Trails of Capri & the Amalfi Coast

Day 1 - Fly to Naples airport. Group transfer to Bomerano.

You will be met on arrival at Naples airport by your guide for the transfer to Bomerano. Please note that there will be a single group transfer to your hotel. This is timed to fit the group flight, please check with us for further information.

Bomerano is one of three sleepy villages which merge together on the Agerola plain above the Amalfi coast, and it makes the perfect base for exploring the spectacular coastline right from the front door of the hotel. You will stay in a friendly, centrally located, family run hotel for the next five nights.

Overnight: Hotel Rabbit Or Similar, Bomerano

Day 2 - Walk to Amalfi through the Valle Delle Ferriere - 900m ascent/descent, 6 hours.

A 10 minute bus ride around the Agerola plain will take you to the start point for today's walk, which is probably the most demanding of the holiday. You climb steadily for around 40 minutes through small farmsteads, on wide agricultural tracks, with good views back over Agerola. Toward the top of the pass you will see timber works where the support stakes are being produced for the region's many lemon trees and vines.

The initial descent from the pass is steep but you then contour around the valley on a narrow wooded track. This section of the route is rarely trekked; it can be slightly overgrown but is wonderfully tranquil. Listen out for the bells of grazing goats, and more importantly for the approach of mules laden with wood en-route to the timber works, and be sure to give them plenty of space to pass. The route is lined with orchids and wood roses; green salamanders scuttle away as you approach.

After a cleft in the rock, views of the valley open out ahead and you get a better sense of where you're heading. The mostly shady path takes you past a series of waterfalls, one of which makes for a perfect picnic spot, complete with pools to cool your feet in.

Continuing to contour round the hillside, you finally round a bend and the first tantalising glimpse of Amalfi set amidst cascading lemon tree terraces, appears beneath. The glorious vista remains with you as you descend through the lemon groves into the bustle of Amalfi proper. There will be time for a look round the pretty little town, or to enjoy a quick dip and an ice-cream before the group transfer back up to Bomerano.

Overnight: Hotel Rabbit Or Similar, Bomerano

Day 3 - Walk the 'Path of the Gods' and descend to Positano - 700m descent, 4 hours.

Today's walk starts in front of the hotel heading out through the outskirts of the village. You cross over a small footbridge and then round a corner for the first of many spectacular views down over impossibly steeply terraced vineyards to the brilliant turquoise sea far below.

The vista just gets better and better as you head toward Positano, with a prospect, on a clear day, right along the Sorrentine peninsula to Capri. Wild geranium, purple orchids, pink and white rock roses, rosemary and other fragrant plants line the way. Occasionally the path pops briefly into welcome shade but mostly the walking is in the open, with steep drops down to the left. The trail is mostly good but there are a few rocky sections, and there is a handrail in places.

Allowing plenty of time along the way to savour the glorious views, you should arrive into the small hamlet of Nocelle after two and a half hours. It is worth descending to the Piazza Santa Croce where there is usually a small juice stall selling delicious freshly squeezed lemon and orange juice. Rest a while in the shade in front of the church and enjoy looking down over pretty Positano.

Now you're refreshed it is time to tackle the knee-crunching steps down into town - and there are well over 1,500 of them! However, the views, both above and below, more than compensate. Alternatively if your knees aren't quite up to the steep descent, then there is an hourly bus you can take from Nocelle to Positano instead.

Once down in pastel-washed Positano the afternoon is yours at spend at leisure. If you're after a swim we recommend heading up steps at the right hand side of the main beach, and walking over to the quieter Spiaggia del Fornillo - the first beach is a perfect little cove but has no lifeguard, the second is larger but still pleasanter than the main Positano beach. The water is crystal clear, but do keep an eye out for jellyfish in the summer months.

At the end of the afternoon you will take the ferry back to Amalfi, retracing your walk along the coast, to meet your transport back up to Bomerano.

Please note that your guide will endeavour to choose the day with the best weather to walk the Path of the Gods.

Overnight: Hotel Rabbit Or Similar, Bomerano

Day 4 - Transfer to Vesuvius to summit the crater, 1,281m/4,202ft - 200m ascent/descent. Drive to Pompeii and explore on foot.

An early morning departure by mini-bus will take you across the fertile Campania plain before winding up the side of Vesuvius. The walk to the top of the crater takes around 20 to 30 minutes from the parking area, on a broad dusty path with a steady gradient, and from the top you can see down into the 230m deep crater on one side, and miles out across the Bay of Naples on the other. There is little evidence to show that Vesuvius is the only active volcano on mainland Europe, other than the odd small plume of smoke wafting from a vent.

Vesuvius dominates both the landscape of the region and the lives of those who live in its shadow. The first known eruption was back in 79AD when it buried Pompeii, but there have been over a hundred eruptions since, with roughly one every 30 years since a big eruption in 1631. Vesuvius has been ominously quiet since 1944, and most experts consider that her next eruption is well overdue. Don't panic though - activity on Vesuvius and in the surrounding area is carefully monitored!

Leaving Vesuvius behind you drive to the town it famously buried in 79AD - Pompeii. There are excellent complimentary maps and mini-guides available in the ticket area, and you may also like to hire an audio guide for €5. After lunch - the Tempio Dorico makes a great picnic spot with plenty of shade - your guide will give you your bearings, and recommend the must-see-sights, but Pompei is best explored at your own pace. Be aware that the complex covers a huge area, so plan a route and allow plenty of time to reach the excavations in the far corners. It is definitely worth the walk to the easterly boundary to see the amphitheatre and Palestra Grande (athletics fields). The buildings here have an attractive setting, and relatively few visitors, making it a delightful contrast to the busy area around the Forum.

Navigating around Pompeii can be a challenge as there are always streets closed for excavation and restoration, and in addition to the key excavation numbers, there is also a secondary numbering system, and streets signs are shown in Roman numerals!

Overnight: Hotel Rabbit Or Similar, Bomerano

Day 5 - Circular Tre Calli walk from Bomerano - 600m ascent/descent, 4-5 hours.

Walking from the door of the hotel, you head out of the village and then climb sections of stepped path, cutting between zig-zags on a deserted road. After around forty minutes you leave the road behind and ascend steeply on a small path for around an hour up to a promontory, with the Agerola plain spread beneath you on one side and dazzling airy views right down the Sorrentine Peninsula on the other. After pausing for breath you continue on Monte Tre Calli, traversing the flanks of Monte Catiello, 1,326m/4,350ft, before continuing around the ridge above Agerola on a somewhat overgrown path through scrub and holm oak woodland. Eventually you emerge from the trees, and at the high point of around 1,200m/3,937ft will be rewarded with views right across the Campania plain to Vesuvius, and to the Bay of Naples beyond. From here it is a steady descent back into Bomerano, passing mountains of stacked wood, spectacular vegetable beds and, in season, heavily laden cherry trees. If it is open you may like to pause at the small limoncello co-operative store - L'Alambicco - on the way back into town. This locally produced lemon liqueur is delicious and very good value.

Overnight: Hotel Rabbit Or Similar, Bomerano

Day 6 - Take the ferry to Capri. Walking tour of the island - 150m ascent/descent, 4-5 hours.

After breakfast today, you will be transferred to Amalfi to catch the ferry to Capri. The ferry from Amalfi calls first at Positano, before heading down the Sorrentine Peninsula and out to Capri; the morning views from the right hand side of the top deck are magical.

You arrive into the hustle and bustle of busy Marina Grande, where fishing boats bob in the glittering harbour in front of a cluster of colourful houses and cafes. Leaving the touristy port behind, you head upwards through cool white-washed alleyways - be sure to look back as you climb for bougainvillea framed picture-postcard views to the sea.

Capri is only 6km long and 2.8km at its widest stretch, but is unbelievably picturesque - the impressive natural features, turquoise coves, soaring limestone cliffs, sea stacks and fragrant vegetation provide a brilliant backdrop to the luxuriant gardens, charming houses and roman ruins.

Your walking tour will explore the eastern end of this glamorous island, on tiny car-free paved lanes and footpaths, passing briefly through the elegant, boutique lined streets of Capri town and then out past beautiful wisteria and vine-trellised villas to take in the highlights - natural and historic - which many visitors fail to find.

In the late afternoon you will return to Marina Grande and take the ferry to Amalfi and transfer back to your hotel in Bomerano.

Overnight: Hotel Rabbit Or Similar, Bomerano

Day 7 - Group transfer to Naples airport. Fly to London.

After breakfast there will be a single group transfer from the hotel to Naples airport to fit with the group flight time.