The Amalfi Coast with Kids

Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius

In late September we visited the Amalfi Coast, it was incredible and literally one of the best trips ever!  We started our trip with a flight into Naples and a few days in Capri, as I discussed in a previous post, which you can access here!  After a few days in Capri, we headed to the Amalfi Coast. This was a great time of year to be in these spots.  The weather was gorgeous for both beaches and seeing the sights, and there were no crowds.  Perfect!

Car or no car?
When planning this trip, we were faced with the decision of whether to rent a car or rely on drivers, ferries, and public transportation.  We watched the Rick Steves episode on the Amalfi Coast and saw the cars and busses in traffic jams on the top of very precarious cliffs, and decided against renting a car.  This was totally the right choice!  I am so glad we left the driving to the experts!!!  Words cannot describe the driving conditions in the Amalfi Coast, it is not for the faint of heart!  While in Positano we used ferries and walked to get around.  We then had a driver take us back to the airport in Naples to fly home.  This worked really well.  A car was not necessary and would have been a huge hassle.

Where we stayed...Sorrento and Positano
When researching this trip, I came across many conflicting thoughts on where to use as a base for exploring the Amalfi Coast, and visiting Pompeii and Vesuvius.  Rick Steves, who we love, suggests using Sorrento as a home base.  Other bloggers and travel writers suggested Positano as the most beautiful spot, and still others liked Amalfi.  I decided to trust Rick Steves and go with Sorrento as a home base.  I found what I thought was an adorable community of cabins amidst a grove of lemon trees, and we booked a few nights there.  After checking in, it became apparent that this was more of a backpacker hangout, and was quite a long walk into the main town area.  Also, Sorrento is gorgeously perched atop cliffs overlooking the sea, but you cannot really SEE the sea from most of the town.  It was more built-up and urban than I was anticipating and I kind of regretted our decision to stay there.

Positano!

So, we switched hotels!  We stayed one night in Sorrento, spent the following day with a guide and driver at Pompeii, Vesuvius and Herculaneum, and then at the end of the day had our driver take us to our new hotel, Hotel Conca d'Oro.  This was the best choice EVER.  Hotel Conca d'Oro is up some very Positano-esque steps, on the edge of a cliff, with amazing views, wonderful decorations, gorgeous rooms, and delicious breakfast.

Positano is breathtakingly gorgeous and amazingly beautiful.  It was REALLY gorgeous.  Positano is much more beautiful than Sorrento, and much more authentic, in my opinion.  And while it is much smaller, it is still a great base for exploring this part of Italy.  It is easy to walk down to the beaches, to all the shops and restaurant, and the little harbor.  And it is incredible - so many stairs all over the town!  I am so glad that our hotel in Sorrento did not work out for us, because it landed us at one of the most wonderful places we have ever stayed.

What we did...

Pompeii

So, if you are in this part of Italy, Pompeii is kind of a must-do.  We hired a driver for the day to take us to Pompeii, Vesuvius and the Herculaneum.  We had a guide take us around Pompeii.  There are many guides and drivers available, it's easy to find one.  We were impressed with Pompeii and enjoyed learning about the different fast-fast food joints and homes.  The views of Mount Vesuvius are incredible, and to learn that it was twice the size before the eruption is crazy!  The kids liked playing in the water areas and peeking around corners and doors.  I feel so blessed that we were able to visit!

Looking into Vesuvius!

Vesuvius
After Pompeii we headed to Mount Vesuvius.  Our driver parked, and we hiked up.  The views were incredible, and it was so neat to see some steam and smell the sulfer of the volcano.  I really enjoyed this hike and am so glad we did it!

Herculaneum

Herculaneum, with the modern town

Playing house!

I had never heard of the Herculaneum before we visited this part of Italy.  Basically, Pompeii was covered by soot and ashes, and Herculaneum was covered by lava.  It's much closer to Vesuvius.  Additionally, while Pompeii is a very busy and huge archeological site that is more remote, Herculaneum is an archeological site in the middle of a town.  Much of it has not even been excavated as there are apartment buildings and other structures on top of it.  Herculaneum is better preserved and less rigid.  You can explore more.  The children even got to play house in the ancient homes, and were climbing and exploring a lot.  I highly recommend seeing both Herculaneum and Pompeii.

Beaches
The Amalfi Coast is a rocky coastline.  There are not long stretches of white sandy beach, at least we did not see any!  However, Positano has two beaches that are rocky and absolutely gorgeous.  We rented umbrellas and chairs and rafts and were swimming and playing all day.  Additionally, there is a ton of sea glass to be found.  We collected an entire jar of it which we brought home.  We spent two days at the beach in Positano and it was so much fun.

En route to Amalfi

Amalfi Cathedral

Amalfi
We wanted to explore another town on the Amalfi Coast, so we decided to check out Amalfi.  There are hop-on hop-off busses that connect the towns along the coast on that very precarious highway on the cliffs, but we decided to opt for a ferry.  We took a pleasant ride to Amalfi, had lunch, and walked around.  Positano is much more beautiful, but it was nice to see another town.  Amalfi also has an incredible cathedral that I really wanted to see.  It contains the crypt of St. Andrew, so we spent some time learning about the Saint who shares our son's name.

One of the many amazing restaurants!

The Food!
The food is amazing.  Everywhere.  Every meal.  Absolutely delicious pizza, pasta, vegetables, salads, seafood.  We enjoyed the food very much!

Overall
This was absolutely an incredible trip, and one of our best.  The beauty and history of this part of the world is incredible.  And, the combination of cliffs, ruins, great pizza, volcanoes, beaches and sea glass made it a huge hit with the children as well!

A German Forest - the Herz Region

We recently spent a weekend in a more rural part of Germany, the Herz Forest.  Both my husband and a friend's husband were traveling, so we did a mom and kids weekend.  It was a blast, and here are some highlights about this less-well-known part of Germany.

Where IS Herzberg am Harz?
Herzberg am Harz is a forest region with some slight elevations that is about 2 and a half hours northeast of Frankfurt.  It has some skiing areas, tiny villages and towns, and local legends about witches (Hexen auf Deutsch).  It was a mining area, and is known for hiking and outdoorsy activities in the Harz national forest.  A perfect weekend getaway for two moms and six kids!

Where we stayed...
We stayed at Harzer Hof.  It is a gorgeous hotel in a tiny town, right on the main street.  It has an incredible yard that was perfect for the children to play in, and really beautiful rooms.   This hotel is a great base for exploring this area of Germany.

Some cool activities....

Unicorn Cave.  The Unicorn Cave, or Einhorn Hoehle, is a very short distance from the Harzer Hof hotel.  This cave is in the middle of some gorgeous woods and is great for hiking and exploring with children.  A highly recommended destination!!

Rhume Quelle.  The Rhume Quellle is a natural spring near to Herzberg am Harz.  It has great historical significance due to the naturally occurring blue water.  We took a nice walk around the spring, and explored the woods surrounding.  It is fascinating to think that ancient coins were discovered in the spring from people believing the water could grant wishes!

Models of the mines!

Samson Mine Museum.  The Samson Mine was a really cool excursion.  We took a tour of the mine, which was in German, but the guide did translate a bit.  This tour really gave us a sense of the lives of the miners, and how long it would take them to get down to the pits - several hours!  It is the site of one of the first elevators, which dramatically changed the miners lives as they could get into and out of the mines much more easily.  We all found this fascinating.  There is also a cute town nearby that is worth a visit!

Cable Car.  As the Herz region has some elevated areas, in the winter time there is skiing.  We visited in the warmer months and took a cable car up to the top of an elevation for lunch at a beer garden and some exploring.  It was gorgeous.  There are also several tobogganing runs in summer months.

Witches!  There is a long history full of legends of magic and witchcraft in this area, and the local shops love to capitalize on this!  There are witch-themed restaurants and shops in many small towns in the area that are just waiting to be explored.

Overall...
The Herz region of Germany is a great destination for families with children and people looking for outdoorsy activities.  It's not possible to walk or take public transportation easily, so a car is required, but this is certainly an interesting trip that is well worth a weekend!