Paestum and the Cilento Coast Short Break

The perfect trip for discovering the coastal scenery and quiet paths in the Cilento National Park. If you’ve visited Amalfi before and are looking for the same great weather, azure waters, sandy beaches, delicious freshly made pasta and excellent wines, but with fewer visitors then this slow-paced gentle walking trip is the one for you.

Slower Adventures | Where walking and cycling meet easy-going exploring, our Slower Adventures are the perfect combination. Most days are filled with picturesque journeys with some free time to dive into the destination and experience the people, local food and culture as you go.

Multi Centre Walking | With a mix of loop and point-to-point walks stay 2 or 3 nights in one place which offers the chance to slow down and really explore a destination.

Solo Travellers, Families with Teens

The minimum age for this tour is: 12 Years

With up to nine miles on each walking day, this tour is graded easy to moderate and is suitable for those with a good level of fitness. We suggest that you might like to start a regular walking programme before you travel. Taking walks similar in duration to what you will be doing on this holiday, in order to make the most of your time and walks in Italy.

The area is undulating with gentle ascents and descents. During the summer, temperatures are high, and you will need to carry plenty of water with you (additional weight), and this may slow you down. Most of the route follows dirt tracks and stepped trails although you will occasionally be following minor paved roads.

This route is suitable for most regular walkers of average fitness. You should train by walking some daily walks of similar daily distances to your planned itinerary.

Our Paestum and the Cilento Coast Short Break holiday includes overnight accommodation in small hotels. We specifically choose the hotels to ensure that you enjoy every minute of your stay. All offer a warm welcome to walkers, traditional hospitality and delicious local food and drink.

Details of the local hotels we normally use are detailed below. These are subject to availability, and early booking is highly recommended for June-September in particular, as this is a popular area.

We book en suite rooms as standard.

Alternate Accommodation
We will always try and use the hotels detailed in the accommodation information. Occasionally, because of limited availability we may have to accommodate you in alternative hotels which are not listed in the description. The alternative accommodation will be of the same or better standard than those described. In case of alternative accommodation needing to be booked, supplements may be payable, and we will advise you accordingly.

We will always try and accommodate you at the locations detailed in your itinerary. Very occasionally, due to limited availability, there may be an option to be accommodated at an alternative location. In the unlikely event that we must accommodate you elsewhere, we will advise you of this before confirming your booking. In this case you can change your trip dates, or we can arrange taxi transfers to and from an alternative overnight accommodation (supplement payable).

Single Rooms & Solo Walkers
This independent walking holiday is available to solo walkers for a supplement and is subject to availability. If you require single rooms within your party, we would be happy to accommodate you although there is a single room supplement payable.

Meals
Breakfast is included each morning. In Italy this is generally a light continental breakfast. Lunch and dinner are not included but are available from your hotel or nearby restaurants. Your accommodation may be able to provide a packed lunch on request and this can be booked on arrival. The food of the Cilento region is strongly influenced by local produce. Traditional specialities include cavatelli, a typical handmade pasta, with cacioricotta cheese or the ciambotta, a delicious mix of stewed vegetables.

Additional Nights
You may wish to take some extra nights along the route, either to rest or for those with plenty of energy to explore some of the other walking opportunities nearby.

Room Upgrades
At Santa Maria di Castellabate you may like to upgrade your room to a sea view. These are available on request and subject to availability for an additional supplement.

The route is well waymarked for the most part and easy to follow. Navigation is straightforward as you can use the Macs Adventure Smartphone App which has maps, GPS tracks, and daily route information. Simply download the GPS tracks for offline use and follow the route on your phone with the assurance that navigation will be simple, and you can’t get lost.

You will find more information on downloading the app in your Macs Adventure Account.

This trip is available to book from the end of March to end of October. You can start your holiday on any date in the season. However, this tour is not available at Easter, or from the 21st July until the 21st August, as this is the hottest time of year and availability in the hotels is almost impossible to secure due to it being the Italian summer holidays.

Peak Season Availability

Early booking is recommended to secure the best choice accommodation for you throughout the peak spring and summer months. We may require some flexibility regarding your dates, accommodation and/or itinerary. We will do our best to provide a suitable alternative in line with our usual tour. In the instance that our usual accommodation is not available, a supplement for alternate accommodation may be payable, but will of course be discussed with you. We will always try our best to get you confirmed on the date you wish to travel.

Time of Year

In Autumn the landscape is made up of a gold and red pallet, so September and October are unmissable. April, May and June are normally a pleasant temperature for walking and the vegetation is particularly lush at this time of year. May is when most wildflowers are coming into bloom. July, and end of August can be very hot and therefore aren’t best suited for everyone. You will have to start early to miss the heat of the day and carry a lot of water (additional weight) with you. Although the towns and villages are buzzing at this time of year which is great, and you can take a cooling dip in the sea.

Cilento experiences cold and wet winters and scorching hot summers, making the spring and autumn months the best time for most people travelling here on a walking holiday. Rain is possible at any time of year, but infrequent outside of the winter months. May and October have an average temperature of between 20 and 25°C, so are ideal for walking. March and April are cooler (around 15-18°C) and September is hotter (25-27°C). July and August are hot (30-31°C), sunny and can be humid.

Temperatures are an average guideline and may vary from the above.

We recommend you fly to Naples Airport (NAP). There are ALIBUS shuttle buses that run from here every 30 minutes to Piazza Garibaldi, which is located opposite the train station. The bus takes around 20 minutes (depending on traffic) and cost around €5.00 per person per way. There is a direct Trenitalia train to Paestum taking 1 hr 15 mins and costs approximately €6.50 per person.

Please inform the Macs team about your flight arrival time. Upon your arrival in Naples please contact our local supplier in Italy (their contact details will be in your trip information pack), so they can arrange for their driver to meet you at Paestum train station to take you to your hotel.

Alternatively, we’re happy to arrange private taxi transfers for you. Please contact the Macs team for a quote.

We recommend you depart from Naples Airport (NAP). From Agropoli you can return to Naples on a direct Trenitalia train, which takes around 1 hr 25 mins and costs approximately €7.80 per person. From here you can take the ALIBUS shuttle bus back to Naples Airport.

Please inform the Macs team of your planned train departure time and flight departure time, so that we can arrange for the driver to transfer you from your hotel in Santa Maria di Castellebate to Agropoli train station in time.

Alternatively, we’re happy to arrange private taxi transfers for you. Please contact the Macs team for a quote.

Your bags will be collected from your accommodation each day and moved onto your overnight accommodation. We ask you to limit your luggage to one bag of up to 20kg per person.