The Amalfi Coast punishes the impatient. The road is spectacular, single-lane in places and frequently stationary; the ferries are faster, cheaper and considerably more pleasant. Plan the week around boats and the whole trip changes character.

Two bases, not five

Four nights in one town and three in another is far better than moving every second day along a coast where every transfer involves hairpins and luggage. Positano and Ravello make a good pair: one on the water, one eight hundred metres above it.

Day by day

  • Day 1 — Naples to Positano by ferry from Molo Beverello. Arrive, swim, eat late.
  • Day 2 — Positano on foot. The beach in the morning, the church, and the walk up to Montepertuso in the late afternoon.
  • Day 3 — Ferry to Amalfi and the paper museum, then the bus up to Ravello for the afternoon.
  • Day 4 — The Path of the Gods, walked from Bomerano down to Nocelle. Start early; it is exposed.
  • Day 5 — Move to Ravello. Villa Cimbrone gardens in the late afternoon when the light is low.
  • Day 6 — Capri by ferry, on the first boat out and the last boat back.
  • Day 7 — Slowly to Naples, with a stop at Pompeii if the flight is late enough.

The coast rewards people who commit to one town and let the boats bring the rest of it to them.

Timing the year

May, early June and late September are the sweet spots: warm water, full ferry schedules, and prices that have not yet reached August levels. July and August are hot, full and expensive. Most of the coast closes properly from November to March.

Things worth knowing

Every town on this coast is vertical. Positano is roughly five hundred steps from top to bottom and there is no way around that. Pack a bag you can carry down them. Ravello is reached by bus or taxi from Amalfi and is genuinely cooler in summer, which matters more than you would think.

Book restaurants with a view a week ahead and everything else on the day. Buy lemons. Take the ferry.

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