MileValue is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.


Today I’m going to wrap up a trip report I started with you guys back in January, on a three week adventure through Tuscany with my boyfriend and parents. If you haven’t read Parts I and II, I recommend doing so before reading today’s post.

I took too long in general to write this trip report, as it’s now March and I took this trip in September. Life gets in the way sometimes. The silver lining is I thoroughly enjoyed the jaunt down memory lane and relishing in the nostalgia of a fantastic time spent with loved ones, and that experience would feel differently if I had written the report immediately after.

Oh, Bella Italia! I’ll never tire of you.

In Part I, I recounted Florence, Fiesole and the drive south towards Siena. Part II covered Pienza. Today you’ll learn about the promontory of Monte Argentario, which is where my family headed after Pienza, and hear a bit about eating pizza in Naples.

Porto Santo Stefano

While it is technically a peninsula, Monte Argentario is really more like an island connected to the mainland by three causeways.

Monte Argentario, Italy

There are two main towns, Porto Santo Stefano and Porto Ercole, nestled along the slopes of the mountain that covers most of the “island”. Just 95 miles northwest of Rome, Monte Argentario is a summer destination for Romans that is Italian touristy as opposed to internationally touristy. The tourism level doesn’t hold a candle to Cinque Terre or the Amalfi coast, which was a big reason why we chose Monte Argentario as we were traveling in high season (September).

Porto Santo Stefano

We found a gorgeous and fairly priced Airbnb at the tail end of Porto Santo Stefano that sealed the deal for us as far as visiting Monte Argentario was concerned.

Our Airbnb

When I opened my Airbnb account to take a look at the property we rented, I laughed out loud upon reading my review, particularly the third sentence.

It’s obvious I was smitten, and for good reason. The pictures speak for themselves.

The house has two water accesses, a kayak, stand up paddle board, and two bikes.

All of the tall windows provide sweeping ocean views and breeze.

Master bedroom (the other bedroom has a double bed)
Master bedroom balcony

I loved the tiling featured in both bathrooms and the kitchen.

An idyllic bathtub situation

The area behind the house was terraced with various sitting areas. The one pictured above, closest to the house and kitchen, is where we ate almost all our meals.

Above are stairs leading down from the property to the swimming area. We spent the majority of our time in Monte Argentario relaxing at this stunning property, more than happy to stay put for six days after the prior two weeks of running around and maximizing time in Tuscany.

Book it yourself here. The Airbnb has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining area, and a living area. It is one section of a larger house, which are rented as other Airbnbs. There was a nice german couple–Monte Argentario regulars–renting a different apartment of the house during our stay, and they tipped us off to how fun, cheap, and easy boat rentals were.

Rent a Boat and Pretend to be Italian

There are various boat rental companies in Porto Santo Stefano, but at the suggestion of our Airbnb host we rented from Zeurino. The price was right at $150 for the whole day. The boat was about 18 feet long with a 40 horsepower engine, comfortable for four people. That was the biggest and fastest boat available to rent without a boating license.

As the archipelago is hilly and mountainous, the view from the water is stunning with mountainside, cliffs, and caves, and is the only way to see various beaches. We stocked up at the market to bring a picnic on board, packed our cooler with the makings for Aperol Spritzes, and steered our boat into the bright blue.

We cruised the coastline…

enjoyed the views…

…and eventually anchored in a picturesque cove to swim, snorkel, and eat way too much pate.

With my mom

Withers loves fishing and will try to wherever he travels, even without real gear. Here he is with a home-made fishing pole…

Doing a better job of pretending to be Italian than Withers, with Aperol Spritz in hand

You should have time to drive the boat around the whole archipelago and arrive to the other town on Monte Argentario, Porto Ercole.

Porto Ercole

Porto Ercole is a small and sleepy fishing village that I found to be more charming than Porto Santo Stefano. If it hadn’t been for our Airbnb, I would have opted to stay on this side of the island.

Driving into Porto Ercole in the boat
Porto Ercole

We all agreed the best meal on Monte Argentario was in Porto Ercole at a pizza place called Grano. High quality, fresh, and cheap slices paired with outdoor seating next to the port and cold beers was a winning combination. It was so good we decided to take an extra meter of pizza home to eat later.

Driving the Circumference of the Archipelago

Another picturesque way to see Monte Argentario is to drive the main road that snakes its border, mostly along the mountainside that offers stunning panoramic views.

Time the drive right and you’re in for a real treat at sunset. Fair warning though, there are some hairy places along the road so I recommend an experienced driver take the wheel.

Naples

After a little less than a week in Monte Argentario, we got in our rental car and drove to Naples where all four of us would return to the United States from.

Roadtripping!

We were only in Naples for a night and a couple days, which was enough to time to eat pizza for entirely too many meals in a row. That is, however, what one does when you have 48 hours in Naples. I have two recommendations: One that’s cheap, and one that always has a line in front full of tourists but is 100% worth the wait.

The Cheap One

We were pleasantly surprised when we realized a highly reviewed pizza joint, number three for Pizza in Naples, was just two blocks from our hotel.

The pizzas at 400 Gradi comes out fast, baked rapid fire, as the name of the restaurant suggests, in an insanely hot oven. Ingredients are simple and fresh. The staff is friendly and we never waited more than 10 minutes for a table on the street in the bustling alley.

The One To Wait an Hour For

Sorbillo was the best pizza I’ve had in Italy, no contest.

The wait was a little excessive, but there are bars that have sprung up on either side that seem to solely make money selling wine and aperitifs to those waiting to get into Sorbillo. There are no reservations, just a list to put your name on when you arrive. Have a glass of something and settle in, because this pizza is worth it. I waited in the rain for over an hour and it was still worth it.

Serious excitement over Sorbillo.

Bottom Line

After Brazil and Argentina, Italy is the country I have traveled the most. I feel a kinship with the people and culture as it’s similar in so many ways to the city I’ve called home for the last six and a half years: Buenos Aires. Italy felt comfortable and familiar to me from the get-go.

It seems obvious that a place that birthed the Renaissance would be beautiful in every sense of the word. But until you spend time there, it’s hard to fathom exactly how much Italians “get it”. If you’re a person that appreciates and values beauty, whether that be in the form of art, architecture, philosophy, food, fashion, people, or whatever, travel Italy already if you haven’t! Aesthetic is their name of the game.

If you want to be transported to Italy for a little while longer, read my trip reports from a solo road trip I did down the Adriatic coast of Italy in the summer of 2017:

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.

With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!


Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.

The comments section below is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all questions are answered.