Stage 5: Map

Stage 5: Route description

The fifth stage of our Amalfi hiking trail takes us through the loneliest section of the Amalfi Coast, giving it a very special flair. Omnipresent are the Li Galli Islands (also called "Sirenuses"), consisting of the three small, privately-owned islands of

Gallo Lungo ("long tap")
La Rotonda ("the round")
and the island to the north of La Rotonda with the peculiar name "Dei Briganti a nord della Rotonda" (but sometimes also referred to as "La Castelluccia").

The islands are not only spectacular to look at, but also have an illustrious history: purchased in 1924 by the Russian choreographer and dancer Léonide Massine, a short time later a villa was built on Gallo Lungo with the collaboration of Le Corbusier with the aim of creating a creative centre for ballet, art and culture. For decades, the islands have been a magnet for artists and the rich and beautiful: Pablo Picasso was there, Igor Stravinsky, Sophia Loren and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as well. Despite several changes of ownership, this is still the case today: on the one hand, the group of islands can be rented for allegedly 150,000 € per week, on the other hand, artists' workshops are still held on the islands under the auspices of the "Fiorucci Art Trust".

Far from any celebrities, our hike begins quite mundanely at the bus stop at the crossroads of "Colli San Pietro". We leave this crossroads heading west on the slightly ascending road "Via Nastro Azzurro" (signpost "Sant'Agata 7 km"). We could follow this relatively busy road to the next village, but the official route of the CAI300 is nicer and quieter: it continues straight ahead in the first left-hand bend and passes a large hotel complex on the right (currently operated as "Sensimar Nastro Azzurro" by the TUI Group). Behind the hotel complex, the CAI300 runs idyllically along a stone wall and then rejoins the main road (waypoint 1, approx. 15 min after the start).

We cross the road and walk on the other side past the pretty church and after a few minutes we reach the village square of "Colli di Fontanelle", which is full of views and planted with old olive trees. From here it is a bit uphill, the road therefore runs in serpentines, which we can cleverly shorten on foot: From the village square, first take the small path between the houses, then a staircase that looks like the entrance to a pizzeria, but is a shortcut to the next bend.

After another short stretch on the road, we reach a hairpin bend at the edge of the forest outside the village - here we leave the road for good, the CAI300 leads us on a narrow path uphill into the forest (waypoint 2, approx. 45 min from start).

Now the lonely part of the hike begins. We continue on a narrow path with a great view, always following the red and white markings. At first we are fascinated by the fact that from this point we can see Vesuvius, the Gulf of Naples and the Amalfi Coast together, then the three "Li Galli" islands cast their spell over us again and again. A short distance later, the foothills of Capri with the characteristic cone-shaped rocks "Faraglioni di Capri" appear on the horizon.

We reach the somewhat sleepy village of "Torca" about 1:30h later (church in the centre of Torca, waypoint 3). If by chance all the shops and bars in Torca are closed, you can at least fill up your water bottle here: there is a public drinking fountain in the small park next to the car park in front of the church.

We leave the large square of Torca through "Via Nula", which branches off to the lower right as seen from the church portal. After a few metres, we turn right at the T-junction. Shortly after, the path passes very close to a tall, elongated house. Attention: here our path branches off to the left through an easily overlooked archway "right through the middle of the house" (waypoint 4). We walk downhill through a small olive grove and shortly afterwards meet the familiar tiled signposts (direction "Marina di Crapolla" and "Punta Campanella").

In a hollow we meet a small stream bed with a bridge (waypoint 5). We continue to follow the CAI300 slightly downhill in a southerly direction. Shortly afterwards, the view widens, the three "Li-Galli" islands appear again spectacularly and we can enjoy the view on a stone bench. Shortly afterwards, there is the possibility of a detour down to the sea (waypoint 6): If you have the time and inclination to climb an additional 200 metres (down and up), you can descend on CAI-344 to the beach in the "Fiordo di Crapolla"/"Marina di Crapolla". The following section of the CAI-300 is even less frequently used than the previous section. The path is marked throughout, but it seems improvised in places: handwritten signs with arrows sprayed in red help in some places.

About 1:30 h after Torca we see a small pine grove in front of us. We ignore a path still leading upwards (waypoint 7), instead we continue towards the lower part of the pine grove and reach the fork between CAI-300 and CAI-355 (waypoint 8). Theoretically, it is possible to descend to Marina del Cantone on CAI-300 from here. Attention: We do not recommend this route, the feedback from some hikers was that this section is in very bad condition (danger of slipping, overgrown, thorns). On the other hand, we recommend an overnight stay on the other side of the mountain (e.g. in Schiazzano), because there you can better enjoy the beautiful evening sun and the sunset. Therefore, in the following we describe the way to Schiazzano.

At the end of the pine grove (waypoint 8), CAI-355 branches off to the right. Don't be surprised: this path is also quite overgrown and difficult to see, but it leads upwards and to the left over a small cut in the mountain onto a road, the "Via Spina" (waypoint 9). Follow this road in a north-westerly direction until, after a few bends, you reach the through road "Via Leucosia" (Waypoint 10). Turn left here and follow the road for about 800 metres. You will pass some restaurants and shops. Outside the village, at the crossroads where Via Tuoro meets our road from the left (Waypoint 11), we turn right (Via della Tore).

We reach the turn-off to Schiazzano (waypoint 12) a little later: this is a steep spur road (dead-end sign) that leads down to the right on a concrete slope directly in front of the magnificent entrance gate of the private villa "Fondo Turiello".

If we found the path along the main road a little dull, we are now rewarded at the latest by a magnificent view of the Gulf of Naples, Vesuvius and the island of Ischia. After a few minutes, we reach the small village of "Schiazzano" with the wonderful Lubra Casa Relax (approx. 1:15h from the junction of CAI-355 at waypoint 8).

Stage 5: Overnight stay

For an overnight stay after stage 5, we recommend switching to the northern side of the hill: There, the unique Lubra Casa Relax guesthouse beckons with evening sun, a view of the Gulf of Naples and the island of Ischia (Lubra Casa Relax). Although the villages of Marina del Cantone and Nerano with many accommodations are located directly on the CAI-300, we advise against descending on the CAI-300 to Marina del Cantone due to feedback from other hikers (path steep and slippery, sometimes very overgrown and thorny). From waypoint 8, our route therefore leaves the CAI-300 and leads to the other side of the hill to Schiazzano.

Schiazzano is a little off the beaten track and has therefore remained a dreamy little village. There are two roads leading to Schiazzano, but they are dead ends. Through traffic is impossible. Schiazzano is also a little too far over the hill to still be part of the Amalfi Coast and is a little too far away from Sorrento to attract overnight guests from there. Surrounded by lemon orchards and with a view of Capri and Vesuvius, Schiazzano is a little paradise with a medieval village centre!

And right in the middle of it all is the unique Lubra Casa Relax guesthouse: unique because it is a mixture of Italian palazzo, boutique hotel, family-run B&B and cooking school, officially categorised as a "six-room guesthouse". The wild mix of different concepts is explained by the building's interesting history: Originally owned by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, the building was extensively renovated in 2009 and rented out to well-heeled guests as a high-end holiday villa for a few years. In 2015, the building was leased to Lucia, who was actually only looking for a new home for her cooking school and was not interested in running a hotel. But what luck for the guests: Lucia now runs the cooking school and the hotel together! We highly recommend this accommodation!

Update October 2021: Lucia has since moved her cooking school out of Schiazzano and handed over the Lubra Casa Relax to other operators. In the meantime, however, they have changed the concept, so that the wonderful Lubra Casa Relax is currently only rented out as a whole. A worthwhile alternative is said to be the Villa il Turro (Link: Villa il Turro - Bed&Breakfast). The direct route there then does not lead via Schiazzano, instead you can already turn right at the "Tramonto Rosso" pizzeria (shortly after waypoint 10).

Stage 6: Map

Stage 6: Route description

This beautiful circular walk takes us to "Punta Campanella" - the westernmost tip of the Amalfi Coastal Walk - and offers a wonderful view of the island of Capri in fine weather!

In the following, we describe a short and a long variant - the shorter one is suitable, for example, for a final morning excursion on the day of departure followed by a bus or taxi ride to Sorrento. However, both variants can also be extended further by walking the beautiful route to Sorrento on the same day. The hiking route from Termini to Sorrento leads along many hidden paths or small trails through gardens, olive groves and citrus fields and is definitely worthwhile!

Note on maps: Strangely enough, this part of the Amalfi Coast is insufficiently mapped, at least many asphalted roads that have obviously existed for years are not marked on either Google Maps or OpenStreetMaps. However, free walking maps for the western tip of the Amalfi Coast are available in most accommodation facilities, showing these roads. Alternatively, the maps are available online: www.massalubrenseturismo.it/de/cartine/.

Depending on where you stay overnight, the starting point for this stage varies, of course. In the following section, we describe the hiking route from Schiazzano because we are so enthusiastic about the hotel there. Those who stayed overnight outside of Schiazzano, however, can easily orientate themselves by the first intermediate destination: The white chapel "Chiesa San Costanzo", which is clearly visible from everywhere on the hill of the same name, Monte San Costanzo.

From Schiazzano we walk in a southerly direction, i.e. uphill past the hotel "Lubra Casa Relax" out of the town. On the back of the small hill we reach a road, which we follow briefly to the right uphill, to turn left after about 100 metres (still uphill, waypoint 1). The path offers beautiful views to the right of the Gulf of Naples and to the left of the bay of Marina del Cantone, gradually becoming smaller and finally a path at the end of which you reach Termini. Here we turn left and reach the main square with the church, SITA bus stop and bar (about 30 minutes from Schiazzano, waypoint 2).

We leave Termini square in a south-easterly direction and turn right at the T-junction (signposted "Punta Campanella"). After a slight bend to the left, we reach the next junction where we turn right along a direct route to "Punta Campanella" and straight on to the white chapel "Chiesa San Costanzo", from where we can descend to "Punta Campanella". We keep straight on here and come across a stairway path that serves as a shortcut to the serpentines of the road. The path is marked here with large white arrows on the asphalt, but we walk against the direction of the arrows. The climb from Termini to the white chapel takes about 30 minutes.

At the white chapel we turn around and descend again along the path lined with wooden crosses. Where the wooden cross path turns right (waypoint 3), however, we keep straight on and cross the pine grove parallel to the road. The path is very well marked here in red and white and with a bit of luck we can even recognise a faded marking as a CAI-300 hiking trail. At turn-offs, you should always orientate yourself by the colour marking, there are some other wrong paths that lead no further.

The red and white CAI 300 trail leads us out of the pine forest onto the ridge, which soon offers us wonderful views of Capri. As we are relatively high above the sea, the view of the neighbouring island from above is even more surreal than from the lighthouse at Punta Campanella, which is more or less at sea level. On the left, we see the headland of the "Baia Di Jeranto" nature reserve.

If the great view of Capri from the heights is enough for you, or if you have less time or are less fit, you should keep your eyes open on the ridge for a turn-off to the right (approx. 30 min after the white chapel). A sign embedded in the ground shows us the turn-off for the short variant (waypoint 4). With the short variant we save about 250 metres of ascent and descent and about 1.5 hours of time, without missing anything really essential of this stage. The short variant leads back to Termini in about 30 minutes.

For the longer variant, we continue to follow the path straight ahead and always downhill. The destination "Punta Campanella" with an old tower soon appears and is reached after about 1.5 hours (calculated from the white chapel).
The way back from the "Punta Campanella" leads along a well-maintained hiking trail, which is quite popular with excursionists, back to Termini (approx. 1 hour ascent).

Back in Termini, there is the option of taking the SITA bus to Sorrento (usually at most once an hour and unfortunately less frequently around lunchtime, so it is best to check the departure times on the way there at the latest!)

We leave the main square of Termini in a westerly direction, pass the post office and follow the panoramic right-hand bend that turns into a sharp left-hand bend. Exactly in the left bend, the small "Via di Padri" branches off, unmistakable by a dead-end sign with an English subtitle (waypoint 5). We follow the concrete "Via di Padri", but shortly afterwards leave the concrete track to the right onto a path, at this point a tiled signpost to "Sorrento" is set in concrete.

A little later we meet an asphalt path again, which we follow to the right (briefly uphill), to turn left downhill shortly afterwards at an ornate iron gate (waypoint 6).

At the end of this path, which leads directly into the driveway of a private house, our hiking trail branches off sharply to the right. If you look carefully, you will find a "U-turn" sign in concrete on the wooden railing in the direction of Sorrento, which points us in the right direction (waypoint 7). Through a small depression we follow the path that leads us through vineyards and olive groves and on a concreted section closely past a long house. Via Turiello branches off at this house, but we continue straight on. The next turn-off is the "Vicolo Barbarella" (waypoint 8). The "Vicolo Barbarella" leads us back to Schiazzano in five minutes (section from Termini to Schiazzano: approx. 40 min).

However, if you want to continue hiking directly to Sorrento and also do not want to take a lunch break in Schiazzano, do not turn into "V. Barbarella", but continue straight ahead. The path leads us further downhill, over a small stream and then to the left again slightly uphill to S. Maria (approx. 15 minutes from Schiazzano).

In S. Maria we meet the church directly, which we walk halfway around, as our hiking trail continues diagonally opposite as a beautiful stairway (before the house with the gateway on the right, waypoint 9). However, we only stay on the stairway for a short time. Before it leads us too far downhill, we turn right onto a narrow garden path ("Via Sant'Aniello Vecchio", waypoint 10), which rewards us with beautiful views and leads us in a small curve but tending straight ahead to Massa Lubrense. The garden path leads us quite suddenly out of the greenery into a narrow alley where we turn left onto "Via Mortella" (this begins at the house with the clearly visible street sign "Via Maldacea", but we take the other street called "Via Mortella" at this house, waypoint 11).

In Massa Lubrense (approx. 30 minutes from S. Maria) we come across a triangular, leafy square, which we leave to the north at the "short", slightly higher end. After a few metres, we turn (shortly after a building of the Italian Post Office) into "Via Molini" (waypoint 12). At a wall with a turret and an image of a saint (waypoint 13), we keep to the right and from then on follow the road, which is only sporadically used by Vespas and smaller cars. The road winds through gardens and past a school and, although winding, leads us over the last hill to be crossed to Sorrento.

The next prominent landmark in this section of the trail is reached from "Massa Lubrense" after about 30 minutes: we meet a major road (waypoint 14). Our footpath continues directly opposite here, after about 5 more minutes serpentines or steps begin with a great view of Sorrento and the bay of "Marina Grande". At the end of the serpentines, our view falls on a very narrow house decorated with battlements. Behind this house, an inconspicuous staircase leads down. The only indication that this is not a private access staircase is the presence of an official road sign with the inscription "1ª Trav Capo" (Waypoint 15).
After a few steps we reach the old town of Sorrento and after many days of hiking in nature we are suddenly surrounded by international tourism again.

Tip: If you are going back to Naples by boat and therefore need to get to the harbour: The most beautiful footpath leading to the harbour starts at the promenade behind the church of San Francesco. Here there is a small path for pedestrians, integrated into the steep wall downwards, which leads along the sun decks to the harbour.

Stage 6: Overnight stay

Sorrento is the "Italian dream" par excellence for many travellers due to its exceptional geographical position above steep cliffs, its pleasant climate, its unique sunsets and its proximity to Ischia and Capri, and is therefore an international tourist magnet. This is noticeable both in the variety of offers and in the price level of the accommodation on offer. Numerous 5-star hotels compete for guests as well as small guesthouses, bed-and-breakfasts and boutique accommodation without star classification. Nevertheless, almost all of them are expensive. To put it bluntly, Sorrento has the largest selection of accommodation beyond the 200-euro-per-night limit.

We were lucky and got hold of a very chic and reasonably affordable room at Sorrento Flats at short notice (Sorrento Flats). As a rule, however, you have to dig deep into your pocket in Sorrento or make concessions in terms of quality or proximity to the centre. Anyone who goes searching on booking.com, should therefore, in our experience, not be based on stars but only on the rating result (e.g. 8 and better) and the price.

The loneliest part of the Amalfi Coast

Access: first through villages

Lonely: On the CAI300 to Torca

View of stage 5: The Li Galli Islands and Capri in the panorama

Facts about stage 5

GPS route download for stage 5

While hiking along the Amalfi Coast, the view on stage 5 repeatedly falls on the three small Li Galli Islands

View towards Capri on stage 5

Drinking water well in Torca - right next to the church

The three Li Galli Islands from a distance: Hiking with a great view on the CAI-300 hiking trail

Just before the pine grove with the junction to CAI-355: you can glimpse the bay of Marina del Cantone.

A little way above Schiazzano - view of Vesuvius

From Torca further west

From CAI-300 to Schiazzano on the other side of the mountain

Recommendation: unique accommodation in Schiazzano

View of the courtyard and pool area

From Schiazzano to Punta Campanella and back

Entry/start point

From Termini to the White Chapel

From the white chapel "Chiesa San Costanzo" to Punta Campanella

Branch off to the short variant

Long variant: Descent to Punta Campanella

Facts about stage 6

GPS route download for stage 6 - short variant

GPS route download for stage 6 - long variant

Refreshment stops along the way

The white chapel "Chiesa San Costanzo", visible from afar, is a stopover on stage 6

The "Baia Di Jeranto" nature reserve

Capri again and again - especially impressive from above!

Dead end with English signage - this is exactly where we walk along!

From Termini back to Schiazzano

From Schiazzano to Sorrento

Vicolo Barbarella" street sign in Schiazzano

On the sunny side of the road - Stage 6 between Massa Lubrense and Sorrento

The promenade above the cliff in Sorrento

Time for "aperitivo" in Sorrento

Staying in Sorrento - good choice at high prices

Art exhibition on a roof terrace in Sorrento

Star hotels on the cliffs of Sorrento

Beach baths in front of the cliffs of Sorrento

Cloister in the Chiesa di San Francesco in Sorrento