High above the Amalfi Coast leads the multi-day trekking “Alta Via dei Monti Lattari”. We used this trail as inspiration and shortened the route to two days (from Nocera Superiore to Sorrento).

We were allowed to leave the bikes and our luggage at the campsite in Pompei. The yellow-black panniers on the back of the rack not only serve to stow the tent and sleeping mats, but also can be converted into a backpack in no time at all by attaching straps. We wanted to use this opportunity to test whether or not the system would prove its worth. We made the two-day hike easy for ourselves and reserved an overnight stay with half board at the Refugio “Santa Maria dei Monti”.

The biggest difficulty was organizing transportation to and from the trailheads, although there is a train line to both towns. In Pompei there are three train stations of two different companies. At the Trenitalia station (“Pompei”) we found out the connection to Nocera Superiore. For information about the train to/from Sorrento, we had to go to the EAV station (“Pompei Scavi”), located about 2km away. The third station also belongs to the EAV company, but is no longer in operation. The tracks are missing and nothing else works either.

A lot of patience is required not only for the train connections, but also for the talking ticket machines: Their slowness makes even us Bernese quite tingly :-)

After a short train ride from Pompei to Nocera Superiore we started hiking early in the morning! The trails are quite well signposted, as long as you know which markings to follow. Thanks to the offline maps mapy.cz we always found the right path. The ascent to the Refugio via Monte Cerreto often led through wooded areas, but also offered wonderful views of the Gulf of Napoli.

The overnight stay at Antonio’s Refugio was a super experience. We were wonderfully hosted, the shower (water is heated by a fireplace) was so far the best in Italy. Café, Limoncello and wine were of course included in the half board ;-)

On the second day, we hiked across the peninsula to Sorrento and enjoyed the view down to the coastal villages. From Sorrento, the EAV-train brought us back to “Pompei Scavi”, where we spent the night at the campsite again, tired and happy.

By the way, our backpack worked very well and we already have ideas for further trips.

If anyone is interested in the hiking “Alta Via dei Monti Lattari”, here are some practical information…