Advice for visiting Amalfi Coast

Blue Grotto mostly a tourist trip.
Sorrento a great location and easy to go to Capri, Naples and along coast -by boat… car driving on Amalfi Coast scary -
take boat, bus or hire a driver.

If you're interested in Paestum the Salerno makes sense. Salerno is close to Paestum, Pompeii and Naples by train and offers ferries to the Amalfi coast towns and Capri. Salerno is a city - unlike small and charming Sorrento - but might make sense for a night or two before staying on the Amalfi coast proper. Salerno is 2-2.5 hours from Rome by fast train.

Be aware that travel around the Amalfi coast is logistically difficult so don't plan on staying in Positano and visiting Paestum because that's an unnecessary hassle. Visit what you want to see that is not the Amalfi coast before or after your coastal visit and just plan on being on the coast for the rest of the time. There are also definite seasons and off season the weather turns, things shut down and the ferries have a restricted schedule. In season you'll be competing with many other people for rooms and transportation so plan ahead.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Next April will be our third trip to the Amalfi Coast. Actually, on our first two trips--both in March--we didn't technically stay on the A.C. In 2015, we stayed in Salerno and in 2017 Sorrento, which is on the other side of the peninsula.

Need to know the time of year to advise correctly because from May into October the A.C. will be very, very crowded. Don't let that stop you, however. There are ways around it. In those months, you stay in Salerno and take the ferry to the A.C., daily if you want. Salerno doesn't have the hi-top views, but the lungomare walkway along the sea is beautiful, the Old Town is charming and restaurants are fabulous at about 70% of the prices on the A.C.

Another advantage of staying in Salerno is that, in 6 days, you'll want to do other things. Paestum--40 minutes south on the train. Naples--50 minutes north on the train. Pompei--train to Naples, then walk downstairs and take the Circumvesuviana train--it reminds me of a city subway--not dangerous but weird characters--40 minutes to the Pompei entrance.

In April for us, only for 3 nights on a 16-day tour of Florence, Rome, A.C,. Taormina (Sicily) by train, we're basing in Salerno at an inexpensive but personally-recommended hotel directly across the circle from the Salerno train/bus station, Hotel Plaza. Steps to the ferry docking. https://www.plazasalerno.com/en/

Enjoy your planning!

Definitely do not rent a car. Public transportation via bus or ferry (much preferred imo) is pretty good and gets the tourist crowds to and fro everyday. I’ll always advocate for staying somewhere ON the coast for at least a few days. By staying in a coast town, you can enjoy the place before and after the hoards of day trippers make their way in from Sorrento, Naples and Salerno. You’ll also be generally moving against the flow of these crowds too.

There’s no great answer on where to stay, every town has its pros and cons (mostly a collection of pros.) In general, I think it’s hard to get it too wrong. With six days, and considering day trips to Capri and Paestum, I think a 2-3 nights in Salerno make sense. I would then split the other three nights somewhere else. Positano, Priano, Minori, Madori, even Ravello (which is high up but relatively flat) would make nice options to enjoy and absorb some time on the coast.

On the Blue Grotto: It’s generally considered a bit of a tourist trap, though an enjoyable one if you approach it with that in mind. There’s plenty of folks on this forum that have done it, and can tell you how to do it, but no one really makes a passionate case for it. It was actually closed due to (not very) rough seas while I was there, so there’s no guarantee either. Capri is a very enjoyable day trip besides.

Be sure to view some of the previous discussions linked here:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-coast-for-7-nights-itinerary-help

Thank you all for such helpful advice! Several asked when our trip will be. Unfortunately, we cannot take this trip until mid-May of 2025. We were thinking of flying to Rome and staying 6 days then taking a train to either Naples or Salerno for six days. Would we be better off putting the Amalfi Coast part FIRST and then go to Rome? Seems like the way to go is to stay at 2 even 3 different places when we are visiting the Amalfi Coast. IF YOU HAD 12 DAYS TOTAL, WOULD YOU SPLIT IT UP 6 IN ROME AND 6 ON THGE AMALFI COAST OR 5 IN ROME AND 7 IN THE AMALFI COAST AREA?