Here’s a summary of the Explora Cruise Stop in Naples, where we took a day trip to the Amalfi Coast!
Check out our Explora II Cruise post.
Explora Cruise Port: Naples!
When I decided to take a Mediterranean cruise for a trip to Europe, my goal was to see as many places as possible. I knew this meant being packed a lot into my daily life on the land. Perhaps our biggest day was a visit to Naples as we wanted to see the Amalfi Coast!
Wake up in Naples
This day involved a lot of driving and had a specific itinerary in mind, so I hired a driver and guide for the day. My sister’s company saw the Amalfi Coast of Carmine, which is listed as a vendor, so we booked him that day! He had been in business for 40 years and had a lot of knowledge about the area.
Our guide!
We took off in a lovely Mercedes van and headed towards the milky mountains. Eventually we were able to barely see the shore where our ship was docked! Driving in Italy is insane, the roads are narrow and curved. I don’t want to rent a car there!
Views of Naples:
We crossed the mountains and passed through the town of Rabello.
Amalfi
And we moved down the other side of the mountain to Amalfi.
Amalfi was exactly what I thought. It’s busy with tourists, charming, very quaint and historic.
I had to use the bathroom and wanted a snack so I got a lemon sorbet on a giant lemon! I loved it! (I cried out for trying to use the bathroom before ordering anything!)
Shopping in Amalfi was also amazing! Thomas bought some nice leather shoes.
From the water
We were on a group boat for our tour, so we were able to see the coast from the water. Because I loved this part.
I think the big hole was once a waterfall!
Cantine Ida Giordano Vineyard
After aboard the boat we asked about having lunch at some special place. Carmine took us up the winding mountain path to a beautiful hidden vineyard called Cantine Ida Giordano.
We sat down to enjoy a beautiful lunch and wine pairing.
Rose with appetizer
Everything was incredible, including the wine!! I loved the fresh mozzarella and faba beans. There were also two eggplant dishes.
Pasta course! There was no menu, but this was similar to freshly baked penne mac and cheese.
Before dessert, we were invited to the cellar and enjoyed the latest red wine!
Cheese course! My favourite!
And dessert – OMG! There was tiramisu, cheesecake, red velvet/milk chocolate cake.
300 year old grapes!
We had a lot of fun visiting and meeting the winemakers!
We were full of food and wine so we then returned to the boat to relax in the shower (unrolled!).
Thomas returns to explore Naples a bit, as he is an adventurous spirit. I was so tired and not even a bit hungry, so I returned to the pool! He loved hiking to the city. He got pizza and beer and brought me a slice!
He was also the last person to return to the boat! I saw the board from the hot tub!
That night we skipped our official dinner that night as we were so full of pizza snacks!)
Sunset while sailing
That night we went to see a Billy Joel themed show! It was amazing. A wonderful relaxing end to the day!
