Salerno....Amalfi Coast!

Alright, so before I write this post, I must say I love sharing this information of this cruise and ports. I received a lot of information from people who blogged about their trips so I feel it is just as important to blog about mine!
So we were ready to get off at Salerno on time--as soon as we docked. However, we were not released until about 20 minutes after the scheduled time. Now, we were supposed to go to Naples but we did not due to too many ships in the port that day. I thought, this may actually be better, boy was I wrong. We got off the ship and the plan was to catch a ferry to take to Amalfi. Well we were going to walk to the main street and catch a taxi as the ferry was leaving at 9am, we were supposed to be off at 8am. Well, once we got off the security there would not let us walk down this street, we HAD to take the shuttle. It was a HUGE mess. There were people everywhere and the port area was rather small the large bus that had our shuttle had a hard time getting out. It was extremely annoying and guess what---we missed our 9am ferry!! The next one was at a 10 something time slot, so we decided to wait for that one. It was annoying because we could have stayed on the boat longer, however, we didn't know it would be that messed up. I have seen since our cruise they have not been using this port, so hopefully they stay away from it.
The ferry came and it was easy to get on and get a decent spot. It was of course HOT that day again! Here are some pictures from the Ferry riding to Amalfi which is only about a 35-40 minute ride.

Beautiful ferry ride

Amalfi Coast

Once we got to Amalfi, we chose to take a bus to Ravello. Wow...what another mess. You can buy tickets right across the street in this tourist shop for the bus. They only had one person working and we wanted to guarantee we were on the next bus! We bought the very affordable tickets and then went out to the very disorganized bus stop. First of all there are two places bus load and unload people. There is an actual bus stop that has like an overhang and then there is one with just a bunch of busses sitting around! The people here did not speak English--so you are just hoping to be in the right spot. We actually saw some people from our cruise that we had remembered seeing in Marseille on our Le Petit Train and they said they were going to Ravello too! YES! We found the bus stop (it was the overhang!) and as it pulled up, so many people were trying to get on. Luckily, we got on and they didn't mind if people were standing. Immediately as the last person gets on, it is jetting off!
Now warning if you choose to go this route, you will fear for your life the entire bus ride! It was SCARY! I recommend sitting on the left hand side of the bus so you aren't peering over the edges of the cliffs. Ravello is up in the cliffs---so huge warning! We were scared and once you get to Italy, you will see what I mean, people drive like crazy there!

We were glad to make it to Ravello safely. Once you get there, it is very easy to walk around. It is a beautiful town! It is easy to get to Villa Cimbrone, you will be walking up uneven steps and hills but there are signs that direct you. There is also a tourist office that is helpful and has maps. We walked to Villa Cimbrone and once we got there, we didn't realize the price to get in was 6 Euros each! We were disappointed because we really only wanted to spend about an hour there, so we thought for an hour--it wasn't worth it. We walked back and admired the views this way--there are some nice stops on the way there and back! We also stopped to get me a pair of custom-made sandals, which I wanted so badly! Here are some pictures of Villa Cimbrone and Caruso Sandali making my sandals which by the way--broke within the first hour of wearing them when I got home...I got my money back. I am not saying I don't recommend them---but make sure they are good to go!

Villa Cimbrone

Amalfi Coast views from Ravello

Sandals getting made

After my sandals, we walked back down to the main city center and sat there for awhile as we enjoyed a sandwich. It was nice just to relax by this nice church. We also tasted some limoncello and bought the Italy shaped bottle which is their number one seller!

Ravello

Italy is known for their limoncello

We bought bus tickets in this shop where it says buy bus tickets here, we saw it on our way walking in, so you won't miss it! As soon as we hit the bus stop, the bus came within 5 minutes which was nice because we didn't really check the timetable. Again, we prayed we would make it back alive to Amalfi alive and we did! When we got back to Amalfi, we bought our ferry tickets and then walked around Amalfi, which is an absolute gem! Here are some beautiful pictures from Amalfi.

We ate gelato everyday

Amalfi

Amalfi

We took the ferry back and it was a good day to end the day a little early. We were ready for a day at sea! Thankfully there was one the next day. It was tiring go on some major tours and not getting a day at sea. Well it was finally time! What would I change about our trip to Salerno--- I would have booked a tour. I think we enjoyed our day....but with all the traveling and how we couldn't jump on the ferry right away, it ended up being a little frustrating. We did enjoy it--but ended up being one of our least favorite days!