The Amalfi Coast road is one of the great drives in Europe, and in high season it is also a slow-moving queue of coaches reversing around blind corners while a scooter tries to get past on the outside. The SS163 was built for a coastline, not for the number of vehicles now on it, and between June and September the average speed on the busy stretches drops to something you could match on a bicycle if the gradient allowed.
Almost everything you want to reach here is served by boat. That is the central fact of a car-free trip on this coast, and once you accept it the logistics get simpler rather than harder.
Why the boats win
Positano to Amalfi is around sixteen kilometres by road. In August that can take an hour. The ferry does it in about twenty-five minutes, costs less than parking, and shows you the coastline from the only angle where you can actually see it — from the sea, looking up at villages stacked into ravines, which is how they were built to be approached in the first place.
There is also the matter of what a car costs you once you arrive. Parking in Positano and Amalfi is limited, privately run and expensive by the day. Most hotels in the cliff villages have no parking at all, and several are only reachable on foot down a hundred or more steps, which means arriving by car ends with the same walk you would have had from the ferry pier.
The exception is worth naming honestly. If you are travelling in winter, when the ferries stop, or with mobility limitations, or with very small children and a great deal of luggage, a car or a pre-booked private transfer is the right answer. For everyone else between April and October, it is not.
How the ferry network works
From roughly April to October, boats connect Salerno, Amalfi, Positano, Sorrento and Capri, with seasonal services to Praiano, Minori and Maiori. The frequency builds through spring, peaks in July and August, and thins again in October.
A few things to know before you rely on it:
- Timetables change monthly, and the printed sheet in your hotel lobby is frequently last month's. Check the operator's own site or the ticket booth the day before.
- Services are cancelled in rough seas, and the decision is often made in the morning. This is the main reason to keep a bus route in mind as a fallback rather than treating the boat as guaranteed.
- Tickets are bought at a booth on the pier, usually shortly before departure. There is no advantage to booking days ahead for the short hops, though the Capri routes fill in August.
- The last boat is early. Evening services are limited or absent, so a dinner in another village generally means returning by bus or taxi.
Salerno is the underrated end of the line. It is a real working city with a train station on the main national line, which makes it the easiest way to reach the coast from Rome or Naples without a transfer through Sorrento.
Buses fill the gaps
The SITA bus runs the length of the coast and up the side valley to Ravello, and it is how you move when the sea is rough or the ferry day is over.
Buy tickets in advance at a tabacchi, a bar or a newsagent — buying on board is not always possible — and validate the ticket in the machine when you board. Tickets are sold by duration rather than by journey, so check you have bought enough for the leg you are making.
Two pieces of practical advice. Sit on the right-hand side heading east from Positano towards Amalfi for the drop-side views. And be aware that in high season buses leave the busy stops full, so getting on at Positano's main road stop in the middle of the afternoon can mean waiting for two or three to pass. Boarding at a terminus — Sorrento or Amalfi — solves this.
The Path of the Gods, and the other walks
The coast's walking is the third transport network, and the best of it does not touch the road at all.
The Path of the Gods runs along the ridge between Bomerano and Nocelle, around seven kilometres, mostly descending, with the coastline and Capri laid out below for most of its length. Take the bus up to Bomerano and walk west; doing it in that direction means you descend rather than climb, and the views are in front of you rather than behind. From Nocelle you either take the local bus down to Positano or descend around fifteen hundred steps to the beach. Your knees will have an opinion about that.
Go early. There is very little shade, the middle section is exposed, and the path is genuinely busy by mid-morning in summer. It is not technical, but it is uneven underfoot and it is not a walk for smooth-soled shoes.
Two quieter alternatives are worth knowing. The Valle delle Ferriere above Amalfi climbs through a wooded gorge full of ferns and old paper mills, and is cool on a hot day. And the Sentiero dei Limoni between Maiori and Minori is a short, easy path through the lemon terraces with almost nobody on it.
Where to base yourself
This matters more than usual here, because moving between villages costs real time and the differences between them are large.
Praiano sits between Positano and Amalfi with both ferry and bus access, west-facing sunsets, and prices noticeably below its neighbours. It is spread along the road rather than concentrated in a centre, which suits people who want a base rather than a scene.
Atrani, five minutes on foot from Amalfi through a tunnel, is the smallest municipality in southern Italy and has the quietest square on the coast — a handful of tables, a church, children playing football, and almost no day visitors. It is a remarkable place to stay and a poor place to expect a restaurant scene.
Amalfi itself is the transport hub and the most practical base if you intend to move around daily. It is busy during the day and empties considerably after the last ferries leave.
Minori and Maiori, east of Amalfi, are ordinary Italian seaside towns with proper beaches, lower prices and Italian holidaymakers rather than international ones.
Positano is the photograph. It is also vertical, extremely expensive, and requires climbing several hundred steps to get anywhere. Worth a day; a demanding place to stay for a week.
Ravello, high above Amalfi, is the alternative to the coast entirely — gardens, concerts, cool air and long views, at the cost of a bus ride down every time you want the sea.
Getting there without a car
From Naples: the Circumvesuviana railway to Sorrento, then ferry or bus. It is cheap, slow and often crowded, and it stops at Pompeii on the way, which is a useful reason to break the journey. The alternative is the train to Salerno on the main line and the ferry from there, which is faster and considerably more comfortable.
From Rome: the high-speed train to Salerno takes around two hours, and the ferry pier is a short walk from the station. This is the easiest approach and the one most people do not consider.
From Naples airport: a direct coach runs to Sorrento, and another to Amalfi and Positano in season.
Timing
May, June and late September are the coast at its best: the sea is warm enough, ferry schedules are full, and the villages are busy without being impassable. July and August are hot, extremely crowded and at their most expensive.
October is a genuine option — quieter, still warm, with ferries running into the month — and the first half of April works if you are walking rather than swimming.
November to March changes the trip entirely. Ferries stop, many hotels and restaurants close, and the coast becomes a place of empty roads and closed shutters. Atmospheric, cheap, and dependent on a car.
For eating in the city that makes the best base for arriving and leaving, see eating in Naples, and for the coast's own page, the Amalfi Coast destination guide.
