The Amalfi Coast: A Mini-Guide

Where to stay, what to do, and where to eat

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Positano from the ferry

The Amalfi coast is a 50-kilometer stretch of coastline on the Southwest of Italy, dotted with charming fishing villages and mountain towns. This is not an off-the-beaten-path destination, but it’s famous for a reason. You can spend your days hiking from village to village through towering mountains filled with lemon orchards. Or, instead, laying on a sun-bed admiring the aquamarine sea while eating fried anchovies and drinking a spritz. Or maybe chasing art in the village’s open air museums, where public staircases are adorned with colorful ceramics and impressive paintings. There is really something for everyone here.

We expected to like the area, but not as much as we did. It’s of course very impressive naturally (and this is the reason I thought we would like it), but we also found it to be authentic and not catering to tourists as much as we thought it would given its popularity. That said, we spent very little time in Amalfi and Positano, the main touristy hubs on the coast. Instead, we hiked our hearts away, ate some incredible meals, found solitude in many corners, and ended up visiting almost every single village on the coast.

So, without a further ado - and because this is supposed to be a mini guide - below are all our recommendations!

The Basics

The official Amalfi Coast is considered the area between the town of Positano and the town of Vietri sul Mare, which includes (among others) the villages of Cetara, Maiori, Minori, Ravello, Scala, Atrani, Amalfi, Agerola, Praiano, Nocelle, and Montepertuso.

On both ends of the “official” coast there are also worthy places to see as well as potential bases, such as Salerno and Sorrento. We spent two weeks in the area, but only about five full days in the Amalfi Coast itself.

Where to stay

This is an important question and the one I spent the most time trying to answer when I was planning the trip. Now that we have explored the area quite a bit we definitely have thoughts.

Our top recommendation is to stay somewhere well connected by ferry. There are plenty of little towns all over the coast as well as the mountains, but not all are easy to reach via the sea, which is by far the best way to get around because 1) views!! and 2) simple and hassle free.

The main ferry company in the area is called TravelMar and connects Salerno, Vietri Sul Mare, Cetara, Maiori, Minori, Amalfi, and Positano. Although it’s not the only ferry company, we found it to be reliable and extremely easy to use by just buying the tickets online and showing up a few minutes before departure.

We based ourselves in Salerno, and would highly recommend it as a base. It’s not officially part of the Amalfi Coast (which is one of the reasons we chose it), but it’s extremely close to it (you can literally see Vietri Sul Mare and Cetara from it), it’s an actual city, very chill, and much more affordable than anywhere on the coast. That said, if you are only visiting for a short amount of time and are trying to cram many things into just a few days, then you might want to stay in the coast itself, such as in Maiori, Minori, Cetara, or Vietri. Outside of these well connected towns, Atrani is the only other village I’d consider, given it’s walking distance from Amalfi and its port. I wouldn’t recommend staying in either Amalfi or Positano, but if you like being surrounded by tourists all the time, then you do you!

You can of course base yourself in many other cute little villages, such as Praiano, Agerola, Nocelle, Ravello, etc, but then you have to figure out another mode of transport if you are seeking to see more than just the town you are staying at. There is a bus line that connects most of these villages, called SITA, but the one and only time we tried using it it didn’t even stop as it was full (and this was in mid-June) so I probably wouldn’t recommend it to reliably get around. A car can be really useful, and we used ours a couple of times to get around - both on the mountains and the coast - but the roads did feel dangerous at times (mostly due to the big SITA buses) and parking was indeed a nightmare. So, I would not use a car as my main mode of transport, though a motorcycle might do the trick if you have experience driving them.

What NOT to Miss

There are countless things to do while on the Amalfi Coast, and you will find plenty of ideas in subsequent sections. But, I think there are some experiences you should absolutely not miss:

• Yes, go to Amalfi, Positano, and Ravello. The three most popular of all the towns on the coast and also absolutely worth seeing.

• Explore at least one other smaller coastal town. There are many and they are all so unique. We particularly liked Vietri sul Mare and Atrani.

• See the coast from the water. Hands down what I will remember the most about this piece of golden coast is admiring the colorful villages nested between mountains from the water.

• Go hiking! The famous Path of the Gods is beautiful, but it’s also not the only option. Get some ideas from the Hiking section below and take a look at AllTrails.

• Don’t forget about the mountain towns! The coast is just a piece of this area. Even if you don’t go hiking, explore beyond the coast. We loved wine tasting in Tramonti and learning how to make fior di latte in Agerola.

• Explore outside of the official Amalfi Coast! There is Paestum and its incredibly well preserved Greek ruins, and of course the authentic and unique Naples. More ideas below!

What to do

This depends on what you like to do. If you are reading this you might already know that we love to hike, eat, and swim, so that is what we did on this trip and what my recommendations are going to be about.

Hiking

The entire coast is well connected by trails (and stairs 😅) so if you are into hiking we highly recommend planning to take the ferry to a town, hike to other towns, on the way eat a leisurely lunch and have a swim, and then take the ferry back. We spent two full days doing this and saw soooo much because we did.

We found most paths in AllTrails. Be careful with Google Maps as it will many times send you through the coastal road (the one for cars), but you almost *never* have to do that. We saw so many people walking on the narrow road with cars going pass them super fast, but this is unnecessary because there are (much prettier and safer) walking paths connecting the towns. Below were two of our - very unofficial and spontaneous - routes, which I hope they might serve as inspiration ;)

Day One

• Start in Maiori, grab a sandwich (tomatoes, prosciutto, and stracciatella) from La Tramontina and start walking to Minori through the “Path of the Lemons”, an easy 2km route. Sit in a bench to have your breakfast with views of lemon orchards. Continue your hike until you hit Agricola Ruocco's, and grab a lemon granita to-go. We were stuffed by when we got to Minori but if you need a pick-me-up grab a pastry at the very famous Pasticceria Sal de Riso.

• From Minori walk up to Ravello, which is in the mountains, so not an easy stretch but also not long, around 3km. Lots and lots of stairs await, but also solitude and incredible views! We loved it. If you are not into climbing, grab the bus. In Ravello drink a celebratory beer in the plaza (you will need it after sweating like a pig going up those stairs) and visit the Villa Rufolo and maybe also Villa Cimbrone for views and pretty gardens.

• From Ravello, it’s time to go down to Atrani. Yes, that town in Netflix’s Ripley show (which is great btw). Atrani is as cute as expected! Get lost in its streets and then grab lunch watching the sea at Le Arcate - the lemon pasta was divine! Then, go for a swim and a nap at Lido de Ravello.

• Lastly, walk to Amalfi (not through the road!). If you are lucky (we were) this will be the first time in the day you will see crowds. Check out the impressive Duomo and then walk to the far right port Piazzale dei Protontini for excellent views of Amalfi.

• Grab the last ferry back to where you started from!

  

  

Day Two

This was definitely a much more adventurous route than above, and it was a long day of hiking, so use with caution.

• Start in Positano, grab a cappuccino (or spritz if you are on the mode - we had both 😂) at Angelo Cafe while overlooking at the colorful pyramid of houses that defines Positano.

• From Positano go up to Montepertuso for lovely views over the bay and some peace after the buzz of Positano. Grab a lovely lunch at Il Ritrovo, don’t miss the filled courgette flowers! You could stop your hiking here, and simply go down to Positano and chill at the beach. But, if you - like us - refuse to go down the same way you came up, then:

• Continue to Nocelle. This part was a tiny bit sketchy as the path was very overgrown - but it was short!

• In Nocelle, find the “Paths of the Gods”. This is the most popular hiking path in the area which connects several different towns. There are many ways to do the hike, but the most common is from Bomerano (Agerola) to Nocelle. We were planning to do exactly that route a few days afterwards, but then we were already in Nocelle so decided to do it backwards. And because we were desperate for a swim, we did it to Praiano instead of Bomerano (you just go down at an intersection in the middle of the hike instead of continuing). This is proper hiking (so no pavement and stairs) but also not particularly difficult or with a lot of elevation gain. That said, if you decide to go to Praiano there will be *a lot* of elevation loss. This way down was probably the harder part of the day. If we had better planned the route and were prepared to maybe not go swim (how could we?) then I think we might have continued to Bomerano and taken the bus down to the coast from there.

• In Praiano, admire all the art covering the staircases as you make your way to the ocean and take a well deserved swim at Marina di Praia. If you are hungry and not in a hurry to get to a ferry then have dinner in Kasai, which we didn’t do but wanted to. Praiano is not connected by proper ferries but you can take a water taxi to Amalfi or directly to wherever you are staying!

• Congratulate yourself on a big, challenging, and very fun day!

Swimming

Beaches in this area (and honestly in most of Europe) are small, crowded, and rocky. So, don’t expect the Caribbean. That said, the swimming is truly wonderful because the waters are extremely calm and clear, and many beaches in this area are actually sandy. Almost all beaches are divided into two, they have an area with a beach club where you can rent umbrellas and chairs, and a (usually smaller) free area where you can just lay on your towel. Here were our favorite swimming spots (including some we had on our list but weren’t able to make it):

Cretallera, Rosa dei Venti, and Lido di Ravello

• Rosa dei Venti or Cretallera in Vietri sul Mare. A long stretch of sandy beach!

• Spiaggia del Lannio in Cetara. Small but super cute and chill.

• Lido di Ravello in Atrani. Lovely!

• Marina di Praia in Praiano. Didn’t love it here (too rocky and too small) but it has a unique location.

• Fiordo di Furore in Furore. We weren’t able to make it here, but it was high on our list!

• Positano Spiaggia in Positano. Long and sandy! We didn’t actually stay there, but were tempted.

Other Activities in the Amalfi Coast

• Go wine tasting in Tramonti. We *loved* our visit to the Monte di Grazia winery. Complex wines, gorgeous setting, and interesting conversations with the owners in a very intimate setting. If you are looking for a more commercial experience, Tenuta San Francesco, another winery, is very close by. If you drive to Tramonti don’t miss going towards the other side of the mountain (away from the Amalfi coast), around here, for incredible views of Mt. Vesuvius (an active volcano!).

• Learn how to make fior di latte (or pasta, gnocchi, etc) in a pretty garden at La Vigna Degli Dei. A touristy experience, but still very fun.

• The villas and gardens around Ravello are worth seeing. Go to Villa Rufolo and if time allows also to Villa Cimbrone.

• Learn about lemons at the Amalfi Lemon Experience. We didn’t do this, but had it on our list.

  

Other Activities around the Amalfi Coast

• We based ourselves in Salerno and really loved it! Even if you don’t stay there, It’s definitely worth at least a day-trip. When there:

  • Go up to the Arechi Castle which overlooks the bay for great views! The walk up from town is nice though steep.

  • Walk the tree-lined promenade and get lost in the narrow streets of the old town.

  • Admire jacarandas in the Villa Communale gardens and the view over the town from Giardino della Minerva. This last one was close for renovations when we went, but the same views can be seen from this panoramic point a bit higher up.

  • Go to the impressive crypt in the Cathedral, visit the Church of St. George, and the ruins in San Pietro A Corte

• If you are really into cheese and have a car and some time, you can head south of the Amalfi Coast to Paestum to visit a buffalo farm (we went to Barlotti) to learn how mozzarella di bufala is made, and of course eat lots of dairy products made with buffalo milk! While in Paestum don’t miss seeing one of the best preserved Greek ruins in Europe at the Archeological Park of Paestum.

  

  

• Sorrento, on the north, is a very popular cruise destination and this will be obvious if you visit (large groups everywhere). It was our least favorite town in the entire coast, so don’t have much to recommend. We did have the best delizia al limone in La Cantinaccia del Popolo, but overall we found the town and everything in it to be a bit of a tourist trap.

• And then there is Naples, there is *so much* to say about this authentic and unique place. We spent two weeks there prior to going to the Amalfi Coast, so I plan to write a mini-guide for it :). My biggest recommendation is: don’t miss it.

Where to Eat

Here were some of our favorite meals:

• Le Arcate in Atrani for their lemon pasta!

• Il Ritrovo in Montepertuso for the best filled courgette flowers I have ever tasted.

• Ristorante Dea Mangiona in Cetara for their famous anchovy pasta!

• Angelo Cafe in Positano for a cappuccino with a view.

• Agricula Ruocco’s in the Path of Lemons for a wonderful lemon granita.

• Pizzeria Giagiu’ in Salerno for some of the best pizza we have had in Italy.

• Hostaria Il Brigante in Salerno for a very traditional meal.

• Osteria Angolo Masuccio in Salerno for their fresh tuna pasta!

Ok, that is it, the mini-guide turned out into a maxi one 😂, but nothing can be done when you have lots to say about a place! For many more visuals, check out the story highlights in our instagram: Amalfi and Around Amalfi. For a Google Map list with all the places mentioned in this blog post, DM me on IG or here.

What a special place the Amalfi Coast is, we hope to be back one day ❤️