Understanding the Coast
The Amalfi Coast in Italy is not one place but a sequence of places strung along a single road — the SS163 — that hugs a cliff above the sea for most of its length. The towns are all distinct: Positano is fashionable and photogenic; Amalfi is a working town with real history; Ravello is an inland clifftop village that happens to have the finest views on the coast; Praiano is the one the crowds miss. Understanding this geography before you arrive determines everything about how the trip goes.
The ferry, not the road, is the correct way to move between the main towns in summer. The SS163 blocks solid from late June through August — what Google Maps estimates as a twenty-minute drive routinely takes ninety minutes. Ferries run from Salerno and from Positano through Amalfi to Salerno throughout the day in season, faster and cooler than any road option, with better views in every direction.
The Sentiero degli Dei
The Path of the Gods — the Sentiero degli Dei — is a 7.5-kilometre hiking trail that follows the ridge above the Amalfi Coast from Bomerano to Nocelle, above Positano. The name is earned. From the path, the entire coast is laid out below: terraced lemon groves on the slopes, the villages clustered around their small harbours, the sea running from turquoise to deep blue in the distance.
Start from Bomerano — reached by bus from Amalfi — and walk west towards Nocelle and Positano. The walk takes three to four hours at a relaxed pace. The final descent from Nocelle to Positano is steep and involves several hundred steps. The ferry back from Positano to Amalfi or Salerno closes the loop. Go on a weekday and start before 9am to avoid the main walking-tour groups that arrive mid-morning.
The Lemons of the Amalfi Coast
The sfusato amalfitano is a lemon variety grown on the steep terraced groves that line the cliffs above the coast road — enormous, thick-skinned, fragrant, and significantly less acidic than the ordinary lemons found elsewhere in Italy. The groves are UNESCO- recognised agricultural heritage and visible from every ferry crossing the coast.
The lemon defines the cooking of the coast as completely as the sea does. Pasta al limone, spaghetti alle vongole finished with lemon and good olive oil, the local limoncello served cold after every meal whether ordered or not. The best food on the Amalfi Coast is invariably the simplest: a short handwritten menu, a carafe of the local white wine, a restaurant that does not have photographs outside and does not face the main waterfront.
When to Visit the Amalfi Coast
Late May and early June are the finest weeks on the Amalfi Coast — warm enough to swim, quiet enough to move through the towns without friction, the lemon groves in full scent, and hotel prices at a third of their August peak. September and early October give the same warmth with the school-holiday crowds gone. A weekday visit at any point in the season will find a different, calmer coast than the one that fills the travel supplements.
July and August work if you plan correctly: arrive before 9am, stay until noon, take the ferry not the road, and accept that the main beaches will be at capacity. The shoulder- season visitor who books six months in advance will see a coast that the August visitor, who booked last week and arrived by car at noon, will not recognise.
Getting There
Naples is the nearest major hub — two hours by car down the Autostrada del Sole to Salerno, then the coast road west, or a one-hour hydrofoil directly to Amalfi town. From Salerno, the ferry is faster and more pleasant than any road option in season. From Rome, the journey by car takes three and a half to four hours; the train to Salerno takes two and a half, followed by ferry.
The Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Sorrento, followed by the SITA bus or ferry from Sorrento, is the public-transport route. It is slower than it looks on a map and more crowded in summer than it should be, but it works.
Practical Tips
Book accommodation on the Amalfi Coast at least three months ahead for summer. Cash is essential at smaller restaurants, boat taxis, the Museo della Carta, and markets — cards are often refused or surcharged. Comfortable walking shoes are non-negotiable: the coast’s stepped paths, cobbled streets, and cliff staircases are relentless, and sandals become a problem quickly. The Amalfi Cathedral is free to enter and its cloister is the best fifteen minutes you will spend indoors on the coast.
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