Amalfi Coast - Tips & Tricks
We came here in May 2016 and it was definitely one of our favourite trips. It left such an impression, which is why we decided to get married here in 2019! You can either travel from town to town, or have a home base, we chose to stay in the town of Positano and take day trips to the surrounding islands and towns. This was our limited experience, hope it's helpful to you in your trip planning! Ciao!
We flew into Naples. best way to get to the Amalfi coast is probably by car. Can train/ferry to Sorrento then bus to Positano. But that sounds like a logistical nightmare. We hired a private car as that was the most direct, hassle free, and efficient way. I asked around a few companies, finally found a company that was the most reasonable - Positano Taxi. Their drivers were professional and picked us up in a Mercedes vehicle. We used them on our way back to Naples as well.
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| view of Positano from the beach on our first night |
Where to Stay
Albergo Punta Regina: the best hidden gem of a hotel ever. Located halfway up the hill, away from the noise, but with stairs nearby that are easily accessible to the beach and the main plaza. Simple rooms. EXCELLENT service, they help with arranging cars, getting restaurant reservations, etc. FREE breakfast on the most beautiful terrace. Infinity Pool. Just an absolutely amazing hotel. HIGHLY recommended.
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| breakfast with a view! from the terrace at Punta Regina We also stayed one night at Hotel Buca di Bacco (because Punta Regina didn't have a room available our last night). Closer to the beach. More expensive. But the VIEWS! Since you are pretty much right on the water, you can hear the waves crashing right outside your window or rooms. Like I said, more expensive, but worth the splurge if you are in for a special occasion! |
Where to Eat
Eat at La Tagliata on top of the hill. Have your hotel make a reservation for you. They will have a shuttle pick you up. No menu. They make whatever they want with the ingredients they have. Amazing views atop the mountain. Especially at night, the lights down below in Positano look beautiful. 40€ per person. Antipasto, pasta, salad, meats, unlimited wine, limoncello, and dessert, over the course of 3 hours. And live singing (sometimes only apparently, we were lucky!). One of our FAVOURITE meals during our time there.
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| having a blast at La Tagliata |
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| al fresco dinner at Da Vincenzo |
What to Do
Go to the main beach, or Spiaggia Grande: separated into 3 parts essentially, lounge chairs, no chairs, and the dock. The lounge chairs are not expensive. Only 10€ each and you can be there ALL DAY. Bring your own towels. Their towels are an extra 5€. Bathrooms and changing rooms behind you. There's also an attendant that can take your orders for food and drinks and bring it to you. Very nice. Of course the no chairs part is the cheapest. For Free99 you can lay on those rocks on your own towels. But beware, the beach is not a sandy beach, but a rocky one. Wear shoes. Chairs are more comfortable than rocks. The water is COLD. Maybe slightly warmer during the summer months. We only dipped in, but didn't swim. We did sit on the edge of the rocks (which were scalding from the sun), and let the freezing waves crashed at our feet. It was actually very refreshing.
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| view of the main beach from above |
There is another smaller beach that is a short walk from the main beach called Spiaggia Fornillo, smaller, more locals go there, lounge chairs available. We didn't lay out here bc it's smaller, had only a few restaurants to eat from, and the sun went behind the mountains earlier in the afternoon based on its location within the smaller cove. But a beautiful walk over and something to check out!
Get a frozen lemon with lemon sorbet from Covo dei Saraceni. It's a hotel/restaurant right by the main beach/docks. We didn't eat at the restaurant (though it came highly recommended), but the lemon sorbet is not to be missed! Very refreshing on a hot summer day.
Get some leather sandals, hand made! I went to a place called Nana about halfway up the hill, only 50€ as base price vs. 55 or even up to 80 at some places. They make it right in front of you and make sure it fits before you walk out the door. They can make whatever kind you want. I wanted a model that I saw but wanted to add back straps to it, no problem!
Day Trip to Capri
We booked via Blue Star, a semi-private boat trip from Positano to Capri. All day affair, 9A-6P. Food, water, and towels on board. Sail around Capri, see some sights, then dropped off at the marina for free time on the island. Chances to swim in the ocean if you are up for it and the water not too cold!
- You will have chance to see the Blue Grotto, but depends on the weather and how many boats are waiting in queue to get in. We opted to not wait and missed this!
- Once you arrive at the marina, take taxis to Anacapri or Capri town, and split it with other people. The bus is crowded and takes too long. Splitting an open roof cab that seats 6 passengers will be quicker and economic. about 4-5€ per person. Bus is about 1.8€.
- Ride the single-person chairlift up to the top of Anacapri for an amazing panoramic view. I think about 7.5€ each way. You can opt to hike down but I think that takes at least one hour.
- Capri town has lots of high end shopping. And many tourists. Eat gelato at Buonocore. Best gelato on the island.
- Take the funicular from Capri town back down to the marina, only 1.8€, and comes often.
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| sailing around Capri's famous Faraglioni rocks |
Day Trip to Amalfi & Ravello
Ferry from Positano to Amalfi. Boats start to run around 10AM, then every 20-60 min. There are schedules at the booth. Main booth down by the docks. Each way is 8€. Amalfi is about 25 min down the coast. Beautiful ride. Can take the bus also, cheaper, but crowded and may be unreliable if already full of people.
Amalfi is a bigger town than Positano, more commercialized, with lots of shops and restaurants. Large cathedral in main plaza. Don't buy the hand-made leather sandals here, more expensive than Positano. Buy smaller souvenirs here, can find some cheaper ones than Positano.
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| fresh lemons and oranges in the main plaza of Amalfi |
- Amalfi has a pretty beach right next to the docks. We didn't lay out there, but looked inviting!!
- Take the bus from Amalfi to Ravello. Buy bus tickets at little tobacco/convenience shops called tabacchi, they are everywhere and this is where you buy all bus tickets. about 1.8€. The bus ride WILL be crowded.
- Once in Ravello places to consider visiting include Villa Rufulo, Villa Cimbrone, and if you are there during the summer, check out their orchestra concert series.
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| walking towards the Infinity Terrace of Villa Cimbrone |
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| beautiful views from the Infinity Terrace of Villa Cimbrone |
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| delicious lunch at Cumpa Cosimo |
Path of the Gods
This was a beautiful hike! Basically the trailhead is in a town called Bomerano, which is the difficult part to get to. I did a lot of research on this. You can take a bus from Positano to Amalfi and then another bus to Bomerano. However, that second bus is not reliable. Alternatively, you can hire a cab to take you straight to Bomerano, I asked around, about €80. So we didn't do either. What we did was a bit unconventional but it worked and we saw the views.
We took a bus from Positano to Nocelle - the town above Positano and where the hike ends if you start from Bomerano. You can catch the bus in town, tickets from tabacchi for 1.8€. About a 40 min ride. Once in Nocelle, we followed signs to the trail and we hiked backwards and upwards towards Bomberano. So Positano was behind us. The higher you go and away from the town, the better the view. We went about halfway up the trail, saw a bunch of people going the other way, as they all probably started in Bomerano. We then turned around the way we came and went back to Nocelle. This is the worst part. Once you arrive back in Nocelle you can either 1. take the bus back to Positano or 2. walk 1700 steps down to the town just next to Positano called D'arienzo (15 min walk to Positano). We chose option #2. Our legs hated us. Then we went straight to the beach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.
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| view from Path of the Gods hike |
Wear layers. Wear a hat. Wear sunscreen. Wear sturdy shoes. Maybe even a hiking stick if you think you need it. Some parts do require climbing on large rocks. This may sound like common sense, but you would be surprised by some of the outfits you will see on the trail.
Day Trip to
Pompeii & Mt. Versuvius
This may be worth the visit if you have the time, or love history! We did a day trip to these two places on our way en route to Naples. We hired a car from Positano Taxi to take us. Picked us up from our hotel in Positano and dropped us off at our Naples hotel. Stopped in Pompeii and Versuvius along the way. 6 hours. 260€.
Pompeii can take ALL day. Really cool ruins. Large grounds to cover. We only spend a couple of hours here. Depends on the amount of interest you have in these kind of things. Tickets were only I think 13E each. Audio tours are available in a variety of languages. Pretty cool to see a whole city that was wiped out from volcanic ashes/lava.
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| scenes from Pompeii |
Visit Versuvius, the culprit itself! We were dropped off at the crater base. Tickets to the crater are about 10€ per person I believe. Then climbed the STEEP 1Km up to the crater itself. If the weather if clear, the surrounding views are amazing. You can see all of Naples and even as far as Capri. Very cool. But more physically demanding than we expected. Wear appropriate clothing/shoes. It was quite windy and cold up there the day we went!!
End in Naples
I don't have a whole lot to say as we spent the least amount of time here. But overall impression is that it overwhelms you in so many ways. It's a large city. People rushing by. Markets. Food stands. Cars and scooters zooming by. Graffiti everywhere! Apparently not that safe at night. Always watch out for pickpockets. Be aware of your surrounding.
But Naples has the BEST pizzas! So many places. Ask anyone they will suggest a different place. Pizza Sorbillo, suggested by many, and we were not disappointed. Two locations. One in the middle of the city and chaos, one near the water and the seaside promenade. Depending on where you are, try it!!
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| pizza from Sorbillo |
I hope you enjoy your trip to the beautiful Amalfi Coast! Please let me know if you have any questions/comments!
Ciao!
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| "Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone." -- John Steinbeck, 1953 |
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