I’m sitting here at our kitchen island on a Sunday morning drinking my coffee from a mug I bought in Positano during our honeymoon, and it’s making me nostalgic and giving me all the feels. So many of you have asked about our trip, requested more details of where we stayed and what we did, and many of you even said you were also going to one of these places for your honeymoon, so I am beyond excited to share the details with you! I’m sorry it’s taken me so long, sometimes it’s hard to find the time to just sit down and WRITE. I love writing, it’s one of the reasons I started my blog, but lately I’ve been wrapped up in other things and letting them take priority, which I will no longer do. This year I’m shifting my focus and prioritizing things much differently, and that includes my blog. Instagram could be gone tomorrow, so I will be dedicating a lot more time to my blog and writing in it because this is my passion, and sometimes I just need to remind myself why I started in the first place. Well, enough of that rant, let’s talk about our honeymoon!
We left for our honeymoon the day after our wedding, and although it was a little rushed (we didn’t even start packing until a few hours before our flight!), it was one of the best decisions we made. Our wedding day, which I talked more about on this blog post, was the most magical day of our lives. So, since we were on cloud nine and living our best life, there was no better way to continue that momentum and bliss than to leave for our honeymoon right away!
When thinking about where we wanted to go, we knew we wanted to take advantage of the two weeks and go to more than one country. Positano was always on our bucket list for a few reasons; the breathtaking coastal views, we knew the food and culture would be amazing, and we wanted to adventure and explore for the first half of our honeymoon (keep reading to see what we did while we were there). We then chose Greece because it wasn’t hard to get to from Italy, we had heard so many incredible things about the islands, and we wanted the second part of our honeymoon to be much more relaxing (read: lay by the pool/beach all day while drinking mimosas and eating all the tzatziki). One other thing I want to mention is that since we left right after our wedding, we were on our honeymoon for the first two weeks of September. I mention that because I personally think it’s one of the best times to go to Europe. The crowds die down and it’s not too hot, but still not cooling down just yet. We had beautiful weather in both countries so I highly recommend going in September.
We flew right from New York’s JFK airport to Rome instead of Naples (which is closer to the Amalfi Coast) because the options were better and it was cheaper. We only stayed one night in Rome so that we could rest and be ready to do the 3.5 hour drive to Positano the next day. We had been to Rome and Florence before, so we didn’t need to explore much, but it was a wonderful way to start our honeymoon because we had the most delicious dinner on our first night! Rome is filled with exquisite dining experiences, so you really can’t go wrong no matter where you go, whether it’s a more upscale restaurant or a family owned, hole in the wall kind of spot. Our first dinner was at Imàgo, a fine dining restaurant with panoramic views of the city. Since it was our honeymoon and the trip of a lifetime, we were feeling very adventurous and caught in the moment, so we totally went outside of our comfort zones and ordered PIGEON. Yes, you read that right, we ate pigeon! It was divine, as was the entire rest of the meal, and one that I will never forget. Italian cuisine is our favorite (sorry, mom, my heart is 110% Portuguese, but my stomach leans more toward Italian!), and one of the things I love so much about the dining experience in Italy is how passionate they are about their food and how much effort and care they put into their service.
Now, onto the most magical, out of this world, fairytale part of our honeymoon: Positano. When I first saw the cliffside and all of the beautifully colored homes and buildings alongside it, it completely took my breath away. I felt so emotional and in awe of it all, because it was that beautiful. I’ve never seen or experienced anything like it, and it’s somewhere I can’t wait to go back to again, and again, and again! I haven’t traveled the world (*yet*), but I have been to a lot of beautiful places, and Positano is by far my favorite and unlike anything I have ever seen or experienced before.
We stayed at Hotel Poseidon, it was perfectly located on the hilltop with walking access to the beach and plenty of cafes, boutiques, and restaurants. It’s an upscale hotel that’s family-run and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there! The service was outstanding and the room was very spacious and clean. The best part about our room was the huge terrace with the most amazing views (the pictures above and directly below were all taken from the terrace of our room)! We started off everyday with room service on our terrace, enjoying our cappuccinos and taking in the most gorgeous views (I mean, talk about FAIRYTALE!).
When it comes to driving in Positano, definitely do your research beforehand and be careful! Since Jonathan is an excellent driver, we rented a car and got around just fine. If you’re not so comfortable driving then I wouldn’t take the risk because the streets are very narrow and steep, so it’s definitely for more experienced drivers. We didn’t take the car everywhere though, we walked a lot, ordered taxis, and rented scooters. I highly, highly recommend renting a scooter! Not just for ease of getting around, but also because it was one of the most fun experiences. We only rented one and Jonathan rode it, I just hung on the back because I would be too nervous to ride by myself, but it was so thrilling! We rode along the entire Amalfi coast, stopped in Amalfi for cappuccinos, and went all the way up to Ravello, which I also highly recommend doing. The views were insane! Again, be cautious when riding scooters, there’s so many of them and you’ll see the locals riding them and passing cars left and right, so it’s a bit dangerous, but so worth it as long as you’re careful.
Now onto my favorite part; the beach. Spiaggia Beach in Positano is so beautiful! However, don’t expect sand because it’s filled with pebbles, but it has so much more to offer. From the endless rows of beautifully colored umbrellas and lounge chairs, to the amazing restaurants and cute boutiques that surround it, there’s nothing not to enjoy about it. There is a fee to sit on the beach lounge chairs (see the picture of the sign below), so just beware of that but it is totally worth it!
Positano is all about the views, and the best way to admire it is from the sea. Don’t leave Positano without getting on a boat! We did a private boat tour and it was hands down the most amazing experience of our lives. The tour included drinks, so we popped champagne, enjoyed the ride, had a bit of a history lesson from the local who was riding the boat, and even got to jump off the boat and do some swimming! Just trust me on this one, you won’t want to miss out on the views. There are plenty of excursion companies that do boat tours and you can get your tickets right on the beach. We used Grassi Junior and had the most amazing experience. I recommend booking through your hotel, that’s what we did for everything. Most hotels should do this for you, Hotel Poseidon did everything for us and they were great about it. They booked all of our dinner reservations (do not go anywhere without a reservation! it’s frowned upon and you most likely won’t get a table if you don’t have one), the taxis to take us to dinner, and the boat tour. We didn’t make it to Capri, which is just a boat ride away from Positano and known for its upscale hotels and shopping, which is something I really wanted to do, but since I know we’ll be back we saved it for next time! 🙂
We spent five days in Positano until we had to make our way back to Rome to catch our flight to Greece. On our way back to Rome we made a stop in Naples and stayed there one night. We mainly stayed for the pizza, which was insanely delicious, but otherwise I wouldn’t recommend stopping there. Unfortunately Naples can be a bit dangerous and there’s not much to see. We ate at the best pizza spot in Naples, Sorbillo, and although it was worth all the hype, just beware of the crazy wait times. They don’t take reservations so when you get there you have to put your name on a list and everyone stands outside waiting for their names to be called over a speaker from someone inside, and it’s really hard to understand. We missed our name being called and ended up waiting way longer than we should have (the one fail from our trip!).
Below is a list of all the restaurants and cafes we went to in Positano. I won’t take any credit for compiling this list, that was all Jonathan! I asked him to help me with this blog post so he put all the links together for me. And best husband award goes to….. 🙂
Casa Mele – Tasting menu was out of this world! Great experience and my personal favorite of them all. I’ve never eaten so much in my life and it was so worth it!
Il Ritrovo – Breathtaking views of Positano from this restaurant! Excellent service and delicious food. They gave us a spice mix in a bag before we left which I thought was such a cute touch. I haven’t used it yet to cook because I’m saving it for a special occassion 🙂
Ristorante Mediterraneo – Great atmosphere, even better seafood!
Collina Bakery – Perfect spot to grab a quick bite, good for pizza and wine.
Il Tridente – Good spot for lunch with beautiful views.
Elisir di Positano Café – Cute spot to grab an espresso and croissants.
Ristorante Covo Dei Saraceni – Great location, overlooks the beach and port & has very good food!
Capricci – Quick bites. Perfect to grab something to go and head right to the beach as it’s located near the beachfront.
Bar Savoia – Right in downtown Amalfi, great spot to grab a quick espresso! We stopped here during our scooter adventures on our way to Ravello.
Alexis says
Itching to go to Positano worse than ever now!! Love all these photos!!
admin says
It’s the most magical place ever! Thank you for reading 🙂