Positano, Amalfi Coast and Capri

There are several places to stay along the Amalfi Coast. Some of the most popular destinations include Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi or further up the mountain in Ravello. One consideration is how far do you want to go from Naples knowing you will have to spend that time getting there and then coming back?

Also, what area appeals to you most. These are over-generalizations but may help. Sorrento is closest to Naples and has a reputation of being more casual and relaxed. Positano is a bit more upscale/luxury and geared towards shopping. Amalfi is the namesake of the area and has a large piazza and duomo. Ravello is more secluded and geared towards art and music with views from the top of the mountains.

For our trip, and trying to visit so many areas of Italy, Positano was just close enough to be manageable and just far enough to be a bit less crowded. And if you stay in any of the areas along the coastline, it is quite easy to take the ferry from town to town and visit all of them during the day.

There are also a few options for getting to your beach destination. We selected a private van to pick us up (Italy Limousine) and take us directly from the Naples airport to our hotel. We also arranged to have them pick us up again after our stay to take us from our hotel in Positano to Pompeii and then Rome. However, if you are staying any further than Positano, the drive can take a long time (several hours) so it may be better to arrange for a car or taxi to the ferry in Naples and then take the ferry to Amalfi or beyond. If you are going to Ravello, you can take the ferry to Amalfi and arrange for a car to pick you up to ride up the mountain.

Please note, we have driven the Road to Hana in Maui (known for being a hard road to drive) and it was far less scary than simply riding in a car along the Amalfi Coast. The lanes are very narrow with vespas passing in and out of traffic, as well as tourists stepping into the streets while large buses are coming around tight corners. We consider ourselves confident drivers but even riding in a car in this area is quite an experience.

As for lodging in Positano, if you want the quintessential view of the town seen in so many photographs (especially at night), two of the best options are Hotel Marincanto and Le Sirenuse. We chose Hotel Marincanto as we could get two rooms; both with amazing views and balconies and we were not disappointed. The hotel also offers two signature suites (the Li Galli Suite and the Honeymoon Suite) which have jacuzzi tubs and the highest patio overlooks.

Upon arrival and after flying for almost 24 hours (luckily, we dealt with our jetlag before arriving – see Preparing and Packing), we wanted to simply walk down to the beach to see the town for dinner. There are several restaurants along the beach. We chose a table at L’Incantano to have lemon/shrimp risotto; a pizza and our first gelato. We also tried Limoncello for the first time (an after-dinner lemon liqueur) and we will say, it was not really for us.

Before going to bed, we made sure to arrange for a taxi to take us hiking a few days later; and requested breakfast on our balcony to watch the sun rise over the town. The next morning, we had a relaxing cup of coffee with the most amazing view of the empty beach, ocean, cliffs and yachts in the harbor.

We wanted to spend our first full day exploring the small town and started by walking to Nana Positano. This small shop is run by a father and son who make custom sandals. You can select the style, straps, crystals, clasps, everything. They then measure each piece for your foot and have them ready in just over an hour or so.

This meant we had some time to stop in a few shops including Latteria next door – where we purchased a few bottles of wine along with some lemon candies. This is also a popular deli for a quick snack.

Further down the street, was one of our favorite places to spend some time, La Bottega di Brunella, where you can find linen dresses, scarves, shirts and more. If nothing else, walking through the hanging clothes on the patio feels like something from a romantic movie.

For lunch, we highly recommend Casa e Bottega. This open-air café serves fresh sandwiches, salads and soups. And by fresh, we mean they have a display with all the vegetables right there and you can see them coming to pick out various items as they prepare each meal. Plus, our kids loved the watermelon juice with oranges and peaches. Why is this not a thing everywhere?!? All topped off by the large dog who came in and laid down right in the middle of restaurant to cool off.

Afterwards, it was back to Nana Positano to pick up our sandals. Please note, the island of Capri is famous for making sandals for the likes of Jackie Kennedy. However, we personally preferred this smaller family-run shop versus the one in Capri that which is much larger due to its history.

We then returned to our hotel walking through the town to see the alleys lined with shops, the grounds of the Hotel Palazzo Murat and the town’s Duomo (church).

In the afternoon, you can rent chairs along the ocean (or the chairs a bit higher up are free of charge if you are staying at the Hotel Marincanto) and enjoy some snacks and drinks. One item we did not expect is no one tells you the beach itself is made up of smooth black rocks of various sizes. It is beautiful, but the process of actually getting in and out of the water barefoot can be humorous to watch. No one looked graceful trying to cross the large round stones. But the payoff is worth it to cool off in the water and meet many of the other travelers from around the world.

We wanted something casual for dinner with a great view – and the hotel was terrific about helping us to reserve one of the few tables at Bar Bruno (many of the restaurants in Italy also include the name “bar” but it doesn’t mean they are just for drinking). This unique restaurant has roughly ten tables right along the rail of the street looking over the town. This means the servers must run back and forth across the street with drinks and food. It is worth the experience, if only to enjoy a meal with passing cars; people strolling; waiters playing “Frogger”; and even a walking band that stopped in the evening to play a few songs for tips from the guests.

The next morning, our plan was quite aggressive. We wanted to do BOTH the Atrani Walk (so we could see Ravello, Atrani and Amalfi) AND the Path of the Gods. They are both downhill so if you plan it right, it couldn’t be that hard, right? The plan was to take a taxi to Ravello and explore the town. Then, make our way down to Atrani and over to Amalfi. We would grab lunch in Amalfi and catch a taxi to Bomerano. Finally, completing the Path of the Gods all the way back to Positano. No problem, right?

We picked up the taxi and went to Ravello arriving in the early morning. Ravello is beautiful (especially in the morning when it is empty) so we walked the small square and then up the flower-lined streets to Belmond Caruso. The hotel is beautiful, and they were kind enough to give us a small tour which included their amazing infinity pool looking out over the entire Amalfi coastline. If we return, we will be hard pressed not to include a stay at this hotel on the mountainside.

You may also want to spend some time at Villa Rufolo (especially the gardens) and Villa Cimbrone (which is argued by some to be one of the most beautiful places on the entire coastline). After some sightseeing, we were ready for the first hike which we thought would be easy to find – so we simply asked a few locals “Which way to Atrani?”. We were pointed in the direction of some stairs by the road which seemed logical. After making our way down about 500 steps, something did not seem right. We started to suspect the language barrier meant they had pointed us to the stairs to the highway which leads to Atrani. We then had to go back up 500 steps and find the actual walking path between the two towns.

Tip – Atrani Walk – If you want to find the walking path, open Google Maps and enter Villa Rufolo and then Piazza Umberto and select walking directions. You may even want to print this out prior to your trip as getting an accurate GPS location in this remote area can be spotty.

After losing one hour of time, we found the path which is comprised of hundreds of steep stone steps leading you down over 1,000 feet from the mountain to the beach. There are occasionally signs for Atrani as you cross over a street or through a back alley, but they can be easy to miss, and we found ourselves backtracking a few times. The descent takes you through alleys, back roads, around homes, and along the mountainside, until you finally emerge with the most amazing view of the ocean and the tower of Collegiate Santa Maria Maddalena. Unlike most hikes, it really is a unique way to see the area and you will get the path to yourself almost the entire time.

After finding Atrani, we just had to get to Amalfi. Easy again, right? Instead of walking along the road, we tried to make our way through the town which ended up leading us through several small hallways, stairways, and dead-ends – all requiring pointing from helpful locals as to which way to head next. What was amazing was getting to see these areas visitors rarely get to experience – where and how the local population lives. Finally, we arrived in the square in Amalfi where we gladly sat at the first table we could find to eat, as well as fill up our water bottle from the fountain in the middle of the piazza.

By the time we were done, we had decided to skip the Walk of the Gods and head back to Positano to cool off by the pool. All in all, we were disappointed at not getting to do the Path of the Gods as it has amazing views. However, if had we not done the Atrani Walk, we would not have gotten to visit Ravello, Atrani and Amalfi the way we did. We are still undecided as to whether we would have done it any differently if we had it to do over.

Getting back to Positano was much easier as we simply purchased tickets for the next ferry from Amalfi and enjoyed the cool breeze heading back. After a lot of water, a few drinks and several hours at the pool, we had made reservations to eat at the Hotel Covo Dei Saraceni (The Covo Restaurant) on the beach.

A note about this restaurant. There are two different restaurants at the hotel, and they go by the same name. One is the more casual dining option along the beach. The other is more formal on the balcony above. This made the reviews online quite confusing as some people are reviewing the hotel; some the casual restaurant; some the coffee bar; and others the fine dining restaurant. We did love the formal dining restaurant as it has terrific views looking right out over the water at night as well as great food. We were especially impressed by the Chateaubriand for two. We were nervous to order steak in Italy (being from Texas and quite selective about our steaks) but we found it to be one of the best we have had. Add to that our new favorite wine, Grattamacco Bolgheri Superiore (highly recommended if you like reds) and it was a terrific place to dine in Positano.

The next morning we had scheduled a trip over to the island of Capri. Through some friends we had been referred to Blue Grotto Tours and could not have been happier. They instructed us to purchase the high-speed ferry tickets online before we arrived and were there to meet us as soon as we deboarded. Our guide, Annamaria (who was just terrific), quickly moved us through the crowd to an open-air taxi she had waiting. We then departed quickly to get ahead of everyone else arriving on the morning ferries. This is critical as you can find a lot of bad reviews of the Blue Grotto and how long the wait can be. But this first-class service had us well ahead of everyone.

Before arriving at the Blue Grotto, you get to drive up what they call the “Mamma Mia Road”. It has no relation to the movie itself but rather the view makes you say “Mamma Mia”; especially as you consider they only recently installed a retaining wall by the cliff side edge.

At the Blue Grotto, there were a few people in line, so we waited fifteen minutes until one of the boats pulled around to take us inside. Given the entrance is very small, there is only about a one-in-four chance boats will be able to go inside on any given day. If there are any waves at all, it is too dangerous to enter, but we were lucky as the water was calm the day of our visit.

The boats will then enter the grotto and take a quick lap through the cobalt blue water. Some of the oarsmen will sing. Some will tell jokes or share an espresso shot. Our guide talked to our boat captain beforehand and he made several laps around the grotto for us. And then just before departing the cave, a large boat had arrived outside and created large waves which required us to stay inside by ourselves for several more minutes until they subsided. We have been both lucky and unlucky when we travel. And this was a lucky day.

After the Blue Grotto, Annamaria took us to the single-person chairlift which takes you to the highest point on the island. We spent twenty minutes or so taking in the views in every direction – and were surprised at just how high the island peak is. Afterwards, it was back down the chairlift where we had time to spend shopping at some of the stores in town before lunch.

Lunch was reserved for us at a popular restaurant with the local residents (Le Arcate) and we spent an hour enjoying bufala mozzarella, wine, calamari and that largest calzone we have ever seen.

Afterwards, Annamaria showed us around town; stopping in at some of the more unique shops where you can get more custom-made sandals; build your own custom perfume; or try limoncello, lemon candies and lemon chocolates. As a seventh-generation resident, she shared the history of the island including stories about the first car; the schools; the history of Capri and Anacapri, etc. One we found to be the most interesting was that once Jackie O had her sandals made, she wanted people to be able to see them. So, she took to wearing pants like the fisherman on the island which were slightly higher legs (so they would not get wet on the boats) – and hence the style of “Capri” pants was born. I am not sure how we did not put together that Capri pants came from the island of Capri.

To finish the day, we visited the higher-end shopping district where you can find almost every famous Italian designer store. And then finally exploring the Caesar Augustus Garden for more spectacular views. All before heading down the funicular to get back to the beach and the ferry back to Positano.

Upon arriving back in Positano, we highly recommend stopping at the small green shack (or the Hotel Covo) for a Lemon Sorbet. This refreshing treat is served inside of a large scooped-out lemon peel. And you will need some refreshment after what was one of our favorite days of the entire trip.

For dinner, we had reservations at the Terrazza Cele on the balcony of the Hotel Marincanto to watch the sun set and get ready to leave the next morning for our trip to Pompeii and then Rome.

For notes on our entire trip to Italy, here is our two-week Itinerary. And, if you are just starting to plan your trip, we have created four “how to” guides – Planning, Preparing and Packing, Getting Around and Driving and finally Once You Arrive.

We also have detailed notes for each individual destination for Positano, the Amalfi Coast and Capri; Rome and Pompeii; Tuscany, Siena and Florence; the Palio di Siena; Venice and Lake Como. We would love to hear if you found any of these pages and notes helpful – or if you have any feedback you would recommend for other travelers.