Visit to a Family Lemon Grove in the Amalfi Valley

What it is

A guided visit to the lemon terraces of the Aceto family, in the valley that rises from Amalfi. The family has grown lemons on the coast for almost two hundred years and the visit is run by the sixth generation, under the name Amalfi Lemon Experience. Here they grow the Sfusato Amalfitano, the elongated, thick-skinned lemon with protected geographical indication (PGI), on stone terraces and under pergolas.

It is a way of understanding the coastal landscape: the terraces you see from the boat are, in large part, lemon orchards worked by hand and on foot, because no vehicle reaches many of them.

What the visit is like

The Classic Lemon Tour, the group visit, starts around 15:00 and lasts about an hour and a half. You walk through the terraces, meet the people who work them and are told how lemons are grown and picked. It includes a visit to the estate's Museum of Rural Life, Art and Trades and an introduction to how limoncello is made. At the end you try a piece of homemade lemon cake with lemonade and a limoncello tasting. Groups are a maximum of 30 people.

Prices and options

According to the Amalfi Lemon Experience website:

• Classic Lemon Tour at 15:00: €30 per adult, €15 for ages 3 to 10 and free for under-3s.
• Private Lemon Tour: €60 per person.
• Classic Lemon Tour with lunch: €100; the private version with lunch, €150.
• Cooking classes: from €180 per group class; there are also private versions and a pizza class.

The experiences run from March to October. You book on their website, where the cancellation conditions are; they also answer by phone and WhatsApp.

Meeting point and how to get there

The group visit starts at the estate itself, at Via delle Cartiere 59, in the valley of the old paper mills. From Amalfi cathedral it is about 14 minutes on foot, slightly uphill. Cars cannot reach the estate and there is no parking, and the centre of Amalfi is a restricted traffic zone: arrive by boat or bus and walk up. The company recommends using the walking mode of your phone's map.

Private visits meet at a different point, on Amalfi's main street, about five minutes from the cathedral, and from there you are taken to the estate in an electric vehicle. Your booking confirmation says which one applies to you.

Before you go

There is walking and some very steep steps. For someone of normal fitness it is manageable, but the company does not recommend it for people with mobility problems. Wear trainers or hiking shoes: you may not be let in with heels or slippery soles. Pets are not allowed, because the estate's dogs roam free.

With children

It is an outdoor visit, short and with a snack, that works well with children who walk on their own. With a pushchair it is not practical because of the steps: a baby carrier is better.

Combine it with

The 15:00 departure fits after a morning at sea: the Grotta dello Smeraldo or the boat to Santa Croce. If you are interested in the valley and the lemons, the next day go up to Ravello and its villas.