Hilltops of Ravello, Italy

I hope you enjoyed part one of my Amalfi Coast Guide! While staying in Praiano, we took a day trip to Ravello. At first, we were doing researching to stay a few nights on the hilltop town, but we ultimately decided to just go with a day trip. I was very content with this decision, as Ravello is quite small and I felt like I had seen it all within a day. That said – the vibe is so romantic, quiet, and relaxing, that I could definitely see why so many people honeymoon here..a girl can dream 😉

A funny little background story. We were supposed to go to Ravello our second to last day of staying in Praiano. Our Airbnb host originally offered us her guest rental car, the cutest little red Fiat you ever did see. After arriving, we quickly agreed on cancelling the plan on driving ourselves. I’ve said it 50 times, but the roads and drivers are no joke on the coast. I was planning with our host the day before, and somehow our words were confused over text. I thought our host agreed to have her sweet sister drive us in the Fiat to Ravello (how cool would that be?!) but, morning of our adventure day, her sister shows up and hands us the keys! We both just looked at each other and cracked up. Ahhhh, Americans in Italy. Needless to say, with a whole lot of hand motions, we rescheduled to the following day and hired a real driver (the same driver we had from the airport.)

We arrived in Ravello in 45 minutes flat! After arriving at the entrance of the town square, we walked around a bit to get a grip on our surroundings. After a little while, our car sickness (a daily thing here!) wore off and we were ready for breakfast. We grabbed a cappuccino at the little bakery right on the square, along with two Sfogliatella’s, a sweet Italian pastry filled with ricotta, which we finished in .5 minutes flat. After discovering these, we couldn’t stop ordering them everywhere we went! So yummy. I loved starting our morning slowly and sweetly, sipping our hot drinks and people watching..

Following our snack, we headed over to the gardens and enjoyed taking our time walking through them, having little photo ops along the way.

You can’t go to Ravello without buying some pottery to take home with you. We met a family the day before that recommended we go to the actual factory store where all of Ravello’s pottery is made. Here you’ll find both high-end pieces, and small trinkets, but all fantastic quality and locally made. We bought a few coffee mugs – the “American” sized ones as the sales woman called them, and an adorable cheese knife, perfect for entertaining. Everyone knows I love a good cheese board!

We enjoyed aimlessly walking through the little alleys adorned with shops and wine stores, then went to grab a drink at The Belmond Hotel, a luxury 5-star oasis. This came highly recommended, and it was fun to see, but not a must stop on my list.

We then stumbled upon the cutest courtyard filled with beautiful greenery. After peaking our heads in, we realized it was a small little hotel with a restaurant, Ristorante Raffaele that had the most INSANE views. We promptly decided this was our lunch spot and ordered the best pesto pasta and (another) aperol spritz!

Then ended the day with gelato and a nap in the car back to Praiano.