Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The 'Walk of the Gods' was absolutely spectacular. The views were breathtaking. It was very hard work, more a hike than a walk, but well worth it.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Eduardo Palermo was brilliant. He was funny, always on time, changed our itinerary so we got the most out of each day/best of the weather and he also was very caring and understanding with the members of the group who had to go slower on the 'Walk of the Gods' and on Versuvius. He was very knowledgeable about the local area. He also went out of his way to arrange/advise members of the group who wanted to do things that were not part of the itinerary.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The 'Walk of the Gods' was a lot more difficult than we were expecting. There were sheer drops with no guard rails which scared some of the group who had a fear of heights . In some places we were climbing up on hands and knees. 4 of the group who had old injuries from broken bones/dislocations would not have done it if they had known how hard it was. It was well worth it but we were glad we only had October heat to deal with and not the height of summer!!

Suggestions

I had a fantastic time. We had a great group and we all wished we had 10 days rather than a week. It went so quick. The pizza making lesson was great fun and the staff were all so happy and friendly. It was like staying with family/friends rather than in a hotel. They are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world. I would love to go back one day. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Herculaneum, Villa Poppea, Naples with our enthusiastic and knowledgeable local guide, The Walk of the Gods in bright sunshine and the tasty fresh food at the Due Torri.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Outstandingly good he always made sure we got the most out of our visit without making us feel too "organised". 

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you want to see the best of this fascinating region and enjoy some real fresh Italian food this is the perfect holiday.

Most Inspirational Moment

The views of the coast, espcially the first lunch when we were at Ravello

Thoughts on Group Leader

Eduardo was excellent, and worked really hard to give us a good trip and make sure that everything ran smoothly.  Hotel staff were also excellent.  Food plentiful and good!! 

Advice for Potential Travellers

On the free day, do go and see Pompeii - it's a shame it isn't included in the main itinerary.  It's very busy there (unlike Herculaenum) but the whole group felt that it would be a shame to go to Amalfi and not see Pompeii.  If there's a queue for the brothel at Pompeii, it's really not worth the wait - it's a really small building. We all wished we'd spent the time seeing other parts of Pompeii instead of spending 30 mins of our 3 hours there standing in a queue.  Another excellent ruin to visit (not on the tourist trail, but it was the highlight of our trip) is Villa Poppaea, which is only 10 mins from Pompeii.  Our guide stopped there for us on the way back from Pompeii.  Villa Poppaea is very well preserved, amazing paintings and with an Olympic sized swimming pool! The Amalfi roads are incredible - narrow, precipes, hairpin bends and mad drivers!  Our coch drivers were excellent.   

Suggestions

Personally, I wouldn't have bothered with the Naples trip - it wasn't worth the long drive.  To me, it was just another scruffy Mediterranen city.  Also, the Walk of the Gods was a lot harder than I expected.  There's a lot of rock steps up and down, and quite a bit of scrambling, even along the cliff path.  The last 1500 steps down into Positano can be avoided by taking the bus (the bus ride itself was amazing!).  I'd recommend taking a walking pole for the Walk of the Gods.  

Most Inspirational Moment

The cookery demonstrations were also entertaining and a highlight for me. Our visit to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Oplontis were wonderful and gave a real feel of Roman Italy.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was Eduardo who had lots of patients and was very knowledgeable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

There are mosquitos so take creams, repellent etc. Things are more expensive than you think e.g. €3 for a can of soft drink so take more money than you had planned to avoid being caught short or having to hunt down an ATM. We went the second week in September and were lucky enough to be there during the festival of the Santa Maria which mean we were treated to the parade through the village with the statue of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, marching band and fireworks. It did also however mean we had to put up with the Fair ground in the vacant lot next to the hotel in the run up to the festival which blasted dance music until midnight every night, so ear plugs are essential if you want an early night.

Suggestions

Ok small negatives, the website says that “the hotel overlooks the Agerola plain” not from any of the rooms our group stayed in, we all had views of either the neighbouring buildings or the other part of the hotel. To get to the view of the Agerola plains it’s a short walk through the village which our guide took us on. If you like a savoury breakfasts your only options are buttered toast and a boiled egg. There are cereals, pastrys, fruit and various jams to choose from but if you dont have a sweet tooth your out of luck. You might want to pack some marmite. I felt the extra expenses section in the Trip notes needed a bit more detail for those of us wishing to plan/ budget properly. For example; If you are a teacher or an OAP you can get in free/ discounted to some of the sites so don’t forget your ID. The packed lunches we took on a number of days from the local bakery and added to our hotel bill were €5 each, for this you got a sandwich with your choice of filling and a small cake (which I don’t think was made at the bakery given its packaging). Going into the Crypt at the Amalfi Cathedral will cost you €3 each and is well worth it for the beautiful paintings in the Crypt alone never mind the small museum of church artefacts. You will need to cover up for the Cathedral and you can’t use flash photography. There is also the option of the paper mill museum which was also €3 each. In Revello going to the Villa Cimbrone will cost you €6 each and is also worth a look around and has some lovely views and gardens. For our guide at Mt Vesuvius we had to pay €10 each (We were a group of 16) I personally didn’t think this was worth it as she spent about 15 mins 20 at most with us and didn’t say anything I hadn’t already read in a guide book or heard from our guide. On our free day we all opted to go to Pompeii and then the Villa Poppea in Oplontis in the afternoon.The transfer was €25 each, our ticket into Pompeii was €8 each, the cost of the Pompeii guide was €11 each and the ticket for Oplontis was €5.50 each. Oplontis was very beautiful and is a world heritage site, it has some of the most well preserved wall paintings in Italy as it was more recently excavated (60’s), it well worth a visit. For our free time in Naples the optional activities were the National Museum of Archaeology, entrance is €8 each and an audio guide is €5 each or you can explore the tunnels under the city for €9.30 each. In the hotel a glass of wine at dinner is €2 unless you have more than one in which case its €5 so if you are having more than one glass it pays to have three. A glass of Prosecco is €4 each, but it is lovely. On your free night you can go and eat your evening meal outside the hotel, but there aren’t that many options to choose from and when the food was so amazing in the hotel you don’t want to go anywhere else. The food is also reasonable priced.

Most Inspirational Moment

It's hard to pick out one inspirational moment as everyday had its highlights. The walks were great - Walk of the Gods, Vesuvius and a lovely walk on Capri. I really enjoyed my visit to Naples - even though it doesn't have a great reputation! Ravello is beautiful and of course, Herculaneum and Pompeii are so interesting

Thoughts on Group Leader

Barbara was a fantastic leader. Extremely knowledgable and professional but also very friendly and fun. An ideal leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Nothing in particular. I was worried about the heat in August but it was managable. The hotel is in the hills where it was fresher and I had no problem sleeping.

Suggestions

I have no hesitation in recommending this trip. It was a really great week packed with wonderful experiences and memories.

Most Inspirational Moment

Probably the Walk of the Gods because of the bright Mediterranean colours and the dramatic landscape and seascape.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Quite execellent.Well organised.Friendly and approachable.Equal treatment to everyone, time for evereyone, had no favourites.Very knowledgable and informed about the local area.Able to communicate effectively with local partners of Exodus

Advice for Potential Travellers

You need to update the travel notes to reflect the fact that a small pool is now available at the hotel at a modest cost.

Suggestions

The day in Amalfi and Ravello might deserve some review. I felt that more time in Amalfi and less in Ravello would have been beneficial.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Walk of the Gods was undoubtably the highlight, the scenery fro so high up was amazing. Another highlight was an ice cream followed by swimming in the sea at the end of the walk in Positano.Taking the funicular, bus and chair lift to the top of Capri was another superb trip as the view from there is 360 degrees.

Thoughts on Group Leader

My group leader, Morten was a real gentleman and looked after us all amzingly well. He walked with me when I found the heat going up Vesuvius a bit much. I made it to the top and onto the rim which gave me a real feeling of satisfaction.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for the heat and take plenty of sunscreen. Remember to drink lots of water.

Suggestions

Overall, a brilliant holiday. Went past far too quickly. The company on the trip was excellent and I will probably keep in touch with a few people.

Most Inspirational Moment

The most stimulating part of our trip was the visit of Herculenium and second the Walk of the Gods - Capri is nice but very touristy!  

Thoughts on Group Leader

Morten was brilliant, very thoughful as every other Exodus guides we have come across.  He was very informative, passionate about Italian life and very knowledgeable. He made a big difference to our holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a rather easy holiday - you may be tempted by the walking holiday on the Amalfi coast but this is a very good alternative and you will also get plenty of walking opportunities in fact (and see more of the interesting sites!) .

Suggestions

I did look at arranging the trip myself - it would have been cheaper no doubt.  However one has to take into account that this is Italy and driving around the Amalfi coast one has to be a dare-devil - drivers there can be nuts! The company / group we were with was friendly and if you get tired of your companion after a few days then you have some-one else to talk to! So all in all it is a bit more expensive but very enjoyable.

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting all the way up to the top of Ana-Capri and looking over the whole of the Amalfi Coast and the Bay of Napls in all her spectacular glory.

Thoughts on Group Leader

One word can only be used to described Christine, and that word is FAB. She was great, even when she was unfortunately unwell during the week she just got on with the task at hand, ans that was making sure we was all enjoying ourselves.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be advised you will climb up and down a lot  of steps, and by a lot I mean A LOT. So if you suffer with any knee complaints, then you may want to reconsider taking this trip. Also the month we went in (June) was very hot, so make sure you take plenty of water

Suggestions

Be sure to take a boat trip to Capri, it is trully marvelous, and just watch yourself if you have to get on  public bus. The concept of queueing is an anomolly in Italy.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Walk of the Gods was a definite highlight, we had excellent weather and the scenery along the way was beautiful. The Roman sites of Heculaneum and Pompeii were both fascinating and humbling, and with Vesuvius looming in the background all the while it makes the disasters in these towns seem very real. It was all brought to life for us by our excellent guide Fabrizzio. For a taste of how the other half live, you can't beat Capri, truly fabulous and the chair lift ride to the top of Mt Solaro was one of the most peaceful and relaxing parts of the trip.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Far more energetic than most of the guests, and at times I think he forgot that we were all on holiday! But cannot fault his enthusiasm or helpfulness, and he stayed with us all week and organised us all well. The only disappointment was that in his suggesting to switch the itinerary around (to give us better weather for the walk), we ended up in Naples on the one day of the week (Tuesday for future reference!) the Archeological museum was closed which was disappointing. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

It really was much cooler in the mountains (where the hotel is) than on the coast, so pack something warm for the evenings if you are going early (or late) in the season. Shopping time is limited, so grab those souvenirs when you can. Some of the rooms in the main hotel building can be a little noisy so take earplugs. The roads are interesting - lots of switchbacks and sharp bends, and very close to the edge, so if you suffer from motion sickness or vertigo, make sure you take some travel sickness tablets with you. Mostly though, it was good fun! 

Suggestions

The food in the hotel is lovely and plentiful, and they have a great wine pricing policy! On one evening you get to go into the kitchen to watch dinner being made, try out the local cheese, have some Prosecco, and on pizza night one of the group gets to have a go! The week we stayed, the hotel had just finished building a swimming pool in the grounds so if you are there over the summer, take your costume!