The Amalfi Coast has been a dream destination for us for quite some time, and honestly was a place I thought we wouldn’t have the chance to visit for quite some time. Something about it just seemed out of reach for so long. When we were originally planning this trip to Europe back at the end of 2019, we didn’t even have it on our itinerary, but after our plans were cancelled and postponed for so long we decided that we just couldn’t wait any longer to see this magical place for ourselves.
We made our way to the Amalfi Coast from Florence. We took a high speed train with Trenitalia to Salerno and from Salerno caught a TravelMar ferry to Positano. Overall this was a pretty seamless transit day, however on the way out of Positano we traveled by private Transfer to Naples which ended up being a lot easier. The views from the ferry were stunning though, so if you can I would take it at least one way if you don’t have a separate Amalfi Coast cruise planned.
We arrived to Positano at the main ferry dock in the center of town and then made our way up what felt like 10,000 stairs to the Hotel Montemare, where we would be spending the next three nights. We followed what seemed to be a shorter route from google maps which took us up many many stairs, which with all of our luggage made things quite uncomfortable quite quickly. Instead, if you are traveling with luggage, I would recommend following the main roads up the levels of the town. These have sidewalks for the most part and are much more gradual in their incline.
Once we made it to the hotel we freshened up a bit, took in the stunning views from our private balcony, and then headed over to dinner at Da Vincenzo, which was conveniently located right outside our hotel. I made reservations here by emailing the restaurant at the email listed on their website. This was easily the best meal we had during our entire stay in Italy. The service was so good and the food was even better. We opted for the sautéed mussels, fresh pasta dishes, and a dessert to split. Everything was divine. We headed back to our room for the night to enjoy the hot tub on our balcony before calling it a night.
The next morning we had breakfast on our terrace. There was a continental style breakfast offered as part of our stay in the hotel restaurant which you can have brought to your room. Later that morning we took a stroll through the center of Positano on our way up to Valenti Positano which offers a limoncello tasting session through Airbnb. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and the views of Positano on our way up to the tasting were spectacular. Once we arrived at Valenti, Gesualda, the owner, demonstrated to us how limoncello and lemon marmalade are made from the famous Amalfi lemons, and let us try pretty much everything they offer at their shop. We even got the chance to see their small garden located just below the shop. The products were spectacular and we purchased so many goodies to bring back to our friends and family.
Once we finished at Valenti we meandered through town before heading back to our hotel before dinner that evening. We booked in at Chez Black for dinner, which is an iconic spot just off the main beach area in Positano. I’ve heard mixed things about this location due to it’s popularity among tourists, but we honestly had a really nice time here. We ordered some delicious gnocchi and split a pizza and a bottle of wine. If you know what your getting into, which may not be the most authentic experience, I think you will enjoy it. The setting is incredible and food is really good as well! After this we took a moonlit stroll back up to our hotel and enjoyed watching the boats come in and out of the harbor.
For our final full day on the Amalfi Coast we planned a trip up to the town of Ravello. We caught a ferry from Positano to Amalfi and then purchased tickets for the SITA bus up to Ravello from there. This bus ride is not for the faint of heart, and make sure to buffer in twice the amount of travel time you think you will need as the traffic in Amalfi is no joke.
Once we arrived to Ravello we made a beeline for Villa Rufolo, a villa with stunning gardens which is located just near the bus stop. We strolled around these beautiful grounds for a little while before heading into the main part of town.
Our next destination was Villa Cimbrone, which was a good 15 minute walk from Rufolo, but there was tons to see on our walk over as this town is full of stunning vistas, beautiful gardens, and quaint architecture. Villa Cimbrone is a bit more expansive than Villa Rufolo and has some of the most gorgeous terraces overlooking the sea. We had a great time walking around these beautiful gardens and then headed back to the main part of town to grab some pizza before heading back to Amalfi to catch the ferry back to Positano.
Once we arrived home we were pretty exhausted from our day and decided to order room service and we called it a day. The next morning we caught a shuttle out of Positano back to Naples for our next train and so ended our incredible visit to the Amalfi Coast. This is a trip I know I will never forget and is a location that I know we will be back to in the future, and I cannot wait.
Here is a little cost breakdown of this leg of our trip:
| Day 1 | |
| Hotel | $3230 (three nights) |
| Day 2 | |
| Limoncello Tasting | $30 for two |
| Day 3 | |
| Ferry | $40 for two |
| Bus to Ravello | ~$6 fo two round trip tickets |
| Villa Cimbrone | $15 for two |
| Villa Rufolo | $15 for two |
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