The Amalfi Coast by bus

Getting around the Amalfi Coast by bus

SITA buses depart twice per hour from the little semi-enclosed piazza in front of the Sorrento train station headed to Positano (35–60 min.), Praiano (another 15–25 min.), and the town of Amalfi (another 25 min.).

(The reasons for the range of travel times above are: (a) before hitting the coast, the buses follow one of two routes, one of which take 10 minutes longer; and (b) there are two stops in Positano, 5 minutes apart.)

Amalfi is the coastal turnstile for all buses—you always have to change buses in Amalfi.

In Amalfi you can turn around to return the way you came, grab one of the hourly buses up to Ravello (25–35 min.), or continue on down the coast.

From Amalfi, 1-3 buses per hour continue east to Atrani (5 min.), Minori (another 10 min.), Maiori (5 min. beyond that), and then a long stretch to Vietri sul Mare (another 40 min.), and the end of the Amalfi Coast at Salerno (another 10 min.—or 75 min. total from Amalfi).

(Note that, on Sundays, there are only about 7 daily buses from Amalfi that continue all the way to Salerno.)

Amalfi Coast bus tickets

See the "Buying tickets" tip below for the slightly headache-inducing rules on how tickets works. In brief:

  • As of summer 2015, there is no longer the old UNICA COSTIERA ticket, nor are there any daily or weekly passes. Sad.
  • Cheaper "Corso Semplice" tickets are good for a journey on one form of transportation (i.e. the bus) with one company (here, SITA) between any two stops. Contrary to some advice out there, you can transfer buses with this ticket (they just have to be buses operated by the same company, and the transfer is required to get from point A to point B). If you plan to get off an explore at each major town, buying a series of these is the best way to cover the coast.
  • Pricier "Biglietto Orario" tickets allow unlimited transfers, even between types of transport, within the time limit (90–190 min, depending on distance to be traveled). These are most useful (for our purposes) in order to combine a ride on the Circumvesuviana train (from Naples or Pompeii) and the Amalfi Coast bus, pausing in Sorrento just long enough to make the transfer. However, savvy travelers might be able to finagle a 15-minute layover in one town en route to another using a Biglietto Orario.
  • If you are planning on doing a lot of sightseeing within Campania (especially Pompeii and Naples), consider the Campania Artecard sightseeing/transportation pass. It covers this bus.

How much do Amalfi Coast bus tickets cost?

You can buy tickets from any news stand or tobacconist—the newspaper kiosk inside or just outside train stations are good for this. If not, look for a nearby bar or shop displaying a sign with a white "T" on a brown background; that's a tabacchi (Basically, anywhere that sells lottery tickets and mobile phone top-ups cards also sells local transit tickets.)

In general, you're going to pay €1.20 to €3.90 for any one ride along the Amalfi Coast. In detail, here are the going prices between most major stops along the Amalfi Coast as of 2015.

  time C.S. B.O.
Sorrento to Positano 35-60 min €1.80 €2.20

Sorrento to Amalfi

 90–100 min €2.70 €3.40

Sorrento to Ravello

 2–3 hr €2.70 €3.40
Sorrento to Salerno ~3 hr €3.10 €3.90
       
Positano to Amalfi 40–50 min €1.80 €2.20
Positano to Ravello 70–110 min €2.20 €2.80
Positano to Sorrento 35–60 min €1.80 €2.20
Positano to Salerno ~ 2 hr €2.70 €3.40
       
Amalfi to Ravello 25–35 min €1.20 €1.60
Amalfi to Positano 40–50 min €1.80 €2.20
Amalfi to Sorrento 90–100 min €2.70 €3.40
Amalfi to Salerno 75 min €2.20 €2.80

Amalfi Coast bus stops

These are all marked on the interactive Amalfi Coast map, but in brief:

  • In Sorrento: In front of the train station, in the semi-enclosed little Piazza Giovanni Battista de Curtis (off Corso Italia, E of the center).
  • In Positano: Two stops, right along the Amalfi Coast road: Chiesa Nuova (on the west side of town, by the Bar Internazionale at Viale Pasitea, good for Fornillo area or the Hotel Casa Albertina) and Sponda (at the eastern edge of town, where Via Cristoforo Colombo meets the Amalfi Coast road).
  • In Amalfi: On the main seaside piazza, Piazza Flavio Gioia. (Coastal buses stop on the western side of the statue; Ravello buses along the eastern edge, above the beach).
  • In Ravello: Just outside the town, by the entrance to the tunnel through to Piazza Duomo (a 5 min walk), where switchbacked Via della Repubblica meets via Giovanni Boccacio.
  • In Salerno: In front of the train station, on Piazza Vittorio Veneto (off Corso Garibaldi, E of the center); it's the narrow bus island with the white-on-blue "SITA" sign in the middle, about 10 feet directly in front of the main entrance; you can't miss it. (Note: Buses start from/continue on all the way to the Salerno capolinea on Via Vinciprova, around on the other side of the railway tracks).

Amalfi Coast bus schedules

I would love to include actual departure times, but these change several times over the course of the year, and they change year to year.

You can get current Amalfi Coast bus schedules at: Sitasudtrasporti.it. You don't have to speak Italian to read them, Just know what the letter at the top of each departure time means:

  • G = Giornaliere:
    • Daily
  • F = Feriali: Workdays, which means Monday to Saturday, unless it is a holiday.
  • H = Festivi: Sunday and holidays
  • S = Scholastici: School days, which means Monday to Saturday, unless it's a holiday—but only during the school year (so not in summer or at breaks)

Tips & links

Details
Buying tickets

Nearly all local public transit in all of Campania—city bus, tram, Metro, funicular, regional bus, commuter train—is now serviced by the centralized Unicocampania.it.

That means pretty much every form of local transportation (except state railways and things like private airport buses) within Naples and Campania's other cities, between those cities, and around the Bay of Naples, all use the same tickets—which is pretty darn convenient.

As of 2015, there are no longer daily or weekly passes, but the good news is that the cost of individual tickets has come down.

Throughout the system, there are two types of tickets:

  • Corso Semplice ("Aziendale") - Whenever buying a public transit ticket—for a Naples tram, the EAV/Circumvesuviana train, Amalfi Coast bus, etc.—you almost always want this cheaper Corso Semplice.

    This is a one-way ticket, good for good for a journey on one form of transportation (i.e. the bus) with one company (just the ANM in Naples, or the EAV/Circumvesuviana train, or the SITA Amalfi Coast bus) between any two stops.

    Contrary to some advice out there, you can transfer buses with this ticket. They just have to be buses operated by the same company, and the transfer required to get from point A to point B. That means you can use one, say, to travel the entire Amalfi Coast from Sorrento to Salerno—or get from Positano to Ravello—even though both of those journeys require a change in Amalfi.

    If you plan to get off an explore at each major sight or town along the way, buying a series of CS tickets is the best way to go.

  • Biglietto Orario ( "Integrato") - These tickets cost about 15–20% more but allow you, within in a set period of time (90–190 min, depending on the distance to be traveled), to make unlimited transfers, even betwen types of transport—for example, from the Circumvesuviana train to an Amalfi Coast bus to get from, say, Naples to Amalfi, or from Pompeii to Positano.

    These are most useful (for our purposes) in order to combine a ride on the Circumvesuviana train (from Naples or Pompeii) and the Amalfi Coast bus, only pausing in Sorrento just long enough to make the transfer.

    However, since a Bilglietto Orario also allows you to hop on and off as much as you'd like within that time frame—so long as you stay headed in the same direction (no round-tripping)—it could be handy for those intending to pay just a quick visit to one town en route to another (say, pausing in Positano for 15 minutes before continuing on to Amalfi). However, you''d have to study the schedules so that they line up just right, since the time validity of the ticket is often barely enough to get you to the end of the line.

    If you plan to spend an hour or two at a transfer point (say, to hang around in Amalfi), it is best simply to buy two seperate "Corso Semplice" tickets.

You should also look into the Campania Artecard, which covers unlimited rides on all local transport, as well as admission to most major sights in Naples (40 sights) and 80 sights across Campania (including Pompeii, Herculaneum, the villas and Duomo in Ravello, Paestum, the Reggia di Caserta, the wood inlay museum of Sorrento). If you are visiting just the Amalfi Coast, this card would not worth it; but if you plan also to visit Pompeii and Herculaneum—and especailly if you intend to do some sightseeing in Naples—it might be a big savings.

Sit on the right

If you are traveling eastbound (Sorrento-Salerno), be sure to snag a window seat on the right side of the bus for the best views.

If you are going westbound (Salerno-Sorrento), sit on the left.

» more

The "secret" 9:15am bus

So many tourists get up early to explore the coast, the company has added a second early bus that leaves at 9:15am Mondays through Saturdays.

If the regular 9am bus is looking full—with none of those coveted seats on the right available—just hang around for 15 minutes and be the first on board the 9:15am bus.

Prepare to be car sick

The drivers slam these buses around tight turns, and the winding road tries to tie itself in knots. If you know you are even mildly susceptible to motion sickness, do yourself a favor and down some Dramamine. » more

Transportation links
How long does the Amalfi Coast take?

Planning your time: Budget at least a day for the Amalfi Coast. Simply to drive the coast without getting out (except to change buses in Amalfi) takes at least five hours—that's three hours touring the coast from Sorrento to Salerno, plus another hour on each end to get to and from those gateway towns.

If you do want to pack it all into a single day—and actually stop and get out in a few towns—it might be best to just book a tour that picks you up at your hotel, gives you time in each of the main Amalfi Coast towns, and returns you to your hotel 6–9 hours later:

  • From Sorrento, group tours start from $40, private drivers from $60, and private tours from $90. » book
  • From Naples, group tours start from $97, private drivers from $55, and private tours from $85. » book

Otherwise, it makes far more sense to spend at least one night on the coast.

If, however, your schedule doesn't have that much leisure time, might I suggest riding the first leg—from Sorrento to Positano to Amalfi—taking a quick spin around Amalfi town, then catching a ferry either back up the coast to Sorrento or over to Capri.

» Amalfi Coast itineraries

Amalfi Coast tours
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