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A trip report from Cilento National Park, part 2BeachesSanta Maria di Castellabate won points for its adorable "city" beach surrounded by old stone buildings. Its sandy beach and protected waters provided comfortable paddling and swimming. We spent a few hours at another protected "city" beach in Agnone where we also sampled a local café's caffé freddo and granita al limone. Acciaroli's sandy beach is located right in the town center and is great for people watching. The sandy beach at Ogliastro Marina was pretty nice with almost California-size waves and there was also a more protected cove with a tiny strip of pebble beach. The beach in the center of Paestum was sandy with calm waters. The beaches north of Paestum behind the pine forests were less populated. Other nice beaches were to the north of Palinuro and south of Palinuro at the Baia del Buondormire, which we accessed by boat on our Cilento Explorer outing. ExcursionsCilento Explorer Boat Excursions (0974 900050)After a long drive on the windy roads towards Palinuro, we decided to spare the driver and spend a day on a boat outing. The boat leaves at 9 am from Acciaroli and makes a stop at Casal Velino Marina. From there, the boat goes to Palinuro for a visit of the Grotta Azzurra and then to an isolated beach south of Palinuro on the Baia del Buondormire. This excursion is for people who don't mind 5 hours on a boat in exchange for 2 hours of swimming. That said, we really enjoyed our day on the boat, soaking up the sun and the scenery, and swimming at a beautiful beach. We were also treated to our own boat passeggiata. A multi-generational group of "typical Neopolitans", according to one Italian woman, was on the boat with us and we literally spent hours being entertained by their boisterous singing and interactions. This excursion costs approximately 25 euro per person. PaestumDefinitely worth a visit or two. We went in the late afternoon, but guided evening visits of the site with musical accompaniment are also offered for a significantly higher fee. Although I'm sure you do not have the same freedom to roam the site as you can enjoy during the day, it is probably an unforgettable experience. Paestum is a 30-minute drive from the Villa. Take the SS18 from Agropoli Sud and exit at the first Paestum exit. This takes you right to the ruins. The first time, we took the coastal road from Agropoli and got lost. Museum note: At Paestum and Pompeii, and most likely other museums as well, senior citizens from Europe enter free. Vietri sul MareThis village, known for its pottery, is at the beginning of the Amalfi Coast drive. We made an afternoon pottery run to Vietri sul Mare and were not disappointed. The shops are decorated with ceramic tiles and the ceramics are less expensive than their Florentine counterparts, although the quality of the glazing and the workmanship are not the same. We found some very nice pieces in Vietri for a much more reasonable price than similar items we later looked at further on the Amalfi Coast. Overnight to the Amalfi CoastSince we are late risers, we decided to spend the night on the Amalfi Coast. We drove as far west as Positano and then turned around and spent the night at Ravello. Ravello is a magical place, especially in the evening. We had an unforgettable midnight walk through the village, up and down stairs and through tunnels. We spent the night at the Garden Albergo, Via Boccaccio 4, 089 857226. We also had dinner there. Do not miss the sorbet-filled fruit dessert. The chestnut, walnut, plum, apricot and kiwi gems were incredible. We regretted missing the evening concert in the Rufolo gardens. The village of Amalfi with its spectacular cathedral was also a hit. The downstairs chapel in the cathedral is easily overlooked, but worth exploring. PompeiiI regret to say that in spite of all advice to the contrary, we left Pompei to the last day on our way back north to the Naples airport. We had two hours during the hottest part of the day in which to explore the site. Make this a trip on its own in order to fully appreciate Pompei. We definitely have to come back. RestaurantsBarbanera (Agropoli) Piazza Umberto I, Centro Storico 0974 823164The restaurant is located on the hilltop of the historical center, past the old stone gate at the top of the stairs. It is the second restaurant on the right after the church. There is a reservation system of sorts. Give your name to the person in charge and come back at the appointed time. We ate here twice. The food is simple and excellent. We especially enjoyed the frittura di alici and other fried fish dishes. The grand total for three adults and a child, including wine and waters, was 40 euro. A steal. Boccacino (Acciaroli) on the port side of the town.Slightly more expensive than Barbanera (50 euro for four at lunch), but also very good fish. Taverna del Pescatore (Santa Maria di Castellabate).More formal atmosphere than the above restaurants and a touch more expensive, but very good. Il Calesse (Castellabate) Via G. Murat, 0974 967254.We went here our last day of vacation, based on the recommendation of a previous Villa Trotta family. I wish we had followed their advice earlier because it was probably the best food of the vacation and the outdoor seating in a cool and shady setting overlooking the sea was quite charming. Overall...There were a couple of differences we found between our experiences in Northern Italy and in the Cilento area. We had planned to stop at one of the large supermarkets we knew from Tuscany on our way down from Naples to stock up on supplies, but they do not seem to exist in this area. However, we had no problem getting supplies in Perdifumo Saturday evening after we arrived. We had expected to be able to stay in touch via e-mail with people from home, but we never did see an Internet café. In fact, when we questioned a young woman in Acciaroli, her reply was, "What's an Internet café?". This did not pose any real problems for us, but you should know that Internet access is not readily available in the Cilento region [2005 update: most coastal villages in Cilento by now have an Internet point]. We did, however, find internet cafés on the Amalfi Coast. My husband and I were content to be without phone service during the vacation and the Summer In Italy staff assured us that if anyone from home needed to contact us urgently they would get the message to us. However, my mother-in-law felt uncomfortable not being able to call for help, if needed. Next time we would probably rent a cell phone using the information posted on the Summer in Italy web site. For city folk uneasy about country "isolation", the village is a 20-minute saunter from the Villa, there are neighbors about 1/4 mile down the road, and the Agropoli hospital is a 15-minute drive from the Villa. As you can see, we had a wonderful experience at Villa Trotta exploring a new corner of Italy and enjoying a much deeper level of contact with Italians than we've had on previous trips to other areas of Italy. Two weeks was just enough time to scratch the surface and whet our curiosity for our next stay.
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Acciaroli Nearby sights
Villa Gioconda
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