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Best way to see Amalfi Coast

Will be based in Sorrento and visiting the Amalfi Coast from there. My question is should I start my way from Amalfi to Ravello and then Positano, or Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. I'm thinking of taking the ferries to get around as the buses will be super busy. Any help would appreciated

Posted by
1829 posts

Better to see Amalfi / Ravello / Atrani one day
Positano a 2nd day

If that is not an option ; decide where you want to eat dinner of the 3 towns and make your plans accordingly

Posted by
847 posts

If traveling by ferry there won't be an option to have dinner in one of the villages as the last ferry is late afternoon (at least it always was, you obviously need to check the schedules for the time you will be there).

You can do all three in one day as long as you don't need too much time in any one. On several different trips we took the 9:30 ferry from Sorrento, I believe the last one back left Positano at 4:30. It doesn't matter if you stop at Positano before Amalfi or after. From Amalfi we took the red tourist bus once (I think the regular buses were on strike that day) to Ravello and it was fine. One time we walked down from Ravello to Amalfi (Atrani) which was fun, took about an hour. I think an hour or two in Positano is plenty as it's mostly upscale shops and restaurants. The big draw for Positano is the view of it - from the water and also from the edge of town looking back down into the village. I didn't find walking around it/exploring as rewarding as in Amalfi. The walk from Amalfi to Atrani is nice and doesn't take that long. On a couple of trips I've taken the bus from Sorrento to Positano (I got to the bus station about half an hour before the first bus of the day and had no problem getting on, but that was a few years ago and I hear it's even more crowded now). We got off in Positano for a couple hours, then got another bus to Amalfi. That worked OK since many on the bus got off in Positano so there was room for the leg to Amalfi. You can take the ferry back. If you can make it work that's the best option as the views from the bus and boat are different and both wonderful.

Photos - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p266655284

Posted by
154 posts

It depends on how much time you have and what you expect to see. You need to get ferry and bus schedules to see earliest and last ferry or bus back to Sorrento.
We came from Capri and we stayed for a few nights in Bomerano above Amalfi accessed by local buses. We do a lot of walking on our trips and use local transport wherever possible so that I don’t have to drive. For Ravello, we took the bus up from Amalfi (main bus terminal adjacent to ferry dock) to Ravello and after coffee and looking around there, walked down to Amalfi via Atrani. The walk took less than an hour. Then had lunch there and bus back up to Bomerano. Next day in good weather we did Way of the Gods down to Positano. It has great views. It took us about 4 hours and the 1,500 +/- stairs from Nocelle down to Positano was hard on thighs and feet. There is a local bus from Nocelle. After drinks (Aperol Spritzers) and snacks in Positano, we were going to take the bus back to Amalfi but the bus stop is up on the main road and the queue for the bus was long, so we took the ferry back to Amalfi.
At the end of our stay, we took the bus back down to Amalfi and caught an early ferry to Salerno and picked up a rental car for Puglia.
Too much to see and we like to stay for a night or two in most places.

Posted by
779 posts

It depends where you will be before and after your base in Sorrento?

Other than that, any order you do them will be wonderful!!! I'm staying in Positano for a week in July, then moving to Ravello for 4 nights. We'll do Ravello/Amalfi together. After that, we are going to Ischia for the first time for 4 nights. I love this area and after 3 years of not traveling anywhere, I need this time desperately! You should check out Nicki Positano on Youtube. She and her husband live up high in Positano (he's Positano born, she's English) and they do videos on what it's like to live on the Amalfi Coast. I've been watching for months!