The Dreaded Amalfi Questions- Salerno to Sorrento and Back in a Day

While I’ve been to Italy a half dozen times, I’ve never been below Pompeii on the west coast, so I don’t have any advice unfortunately. I do, however, have a question - your entire post was about transportation options and back and forth and round about. What are you hoping to get out of these three days?

Hello,
Sorry I am literally everywhere over Italy other than Sardegna on this trip.

Basically I am staying in Salerno for cost purposes and so I can leave my bags there while seeing the Amalfi coast. I was going to stay in Sorrento as well on the other end but the cost for what it was, was a lot so I am just deciding to do a day trip on the way to Naples.

I will arrive and have half a day in Salerno, then have a day seeing Amalfi coast, basically my question was how much would be manageable in a day. Then the next the Salerno to Sorrento ferry and see it then go to Naples.

I think you listed the towns out of sequence?? Do you insist on seeing so many towns? That is a lot of mileage. Do you know that Ravello is 20 minutes vertically UP by car or bus? Do you really propose to walk between more than two towns? I'm not sure there are walkways between every town, particularly Sorrento and Positano.

Note that you must change busses in Amalfi, and there is tremendous demand for eastbound busses in the morning, and westbound busses in the afternoon, between Sorrento and Amalfi. Crowding is quite severe May-September, to the point of waiting half an hour for another bus.

I think you listed the towns out of sequence?? Do you insist on seeing
so many towns? That is a lot of mileage. Do you know that Ravello is
20 minutes vertically UP by car or bus? Do you really propose to walk
between more than two towns? I'm not sure there are walkways between
every town, particularly Sorrento and Positano.

Note that you must change busses in Amalfi, and there is tremendous
demand for eastbound busses in the morning, and westbound busses in
the afternoon, between Sorrento and Amalfi. Crowding is quite severe
May-September, to the point of waiting half an hour for another bus.

Tim's advice is spot on. In a couple weeks we'll be back in Salerno--two previous trips in February/March--off-season--had us taking the SITA bus no problem Salerno/Amalfi-town one trip, Sorrento/Positano the other trip.

That's all changed, I think. Now...with Jubilee 2025 and increased tourists...walking from town-to-town is folly. Maybe from Amalfi-town to Atrani, which we might try. But this time around we decided to bite the bullet and hire a driver that will pick the 4 of us up at 10:00 at our Salerno hotel. We'll go to Vietri sul Mare to shop, then be driven up to Ravello for lunch and tour the Villa Cimbrone gardens, then finally down to Sal De Riso Pasticceria in Minori for dessert. Back at our Salerno hotel at 4:00. it wasn't cheap but I've already saved 3 months of worry, so I consider that a win-win.

Just remember that as a rule, public transportation is woefully lacking on the Amalfi Coast and the entire Sorrentine peninsula. For June, please do your homework re: logistics.

We walked from Ravello to Atrani and then to Amalfi. It was all downhill. We did so because we had to wait for two buses to get to Ravello from Amalfi. It was actually a very nice walk through little plots of land until Atrani. We then took a tunnel to Amalfi. We didn't walk on the main road at all. I think it took us about an hour but we didn't hurry.

Goggle says it is a 38 minute walk from Minori to Ravello. Some of it looks like it is on the main road. And then up stairs. Personally, I would skip that and would bus to Ravello, visit the town, and then walk down to Amalfi. Amalfi is worth visiting too. I think that would be more than enough for one day. We only spent a half day in Ravello (visited one garden) because it had poured in the morning. We could have spent the whole day. We did take the bus to Positano but frankly liked Amalfi more. We liked the ferry ride between Positano and Amalfi better than Positano. If you are going to Capri, then you will go past Positano.

Was thinking of busing to Minori. Then heard you can walk like 15-20
minutes between there to Ravello...

Worth mention is that I've never seen the estimated time to do this stretch as just 15-20 minutes, unless maybe one is well used to rapidly ascending steps - as there are almost 1200 of those on the climb up - and making no stops. I've read of more visitors doing them on the way DOWN from Ravello instead of the other way around. Est. time up depends on how physically fit one is, and run closer to 45 - 90 minutes. Heat will also likely be a factor in June, and you'd want a Plan B in case of rain.

Capri offers some nice hikes if enjoying that particular activity.

Sorrento is not a destination itself--it is a popular base, but I can't think of any reason to travel that far to get there. Much better use of your time would be to travel south from Salerno to Paestum. Or, split your Amalfi Coast exploration into separate days--one day maybe see Positano/Amalfi and the other do the coastal hike (but I believe it is much more than 20 minutes--there is an extension of the path of the lemons walk so you can hike to Ravello on a path and avoid the main road, but I don't remember the distance/length. We walked all the way to Ravello, then descended to Amalfi by way of Atrani.)

Agree with above
Paestum should be a high priority since you are in Salerno

I'll agree that Sorrento is a destination to stay, not necessarily to see. And getting off the ferry with luggage and slogging uphill to the train station won't be fun. I'd go to Naples via Salerno.

Having spent five nights in Sorrento (for daytrips), I agree with the thought that Sorrento is more of a place to stay. It has to be admitted that it has a great view of Vesuvius, and on really clear days, I think Capri. There is a pay-elevator from the marinas to the main part of downtown Sorrento, and a bus route that may even go to the Circumvesuviana station from the marina. Never used it.

It is arguable that either Positano or Ravello are "must-sees", even if Positano was a let-down for me. But I did feel I had to see it.

Regarding walking/hiking, there is a very nice, 99% paved, downhill walk from Sant' Agata Sui dui Golfi to midtown Sorrento. I think it took 1.5 to 2 hours, and you need reasonable walking shoes, not sandals, because of the constant slope. But it's not, remotely, "hiking".

I spent 8 days in Salerno last year but was mainly there for the other attractions - Naples, Pompeii, Paestum, Herculaneum - but did one day on the AC because it was there and it seemed to obvious not to visit. My honest assessment is that it is amazing from the sea but offers little else that I am interested in. We took the ferry from Salerno to Positano - it stopped in Amalfi along the way - and the coastline is amazing. I wanted to go as far as Positano because everyone says the best and most remote coastline is between Amalfi and Positano.

We wandered Positano and say the big sites but even at the very end of season I found much of it to be too crowded. I cannot imagine how it must be during the height if season. Amalfi is bigger and a little better - there are still boat supply and fruit and veg stores surviving but I also counted 4 gelato places in a row at one point. We had lunch and headed back with a "Well we've seen it and now we never have to go back feeling".

You can see the glimmer of what must have been an amazing place before it was "discovered" by the English poets. Up near the paper factory in Amalfi you can see the rugged hillside and feel some of that clinging to hills feel. And maybe that still exists in the smaller towns down the coast but the big name places were not my cup of tea. If you want to spend more time Capri has some of the same feel but there is a whole island and has much more to explore and discover away from the tight city streets of the AC.

You can catch the ferries or buses to the AC from Salerno and you can visit Capri as well although the ferry is almost 2 hours since it is much further than Sorrento where it is only about 30 minutes.

You might check out the Path of Lemons if you're interested in walking trails.
https://www.onegirlwholeworld.com/europe/path-of-lemons-amalfi-coast/
https://www.travelamalficoast.it/en/the-path-of-lemons-between-stunning-views-and-tradition

This will give you exposure to smaller towns and less touristed areas which I would strongly recommend.

I agree with others here - Sorrento is not so much a destination unless you're basing yourself there for Capri and Amalfi coast.

My $.02, have a great trip,
=Tod