The Amalfi Coast is worth visiting but...
It has a mostly empty geographic twin a stones throw away
Happy Friday! And welcome to the first of our weekly community posts. Just so you know, I’m going to be trying a few different formats over the coming weeks. See what works. What’s fun. And, mostly, what gets you engaged. Because, after all, this is supposed to be a community! While I’m happy people like to read whatever I ramble on about, this is all for nothing if you’re not involved in some way.
So, to kick us off today, we’re going to go through one of my favorite geographic twins. These are two places that look and feel very similar but otherwise where one will be over crowded, expensive, or hard to reach and the other the exact opposite. In this case it’s going to be the very famous, and beautiful Amalfi Coast in Italy and, well, you’ll find out.
But first, here’s how this is going to work. This article is divided into two three parts:
First, there’s the part available to everyone: free subscribers and paying subscribers. This will just give you all the fun geography information about the Amalfi Coast and its geographic twin.
Second, there’s the part available only for those of you who are paying subscribers. This will give you a detailed action plan for visiting the geographic twin and what you can expect.
Finally, there’s the community comments which will have a specific prompt, more on that below. But obviously, the goal is to get you involved!
So, with that, let’s get to the actual article. WHEW!
The Amalfi Coast or the Albanian Riviera?
There’s a very specific fantasy associated with the Amalfi Coast. It typically involves sipping a limoncello on a terraced cliff, watching the sun dip into the Tyrrhenian Sea, and breathing in the scent of lemon groves and salt air. It’s very romantic. And, dare I say, a bit like an episode of White Lotus. But that’s the fantasy because, the reality of it all can be quite different: two-hour traffic jams on the Strada Statale 163, fighting for a $40 sunbed, and being herded through Positano like cattle.
This isn’t to say, the Amalfi Coast isn’t worth visiting or that everyone has a terrible time there, but it’s definitely crowded in summer and it’s very expensive. So unless you have the money, it can be a bit of a let down.
But if we look at why Amalfi looks the way it does, we can find something similar. Amalfi’s dramatic beauty is the result of karst limestone cliffs plunging directly into the Mediterranean Sea. It’s the perfect Mediterranean climate and the tectonic forces that pushed up the Lattari Mountains created a steep, rugged coastline with deep ravines and hidden coves.
So, if you just want that exact same geography (the plunging limestone, the turquoise water, the terraced hillsides) but without the suffocating crowds, you just need to look across the Adriatic Sea to its geographic twin: The Albanian Riviera.
Stretching from the Llogara Pass down to Ksamil, the Ionian coast of Albania sits on the exact same geologic fault lines. It features the same plunging, scrub-covered mountains crashing into the sea. You get the Mediterranean climate, the hidden coves accessible only by boat, and the terraced olive groves.
It’s basically what the Amalfi Coast was back in 1975. And best of all? The beaches are actually better, and a beer costs about $2. At least as far as I can tell. A local Albanian beer such as Korça, Tirana, or Peja are the most affordable, typically ranging from €1.50 to €2.50. So I guess $2-$3 would be more accurate, but still not bad!
If you’re a free subscriber, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed learning all about these two geographic twins. If you’re a paying subscriber scroll down for the complete blueprint on how to navigate the Albanian Riviera and find a geographic twin for your own vacation or desired destination in the comments.
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