Amalfi Coast

Hi Jen!

My mom, my sister and I took a trip to the Amalfi Coast in 2022 and we ended up staying in Sorrento at the Hotel Tramontano (they have a tiny elevator inside the hotel that takes you down to the water; it's truly an amazing view) as our home base, and we took a day trip to both Amalfi and Positano by ferry and bus on two separate days. We didn't realize each town is actually so little! You can definitely condense them into one day, and I think both have a beach club (we didn't end up doing any beach time though, so not sure how that works!)

Side note* the bus from Sorrento to Positano is truly terrifying as you're high up on a cliff so definitely recommend the ferry in any part of the coast.

I think many people want to stay up in the hills but when you see everyone huffing and puffing up and down, I think it's maybe less fun. It's definitely a hike!

We took another ferry from Sorrento to Capri and stayed a couple nights on the island. Capri is beautiful for a couple days but also could be seen in an afternoon.

I know you wanted Positano hotel recs but we found Sorrento to be a great home base and like undersold! There's a hotel next to Hotel Tramontano which is supposed to be super gorgeous as well.

Happy planning! :)

What time of year? We've spent time on the Amalfi Coast twice. The first time we stayed in Sorrento and used the bus to travel between the AC cities. The view from the Positano bus stop down into the city is STUNNING! The town of Amalfi is charming and highly recommend a bus ride up to Ravello from Amalfi town. Amalfi and Ravello can be combined into one day.

We also visited AC from Salerno. Salerno is more budget friendly. From there we revisited Amalfi city and then some of the smaller towns that are less crowded.

If you have 2 nights on AC, then you will have, at most, 1.5 days to visit. I don't see how you can see both AC and Capri in that time frame. With just the two nights, I'd drop Capri and stay in Positano, Amalfi or perhaps, Minori. Being right in the AC, reduces travel time and allows you to spend more time on the beach and in the towns.

Jenny, the month and year of your visit is essential. You are biting off a tough task (for two days), because it is a chore to get to and from the Amalfi Coast. Your next and previous destinations are relevant as well. While it is true that Sorrento is a purpose-built, postwar resort town, at least it faces (sort of) west, so you might get a sunset that you won't have on the actual A.C.

You didn't mention Pompeii or Naples. Are they on this trip?

These topics come up every week here, so the Search box top left, blue, in the Desktop view of the website may deliver vast amounts of info to you that you won't get in just a single inquiry thread. Here's an example, which has a lot of links to discussions in it.

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

You have a lot of research to do; For example, almost any taxi ride from one town to another in this area will be around 100 Euros. And traffic is terrible.

Look for hotels in booking.com, you can sort by prices. I would also look for hotels in Amalfi town. I stayed in Amalfi and think it’s better than Positano to get around. Two nights is very tight for what you want to do, try to squeeze another night. The transportation among the towns is not the nightmarish scenario some people make it out to be. You can get around by buses and / or ferries relatively easily, especially using Amalfi town as your base.

our family of 3 will only have 2 nights to stay on the Amalfi Coast.
Not surprisingly we’re hoping to see Positano, Amalfi, and Capri.

Jenny, above, I think you're trying to bite off too much for just 1 full day. As well, based on a previous post wondering about Rome on Republic Day (June 2), I've a hunch you'll be on the coast in early June? It's going to be very busy, which will impede your ability to move much of anywhere very quickly. IMHO? "Reasonably priced" and "Positano" do not go together, although that depends, I guess, on what 'reasonable' means for you. I'm not sure it would appeal all that much to a teenaged boy, either.

Really, with so little time I'd skip the beach and stay somewhere other than Positano, maybe Sorrento or Amalfi. Capri will eat up a good chunk of a day, depending on what you plan to do there, and will be crawling with other day-trippers. With a teenaged son, I'd consider doing a short or longer scenic hike/walk (no boots needed) and taking the chairlift to the top of Mt. Solaro (Anacapri) among some other activities. Skip the high-end shopping areas.

Someone asked about Pompeii: I'm curious why you didn't mention that one unless you're, say, coming from a stay in Naples and plan to do it from there? Or just not interested? Where will you be coming from before landing on the coast? Where to next?