A guide to visiting Amalfi Coast – how to make the most of it

We arrived in Amalfi Coast from Tuscany (here you can find our Tuscany adventure), in our two weeks vacation in Italy (and here you can find The Ultimate 2020 Italy Travel Guide). We stayed three days on Amalfi Coast, in August, which was supposed to be one of the busiest months, however, this year it wasn’t very crowded and we managed to have a great time. Below are the activities we did, which might help you preparing your vacation in Amalfi Coast and some travel tips that we hope you’ll find useful. Amalfi Coast is not known for its beaches, there aren’t many, however it is known for the sea-faring life of fishing and boating. Since it’s a long post, here is how the below information is organised:

  • Travelling in Amalfi Coast: by car, bus, boat or scooter
  • Activities we did (including how many hours they take and tips so you can prepare each day accordingly)

All the travelling options are great but have advantages and disadvantages, as follows:

Travelling by car

  • Traffic on the small streets on Amalfi Coast can be a challenge even for those who love the wheel, due to the very tight turning curves.
  • Roads with limited access (pay attention to ZTL zones, which are dedicated only to local residents during specific hours and have cameras which will take your plate numbers and send a ticket if you go through there when ZTL is active).
  • Scooters that squeeze by you and even jump in front of you for getting faster through the car lines.
  • Limited parking places in all cities on Amalfi Coast. You need to go early and park your car in a paid parking place, which is not cheap (2-4 euros/ hour), or on the side of the road, where there are spaces available.
  • Small car is recommended. We had a VW Tiguan and it was a bit of a challenge to drive the SUV on these streets, however we managed to park everywhere in the end.

Travelling by bus

  • It can be very crowded during the day, and you need to wait in line (and sun) for catching a place. You also lose a lot of time on the journey, since buses squeeze even harder on the small streets.
  • Limited service between cities /villages. We happened to need a bus after taking a ferry on the coast back to the car, and there where no more buses after 8pm available to our village where we initially parked the car. We took a taxi for which we paid a premium 70 euro price for 18 km (20 minutes ride).

Travelling by boat

  • It’s the most relaxing and faster way of getting anywhere, a ticket from Positano to Amalfi costs around 9 euro (one way). Ferries travel between cities very often (a couple an hour) so you don’t need to worry about schedules. 
  • If you are not staying in a city right on the bottom of the coast (we stayed in San Lazzaro, which is a bit higher on the coast) you might end up needing to take other connections to reach your hotel or B&B.

Travelling by scooter

  • One of the best ways to travel, really fast and also the parking places are easier to find, no matter where you are

Stuff you can do while on the Amalfi Coast

Path of the gods hike (Il Sentiero degli Dei)

An easy hiking trail along the Amalfi Coast, offering amazing views with the cost from well above the sea level. The hike is connecting the tiny Bomerano town of Agerola with Nocelle village, a small part of Positano located on the slopes of Monte Perus. More details about the hike you can find here in a dedicated blog post. Time required: 1,5 – 3 hours.

After finishing the hike and reaching to Nocelle we went by foot to Positano, down on the 1700 stairs. You can also take the bus if you want. 

Beach time in Positano

After a short walk on the crowded streets of Positano, trying to avoid all the tourist shops, we went straight to the beach in Positano. The views from the water to all of the buildings from the coast are breathtaking so it was a well spent afternoon. There are private beaches where you can rent two sun-beds for 45 euro for the whole day, but you can probably find spots at the edges of the beach for staying on your towel. Time required: 5-6 hours.

View Amalfi Coast at sunset on a boat

At the sunset, we bought two ticked with the ferry, from Positano to Amalfi, from the kiosks in the port. We enjoyed the golden light of Amalfi Coast from the ferry, at sunset which was a pretty great trip that lasted approximately 40 minutes. Of course, you could also rent a boat just for yourself if you want, for more privacy and romantic moments. Indeed, Amalfi Coast is seen the best from the sea. Time required: 30 mins – 1 hour.

Fiordo di Furore

A very small beach named after a village that exists but can’t be seen, Furore. The village has around 1000 inhabitants but the houses are spread around the coast, that you can’t even see them and are not close one to another. The beach is actually formed by a crack in the coast formed by a stream, the Schiato, which falls above the Agerola plateau and the sea created this way a small bay. Time required: two-three hours.

Amalfi city & Atrani city

Both Amalfi and Atrani are small cities that you can shortly visits and they have also small beaches where you can relax for a while. Amalfi and Atrani are located just at a short 15 minutes walk between each other. Time required: half a day including beach time.

Grotta of Smeraldo (The Emerald Cave)

It has its name from the blue-green light entering inside the cave, by natural sunlight. The light enters the cave through an under the sea passage way, that is connecting the sea with the cave from well below. Time required: 30 minutes.

Villa Rufolo’s gardens

Located in Ravello village, the visit is recommended for the breathtaking views towards Amalfi Coast in a beautiful scenery. Time required: 2 hours.

Last but not least, one of the most perfect ways of ending and adventure on Amalfi Coast, a must see from our point of view, is to have a bath at Regina Giovanna Bath, close to Sorrento and also enjoy the sunset on the cliffs nearby. Time required: 2-3 hours, at sunset.

All the adventures are pictured below, please let us know if you have any other questions.

From Amalfi Coast, we went to visit amazing Tropea. If interested, you can click here to see our Tropea vacation.

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