can be quite noisy at night, as it is positioned right above a few bars. We used the remainder of our evening to explore the streets of Sorrento, grabbing a fantastic limoncello spritz from Primavera, french fries from Queen’s Chips, and finishing our evening with a scrumptious meal from Pizzeria da Franco. (Our recommendation: prosciutto antipasti, mozzarella di bufala, and your pizza of choice, with a bottle of local wine!)
DAY 2 – Excursion to Amalfi Coast
This day was BUSY, but oh so amazing! We woke up bright and early to begin our trip to the Amalfi coast – a bus excursion we booked through Viator. This excursion ran from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM and made stops in Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello, allowing us to explore each stop for a few hours. Since we decided not to stay on the Amalfi coast for this portion of the trip, this was such a nice way to explore these cities and decide if we would want to return (SPOILER ALERT – we definitely would!) If you’re also interested in seeing the Amalfi coast but would like to stay in a more convenient location like Sorrento, we would highly recommend this tour – a guide provided a structured tour around each city if wanted, or you could opt for the way we spent the day, by exploring each stop on your own! Our driver, Giovanni, was also amazing, weaving the large bus along the tiny coastal roads with ease, while we were able to sit back and enjoy the views!
Stop #1 – Positano
Our first stop on this tour was to beautiful Positano, where we had 2 hours to explore the city. We spent the majority of our time walking the city streets, stopping in quaint shops along the roads, taking photos at the iconic beach photo spot, and grabbing a cappuccino / crepe at Restaurant Buca di Bacco.
Stop #2 – Amalfi
Something not mentioned yet is that this day was rainy – we had cloudy skies throughout the duration of our experience, but the skies really opened up once we made it to Amalfi. Because of this and our lack of umbrellas, we decided to sit down for a nice lunch at Amalfi Terminal and let the rain pass. Between the group, we decided to order 2 paninis and 2 pastas, with the pasta quality shining a great deal over that of the paninis. After lunch, the rain stopped for a span of ~20 minutes, where we walked around the waterfront area and quickly explored this sweet little town.
Stop #3 – Ravello
Ravello is a town that was not on our radar whatsoever! It’s a charming small town situated above the Amalfi Coast, slightly inland from the town of Amalfi. Here we had about an hour and a half to again explore the beautiful architecture and sights, taking in all of the beauty. We used our time to take scenic photos and grab a drink at one of the bars. After our time in Ravello, we hopped back on the bus to begin our hour and a half trek back to Sorrento, reviewing all of the photos we had taken and settling in for a quick snooze.
Once back in Sorrento, we took a moment to re-group at our Airbnb, then headed back out into the city for the evening, where we had an amazing dinner at Semola Pasta Bar, stopped by a fun Irish pub named Kilkenny, and stumbled upon a celebration being held at a church, where we observed a large group singing and dancing. We headed back to our Airbnb at a reasonable hour, as we were exhausted from our long day of exploring the Amalfi coast!
Interested in learning more about our excursion? Watch our video detailing it HERE.
DAY 3 – Excursion to Capri, Italy
We truly made the most of our time in southern Italy! This day’s adventure consisted of an excursion to the island of Capri, also booked through Viator. We took a semi-private boat (8 people total, 4 from our group) from Sorrento to Capri, with our excursion lasting from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM. During our 2-hour trip to the island, we experienced overall nice weather (a tad chilly due to the morning timing) but very large swells in the water! Taking in the scenery while battling minor sea sickness posed a bit of a challenge, but our skipper was very helpful and proficient throughout.
Once we arrived to the island of Capri, we had about three and a half hours to explore. Due to the large swells, we docked in Marina Piccola, which is home to some very cute restaurants and small beaches. We decided to first take a cab to the city center to explore, and were pleasantly surprised when we learned that all of the cabs in Capri are convertibles! After a fun 10-minute ride into the city center, costing us ~25 euros, we used the next hour or so to walk the vibrant city streets, exploring the many shopping and restaurant options. One thing to note about Capri — the city center is very expensive! Be prepared to spend almost double what you normally would in other popular locations of Italy!
After some discussion, we decided to take a cab back down to Marina Piccola, where we enjoyed an incredible seafood lunch on the waterfront at Lo Scoglio Delle Sirene. (Our recommendation: the clam & mussel pasta!!) We then embarked on our journey back to Sorrento, with the temperature being much warmer and smaller swells throughout the ride.
We were dropped off at the Sorrento marina per request, and had just a quick 15 minute walk back to our AirBNB. On the way back, we stopped for a lemon sorbet at Primavera – something Court had her eye on ever since stepping foot into Sorrento! After now 3 days of minimal protein and LOTS of carbs, we decided to dine at a steakhouse nearby our residence, called Meating, and though it was nice to switch up our meal type, we would not necessarily recommend this restaurant based on the quality of our meals. After dinner, we retired early after another long and adventurous day!
All in all, Sorrento, Capri, and the towns of the Amalfi Coast were absolutely magical to explore! After our somewhat hectic travel experience, we thoroughly enjoyed our first few days in Italy, but there is SO much to come! If you’re interested in reading more about our trip, you can find our next blog HERE!
2 thoughts on “An Eastern Mediterranean Itinerary: Part 1 – Exploring Sorrento & the Amalfi Coast”
Can you share the link to your Airbnb? For some reason reason it is not working through the link in the article. Thank you so much!
Hi Lisa! Thanks for bringing that to our attention – here you go! https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/857166449996076816?viralityEntryPoint=1&unique_share_id=1EB94640-1857-4EA3-BB3E-2FF22A644FB5&slcid=d4a73f34876c45239ee9d469eb306293&s=76&feature=share&adults=1&channel=native&slug=6jOAHSWk&source_impression_id=p3_1749848139_P3TwXuRN0tS0TsSH