I’ve always been a big fan of Italy
– having spent a couple of brilliant holidays in the Lake Garda
area – so when it came to choosing a destination for my honeymoon
in 2011, Italy was of course top of the list; but where to stay?
One place I’d always heard good things
about was Sorrento, with its nickname of the ‘Italian Riviera’, access
to some brilliant tourist attractions (such as the Amalfi coast, Mount
Vesuvius, Pompeii and Herculaneum) and an average high temperature of
around 29°c in July (I was getting married on July 2nd),
it sounded like the perfect honeymoon destination, so I quickly found
an adults only, all-inclusive hotel, sorted out my travel insurance and booked a two week stay.
What awaited us was definitely the
perfect honeymoon destination (in fact there were 2 other honeymoon
couples on our flight going to the same hotel). The hotel itself was
the Grand Nastro Azzurro which I booked through the Thomson couples
only selection of hotels.
Nestled high in the hills over Sorrento,
and with stunning views of the bay of Sorrento, bay of Naples and Mount
Vesuvius, the hotel had plenty of grounds – and even some little private
booths set underneath the trees in the garden with a few hot tubs dotted
around – tasty, freshly cooked food and friendly staff.
I’d happily recommend the hotel and
Sorrento itself to anyone thinking about making Italy the destination
for their honeymoon, as it really was one of the nicest holidays I’ve
had!
Whilst we were there, we went on plenty
of day trips and took part in lots of activities at the hotel (I even
had a go at yoga – no mean feat for someone of 6 foot 4 with no co-ordination)
But what is there to see and do during your stay? Here’s what we did:
Mount Vesuvius
There is so much to see in do in the
Sorrento area, but one must is taking a trip to the famous Mount Vesuvius.
It takes a while to get out of Sorrento thanks to the narrow streets
and busy traffic – you’ll see plenty of either brave or mad Italians
(you decide) on their scooters too – but once you’re on the motorway
it’s much quicker going.
Mount Vesuvius dominates the skyline
and it’s easy to see why it caused so much destruction when it erupted
in 79AD. Once your coach arrives at the car park you’ll need to take
a 20-30 minute walk – the time depending on how healthy you are –
to the summit where you’ll be rewarded with stunning views over Naples
and Sorrento and – if you’re lucky – catch sight of a tiny plume
of smoke (don’t worry the volcano’s in a resting phase at the moment).
Herculaneum
Everyone’s heard of Pompeii, but unknown
to many people, there’s also another town that was destroyed during
the eruption which has much better preserved buildings. Herculaneum
was a seaside town with some beautiful and ostentatious villas where
the Roman nobles spent their holidays.
Sadly for the inhabitants, during the
eruption the town was quickly engulfed by a stream of boiling hot mud
which completely buried it (and moved the seafront a mile further out).
Now excavated by archaeologists, you’ll
find some amazingly well preserved homes with beautiful mosaics and
even some wall paintings.
Pompeii
Although it gets very busy in peak
tourist season, it’s still worth visiting Pompeii and it’s always been
a place I was desperate to see! You’ll get to see some of the famous
plaster casts which were taken as the archaeologists dug down and found
the cavities created by the former inhabitants being buried in ash during
the eruption; It’s an eerie and somehow fascinating sight, but still
definitely worth seeing.
You’ll also get to see the famous ‘red
light’ district and visit a brothel where you can still see the carvings
on the walls that customers could choose from (not one for children!).
Amalfi Coast Drive
If you’re scared of heights then I’d
give this one a miss, otherwise I’d highly recommend it before they
close the route to tourist coaches as I’m told they are planning to
do.
The road is very narrow in places as
you navigate through the twisty turns high above the coast and the traffic
can end up crawling during peak tourist season, but this will just give
you more opportunities to take some photos of the amazing views over
the coastline.
