I understand there is a bus and boat that takes tourists between the two places. I would like to experience them both. Can anyone recommend which means of transportation I should take first? I’m trying to plan the best strategy. Rick suggest taking a bus to amalfi and the boat back to Positano.
Thank you.
Tara
We used Positano for our base for a week last September and only used boats as transportation. We did not have a car and used a car service from and to Naples but relied on boats for the rest of our adventures.
I would take the boat to Amalfi and the bus back. Buses to Positano (and on to Sorrento) originate in Amalfi, which improves your chance of getting a seat on the view side of the bus (left side in that direction).
Bus eastbound--- boat westbound, puts you on the bus as it is on the 'view' side of the road
Tara, here's the current boat schedule either direction:
https://www.positano.com/en/ferry-schedule?from=positano&to=amalfi#
https://www.positano.com/en/ferry-schedule?from=amalfi&to=positano#
Check it again when you get there in case it changes in September.
Great question and answers. I never considered that buses travelling eastbound are nearer to the edge of the road and therefore have an advantage.
If the SITA buses start in Sorrento, what’s the likelihood of getting a seat on the right side of the bus when it stops at Positano? We plan to catch the first bus to Amalfi. Would that improve our chances?
None of these bus questions can be answered without knowing the month of travel. From May to September, every bus from Sorrento leaves absolutely full. I would imagine fewer people go all the way to Amalfi. Note that Rick has written that if you are making the whole day by bus in high season, you might wish to visit Positano first and Amalfi second so that you are getting on an empty bus in Amalfi. He says that some busses are so full from Amalfi that they don't even stop in Positano in the afternoon going back to Sorrento. (No personal experience, we hired a car and driver for 8 hours, 240 Euros.)
Thanks Tim. I'm going at the end of Sept, so still peak season. If all the buses leave from Sorrento full, then stop at Positano, it's possible that no seats or few seats will be available, right? If that's the case, I need to consider alternative modes of transportation.
What I observed in late May was that the line for the, roughly, half-hourly busses from the left-front of the Sorrento Circumvesuviana station had a line with more than the 55 or so people who would fit on a bus. I presume that those who failed to pack onto the "next" bus after they got in line simply continued standing in line until they could get on a bus. I don't think many of them abandoned their excursion plans for the day.
Note that other posters have mentioned a local tour company that runs slightly more expensive busses on similar routes. That might be an affordable solution. But it seems unwise to assume that you will get a seat (!) on the side of the bus with a view towards the water.
I think that more people go to Positano than go to Amalfi, so perhaps it is easier to get a bus from Positano to Amalfi than it is to get a bus from Sorrento to Positano. Did you read the recent rant here about this bus service? OTOH, there are plenty of people who were grinned and bore it!
