We will be on a RS tour of the south of Italy next month. We have a day on our own on the coast and are seeking suggestions for a day tour starting in the town of Amalfi going to Positano, to Ravello and back. Suggestions? Costs? I guess I should add that we are looking for someone/tour who will explain the sights in the area.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6241 posts
Easily done on your own
I don’t see any reason for a guided tour
Ferry to and from Positano
Then bus up to Ravello from Amalfi
Walk out to Villa Cimbrone
Posted by
San Diego, California
4882 posts
Christine, are you talking about the SITA buses that are usually standing room only and have huge lines of folks waiting for a bus with some space available ?
Also, the smaller ferries coming into Positano can be canceled in bad weather. Observed that just last week when we were there.
Safe travels.
Posted by
San Franciso Bay Area, USA
962 posts
We just got back from the Amalfi coast and looked at two options for tours, one as a shared tour through Mondo Tours which provides shared tours of the Amalfi Coast for Rick Steve’s readers. We did not take this tour, so I cannot comment on the quality of the tour. However, we did hire Mondo Tours for transport from Naples to Positano with a stop and tour in Pompeii (this was private tour) and it was excellent. I expect that their group tours will have a similar quality of drivers/guides. This is ideal if you want to share a tour at a lower price point.
We opted to take a private tour with Amalfi Wine Tours, run by a Sommelier Daniele. This tour picked us up at our hotel in Positano (I am sure that they can also pick up in Amalfi) and drove us to Amalfi, Ravello, and then a small winery for a tour and lunch in Trimonte. It was the most amazing time. Our driver, Salvatore, is a native of Amalfi. He picked us up on time and on the way to Amalfi stop at several look out points for pictures. We met Daniele who was driving another couple and had a glass of Prosecco and a toast overlooking the Amalfi coast. Great pictures. In Amalfi, Salvatore gave us a couple of hours to explore and shared with us some great tips for beautiful vistas and smaller backstreets.
We then went to lunch at this family owned winery. This was some of the best food we had in Italy and the wine was amazing. Daniele is a wonderfully warm and hospital host. We learned a lot about the wine and food of the region.
After the winery, went to Ravello. On the way home, Salvatore took us to a few other smaller villages so we could see the non-touristy parts of Amalfi. It wasn’t the best weather, but it was an amazing day. We saw so much of the Amalfi Coast and met some wonderful locals who really helped us understand what make the Amalfi Coast so special. Hint, it is not just the scenery, but the people who live and work there.
Note that the Amalfi Wine Tours not only does tours around wine, they also have tours that weave in the main Amalfi coast towns with cooking classes, Lemoncello, and other options.
Last but not least, we did consider taking the buses. We opted not to do so and we are glad we didn’t. It was rainy and trying to navigate waiting for buses wouldn’t have been too pleasant. We talked to others on our trip who did take the buses. There recommendation was to start early as the buses can get crowded and you may have to wait for the next bus if the first one doesn’t have capacity.
Hope this helps. If you need any more details, let me know.
Posted by
San Diego, California
4882 posts