Grazie mille, Italia!
The highly anticipated Italy review! I’ve sent our itinerary to quite a few people who reached out, but this will be more detailed. I’ll be breaking down the trip by region (we started in Milan, moved on to Tuscany, and ended on the Amalfi Coast). This trip was just my husband and I, but we can’t wait to take the kids. We’re going to wait until they’re at least 9 years old or so, to really enjoy the fairy-tale like country for what it is.
As always, please reach out with any questions or if I can help with planning. Next up, I’ll be finishing up our WDW recaps before our next adventures.
The Planning Process
Before I kick this off, we started planning in January 2023, for a trip we took in early July. I felt that many hotels still had availability, but prices hadn’t creeped up to spring/summer levels yet. I used TikTok, Instagram, Reddit Italy forums, recommendations from friends with similar travel styles, and Kimberly Holcombe of Kimberly’s Italy for planning advice and tips.
Shoutout to Kimberly and her podcast (Kimberly’s Italy). It really got us excited about Italy. She also offers trip planning catered to your interests. Kimberly was a fashion photographer that lived in Milan for years in the 90s and has so many connections throughout the country. She helped us arrange for a private boat day on the Amalfi Coast and gave us so many recommendations on things to do…even made us reservations (BONUS, she speaks Italian fluently).
Days 1-2: Milan
Milan was a wonderful whirlwind. We spent a little less than 24 hours in the City of Fashion, mostly because it’s where we were able to get the best direct flight into from EWR.
Our flight landed 9AM Milan time and we were out of the airport (MXP) pretty quickly. We took an Uber to our hotel, the Vico Milano. The Uber ride was pretty long (plan for at least an hour into the center of the city). There’s also a train that I heard was pretty simple to take into Milan.
Vico Milano is a swanky boutique hotel in the heart of it all. We were able to walk to so many cute clothing stores and the Duomo and Galleria. The design of the hotel was a dream, think dark mahogany furniture, hunter green, maroon, and navy blue plush couches and chairs, marble walls…modern Art Deco? Our downstairs powder room reno is kicking off soon and we’ll definitely be using Vico Milano as inspiration! Most rooms are two floors, with bedrooms with skylights upstairs. We were greeted with cappuccinos and fresh watermelon and assorted berries. The staff was so kind and helpful, and I appreciated how truly authentic the beginning of our Italian experience was.
Although we got a welcome cappuccino at the hotel, there’s a cute café right next door that we stopped at and got more cappuccinos and a warm pastry filled with ham (mouth still watering). That day in Milan was rainy! We didn’t let it stop us though.
We walked to the Galleria and the Duomo after our pastries. Built in the 1860s, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is one of the world’s oldest malls. The architecture is beautiful, and there are so many high end stores to browse. Fair warning, it gets crowded! We were going to stop over for a drink at Camparino (so many people suggested we go), but decided against fighting the crowds and ended up at a random small bar on the other side of the Galleria. I can’t remember the name, but there are so many options. That’s the best part about having no real agenda!
After some shopping, we met our guide for a tour of the Duomo. Do not miss this one if you’re in Milan. The cathedral is breathtaking and the tour was only an hour. We did some more wandering and headed back to the hotel for relaxation and to get ready for aperitivo and dinner.
Aperitivo hour(s) at the Vico Milano was so much fun. I wish we stayed another night to get to spend more time at there. We had fruit, nuts, and bruschetta with fresh cocktails and chatted with other guests and the staff. We had reservations for aperitivo at the Bvlgari Hotel garden (we will need to do this next time around), but decided to cancel given the garden was closed because of the rain.
We topped off our first night in Italy at Ristorante da Giordano il Bolognese at the suggestion of the hotel staff and wow were we glad we took them up on it. It’s not super fancy or expensive, but the food was excellent. It was chillier that night because of how much it rained earlier in the day, but we sat outside watching people sitting under twinkle lights across the street. I highly suggest going here and trying the Milanese risotto and steak. We still talk about the tortellini in broth and minestrone soup. TIP: keep your belongings close if sitting outside. A woman at the table next to ours noticed her purse was missing and no one noticed anyone pick it up. This happens often, and not just in Milan (or Italy for that matter), so stay smart.
We called it a night at 9:30 because jet lag!
Is 1 day enough in Milan? No, and I wish we stayed another day. We’ll definitely be back, and maybe tack on Lake Como afterwards. It’s only a hour train ride to Lake Como from Milan.
Days 2 to 4: Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany
My favorite part of the trip, hands down. There was a little change in plans that I’ll mention below, but the added stop was a bonus.
We woke up on Day 2 and took a cab to the Hertz at the Milano train station. We rented a cheap automatic car but were mistakenly given an electric. I feel stupid for not realizing that European electric vehicles are probably not the best choice for driving long distances!
We drove the car from Milan to Parma (about 2 hours drive). The countryside is so beautiful! In Parma we took a food walking tour with a local college student studying gastronomy. Serena, our guide, was knowledgeable and fun, and took us to spots to try different prosciutto made in Parma (compared 12, 18, 24 month aging processes), the famous Modena balsamic (WOW), pastries, cappuccino, gelato, pasta, and parmesan cheese, of course. We learned so much and were super full after the tour. This is a must-do if you’re in Parma. I would easily put this in our top 3 experiences while in Italy.
After the tour we wandered Parma a bit more. We plan to stay for at least a night next go round.
Next stop on our Tuscan tour was supposed to be our hotel outside of Siena (about 3.5 hour drive), where we were going to stay 3 nights. But the car needed to be charged and would only be able to get us to Florence before we’d need to recharge. No worries, we pivoted. I hopped onto Booking.com and found the Torre a Cona Wine Estate outside of Florence. So glad this happened to us. We enjoyed a tasty romantic dinner at their onsite restaurant, Osteria di Torre a Cona, and ended with a night cap in their common room. The hotel sits atop a high hill surrounded by Chianti vineyards and olive groves and is a restored 18th-century Tuscan farmhouse. You feel like you’re wandering among the clouds when you’re walking the grounds. Breakfast was included (best breakfast we had in Italy), and tables are set up outside in their garden. We only stayed the night because we wanted to get to our next hotel, but my husband said Torre a Cona needs to be on our list for when we go back as a family.
We drove another hour and finally arrived at Hotel Le Fontanelle in the Chianti region. This place somehow does luxurious and rustic right? They were successfully able to mix vintage Italian cars, top notch restaurants, gorgeous views, grass tennis courts and pools overlooking the vineyards with maintaining the property’s pastoral charm. Similar to Torree a Cona, the hotel is an ancient farmhouse, but this one dates back to the thirteenth century. The name, Le Fontanelle, comes from the is stone that was used to collect water for the property and many of the fountains remain working today.
Our time at Hotel Le Fontanelle was spent at the property. We didn’t venture to Siena or Orvieto as we originally planned because we were enjoying the hotel so much. We ate onsite (we ate at the onsite Osteria twice and they were hands down the best meals we had in Italy). We also rented bikes and took them for a wine tasting at the hotel’s winery. Needless to say, we got a case shipped home. I was never hungover in Italy because of the lack of sulfites in their organic wine.
What would I do differently? Well, not renting an electric car, for one. I would have tacked on another day or two in Tuscany so we could have visited Orvieto and/or Siena. But other than that, nothing. Tuscany was a gem.
Days 4 to 9: Amalfi Coast
We checked out of the Hotel Le Fontanelle and drove the car an hour away to the center of Florence to drop off the car at the Hertz near the Florence train station. An easy walk to the station and a quick cappuccino later and we were on the 3-hour train ride to Naples. We booked our train tickets ahead of time just in case because we were traveling during a busy time.
In Naples we were picked up by the wonderful Pasquale, who Kimberly arranged to take us to Praiano. We love Pasquale! Send me a note if you want his contact info. He told us stories about Mount Vesuvius, his family and life in and around Naples, and famous people he’s driven. I wouldn’t suggest driving on the Amalfi Coast. It’s windy and one line on either side…along cliffs. There are buses but they aren’t super reliable.
We decided to stay in Praiano instead of Amalfi or Positano because we didn’t want to be in touristy parts of the Amalfi Coast. Praiano sits 15 min from Positano and is a lot quieter. We stayed at the wonderful Hotel Onde Verde. I must start with, the daily breakfast here was so good! We spent at least 45 min to an hour every morning enjoying our breakfast on the patio overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. Oh, by the way, the water is so salty that you just float without any effort. Amazing.
Must-Dos
A boat tour. A private boat tour is a must if you can swing it. Kimberly helped us arrange for a full day private boat tour of the Amalfi Coast via Amalfi Sea Service. Cosimo, our captain, is Amalfi born and raised, and still lives there. He pointed out his house while we were on the tour. We swam in caves, had lunch at a spot he suggested that is only accessible via boat (see below for name), admired yachts, and jumped off cliffs. This was easily our best day in Italy.
Take a water taxi to dinner in another village along the coast. Water taxis are the preferred method of transport because you can avoid traffic on the windy roads. They’re pricey, $50 one way, but so much fun.
A beach club. We were going to go to Arienzo Beach Club in Positano but plans changed last minute. We enjoyed the beach club at Il Pirata instead, conveniently located at the bottom of the cliff that the Hotel Onde Verde sits upon. You rent a couple of chairs and an umbrella set up on the cliff and spend your day lunching, drinking cocktails, reading, and jumping off the cliffs and wading in the warm sea.
The Path of the Gods. This hike was hard. We started at the hotel, you just walk across the street and go up the many, many stairs to get to the top. We then hiked down around Positano and ended up at Da Adolfo for a well-earned lunch of fresh clam spaghetti. We’re in pretty good shape and the hike took us around 3.5 hours. We stopped quite a bit to take photos. It’s not for the faint of heart, but worth it for the sweeping views of the sea and coastline. There is a cute fresh smoothie stand halfway through but they only take cash! The hike from Praiano to Positano is 3.7 miles, but more than half of that is uphill, via many, many stairs. Downhill was worse on the knees though.
Pottery shopping in Praiano. Praiano is known for ceramics. We had a bunch of stuff shipped home, including hand painted pasta bowls and cappuccino cups and saucers. Having dinner on our pasta plates is such a fun way to remember our trip. We went to La Bacheca in Praiano but there are a ton of spots to stop into.
Meet the lovely locals. What we loved most about Praiano was that it wasn’t super touristy. We stopped by Positano and Amalfi for a few hours and didn’t enjoy either. Felt like Italy in Epcot. So many people and restaurants catering to tourists. Praino was quaint, quiet, and the people were so lovely. Shoutout to Angela at the little market down the road from Hotel Onde Verde. We stopped there multiple times during our trip and picked up cheese, olives, crackers, and wine for our own balcony aperitivo hour.
Places to Eat (in no particular order)
Ristorante Franchino-at the Hotel Onde Verde, this is where we had our first night’s meal. The spaghetti and clams was so fresh because the dish features two Amalfi Coast staples, seafood and lemons. I had the first of many limoncello spritzes here. IYKYK.
Da Adolfo-we went for lunch. Make reservations, it’s very popular. We had cold Peronis and bread to start and then moved onto the famous mozzarella grilled on lemon leaves. I often wish I could teleport back (or replicate the dish). We finished with the spaghetti and clams, of course. The service here was great—the whole place is a VIBE. Adolfo’s son, Sergio, runs the place now and is so much fun.
Kasai-a Praiano staple. Make reservations! Guests are greeted with champagne and we were seated on the street and people watched locals and tourists. The eggplant here was the standout dish.
Il Pirata-I mentioned we rented chairs here, but we also had lunch at the onsite restaurant. Be sure to order the calamari!
Costa Diva-we were sat outside with a view of the water and the tables are set under lemon trees. Large lemons hang above your head as you enjoy fresh seafood and a warm sea breeze. We watched the sunset over dinner here.
Ristorante Da Teresa-only accessible via boat. This is where Cosimo took us to on our private boat tour day. The carbonara was the best I ever had and Justin’s lobster spaghetti was caught that very morning. Amazing spot. Family owned and Nonna was managing it all.
Che Bonta-we decided to lay low our last night and ordered pizza and caprese salad to enjoy on our balcony. The pizza was okay (nothing memorable), we’re still kicking ourselves for not trying pizza in Naples, but there’s always next time. There is something to say about relaxing with a slice of pizza while watching the sunset on a balcony though…
What would I do differently? The amount of time we were there was just enough, IMO. I don’t think I would do anything differently beyond maybe stopping for pizza in Naples. It was a perfect 4 days.
