Amalfi Coast, is now definitely in the Top Trending Destinations of 2022, not only between europenas, but worldwide. After Covid19 almost vanished, wholehearted tourists from all over the world, started travelling again, with more eager and willingess to discover hidden gems and places of unmatched beauty, than we ever faced before. In their heartful passion for travelling, Amalfi Coast has attracted this year, even more non-european tourists than in the years, before the pandemic even existed. The countelss flight delays, the bursting prices and the distance (for the non-europeans), did not create any obstancles in the way of the ones thirsty for travelling.
Altough, a once in a lifetime - must-see destination, before travelling to this extremely beautiful and unique place, you have to document yourself well, in order not to have any surprises when you get there. In May 2022, we traveled for full 5 days to the Amalfi and as a result of our experience, we wrote down our honest tips and opinions which any tourist MUST know before planning their trip to Amalfi, in order to be able to have a stress-free experience and enjoy this almost adyllic location to the fullest. There are many articles on this topic, but we found many of them lacking the essential information one must know when travelling for a first time there.
The Amalfi Coast is a stretch of coastline in the Campania region of Southern Italy, being a place which many claim to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, where imposing green mountains rush headlong to the beautiful blue sea surrounded by lemon trees, vineyards and olives. This heavenly corner, enchates not only through its pitoresque views, but also through the landscape uniqueness and outstanding cultural value, thanks to the astonishing work of both nature and humankind. Narrow streets which go up and down all the way, hidden footpaths, buildings carved in mountains and unimaginably beauitful views are some of the elements which define the place's specific. But, because of this extreme beauty, the place attracted also an extremely large number of tourists. This is one of the reasons, why you should carefully plan your itinerary before going here and also keep in mind the following tips.
MUST KNOW TIPS BEFORE TRAVELLING TO AMALFI:
1. Where to travel. Our personal Top of the Amalfi Coast locations is: Capri, Positano, Sorrento, Amalfi. Capri and Positano are the ones we loved most, and Amalfi, least. Sorrento, is the most convenient in regard to the accommodation. For more details, read our article: Our Top of the Amalfi Coast Locations - Explained
2. The prices. Prices are higher than in most touristic locations. As a matter of fact, here everything is expensive: the accommodation, the food, the souvenier shops, the transportation (unless you only use the public bus).
3. Travelling by car.
If you decide renting a car, then know this will be one of the best or worst driving adventures of your life. If you are not an experienced driver, driving here is not advised. The streets are extremely narrow (more than you can imagine) and in many parts 2 cars driving across the other to not fit, so before approaching the curves drivers honk in order to let the cars from the other directions know that they are approaching. Then it occurs some kind of mutual agreement (although i must say I did not really understood how this works), where one car stops and simply awaits for the other to pass, before resuming it's way
The roads goes up and down the hill, and is often extremely congested
On the Amalfi Coast there are no sideways, so tourists will often walk on the side of the road
Renting a car is very expensive and in high season costs more than €100/day. If you do rent a car, do not forget to make an insurance, as it is simply difficult finding a car without scratches here
Renting a fiat or a smart is your best option, as they are small and actually fit the road. Do not go for bigger cars. Finding a parking spot will get more difficult than it anyway is, with a bigger car
Try renting from local businesses, if you want to get better prices. Try for example, Penisola Rents from Sorrento: +39 (0) 8136 22 189 or penisolarent@virgilio.it Local businesses always offer better
Try renting a car, as soon as you know the travel dates here. The sooner to your arrival day, you rent a car, the more expensive the price
Parking your car is more expensive than you can imagine. Moreover, it is hardly available. For your convenience, try finding an accommodation which has parking included. In locations like Positano or Amalfi, the price of parking is approximately €8 / hour.
Finding a parking spot is challenging. You either wake up very early in the morning and hope that at 8 am you will still find some free parking spots, you you choose a parking spot further away and take a bus from there to the location you want to reach.
4. Travelling by bus.
Most connections are definitely by bus
The bus is definitely the cheapest way of transportation on the coast, the price ticket being €2,9/person
As an advice here would be to buy the tickets from the Ticket/Tabak shops in advance, as if you want to buy them directly from the bus, there can be more example, or worst, the driver has already sold the number of tickets which he had for the day, so if you do not come with a ticket, they will not let you in the bus
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5. Travelling by ferry.
In our opinion. This is the best and often fastest option, although it is a bit more expensive than using the bus or the train.
There are several companies, having different prices from all main locations on the Amalfi Coast. For example, we paid € 9/pers with the JetFerry from Amalfi to Positano and the trip duration was 15 min. Travelling with a car / bus would take approximatelly 45 -60 min.
6. Private Transfers.
are definitely the most confortable, but of course the most expensive. If you are not tightened up by a budget, then choosing a private transfer, either from Napoli to any location on the Amalfi Coast and even between the different locations on the coast is the best option for you because:
you will be free of the many tourists trying to get a seat on the bus/train/boat aka you will not have to wait in quees for getting inside the bus/train or on the boat
you are not dependent on the fixed schedules of the bus/train/boat
in this regard, we would love to recommend Eduardo (Eduardo Shore Excursions) from all our heart, because he made our trip a dream. I really think that, if all drivers in the world would be like Eduardo, then the world would be a better place. But, you will have to meet Eduardo personally, in order to understand why i am writing this.
7. The accommodation.
Generally speaking, Sorrento is the best connected city on the Amalfi coast, meaning that:
it has direct connections via train and ferry to Napoli
it has direct connections bus directly to Napoli Airport for only €10/pers (company Curreri Viaggi - check https://www.curreriviaggi.it/en/naples-airport-shuttle for more information about timetable)
it has direct and indirect connections via bus / ferry to Positano
it has direct and indirect connections via bus / ferry to Amalfi
it has direct and indirect connections via bus / ferry to Capri
it has direct and indirect connections via bus / ferry to Ravello and almost all places on the Amalfi coast, any time of the year. It is very important to know that during October to May, there are fewer connections due to the fact that there are significantlly less tourists than in the peak season from June to September
Therefore, we recommend staying in Sorrento, for the above mentioned reason, but also because accommodations are much more affortable in Sorrento than in Positano/ Amalfi or Capri. Nevertheless, Sorrento does not offer the same breath-taking views over the sea and the city (although it has some) as Positano or Capri
Therefore, if you are open to pay a bit more money, but in return have an unforgettable view in front of you, everyday you wake up, then probably Positano or Capri is the best decision
If you are searching for a holiday where to sunbath on a stripe of beautiful, soft sand and to enjoy the sea views, then Positano is the right place to book an accommodation
If you are searching for a holiday where to sunbath on cliffs, jump in the sea from the cliffs and enjoy the beautiful sea views, then Capri is the perfect place for you to book an accommodation
If you are searching for a holiday where to experience the italian vibe at its best, than do not book an accommodation in the Sorrento, Positano, Capri or Amalfi, but try finding something in a more local place like for example Massa Lubrense (we loved this village a lot), Sant'Agnello, Punta Sant'Elia, Ravello etc.
We do not recommend staying in Amalfi at all, because we found the city way too touristic and crowded and full of tourist traps.
8. The tourist traps.
are almost everywhere.
An advice from our side would be to pay attention to the prices. Everywhere. In restaurants, supermarkets, souvenier shops and even when buying bus tickets. Almost everywhere it can happen that the shown prices in the shops will be different than what are they asking for. Even in a restaurant, we had the bad experience that the menu has other prices than what was on the final bill. On the bill, everything, even the water was between € 1 to 4 more expensive. In this situation, you have to make them aware of the price different and even though, they will not be friendly, they will corrent their prices.
9. If you are the type who likes museums, then this is not a place for you.
Amalfi Coast is all about the breath-taking views, long walks, relaxation and a food so delicious, that is beyond description.
10. What to visit in every place. For details, read our article Top of the Amalfi Coast Locations - Explained
11. Coffee. We couldn't find out why, but in most of the places, the coffee is very, very bad. So, for coffee lovers, I'm sorry...I had a hard time there as well.
12. The Internet connection. Is simply bad. Be prepared to loose your connection and signal often and everywhere. If you are planning to work from here (as we did), we suggest contacting the accommodation in advance to make sure they have a good wi-fi.
13. Keep in mind if you do visit Amalfi Coast in August, a lot of the shop owners go on vacation, so not everything is open.
14. Keep in mind the Italian Siesta. Most restaurants are closed between 15 and 19 o'clock.
And how italians say ... "Ciao, ciao", dear traveller!