I Visited Italy’s Best-Kept Coastal Secret – and It’s Only a Short Drive From the Amalfi Coast, Canada Reviews

Let’s be honest, Italy isn’t exactly short on headline destinations. Hikers have long flocked to the jagged peaks of the Dolomites, and sunseekers continue to pile into the glossy beach towns of the Amalfi Coast to order an Aperol overlooking the ocean and raise a glass to la dolce vita. But, quietly, just a little further south, Cilento is emerging as the country’s next coastal hotspot – a place where you’ll find the same knockout coastline and postcard-perfect walking trails, but without the crowds, the chaos or the eye-watering price tags. 

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On a recent walking trip to the region, I fell in love with everything – from the charming mountain villages to the long, sandy beaches and (crucially) the fresh fish, fried to perfection and served piping hot in paper cones, best enjoyed overlooking the town square as the evening light coats sandstone buildings in a honeyed gold. Compared with some of Italy’s more popular coasts, Cilento feels slower, wilder and, in a lot of ways, more authentic – the kind of destination where you genuinely feel as though you’re discovering something special.

I’m of the opinion that active holidays are the very best kind – hiking or cycling trips that allow you to really get to know a region, with the bonus dopamine kick of getting yourself from point to beautiful point. For our trip to Cilento, we booked a guided hike with On Foot Holidays – a company that maps out bespoke walking routes through some of Europe’s most undiscovered pockets of wilderness, books cute, authentic accommodation along the way and transports your luggage to each hotel or homestay, so all you have to do is follow the (super interactive, super geo-enabled) in-app map to your next destination. 

Our five-day hike unfolded through medieval villages, along stunning coastlines and up spectacular mountains that felt entirely our own – over five days on the trail, we crossed paths with no more than 10 other hikers.

‘Over five days on the trail, we crossed paths with no more than 10 other hikers’

Cilento is one of Italy’s great (and relatively unsung) walking destinations: unspoiled, insect-free (not counting the butterflies) and punctuated with enough olive oil farms and trattorias to keep you in pasta and panini while you’re on the trail. With a perfectly paced mix of mountains and beaches, historic stays and high-end hotels, there are a lot of ways to spend a week in this magical spot before it inevitably steps further into the twenty-first century, but here’s what you’ll get by discovering Cilento on foot.

A five-day hike on Italy’s Cilento Coast

We arrived in Agropoli, a seaside town that immediately set the tone for the days ahead. It felt like a gentler, more low-key alternative to Amalfi – all medieval laneways and colourful, umbrella-lined beaches, but none of the overpriced (dare I say over-Anglicised) frenzy. We spent the afternoon wandering up through the old town towards the hilltop castle, weaving our way through the cobbled streets to stop for granitas in the sunshine. There was time for a swim, of course, followed by a simple dinner in the old town’s main piazza, with views across the harbour as the sun dropped into the ocean.

On day two, we set out to follow the coastline south towards Santa Maria di Castellabate. The walk unfolded in that effortlessly beautiful Mediterranean way – cliffs dropping into impossibly clear water, pockets of beach appearing and disappearing (often dotted with boats and Italian families jumping into the water), the path rising and falling just enough to keep things interesting.

Santa Maria is a picture of Italian summer: pastel buildings, a horseshoe-shaped bay of sand and a languid, late-afternoon energy. We swam again, naturally, and let the evening take care of itself – roaming from snack stop to snack stop, then heading back to our beautiful hotel overlooking the ocean. Accommodation along the trail is a mix of hotels and homestays, all striking a balance between authentic charm and hotel-level comfort, but Villa Sirio was a standout: a family-run operation with ornate furnishings and adorable balconies opening up to uninterrupted views of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Day three brought a slight shift in pace. The route looped out towards Punta Licosa, a rugged headland wrapped in mermaid-related myths and teeming with butterflies, before turning inland and upward. The climb towards Monte Licosa was relatively steady (save for a seriously challenging final push) and seriously rewarding, trading sea views for wide, layered panoramas over olive groves and distant hills. 

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The day’s loop took us back to the coast, and after a swim and a gelato we transferred up to Rocca Cilento, a tiny hilltop village that felt almost impossibly still, with stone houses, narrow lanes, and views that stretched on forever. Our stay that evening was at L’Antico Convento, a restored convent where host Paolo served us course after course of gorgeous Cilentan fare: frittura vegetale (fried vegetables), hearty bowls of handmade cavatelli and delicately crafted parcels of parmigiana. After one final walk through the streets as the last of the light disappeared from the sky, we went straight to bed until the sunlight leaked in through the curtains and it was time to head downstairs and fuel up for the day with a sizeable breakfast.

Our fourth day began by climbing along mountain paths with wild strawberries hiding in the hedgerows towards Monte Stella, a 1,131-metre mountain known as the spiritual heart of the region. From there, we descended through fairytale chestnut forests, stopping at a huge picnic area for the panini Paolo had prepared for our journey. The coast felt far away now, replaced by a concentrated orchestra of birdsong and the occasional glimpse of a sandstone village clinging to a hilltop.

In the tiny town of Galdo, we stopped for a crema di caffè (a daily essential) overlooking the rows of olive vines that spilled out below us, then took the rocky path down to our accommodation for the night: Agriturismo Il Mulino, a working olive oil farm with simple but super spacious apartments, and a farm-to-table restaurant serving home-style Cilentan food overlooking the olive trees and the ocean. Dinner here was our biggest (and best) yet: a huge four-course affair, including the most perfect bowl of pork ragu linguine I’ve ever had the pleasure of ploughing through.

On our final day, the landscape shifted again. Leaving Galdo behind, we walked back towards the coast, the sea gradually reappearing on the horizon. Our final day’s hike took us through three picture-book-perfect villages, each somehow more charming than the last: all ornate doorways and wrought iron balconies arching over narrow, cobbled streets. Finally, we descended into Acciaroli, a harbour town known as Italy’s ‘Land of Eternal Youth’ for its unusually high (one of the highest in Europe) concentration of centenarians.

In the sun-soaked little pocket of paradise, fishing boats bobbed in the water, restaurants unfolded onto the streets, and a long stretch of sand acted as the border between the town and the glassy, bathwater-warm sea. We celebrated the only way that made sense: a swim, a multi-course meal and the satisfaction of having crossed this stretch of Italy on foot.

Before our evening flight, we spent the day between the beach, the pool and the hotel’s sprawling subterranean spa (we’d been booked into Hotel La Pineta, all Italian whitewashed walls and Salvador Dalí-style swimming pools just steps from the sand). Pacing-wise, this was another huge win. Finishing the route at a spa hotel is a genius move, and as she stepped out of the rosemary-infused shower into the huge, magnesium-enriched hot pool, my sister turned to me and said, ‘Land of eternal youth – I believe it!’

explored Cilento as a guest of On Foot Holidays. You can learn more about their Cilento hiking holidays here.

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