Cilento Grand Tour - the complete Cilento Cycling Tour - BGGT

N.B. If you arrive one day earlier you have the chance to pay a visit to the world-famous archaeological museum in Naples, where all the artefacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum are displayed, and/or the equally wonderful Capodimonte museum. It is also possible to make a daytrip to Pompeii. Several hotels can be booked in Naples and Salerno, according to your wishes (either ‘downtown’ centrally located, or near the harbour or train station, ranging from 3- to 5-star).

Day 1 Arrival Naples – Transfer to Giungano
Arrival in Naples and transfer to your hotel in the historic centre of Giungano, a village overlooking the Paestum plain. After checking in at the hotel, you can enjoy a nice walk through the village and a tasty ‘aperitivo’ in one of the bars or relax at the hotel pool.
Hotel – Giungano 

Day 2 Roundtrip Paestum plain
On today’s tour we will discover the small medieval towns that are perched on the hills surrounding the Paestum plain. We start with a descent to the wide plain of Paestum located just below Giungano.Once this was the area of the ancient Greek town of Paestum. With its famous Doric Temples, Paestum is listed as an UNESCO World Heritage site and its remains give us an authentic idea of the origins of the former Greek colony on the Cilento coast. Cycling around the 5 km long walls surrounding the remains of the ancient town, we will get a comprehensive overview of the archaeological site. After a quick coffee or cappuccino made with buffalo milk in one of the buffalo farms nearby, we continue our ride towards Prignano Cilento, which is located on one of the hilltops surrounding the Paestum plain. In Prignano we meet Antonio, who will welcome us at his workshop dedicated to the processing of the white Cilento figs, an old tradition dating back to the mid-15^th century. At his workshop Antonio will introduce us to the preparation of the figs and we will have the chance to try some of the tasty results! After the visit to the factory of Santomiele, we will continue southwards until we reach a small road on the right leading us to the tiny village of Finocchito. From here we continue in direction of Cicerale. The name “Cicerale” derives from the Latin expression ‘Terra quae cicera alit’, the ‘Land that feeds the chickpeas’. Within the area, Cicerale is indeed well-known for its production of chickpeas. To keep the cultivation of the legume alive, the municipal administration allocates to every resident of Cicerale a handful of seeds for cultivation. We will cycle on the road, which circles the largest water reservoir of the whole Cilento National Park: the Aleno Dam, which we can overlook from the central square of Cicerale. From Cirerale the road then leads us back to Giungano giving way to a spectacular view over the Cilento, up to the Amalfi Coast and Capri.
Hotel – Giungano
Distance: 32 miles (52 km.). Elevation: +/- 980 m.

Day 3 Giungano – Stio
Today we are heading towards Stio, situated right in the heart of the Cilento. We cycle again in the direction of Paestum and start our warm-up for a few kilometres along the plain. Then we will go on our first ascent of the day that will take us to the sanctuary of ‘Madonna del Granato’. A steep but short climb leads to the Church, which is located on a promontory overlooking the plain. From here we will enjoy a spectacular view over the area, the ideal reward for cycling all the way up to the top! We will then continue our ride on the main road again with a long but steady ascent taking us to the town of Capaccio. Just outside the town centre we will stop at the farm of Nicola and his family, who produce one of the best goat cheeses of the region. Nicola will show us his farm and we will have a chance to taste some of his cheese and maybe also some of his homemade ice-cream exclusively made from goat’s milk. After the visit to Nicola’s farm, we cycle through a lush countryside to the town of Trentinara, spectacularly located on top of a sheer rock face. We take our time to walk around the beautiful town centre overlooking the whole territory reaching up to Salerno. From Trentinara the stretch to Stio is mostly flat as it leads us through a plateau between the hilly central part of the Cilento. The road is beautiful and thus the perfect completion of our tour today! In the evening, we will meet Domenico, a well-known instrument maker in the Campania region, who will show us his manufactured guitars and some of his wooden instruments stored in his beautiful workshop. Last but not least, we will meet Giovanna, an excellent chef, who will introduce us to the simple but very tasty ‘Cilento cuisine’. Her specialities consist of traditional dishes of the rural areas of the Cilento such as ‘Ciccimmaretati’, a typical Cilento soup prepared with various legumes and cereals, or fresh gnocchi with pecorino cheese.
B&B – Stio
Distance: 30 miles (48 km.). Elevation: + 1,100 m./- 670 m.

Day 4 Stio – Marina di Casalvelino
Today we will mostly cycle downhill (total elevation +780m/- 1,454 m) as we leave the centre of the National Park and head towards the sea. From Stio we cycle towards Moio della Civitella passing through i.a. the villages of Gioi and Cardile. Before reaching Moio della Civitella, a secondary road leads us through a chestnut wood to the top of a promontory known as the ‘Civitella’. Here we can walk through the remains of an ancient military outpost, which in the past secured the border of another important Greek town of the Cilento: Elea (or ‘Velia’ as named by the Romans), our final destination today. From the top of the Civitella hill, we cycle to the historic centre of Moio, where it is worth visiting the Rural Life Museum. The collection of tools, utensils, furniture and farming equipment will provide an interesting insight into the life of the Cilento people during the 19^th century. Before we leave Moio, we will have lunch at Pasquale’s restaurant. This place is only known by locals a Pasquale generally promotes his restaurant exclusively with his selection of appetisers made with fresh and high quality products. After lunch and a good coffee, we head up towards Vallo della Lucania, the administrative centre of the Cilento area. We won’t enter the town, but will continue uphill towards Ceraso, where we then start our descent to Marina di Casalvelino, our final destination for today.
Hotel – Marina di Casalvelino 
Distance: 33 miles (54 km.). Elevation: + 780 m./- 1,454 m.

Day 5 Monte Stella round trip
Today’s ride will take us around Monte Stella. We leave our hotel for a brief warm-up on a short flat stretch and then start our ascent passing through several villages located at the foot of the mountain. From a cyclist’s point of view, although partly with some challenging bits, the road running along the slopes of Monte Stella is absolutely fantastic as it combines stretches of continuous ascents with stretches, where you can catch your breath again and admire the beautiful Mediterranean maquis around you. The ascent up to the top of Monte Stella ends in the village of Perdifumo. Here we have almost completed the roundtrip of the mountain and we continue our ride, now with the sea in front of us again. We take a panoramic road that leads to the stunning medieval village of Castellabate. In Castellabate, we will take some time to relax, have lunch in one of the restaurants in the main square and stroll around the village with its beautiful Abbey high above the bay. We then leave Castellabate and start our descent towards the coastal road cycling on exhilarating roads (with several switchbacks) that overlook the sea. The road along the coast then alternates long steady ascents with long descents with the sea on our right hand side. The road takes us to the beautiful fishing village of Acciaroli, where we will stop for a quick coffee or cappuccino at the harbour. We then continue in the direction of Pioppi. In Pioppi, we will have the opportunity to meet Delia Morinelli at her restaurant ‘Casa di Delia’, who is a sort of living institution of the so-called ‘Mediterranean diet’. Delia has worked for a long time as the housekeeper and cook of the American scientist Ancel Keys, who during the 1970s moved with his wife to  Pioppi, where he then introduced the concept of the Mediterranean diet to the world. During a chat with Delia and a taste of her delicious specialities, we will have the great opportunity to learn more about the simple and smart lifestyle that has determined her whole life, certainly an excellent source of inspiration! From Pioppi we eventually continue our ride to our hotel in Marina di Casalvelino.
Hotel – Marina di Casalvelino 
Distance: 43,50 miles (70 km.). Elevation: +/- 1,300 m.

Day 6 Marina di Casalvelino – Marina di Camerota
On the final day of our cycling tour, we will explore the Cilento coast. The road along the coast is a continuous up and down with the sea always in sight. Leaving our hotel in Marina di Casalvelino, we cycle along a flat stretch to warm up our legs. Our first stop for a cappuccino or a coffee will be Ascea that we reach just after steadily ascending for a few kilometres. From Ascea, the road starts to descend and then continues uphill until we reach the beautiful town of Pisciotta. Pisciotta once was an important harbour of the Cilento, from where all the products of the area were shipped to Naples, the former capital of the southern Kingdom of Italy. Today, Pisciotta and its district Marina di Pisciotta are particularly famous for their centuries-old olive trees surrounding the two villages as well as for fishing anchovies with a special and ancient technique introduced by the Greek settlers, who once dominated the South of Italy. After a short walk through the streets of Pisciotta, we descend towards the small hamlet of Marina di Pisciotta hoping to watch the fishermen’s boats returning with their catch of the day. From Marina di Pisciotta our tour continues towards the white beaches of Marina di Camerota, one of the most important coastal villages of the Cilento, where our Grand Tour eventually ends.
Hotel – Marina di Camerota 
Distance: 25 miles (40 km.). Elevation: +/- 1,300 m.

Day 7 Free day
Today you will go on a coastal walk along one of the most unspoilt stretches of coastline in southern Italy, with the chance to enjoy its perfectly clean seawater (certified by a ‘Blue Flag’). This is the so-called ‘Costa degli Infreschi’, named after the Roman harbour ‘Porto degli Infreschi’, where you can find a freshwater spring in a grotto. Your walk starts at the charming harbour of Marina di Camerota, where you have time for a short coffee, to buy picnic supplies and make arrangements for your return by boat (optional). Then you’ll enjoy absolutely superb sightseeing along the ancient footpath, which connects the village of Marina di Camerota with the ancient Roman harbour. You will walk past a series of grottos and beaches, before reaching the first medieval watchtower. A short section more inland will take you past olive groves and scrubland. Then you descend to the next little inlet, which is reminiscent of the desolate beaches on a tropical island. Another hour along a beautiful trail leads you to the ‘Porto degli Infreschi’. Upon your arrival on the beach, a lunch can be cooked on request by the local fishermen. You return either on foot or by boat to Marina di Camerota.
Hotel – Marina di Camerota
Distance: 10 km. Approx. 3 -3,5 h. walking. Ascent & descent: 250 m. (several extensions possible)

Day 8 Departure from Cilento 
After breakfast, transfer to the airport.