Amalfi Coast

Overview

The Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana) is a 30-mile (50 km) stretch of cliffs on the south side of the Sorrento peninsula, with a dozen towns stacked above the sea and a single, famously narrow road, the SS163, linking them. Positano is the postcard, Amalfi is the historic town and transport hub, and Ravello sits high above with gardens and concerts. Sorrento, on the Bay of Naples side, is the bigger, flatter, cheaper base most tour groups use.

It is as beautiful as the photos and harder to get around than Americans expect. Distances are short, but the road is slow, buses fill up, ferries stop in winter and parking is scarce and expensive. Plan your base and your transport first, and the rest falls into place.

Give it at least three nights. Five lets you add Capri, a hike and a lazy beach day. Most people pair it with Naples and Pompeii, and it fits at the end of the classic route in Planning.

Choosing a base

The towns

Ravello's villas

Villa Rufolo sits by the main square: a medieval palace with a tower, Moorish-style courtyard and terraced gardens over the sea. Wagner visited in 1880 and it inspired a scene in Parsifal, which is why the Ravello Festival stages concerts on a platform built out over the cliff in summer. Book festival tickets early; sunrise and sunset concerts sell out.

Villa Cimbrone is a 15-minute walk out along the ridge. Its gardens end at the Terrace of Infinity, a balustrade of marble busts with a sheer drop to the coast, the most photographed view in Ravello. Part of the villa is a luxury hotel; the gardens are open to day visitors for a fee. Go early in the morning or late in the afternoon to have the terrace almost to yourself.

Both villas charge separate admission; check current prices and hours on their official sites before you go, as they shift by season and with events. The Duomo on the square is free; dress for a church. From Amalfi, the bus to Ravello takes about 25 minutes up a series of hairpins. Taxis do the same trip for a fixed fare.

Getting there

From Rome or Naples

• Via Salerno: high-speed trains reach Salerno from Rome in about 2 hours. From Salerno port, Travelmar ferries run to Amalfi and Positano in season, and SITA buses run along the coast all year. This is the easiest public-transport route to Amalfi, Minori and Maiori.
• Via Naples and Sorrento: Circumvesuviana or the seasonal Campania Express from Naples to Sorrento (about 1 hr 10 min), then the SITA bus to Positano. Or a direct ferry from Naples to Positano and Amalfi in summer.
• Private driver: a car with driver (NCC) from Naples station or airport to Positano takes about 1 hour 30 minutes. Expensive, but it ends the luggage problem and is exempt from the plate rule.

SITA buses

SITA Sud's blue buses are the backbone of the coast: Sorrento–Positano–Amalfi, Amalfi–Ravello, Amalfi–Salerno, and Amalfi–Agerola for the Path of the Gods. They run all year, with fewer departures in winter. Rough times: Sorrento to Positano about 50 minutes, Positano to Amalfi about 50 minutes, Amalfi to Salerno about 1 hour 15 minutes, longer in traffic.

1. Buy tickets before you board at a tabacchi (tobacconist), newsstand or bar displaying the sign, or in the official app where available. Campania changed its fare tables on October 1, 2026, so check the current price at the point of sale.
2. Validate your ticket in the machine on board as soon as you get on.
3. Get to the stop early in summer. Full buses drive past stops; at Amalfi, lines for Positano can mean waiting for the next bus or two.
4. Sit on the right going from Sorrento toward Amalfi for the sea views, on the left coming back. If you get carsick, sit up front.

Ferries

From roughly April to the end of October, ferries are the best way to travel between Positano, Amalfi and Salerno and to Capri. They beat the road for speed and views. Main operators include Travelmar (Salerno, Maiori, Minori, Amalfi, Positano), Alilauro, NLG and Positano Jet, with lines to Capri, Sorrento and Naples.

• Positano to Amalfi takes about 25 minutes by boat, against 50 minutes or more by bus.
• Buy at the ticket booths on the piers or online. In August and on weekends, buy the day before.
• Most lines stop at the end of October. In 2026 the Positano–Capri route was scheduled into early November, and one small operator runs year-round from Positano, but rough seas cancel many winter crossings.
• Boats cancel in rough weather at short notice even in season. Do not plan a ferry on the day of a flight home.

For Capri, the Blue Grotto and the landing tax built into ferry fares, see Naples and the islands.

Driving and the odd-even plate rule

Most visitors should not drive the Amalfi Coast. The SS163 is a two-lane cliff road with hairpins where buses must back up to pass each other, parking in the towns costs a lot per hour when you can find it, and in season a plate-number ban limits who can drive at all. If you do rent a car, you need an International Driving Permit with your US license; see Driving in Italy.

How the plate rule works

ANAS, the national roads company, applies alternate-plate days (targhe alterne) on the SS163 between Vietri sul Mare and Positano from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on dates it sets for each season. The 2026 calendar included the Easter period (March 30 to April 6), April 24 to May 2, and weekends and holidays in October, ending October 31; check the ANAS ordinance for the summer dates of the season you travel. From November 1 there is no restriction until the next season.

• On an odd-numbered date, cars whose plate ends in an odd digit may not use the road.
• On an even-numbered date, cars whose plate ends in an even digit may not use the road.
• Exempt: residents of the 14 coast towns, hotel and rental guests with a confirmed booking on their arrival and departure days, taxis and NCC drivers, vehicles for disabled permit holders, and a few other categories with paperwork.
• Motorcycles and scooters are not restricted.
• Self-drive rental cars are not on the exemption list. Check your plate before you pick up the car, and carry your hotel confirmation.

Hiking the Path of the Gods

The Path of the Gods (Sentiero degli Dei) is the coast's great walk, a trail high above the sea from Bomerano, a hamlet of Agerola, to Nocelle above Positano. It is about 4.5 to 5 miles (7–8 km) one way and takes about three hours at a steady pace with photo stops. Walk it in this direction and it is mostly level or downhill, with Positano and Capri in front of you.

1. Take the SITA bus from Amalfi to Agerola and get off at Bomerano (about 40 minutes). Start by 9 a.m. in warm months.
2. Follow the red-and-white CAI trail markers. The path is rocky and uneven with drops beside it; there are no railings for long stretches.
3. At Nocelle, either take the local bus down to Positano or walk the long staircase of well over a thousand steps down to the coast road. Your knees will notice.

• Closed shoes with grip, at least 1.5 liters (about 50 oz) of water each, a hat and sunscreen.
• Avoid it after heavy rain, when the rock is slippery, and on hot midsummer afternoons.
• There is little shade and few services on the way; a kiosk or two in season at most.

Other walks: the Valle delle Ferriere from Amalfi, through a damp valley of ferns and old paper mills, and the Sentiero dei Limoni between Minori and Maiori through lemon terraces. More hikes in Outdoors.

Beaches and swimming

Beaches here are pebbly and small. Most are split between free public sections and stabilimenti, beach clubs that rent loungers and umbrellas by the day. In Positano in summer, two loungers and an umbrella can cost as much as a good lunch, and the front rows cost more. Arrive early for the free sections.

• Spiaggia Grande, Positano: the classic scene, crowded.
• Fornillo, Positano: calmer, reached on a cliff path.
• Atrani: a small town beach with cafes behind it.
• Maiori: the longest sandy beach on the coast, good for families.
• Marina di Praia and the Fiordo di Furore: tiny coves; the fjord is best seen, not swum, on busy days.

Renting a small boat with or without a skipper for a half day is the best way to reach coves you cannot walk to. Unlicensed drivers can rent low-powered boats; ask the operator what applies.

Food and drink

Lemons are everywhere: the knobbly sfusato amalfitano lemon grows on terraces under chestnut pergolas and goes into limoncello, pastries and pasta. Order scialatielli ai frutti di mare (thick fresh pasta with seafood), ndunderi (ricotta dumplings) in Minori, spaghetti with colatura in Cetara, and the lemon-cream sponge delizia al limone. Minori's Sal De Riso is the coast's famous pastry shop.

Restaurant prices track the view. A seafood pasta with a sea view in Positano easily runs $$$; the same dish in a family trattoria in Minori or up in Scala can be $$. The coperto (cover charge) appears on most bills; tipping is optional. See Food and Wine, and the local whites from Furore and Tramonti.

When to go

More on seasons and holiday dates in When to go.

Five days on the coast

1. Day 1

   Arrive in Amalfi

   Train to Salerno, ferry to Amalfi. Walk the Duomo and the lanes, dinner in Atrani.

2. Day 2

   Ravello

   Morning bus to Ravello for Villa Cimbrone at opening and Villa Rufolo. Walk down the old stepped path to Minori or Atrani for lunch and a swim.

3. Day 3

   Path of the Gods

   Early bus to Bomerano, hike to Nocelle, down to Positano. Afternoon on Fornillo beach and a ferry back to Amalfi.

4. Day 4

   Capri

   Ferry from Amalfi or Positano. Boat trip around the island, Monte Solaro chairlift, back on the last boat.

5. Day 5

   Beach day or Pompeii

   Rest on a beach club lounger, or bus to Sorrento and the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii on the way to Naples.

Where to stay

Book summer stays three to six months ahead. Most hotels require a minimum stay in high season, and many close between November and March. The famous splurges include Le Sirenuse and Il San Pietro in Positano, the Santa Caterina in Amalfi, and Belmond Caruso and Palazzo Avino in Ravello, all $$$$. For $$, look at family-run guesthouses in Praiano, Minori, Maiori and the hill villages of Scala and Pogerola. Every town charges a nightly tourist tax per person at the hotel. Short-term rentals must display a national CIN code. See Where to stay.