The stunning Amalfi Coast is on most travellers' bucket list for a reason. The views over the small Italian villages built into the cliffs with the crystal clear turquoise sea rolling onto the beaches or crashing onto the coast are like no other.
We have explored this part of Italy for 10 days and will share our itinerary and all the tips we have collected along the way with you in this Amalfi Coast Travel & Hotel Guide for Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, and Capri.
POSITANO
Our first stop was Positano & the town we were most looking forward to see & it really is gorgeous! We had to stop and sigh at every corner because we were so enthralled by its charm. Even though some parts of the city are very touristy and "prettified", a lot of it is still quite typically Italian and the views over the coast and the mountains are simply a dream!
We had three nights here and that was more than enough to explore the town in two days. You can see everything (the town is not super big and there is not really "sightseeing" except for the beautiful views & a few small alleys with cute shops).
THE REALITY
Nevertheless, we want to say that the city is very crowded in some parts (and we were there in May and not in the high season), almost mainly designed for tourists and not very original and the beaches are packed (free) or very expensive (and then still crowded). Many parts of the beach are closed off and you have to pay entrance fees and sunbeds/umbrellas. So we would never recommend doing a pure bathing holiday here! In the end, we only went to the beach once for 1-2 hours because it's really not comfortable there. But the water is still SO clear and refreshing and fantastically turquoise!
ACCOMMODATION
Finding good accommodation in Positano is easy... if you have a big budget. There is so many luxurious hotels with spectacular views and beautiful rooms. Finding affordable ones, that are still of high quality and in a close location though, is hard. So we are here to help you with that: find accommodation for every price range in this guide!
One of the most luxurious Positano hotels with fabulous views over the bay. Le Sirenuse can lay claim to being one of the finest hotels in the region and won numerous awards - Best World Hotel (Condé Nast); Best Italian Hotel, Best Europe Hotel (Travel and Leisure) and more. Valuable antiques and local works of art, collected over the years by the veritable Sersale family, plants and bougainvillea sprinkled liberally throughout, bedrooms decorated in a classical Italian style all add up to a pretty impressive stay. Naughty little pleasures include a Jacuzzi in each bedroom and (in most cases) balconies from which to enjoy the wonderful views.
Price from 550€ per night (in high season from 1,300€)
Simpler in decoration than some other more luxurious hotels in town, Albergo Miramare can still compete with them in regards to the spectacular views - while only paying a fraction of the price.
Price from 250€ per night
Palazzo Murat is situated in the pedestrian area in the heart of the town, near the “Piazzetta dei Mulini” the sea and the beach “ Spiaggia Grande”, reachable in few minutes through a small streat with picturesque boutiques and shops in one of the most suggestive corner of Positano. Palazzo Murat is an elegant hotel made from the restoration of an old palace of the seventeenth century in the style of the Neapolitan baroque school of Vanvitelli who has heighten the old structures and the period objects that enrich the furniture.
Price from 520€ per night
Five exclusive apartments of different sizes located in the beautiful village Positano on the Amalfi Coast. They all share a big pool, as well as private access to a small, secluded beach called “Il Bacino”. From the apartments, you will be spoiled by an impressive view over the bay boasting clear blue waters and Positano, which is clung to the mountains. The Place Positano is an oasis of peace and tranquility, without missing any amenity of the vibrant village.
Price from 290€ per night
TIPS FOR POSITANO
- From Via Cristoforno Colombo you have the most beautiful view over Positano and there are also some great restaurants with the best view. In addition, the street itself is worth a look, along the street are also all the expensive hotels where many influencers live and have the same view from there.
- Buca di Bacco - very, very tasty gelato.
- La Zagara - restaurant & café with a beautiful view & terrace, although not overlooking the water, but overlooking the hillsides and houses and surrounded by orange trees. They serve delicious pastries and cappuchino freddo with soy milk, and the food in the evening was also delicious (mega good pizza!) and not as fancy (and expensive) as many other places.
- L'Ancora - directly at the Hotel L'Ancora (on the left, when you are standing in front of it) there is a great restaurant on a terrace with a great view! Unfortunately, I didn't write down the name and it's not even marked on Maps yet because it's apparently so new.
- Another nice view is when you stand on the street in front of B&B Casa Wanda.
- Lo Guarracino - good food with a view.
AMALFI
After Positano, we took a taxi to the neighbouring town of Amalfi - about an hour's drive away. The town is super nice, a little less "Positano-like" but more typically Italian. We really liked it there, especially because we discovered a small, somewhat quieter beach and you can easily make an excursion to Ravello from here, more about that in a moment. We had another three nights here and could have stayed a fourth one just to squeeze in one more beach day (but we did “use” one day to make a daytrip to Ravello, if you choose to stay overnight in Ravello, two days in Amalfi is enough).
ACCOMMODATION IN AMALFI
The Villa Rina may not be the most luxurious place to stay in Amalfi but for a pretty good rate you get all the trappings of comfort and character of a 14th century villa. Plus it has a few things that money just can’t buy, an absolutely delightful host in Rina who is not just one of the most hospitable owners we know but also an excellent cook to boot. Breakfast is great and other meals can be made on request using usually only the freshest ingredients. We also love the fact that it is a haven of peace and privacy bounded, as it is, by citrus groves and far from the noise of the traffic.
Prices from 120€ per night
BEACH
Of course, there is again an expensive "resort" pay beach right in the city centre and a horrible mini small free beach right at the harbour. However, we discovered another quieter section a bit on the outskirts, where you don't have to rent sunbeds (but you can) and then only pay €5 entry per person (otherwise €25 upwards). We thought that was fair, considering that you have decent toilets and a shower. It's also not as crowded. The beach is called Lido delle Sirene and we really enjoyed our beach days here - especially cause you have a breathtaking view when you swim out and look over the cliffs and the city.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AMALFI
- take a beach day and swim a bit out on the water and soak up the houses, mountains and the whole scenery from there.
- stroll through the streets of the town centre and look at the Duomo, eat an ice cream in between. We had lots of delicious ice cream in Amalfi - you can find it on every corner. So I can't recommend any particular one, we tried so many different ones that looked good.
- La Taverna del Duca - a great restaurant at the end of the main street. You sit nicely and the food was super great (homemade pasta with red and yellow tomato sauce & the tiramisu were great) and the staff super nice!
- Cioccolato Andrea Pansa - not so typically Italian but have great coffee with soy milk (Cappuchino Freddo) and delicious super creamy ice cream, they specialise mainly in chocolate & have chocolates too.
- make a trip to Ravello - with the bus from Amalfi you are there in 25 minutes (if the bus is on time & you fit in)
- Cantina del Nostrom Zaccaria
RAVELLO
A picturesque village on the Amalfi Coast, but not directly on the sea but in the mountains. There are beautiful views over the slopes and the sea and there are many beautiful gardens and old villas. Really worth a day trip (or half-day trip). We went to see Villa Rufolo (7€ entrance fee) and the view is really beautiful!
WHERE TO STAY IN RAVELLO
This beautiful hotel seems to be glued to the side of the mountain with views over the water from every angle. The rooms all face straight out to sea and all but one have balconies from where you can enjoy the seabreeze and listen to the waves crashing. Revello on the Amalfi Coast is an adorable Italian town in the mountains with the most stunning views and the world-known Positano and Amalfi are not far. If you ever not feel like exploring, the hotel’s private path down to the sea to their bathing area invited to relax under the umbrellas and makes you appreciate to just simply exist.
CAPRI
From Amalfi we took the ferry (Positano Jet) to Capri. Again, we had 3 nights there and therefore 2 full days, which was again quite enough. Of course, you could go on for days on the beach (at least I could!), but for a pure beach holiday the conditions are not ideal - but still sufficient! By the way, there are no cars on Carpi except taxis or vans or cars from accommodation, but no private ones, which is really nice.
The J.K. Place Capri is something rather special indeed... sensual, refined style, oozing comfort and hovering just a few feet above the Mediterranean. Twenty two rooms hug the hill just above Capri’s port, the only hotel on the island with direct access to the beach and those beautiful Mediterranean waters. The J.K. Place-feel combined with Capri’s addictive, dreamlike environment mean that this is a combination made in heaven. Already a destination designed for relaxation, Capri’s cliffs tower out of the transparent blue-green sea, bright white houses with their flattened domes hinting Moorish influences, deep blue skies, the vibrant colours of the ceramic tiles, scents of Mediterranean macchia; it is a magical island.
CAPRI RECOMMENDATIONS
We didn't do everything you can do on Capri because 1. it's incredibly expensive and 2. we also just wanted to chill on the beach. That's why I'm also including things that I had only researched, but which we didn't do.
- Boat trip with Valeria from Bluesidecapri to the sunset. We went once around the entire island and it was beautiful!
- In the evening to Capri town - from the top you have a beautiful view of the sunset and here you can stroll a bit through the streets (without buying anything haha). Here you can find all the big expensive fashion brands, although the island is so small, but here the rich people gather. Somehow I didn't find it so nice and cute and Italian, we were only there for a short time one evening.
- Spiaggia Marina Grande - here we went to the beach twice. Really fantastic turquoise water! Marina Piccola is supposed to be even nicer on the other side of the island, but we didn't have any means of transport and didn't want to take a taxi to the beach.
- Anacapri - we went there once by taxi, it was cute but not that great. But from here you can take a chairlift up to Monte Solaro. From the top you have a really great view - unfortunately we didn't make it.
- Blue Grotto - we didn't visit it, but it's probably very beautiful and special, but it also involves an extremely long wait.
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