Amalfi Italy, Experience in a Beautiful Private Villa

Amalfi

The Amalfi coast is a beautiful place to visit in Italy. There are so many cities to explore from both land and sea. Why not experience the Amalfi coast a little differently. Instead of renting a hotel like most people do, try renting a home or villa. Our homestay experience was so different than the typical hotel one. Maybe it was even more so since we went with another couple. Most of all, having your own living room was something you just don’t get in a hotel.

Homes are Easy to Find

We rented a home in a small city called Praiano. Located between Positano and Amalfi, it was a perfect location to explore the Amalfi coast cities. We found the home on the Internet that advertised through a rental company. Many businesses rent homes beside Airbnb. So you have many places to search.

Arrival at Our Villa

When we arrived at the home, the owner and the housekeeper/cook met us there. The kitchen counter was filled with delectable treats for us to enjoy as they showed us around and told us how to operate everything. The home was beautiful. We had our own small pool, multiple bedrooms, and baths and it even came with a cave like hot-tub (actually the size of a small pool) complete with auto-sliding glass door.

 

Better Than a Hotel

This place was so much better than a hotel. The housekeeper would come each morning and prepare our breakfast before we awoke, clean the house and do any of our laundry we had. I know many of the rentals have housekeeping service, so you don’t have to lose those types of hotel amenities. Most of all, It was so nice to get up in the morning and not have to worry about getting dressed to have breakfast with our friends. At night we gathered outside on the patio or by the pool and drank wine. Such a different atmosphere than your typical hotel. Since we had an entire kitchen at our disposal, we hired a local chef to come in and prepare us a dinner of fresh local seafood. You just don’t get that kind of an experience at a hotel.

A quick call for a taxi enabled us to visit the many cities located along the Almafi coast near our rental.

Amalfi

This coastal namesake city is a beautiful UNESCO world heritage site. The cities Saint Andrew’s Cathedral is beautiful and overlooks the Piazza Del Duomo. Home to the Porto de Amalfi, a marina where you can rent a boat or boat tour.

Minori

We had dinner at a beautiful outdoor dining restaurant. The owner was super nice and ushered us down to his very old wine cellar to show us some exclusive wines he had. Another must is having dessert at Pasticceria Sal De Riso where one of Italy’s most famous chef’s resides. He even baked and presented Pope John Paul the famous Jubilee cake.

Maiori

The highlight in Maiori was visiting the Norman Tower restaurant. This tower was one of the many towers built along the coast of Italy for defense. It is one of the biggest and oldest (built between 1250 and 1300) towers. The food is excellent and you can’t beat the views.

Positano

One of the most visited Amalfi coast cities, Positano is easy to see it in its entirety by walking. Have a taxi take you to the top and enjoy a casual stroll down to the bottom. Here our friend had a custom pair of sandals made for her. While, on your way down, you can have lunch ocean side along the winding roads.

 

Praiano

An interesting thing to do in Praiano is to walk down to the pebble beach via a long and crisscrossing staircase. While the path is well marked so you won’t get lost, you will get tired going back up. In this city, you’ll find an exciting artist who has a gallery in one of the towers. Be sure to check it out. In addition, the view from his studio of the coast is amazing!

Revello

A beautiful city, overlooking the Amalfi coast. You will take a bus or cab to the top to get to this place. Furthermore, some of the hotel restaurants have spectacular views of the coast. We had lunch and a bottle of wine at one of these restaurants, and it was beautiful.

A Memorable Vacation

Finally, renting a house can make your vacation so much more comfortable. Experience a villa rental once in a lifetime. It is a different holiday atmosphere. After a day of touring and sightseeing it is nice to have a home to yourself to relax in. The biggest challenge I had with renting was to make sure the home is in a decent location. The location is very important. You don’t want to be too far away from the town where getting a taxi is difficult or costly. Or better yet, be within walking distance. While the cost of a villa is usually higher than a top end hotel, if you go with another couple the per couple price is in line with a nice hotel.