The Amalfi Coast: Italy’s Most Dramatic Drive

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The Amalfi Coast runs for roughly 50 kilometres along the southern edge of the Sorrentine Peninsula in Campania. It stretches from Positano in the west to Vietri sul Mare in the east, taking in a string of towns clinging to steep cliffs above the Tyrrhenian Sea. This stretch of coastline — known in Italian as the Costiera Amalfitana — has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, recognised for its outstanding natural beauty and its layered history of maritime culture.

This is not a place where things are particularly easy. The roads are narrow, the hills are steep, and the towns are built vertically rather than horizontally. But that difficulty is part of what makes it so memorable. Every turn in the road opens onto something new, and the contrast between the deep blue sea and the terracotta rooftops never gets old.

Where Is the Amalfi Coast?

The Amalfi Coast sits about 60 kilometres south of Naples and 25 kilometres west of Salerno. The nearest major transport hub is Naples, which has an international airport and fast rail connections to Rome. From Naples, you can reach the coast by ferry (to Positano or Amalfi) or by road via Sorrento.

The SS163 — also called the Strada Statale Amalfitana — is the main road that runs along the coast. It is one of the most famous drives in Europe, but also one of the most demanding. The road is single-lane in many sections, with frequent passing places and near-constant hairpin bends. Buses and lorries use it regularly, and in peak season it can become extremely congested. If you plan to drive it yourself, avoid July and August if at all possible, and aim to travel early in the morning before coaches start their runs.

The Main Towns Along the Coast

Positano is the most photographed town on the coast, and for good reason. Its pastel-coloured buildings cascade down a near-vertical cliff face towards a pebble beach. It is expensive, popular, and worth every bit of the hype — though the steps up from the beach can feel punishing in the midday heat. Most visitors arrive by ferry or private boat, which is also the best way to take in the view.

Amalfi is the largest town on the coast and the one that gave it its name. In the ninth and tenth centuries, Amalfi was one of the most powerful maritime republics in the Mediterranean. At its height, it had a population of around 70,000 and controlled trade routes across the known world. Today, the town has around 5,000 permanent residents, but the legacy of that maritime history is still visible in the architecture, particularly the Cathedral of Sant’Andrea with its distinctive Arab-Norman facade and its black-and-white striped campanile. The town has a small but busy centre with good restaurants and a market square that comes alive in the evenings.

Ravello sits above the coast rather than on it, perched roughly 365 metres above sea level on a ridge between two valleys. It is quieter than either Positano or Amalfi, and it draws a different kind of visitor — one interested in its historic villas, its gardens, and its annual music festival. Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufolo are both open to visitors and both have gardens with extraordinary views out over the sea. Wagner stayed at Villa Rufolo and said it inspired the setting for Klingsor’s magic garden in Parsifal.

Cetara is a working fishing village near the eastern end of the coast, and it is probably the most authentic town you will find along this stretch. It is known for its anchovies and for colatura di alici, a fermented anchovy sauce with roots going back to ancient Rome. If you want a meal that feels less like a tourist experience and more like the real thing, Cetara is worth the detour.

How to Get There and Get Around

The simplest way to reach the Amalfi Coast from Naples is by ferry in summer. Ferries run from Naples Molo Beverello to both Positano and Amalfi, and the journey takes between 65 and 85 minutes depending on the service. Tickets cost between €15 and €25 each way. This route is only available from April through October.

If you are travelling outside the ferry season, or if you want more flexibility, the train-and-bus combination works well. Take the Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Sorrento (about 65 minutes), then a SITA bus along the coast. Buses run regularly and are cheap, but they can get crowded and the service slows significantly in the middle of the day.

Hiring a car and driving the SS163 yourself is an option, but go in with realistic expectations. The road is genuinely difficult, parking is scarce and costly in all the main towns, and in high season the road can be effectively at a standstill. If you do hire a car, consider driving east to west (from Salerno towards Positano) rather than the more common west-to-east direction. You will have the sea on your left and the cliff on your right, which makes overtaking easier and gives you a slightly better view from the driver’s seat.

Water taxis operate between all the main towns throughout the season. They are not cheap — expect to pay €20 to €35 for a single journey between towns — but they let you move around without worrying about roads or parking, and the views from the water are substantially better than the views from the road.

When to Visit

The shoulder seasons — late April through June, and September through October — are by far the best times to visit the Amalfi Coast. The weather is warm and reliable, the light is excellent, and the crowds are manageable. Hotels are cheaper and restaurants are easier to book. The sea is swimmable from late May onwards.

July and August bring intense heat, enormous crowds, and prices that reflect both. The road can take over two hours to cover end to end in peak summer. If you must visit in high season, book accommodation well in advance and plan to do most of your moving around by boat or on foot.

November through March is quieter still, and some hotels and restaurants close for the winter. But the coast has a real character in the off-season — the light is softer, the towns feel lived-in, and the lemon groves that cover the hillsides are at their most productive. Travel in winter and you will see a side of the coast that most visitors never experience.

What to Eat and Drink

The cuisine of the Amalfi Coast is rooted in the produce of the sea and the hillsides. Seafood is excellent throughout: grilled swordfish, pasta with clams, and frittura di paranza (mixed fried fish) are all staples. The lemons grown on the terraced hillsides above the coast are among the best in Italy — large, sweet, and highly fragrant — and they appear in everything from pasta sauces to cocktails to pastries.

Limoncello, the lemon liqueur, originates from this part of Campania and the local versions are genuinely better than anything you will find in a supermarket. Most restaurants and many households produce their own. It is traditionally served very cold at the end of a meal.

Scialatielli is the local pasta — a short, thick, roughly textured noodle that holds sauce well. You will find it in almost every restaurant on the coast, usually served with seafood. It is worth ordering at least once, preferably in Amalfi itself where it was invented in the 1970s by a local chef named Enrico Cosentino.

Practical Information

The Amalfi Coast has very little flat ground. Almost everywhere involves steps, slopes, or both. If you have mobility concerns, it is worth researching specific towns in advance — Amalfi town centre is more accessible than Positano, and Ravello is largely flat once you have made it up from the road. Water taxis and ferries eliminate a lot of the road walking.

Accommodation ranges from small family-run pensioni to some of the most expensive hotels in Italy. The grand cliff-face hotels — places like Le Sirenuse in Positano or the Belmond Hotel Caruso in Ravello — command prices to match their settings. But there are good mid-range options in Amalfi town, Praiano, and Cetara that offer fair value without the premium of the famous names.

Mobile signal is generally good along the coast, though it can drop in some of the deeper valleys. Italian SIM cards are cheap and available at any tabaccheria. Euro is the currency throughout, and card payments are widely accepted.

Is It Worth the Effort?

The Amalfi Coast asks something of you. The roads are difficult, the terrain is steep, and the crowds in summer can be genuinely challenging. It is not a place that gives itself up easily.

But the payoff is real. The combination of sea, cliff, and terraced hillside is unlike anywhere else in Europe. The towns are beautiful and have real history behind them. The food is excellent. And the light — particularly in the early morning and late afternoon — is the kind of thing that tends to stay with you.

If you are planning a trip to southern Italy, the Amalfi Coast is worth building an itinerary around. Go in spring or autumn, take the ferry where you can, eat the scialatielli, and try to catch at least one sunset from the clifftops above Positano. It earns its reputation.

Image credit: PP Archive

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