This pocket-sized full-colour guide is designed for holidaymakers who want to get off the beaten track. Visit Pompei, Vesuvius and the other famous sites in the area or, better still, walk to hillside villages or remote monasteries and be regaled by the most stunning of views all along the way. Sorrento, Amalfi and Capri are wonderful areas for walkers, with inland areas linked to the coastal resorts of the Neapolitan Riviera by ancient footpaths and mule trails. These take you almost from your hotel doorstep up into the lemon groves - or you can just take a bus up into the hills and walk back down to your hotel! The flowers are a constant delight - from broom and rosemary in March to freesias and cistus in May. In autumn, the woods are carpeted with cyclamen. Most of the paths described can be followed easily by people who do not claim to be regular walkers, though committed hikers will like them too. The book has a free on-line update service. It is one of 50 destinations covered in Sunflower's 'Landscapes' - dubbed 'the blue Bibles' by the Sunday Times.
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If getting under the skin of the "real" Italy tempts you ... read on. A wonderful network of medieval footpaths criss-crosses the Sorrento peninsula and Capri. In no time you can leave the tourist trappings of the towns, enjoy marvellous views, have chance meetings with locals tending their lemon terraces or carrying timber by mule, discover remote chapels, find a fig tree groaning with fruit on the path side, sample a beer or a pasta in a small village piazza, be regaled by orchids, rosemary, cyclamen and countless other wild flowers, and work up an appetite to justify a mighty evening meal. All this comes at the cost of a small guide book and a little effort.
This fifth edition (pub. October 2008) is the product of sixteen years visiting the region, walking the paths and sifting the news from readers who have written in. In that time I have developed the route network to give maximum flexibility for you to choose a walk of just the right length and difficulty. You are helped in planning the walks by the fact that the network is divided into connecting segments, with walk planners to help choose the segments to go into a walk. Many walks are just for strollers. Quite a few of the segments go high into the hills along mountain tracks.
For walkers in the Sorrento - Amalfi region a car tends to hinder rather than help. Parking is a nightmare and often your walk ends up in a different place from the start. Best to use bus or boat, using timetables in this guide book. Quite often you can organise your walks to start right from your hotel doorstep. Despite this homily, some short car tours to out-of-the-way places have been included.
Use the book to organise your own unforgettable walking holiday. Choose a package tour to one of the main resorts, or use the web links and timetables, and advice on public transport to put your own holiday together.
I hope I have whetted your appetite for this splendid region and its lovely walking. Maybe someone who has sampled the walking here will be able to write an Amazon review to help future readers, as reader reviews of earlier editions are not carried across. And whatever your plans, enjoy your walking.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By John Edale
Format:Paperback
My wife and I have used the Sunflower Landscapes books on our overseas walking holidays for many years, from the time we were novice walkers to the present when we are quite experienced.
The walking advice in the books was invaluable to us when we were novices and is still useful.
We invariably find that the walk descriptions are sufficient for route-finding, using the limited mapping, a compass and a bit of common sense when necessary. We only bother with more if we expect to be going into difficult, remote country - in our experience the walk summaries in Landscapes books clearly indicate likely difficulties.
As committed users of local buses we have had a couple of tight schedules on return journeys. We always get an up to date timetable on arrival at the resort and sometimes find a bus from our resort to the start of a walk that isn't listed in the narrative. If there is only one return bus we have learned to build in some time for unexpected delays and to allow for the bus leaving early!
We used to buy updates to the books. They provide brief comments and revisions from readers about changes they have experienced. They are now available free to download from the Sunflower website as a welcome support service to users.
The Amalfi coast is absolutely beautiful. We stayed in Maiori in May, doing the usual touristy things, as well as several moderately easy (it is hilly) and straightforward walks from the Landscapes book. The evenings were chilly but the daytime temperatures just right for walking. Some of the lemon groves still had their winter overcoat of black plastic.
Take a boat ride to see the coast - we took a bus to Salerno and returned by boat to Amalfi. We also took a bus to Amalfi and, after a look round the crowded resort and cathedral, took another bus up to Ravello. After a nice lunch and a quick visit to Villa Cimbrone (good views, disappointing gardens) we walked back to Maiori, following the advice in the walk planners.
The walking advice in the books was invaluable to us when we were novices and is still useful.
We invariably find that the walk descriptions are sufficient for route-finding, using the limited mapping, a compass and a bit of common sense when necessary. We only bother with more if we expect to be going into difficult, remote country - in our experience the walk summaries in Landscapes books clearly indicate likely difficulties.
As committed users of local buses we have had a couple of tight schedules on return journeys. We always get an up to date timetable on arrival at the resort and sometimes find a bus from our resort to the start of a walk that isn't listed in the narrative. If there is only one return bus we have learned to build in some time for unexpected delays and to allow for the bus leaving early!
We used to buy updates to the books. They provide brief comments and revisions from readers about changes they have experienced. They are now available free to download from the Sunflower website as a welcome support service to users.
The Amalfi coast is absolutely beautiful. We stayed in Maiori in May, doing the usual touristy things, as well as several moderately easy (it is hilly) and straightforward walks from the Landscapes book. The evenings were chilly but the daytime temperatures just right for walking. Some of the lemon groves still had their winter overcoat of black plastic.
Take a boat ride to see the coast - we took a bus to Salerno and returned by boat to Amalfi. We also took a bus to Amalfi and, after a look round the crowded resort and cathedral, took another bus up to Ravello. After a nice lunch and a quick visit to Villa Cimbrone (good views, disappointing gardens) we walked back to Maiori, following the advice in the walk planners.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By N. McKenna
Format:Paperback
This is the ultimate guide to walking in this area. We've used it, once staying in Amalfi and another in St. Agata, near Sorrento, and the information was spot on. Get's you away from the tourist traps along paths and tracks you wouldn't know existed otherwise. Walks graded according to difficulty, so start with the easy ones and work your way up. You'd be a real dummy if you get lost using this guide. Highly recommended.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By D. Hirons
Format:Paperback
If you want a travel guide book which is written in possibly the worst way possible, then go ahead and buy this book.
Yes it contains many excellent walks around Sorrento, but the way it is written makes it near to impossible to complete the walk successfully without taking at least three or four wrong turns. It is as if the writers of the guide haven't thought about how the instructions could be misinterpreted, and in order to follow the successfully you really had to think about what the author meant about each instruction. A simple 40 minute walk took us all through many small side streets where we easily got lost when we later realised you could just walk the first section of the walk in half the time by walking through the main drag. It ended up taking us over 3 hours after taking many wrong turns and by the end of the two weeks we were sick to death of this book. One walk we couldn't even complete. It uses a " Madonna and Cherub" as a landmark. We found approximately five of these in the surrounding 100 metres leading us to having no idea about which way to continue the walk.
I would definitely not recommend this book. We even found another couple with the same tour book who were as completely lost as us on one of the walks!
Yes it contains many excellent walks around Sorrento, but the way it is written makes it near to impossible to complete the walk successfully without taking at least three or four wrong turns. It is as if the writers of the guide haven't thought about how the instructions could be misinterpreted, and in order to follow the successfully you really had to think about what the author meant about each instruction. A simple 40 minute walk took us all through many small side streets where we easily got lost when we later realised you could just walk the first section of the walk in half the time by walking through the main drag. It ended up taking us over 3 hours after taking many wrong turns and by the end of the two weeks we were sick to death of this book. One walk we couldn't even complete. It uses a " Madonna and Cherub" as a landmark. We found approximately five of these in the surrounding 100 metres leading us to having no idea about which way to continue the walk.
I would definitely not recommend this book. We even found another couple with the same tour book who were as completely lost as us on one of the walks!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amalfi Coast Walks
We discovered this book in an apartment in Sorrento. It made exploring the area that much easier and enjoyable. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Aussie Explorer
1.0 out of 5 stars
Avoid this book
This book requires to be extensively rewritten and updated, to include essential warnings where appropriate and to feature only walks which are actually maintained and viable. Read more
Published 21 months ago by M R Somerville
5.0 out of 5 stars
A useful and practical guide
We had a 2 week stay in Sorrento in July 2010 and bought this guide based on good reviews here and elsewhere. Read more
Published on 5 April 2011 by John Russell
4.0 out of 5 stars
useful when walking
This book was useful when we went off of the beaten track; it could, however, do with having better maps in it. Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2011 by Kentish Kate
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book to have
I have gone to Amalfi on a short break using Naples airport and I have to say that it was great to have this book. Read more
Published on 15 July 2010 by Hiker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent guide with online updates
We searched for a walking guide for when we were in Sorrento and having found this series wish it covered many more places. Read more
Published on 2 July 2010 by Mandarin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful walks
Just back ( June 2010) from a holiday in Sorrento and wanted to say what a gem this book is. We found wonderful walks both in and around Sorrento and also on Capri. Read more
Published on 6 Jun 2010 by C. M. Helps
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very very helpful and informative
Extemely well written,full of advice for an area which I did not know.The design of having the walks in sections was unexpected to begin with but the geography of that part of... Read more
Published on 14 April 2010 by Mr. K. T. Needham
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amalfi coast walks
The guide book Sorrento, Amalfi Coasat and Capri has the virtue of being compact but, at the same time, very informative. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2010 by Anne Cheetham
4.0 out of 5 stars
worthwhile book
well worth having,found a lot of interesting hikes, beaches and places which we would,nt have found without this book.
Published on 1 Oct 2009 by Mr. David M. Goodwin
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