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Amalfi Coast trip planner
A travel guide to Amalfi, Positano, Praiano, Ravello, and Sorrento along Italy's famous Amalfi Drive
www.amalfitouristoffice.it
www.aziendaturismopositano.it
www.ravellotime.it
www.sorrentotourism.com
www.turismoinsalerno.it (regional)
Useful private sites:
www.amalficoast.com (cooking classes, hiking paths, recipes, boat rentals)
www.amalficoastweb.com (photos, videos, hiking maps)
www.positanonews.com (news)
Buses: www.sitabus.it
Ferries: www.metrodelmare.com
State railways: www.trenitalia.com
Naples area rail line: www.vesuviana.it
Viator.com tours
• Private Tour: Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello Day Trip from Naples
• Pompeii and Amalfi Coast Small Group Day Trip from Rome
Amalfi Coast Hotels
Hotels in Sorrento
Hotels in Positano
Hotels in Amalfi
Hotels in Ravello
Other hotels on the Amalfi Coast
ReidsItaly.com Amalfi Coast Map
View ENLARGED map with all the listings
Naples & Campania tours
The Amalfi Coast is one of Europe's great scenic wonders. The impossibly winding Amalfi Drive road that follows it high up on the cliffside—often cantilevered over empty space—is a marvel of engineering and one of the world's best white-knuckle thrill rides outside of an amusement park.
This 50km (30 mile) stretch of crinkly coastline between Sorrento and Salerno offers breathtaking scenery as you make your torturous, winding way from one gorgeous sea cove into the next, some craggy inlets so sheer and deep they almost qualify as mini-fjords.
High, tree-swathed cliffs on your left plunge tumultuously into the azure waters below you on the right, the inlets and headlands punctuated by scraps of beaches, terraced groves of giant lemons, and some of the most inviting, relaxing, and beautiful small towns in Italy.
The bougainvillea-crowned and jasmine-scented villages of the Amalfi Coast range from pricey resort town to old-fashioned fishing hamlet. Among the some dozen communities strung along the coast is a trinity of required stops: posh Positano, historic Amalfi, and garden-filled Ravello.
In between you'll find everything from the Emerald Grotto sea cave to the ceramics of Vietri sul Mare. (For a quick overview of the drive itself—synopses of the major towns listed above and details on the bits you pass along the way in between them—check out the "Amalfi Drive" page.)
Just offshore (and accessible by ferries from any Amalfi Coast town, Sorrento, or Naples) lies the fabled island of Capri, a hedonistic getaway resort since the time of the Caesars.
One note on the Amalfi Drive itself: Many people on a day trip take the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi then turn around to come back. That's fine, but know that the most spectacular, least-developed sections of the coast lie east of Amalfi en route to Salerno.
Amalfi Coast towns in brief
Sorrento - On the southern shore of the Bay of Naples, this pleasantly bland resort town—a clifftop collection of tour-bus-friendly hotels and limoncello shops—is the jumping-off point for the Amalfi Coast: the end of the line for trains from Naples and starting point for buses along the Amalfi Drive (and ferries to Capri). 
Positano - The original secret fishing village of the Jet Set era, posh Positano is a tumble of pastel houses spilling down a slope so steep most of the "streets" are just staircases between the buildings. Though now firmly on the tourist track, it continues to attract the beautiful people (and their yachts) and remains the undisputed postcard town of the coast.
Amalfi - Now a bustling small town riddled with tunnel-like Arab-style side alleys, this unofficial coastal capital was once a mighty maritime republic competing with Venice and Genoa, a proud history reflected in its glorious cathedral.
Ravello - This genteel village of lush gardens and fanciful villas high in the hills has inspired everyone from Wagner to long-time resident Gore Vidal.
Featured article
Secret Hotels of the Amalfi Coast & Capri - A few years ago, for Budget Travel magazine, I scoured the fishing towns of the Amalfi Drive and the gorgeous nearby island of Capri to find and review a passel of hotels that charge two-star prices for million-dollar accommodations. I came up with nine outstanding hotels and B&Bs everywhere from the fabled coastal resorts of Amalfi and Positano to the vacation hotspots of Capri and Sorrento to smaller villages like Praiano and Anacapri. 
Tips
- When to go to the Amalfi Coast: The mid–June through August high season draws the biggest crowds, highest prices, and hottest weather. May and September are much more pleasant on every front. Much of the coast—including most hotels and restaurants—shuts down from mid– to late October until just before Easter.
- Book a tour: Consider booking a tour from Rome or Naples with our partners at Viator.com:
• Private Tour: Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello Day Trip from Naples
• Pompeii and Amalfi Coast Small Group Day Trip from Rome
Related pages
- Getting around the Amalfi Coast
- The Amalfi Drive
- Major Amalfi Coast towns: Positano, Amalfi, Ravello
- Secret Hotels of the Amalfi Coast
- Nearby destinations: Capri, Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mt. Vesuvius, Ischia
- Campania guide
- The Cinque Terre - Another popular string of coastal towns in Northern Italy
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This material was last updated December 2010. All information was accurate at the time.
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