Things to do in Amalfi Coast
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Amalfi Coast
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Reopening season: wildflowers, lemon blossom and mild hiking, but cold sea and variable weather.
The sweet spot: everything open, swimmable sea from late May, gardens at peak and human crowds.
Full summer: hottest beach weather and Ravello Festival, with prices and traffic climbing steeply.
Peak to avoid if you can: Ferragosto crowds, maximum prices and full buses passing stops.
Second sweet spot: warmest sea, harvest season, thinning crowds and everything still open.
Closed coast: ferries and beach clubs shut, short days, superb quiet hiking on clear days.
What's on
- Ravello Festival 4 July-25 August
Orchestras, opera, jazz and dance on a stage over the sea in Villa Rufolo gardens.
- Sunrise Concert, Ravello around 11 August
Orchestra plays as the sun rises over the coast from Villa Rufolo belvedere.
- Regata of the Ancient Maritime Republics usually June
Amalfi, Venice, Genoa and Pisa race historic galleons in costume; Amalfi hosts in rotation.
- Festival of Sant'Andrea, Amalfi 27 June and 30 November
Patron saint statue is run up the Duomo steps by fishermen; June has fireworks over the harbour.
- Ferragosto fireworks, Positano 15 August
Fireworks over the sea for the Feast of the Assumption, spectacular from water or a terrace.
- Byzantine New Year, Amalfi 31 August-1 September
Costumed processions marking Amalfi medieval new year in late summer.
Best things to do in Amalfi Coast
Villa Cimbrone
Gardens and statues ending at the Terrace of Infinity, a sheer drop view over the sea below.
Villa Rufolo
Terraced gardens hanging over Amalfi and Atrani, the estate that inspired Wagner and the festival.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta
Positano church with a Byzantine icon and majolica dome, free to enter on the walk down.
Spiaggia Grande
Positano main beach with the postcard view back up at the vertical town above it.
Fornillo Beach
Quieter beach past the cliff path from Spiaggia Grande, with cheaper loungers and a free section.
Amalfi Cathedral
Arab-Norman cathedral up a grand staircase, with cloister, crypt and Byzantine bronze doors.
Museo della Carta
Paper museum in an old mill where you see medieval handmade paper made and make a sheet.
Amalfi Coast small-group boat tour
See the coast from the water in a small group, with swim stops in coves no road reaches.
Where to stay in Amalfi Coast
Amalfi town
first trip, all-round base
Central ferry port and bus hub, flattest big town centre, with sights and swims on the doorstep.
Praiano
repeat visitors, sunset
Quieter and cheaper than Positano, with the sunset view of Positano and Marina di Praia cove.
Positano
splurge, honeymoon
The most beautiful town and the hardest life: priciest rooms, punishing stairs and crowds.
Ravello
romance, quiet retreat
Cooler garden town with grand hotels, but no beach and a winding bus down to Amalfi for coast days.
Conca dei Marini
secluded luxury
Cliff seclusion between Amalfi and Positano, home to Monastero Santa Rosa and the Emerald Grotto.
Maiori and Minori
value, families
Longest flattest beaches, real promenade, ferry stops and family hotels at half Positano prices.
Think twice about
- Naples as an Amalfi Coast base
Day-tripping burns two-plus hours each way and lands you in every town at peak crowd.
- Isolated SS163 roadside hotels between towns
Listings may say Positano but sit kilometres away with no pavement, bus stop or restaurant nearby.
- Agerola and the mountain villages as a beach base
Lovely and cheap for hikers, but 45-plus winding minutes from the sea.
- Ravello with mobility limits or beach-first plans
No beach in town and every coast day starts with a winding bus or driver down to Amalfi.
Best restaurants in Amalfi Coast
La Sponda
Starred dinner by about 400 candles in Le Sirenuse, the coast most romantic room.
Quattro Passi
Two stars in a fishing hamlet, built on the family garden and the bay.
Rossellinis
Starred terrace above the sea in Palazzo Avino, with the coast grandest wine service.
Zass
One-star inside Il San Pietro, fed by its own terraced gardens above the sea.
La Tagliata
Family farm above Positano with no menu and a feast of garden antipasti, pastas and meats.
Da Adolfo
Lunch institution reached by the red-fish boat: grilled peaches and mozzarella on lemon leaves.
'A Paranza
Seafood trattoria in tiny Atrani that locals name for crudo and scialatielli at fair prices.
Da Gemma
Historic Amalfi dining room off the Duomo steps for Genovese, seafood pasta and lemon desserts.
Outdoor things to do in Amalfi Coast
Sentiero degli Dei
Cliff-edge mule path from Bomerano to Nocelle at about 600 metres, the coast signature hike.
Capri
Boat circuit past the Faraglioni and grottos, then time ashore in Capri town or Anacapri.
Amalfi Coast kayak tour
Paddle at cliff level past caves and arches to beaches reachable only by sea, with swim stops.
Valle delle Ferriere
Shaded reserve walk of ferns, streams and waterfalls behind Amalfi, cool even in August.
Arienzo Beach Club
Positano polished beach club reached by shuttle boat, with loungers, cocktails and lunch.
Da Adolfo
Boat-access beach and lunch institution on Laurito beach, scruffier and food-first in style.
One Fire Beach
Praiano party beach club for the DJ and watermelon scene at sunset, a choose-knowingly splurge.
Pompeii Archaeological Park
Vast Roman city needing three to four hours minimum, with forum, amphitheatre and plaster casts.
Best hotels in Amalfi Coast
Le Sirenuse
Family-run Positano icon since the 1950s, with oyster bar, La Sponda and terraces over the town.
Il San Pietro di Positano
Cliff-carved hotel east of Positano with terraced gardens and a lift to a private beach.
Belmond Hotel Caruso
Eleventh-century Ravello palace whose infinity pool appears to float over the coast.
Palazzo Avino
Pink palace in Ravello with Rossellinis, rooftop hot tubs and a beach club at Castiglione.
Hotel Santa Caterina
Grande dame in lemon groves outside Amalfi, with a lift to a private beach club.
Monastero Santa Rosa
Adults-focused former monastery on a cliff, with infinity pool and serious spa; seclusion sells it.
Casa Angelina
All-white design hotel in Praiano with art, fine dining and the sunset; no under-12s policy.
Hotel Marincanto
Terraced pools and gardens above Spiaggia Grande, at roughly half of Le Sirenuse money.
Is Amalfi Coast expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €140 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €300 a person |
| Splurge | €650 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Amalfi Coast small-group boat tour: weeks ahead
- Amalfi Lemon Experience: weeks ahead
- Capri: weeks ahead
- Amalfi Coast kayak tour: a few days ahead
- Arienzo Beach Club: weeks ahead
- Da Adolfo: a few days ahead
- One Fire Beach: a few days ahead
- Pompeii Archaeological Park: weeks ahead
- Hotels 4-6 months ahead for June-September at famous names, 2-3 months for good mid-range.
- La Sponda, Quattro Passi and Rossellinis 4-8 weeks in season; La Tagliata and Da Adolfo 1-3 weeks.
- Private boat charters 3-4 weeks ahead on peak weekends; beach clubs weeks ahead in July and August.
- Pompeii and Vesuvius tickets are official, online and timed, booked days to weeks ahead.
Is Amalfi Coast safe?
- Realistic risks are traffic on the SS163, sun and heat on unshaded trails, and late-summer jellyfish.
- Pickpockets work crush-loaded August buses and Naples Centrale station; keep transit time alert.
- Tap water is drinkable and fountains refill bottles on hikes; carry cash for boats and small bars.
Amalfi Coast travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Treat the Blue Grotto as a bonus: it closes in any swell and queues can eat two hours.
- Fiordo di Furore is a photo from the bridge, not a beach day; access is restricted and the cove tiny.
- One-day Amalfi Coast bus tours from Naples or Rome spend hours in traffic for minutes per town.
- Buy limoncello from a grove producer or enoteca, not neon souvenir bottles by the ferry dock.
Getting around Amalfi Coast: public transport and more
- Travel by water whenever you can: ferries are faster, calmer and prettier than the bus or road in summer.
- SITA buses are cheap but full August buses pass stops; board at terminuses and buy tickets before boarding.
- Private drivers cost about 60-100 euros per inter-town hop; agree the fare first.
- Driving the SS163 is narrow and cliff-cut with costly scarce parking; most repeat visitors say do not.
Who Amalfi Coast suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Amalfi Coast your trip
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