I spent 2 nights in Naples and then 4 nights in Salerno… I highly recommend them both.
Naples, we stayed at Hotel Il Convento.. perfect location and great staff. We had a terrace room which was worth it.
Salerno is very quiet and laid back and most people are so friendly that you can’t believe it.
We stayed near old town Salerno, close to the Duomo, beautiful patio b&b where we ate our breakfast each morning and ate a pizza and drank wine each night. Salerno is quiet and easy to get around. Not as much to do as Naples but much more relaxing.
Visited a goat dairy near Paestum (it’s called Caprami). Super friendly passionate owner. Makes a dozen different cheeses. Then visited Tenuto Vannulo Buffalo Dairy. Ate lunch and the prices were decent. Then the archeological site (2600 yr old temple standing up like it was meant to last forever). Back in Salerno before dark.
Really easy to take a ferry anywhere on the Amalfi Coast to swim. I had reservations on if this was a good idea. Yes. It was. Plus the people are awesome. For example, Salerno Wine shop called Torrefazione San Pietro. The owner is again very passionate… gives clear instructions on each wine to maximize enjoyment. He loves his customers and local wines. I feel I had a ton of interactions with real people that live here, not just tourist sites.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
11602 posts
Jay, thanks for sharing. We will be in Salerno, Sorrento and Naples in October and while there is often talk on the forum about Sorrento and Naples there isn’t as much information about Salerno.
Posted by
OP
20 posts
The ferry is super easy to catch… and super convenient to pretty places that are both (perhaps) too crowded and beaches we had nearly to ourselves.
Getting to Paestum and the dairies was easy… the train station is near where the ferries are.
We are Catholic and there were some sites we enjoyed to visit (like the crypt of St Matthew).
There is a lot of life in Salerno too… and it just felt more calm and Italian.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
2102 posts
Since a bunch of people who are going to be in Salerno are reading this thread - my quick Salerno summary:
Salerno has a long, major pedestrian shopping street Corso Vittorio Emanuele which starts at the train station and ends running into old town with a bunch of restaurants, bars and cafes. Staying anywhere along this street gives easy access to the old town, the train station (you will use often) and the ferry if you want to do the Amalfi Coast thing as well while you are there. The ferry dock is a 10 minute walk straight down to the dock from the train station. October is the end of season in Amalfi so you can see it at only partially overcrowded status. If you're spending time in Salerno the Cathedral is interesting - don't miss the crypt underneath! The art and poetry alleys in the oldest section of town are worth seeking out and exploring if that's your thing at all.
If you're in Salerno for an extended period of time do not miss the eté Prime at 174 Corso Vittorio Emanuele tucked away between the clothes shops and a bank. The front opening onto Corso Vittorio Emanuele is a small hallway but set back from the street is an amazing grocery store worth knowing about. The store is kind of like Conad meets Whole Foods and one in Salerno has high end goods at really good prices. I saw 6 kinds of local specialty Buffalo Mozzarella for 2-6e, selection of bakery breads, and shelves of Barolo starting at 12e and topping out at 23e.
The many fruit and daily needs places that dot the street are fine for everyday things but if you have a kitchen or want to put on a real spread and a nice bottle of wine this store is a great place.
Salerno is unusual for shore town in that is has both excellent seafood but also the land based menu from Campagna. Everything made with tomatoes in the area is amazing. Especially in smaller places expect menus translated by Google and a certain amount of "mystery ordering" where what comes out might not have been what you expected. The town has some of the southern chaos but only a tiny fraction of it compared to something like Naples. It reminds me of Italy in the 90s where everything was a little less settled and adventurous. Way back when Rick used to say he loved Italy because it was "as close to adventure travel as you could have in Europe" and staying in the South reminded me of those days a little bit.
Have a great trip,
=Tod