Day 33 - Tue 30 Sep 25: Spoleta to Minori (Almalfi Coast)

September 30, 2025

Tue 30 Sep 25: Spoleta to Minori (Almalfi Coast)

11 Deg at Spoleto reaching 27 Deg at Pompeii. It started out as a beautiful fresh clear sunny morning in Spoleto and ended a beautiful clear sunny afternoon on the Amalfi Coast. At 0830 we set off for a 345km drive to Pompeii. It doesn’t seem a long distance, but travel in Italy takes so much longer with the winding hilly roads and traffic. We stopped for a comfort break at 1015, unbelievably one of the group spotted a large ‘Koala’ of all things for sale at the highway rest stop. Monica the guide also often says ‘Drop Bear’ every time we pass under a low hanging branch that hits the bus roof, so everyone chipped in for this very apt gift for the bus driver, courtesy of a bunch of Aussie tourists. He’s been a fantastic driver, and done a marvellous job delivering us safely to each destination. His young children waiting at home for him will certainly appreciate the gesture, which until then, sits proudly in the front seat of the bus next to him, buckled up safely of course.

Heading south along the motorway into the Campania region, the landscape changed noticeably with many steep rugged volcanic looking hills and few trees. We stopped for a 40 minute lunch break at another motorway rest stop, about 46km from Pompeii. A quick feed of vegetables for me and a toasted sandwich for Noeleene, from the buffet (such a range of food choices and a good price), and we were on our way again. As we drove past Mt Vesuvius on one side and Naples on the opposite, it looked like an area worth avoiding - very run down, and as one other group member described - a bit of a shit hole. Monica did mention there was a lot of youth crime in area. It was amazing how far up the side to Mt Vesuvius that houses have been built. Very green. A quick google check showed the last eruption was in 1944, so we were feeling pretty safe for our visit today.

It's hard to put into to words the experience of walking through the Pompeii ruins, although others in the group were more cynical. In any case, it was a perfect day weather-wise (not too hot), and relatively few tourists. After our very informative guided tour, we reunited with our bus, and made our way to Angri, where we transferred to a slightly smaller bus with a local driver who took us safely over the steep, winding, sometimes scary road to the small town of Minori on the Amalfi Coast on the other side of the mountain. The interesting thing about this drive is that tourists, or non-locals are not permitted to drive this road, and I think that is a good idea. It’s very dangerous. We eventually reached Minori, checked into our hotel at 5pm for a 3-night stay, then Noeleene and I went out for a walk along the foreshore and around the township as the sun was setting, before returning for another late dinner and lovely evening with new friends.

***There is so much more I would like to write about today and the visit to Pompeii, for now just a quick overview.