The Amalfi Coast is a collection of villages dotted along a beautiful stretch of coastline stretching from Salerno to Naples in central Italy. In June 1807 Giuseppe Bonaparte visited the coast, was enchanted by it and decided to build a road from Naples to Amalfi. The road was completed in 1854 by Ferdinand II and has been a destination for celebrities and Europe’s elite ever since. It was very reminiscent of Cinque Terre in Italy’s north with its preciously-built villas hugging the cliffs alongside the ocean. Unlike Cinque Terre, however, the Amalfi Coast’s terraces were all filled with lemons instead of the vineyards in the mountains of Cinque Terre. Also unlike Cinque Terre – where train access to each of the villages along the coast was very straightforward – navigating the Amalfi Coast required some work. We had the choice of city buses, ferries or our own vehicle. We chose the latter to give ourselves some flexibility, which ended up being a wise choice after we saw the throngs of tourists waiting for the buses each day in the heat. The ferries would have been fun (and fast) but would have locked us into a schedule and destination each day, and would have also been quite expensive for the four of us.
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The night before we had planned to head to Positano for the day I received a text at 10:36PM whilst lying in bed: “Where are you guys? We’re in Positano and heading to Naples tomorrow.” Rob Coish – a friend and ex-colleague of mine from Mahi Networks all those years ago – had seen our post from Rome and reached out. What a small world… We were headed to Positano the next day anyway, so organized to have lunch with Rob and his partner Susan at their hotel in Positano. The drive from Salerno had some white knuckle sections as we traversed the mountains between Pompeii to Positano, the windy roads often barely wide enough to squeeze two small cars past each other, let alone a car and bus or truck. To add a little adventure to the trip, Google Maps took us on a route that “saved seven minutes” via some ridiculously steep and windy roads. So windy that on one corner I had to do a three point turn in our little hatchback. Oh, and we also passed a farmer on a horse on the road riding between his lemon groves. Never a dull moment.
Hotel Villa Franca was quite a special spot to enjoy a swim and lunch overlooking the beautiful coastline and the two beaches of Positano. Also such fun to catch up with Rob and Susan, I still can’t believe we rendezvoused with them halfway around the world in central Italy! We enjoyed a swim at the pool of their hotel overlooking Positano before lunch and dined with one of the most amazing views I’ve ever experienced from a restaurant. Quite the treat. Thanks Rob and Susan!
We also trekked down through the town of Positano, tackling hundreds of steep steps through the picturesque village to one of Positano’s two beaches – Fornillo Spiaggia – for a dip. It really is unfortunate the way the majority of beaches in Italy are owned by beachside hotels and resorts all the way up to the high tide mark. The bulk of the sand is reserved for hotel guests or clientele who are willing to rent an umbrella and couple of chairs for the day. The prices can get very steep during the peak summer period, sometimes reaching 120€ for a family of four like us at a lot of the nicer ones. Given we’re often only at beaches for an hour or two to cool off, shelling out that much coin generally doesn’t make a lot of sense. That said, most towns in Italy do reserve a strip of sand that’s free for the public, which we located at the western end of Fornillo Spiaggia. Crystal clear water and some rocks to huck off had the kids in heaven, such a beautiful spot to enjoy a dip.
Our drive back along the coastline – dubbed the “Amalfi Drive” – was incredibly picturesque: the mountains covered in intricately terraced lemon groves with quaint, whitewashed villages dotting the coastline every few kilometers. It was a good way to have a gander at each spot along the way to decide where we wanted to visit on subsequent days in the area, as well as practicing my defensive driving amidst the swarms of mopeds zipping along the roads with death wishes. They weaved between cars and trucks with only inches to spare, I’m amazed there aren’t more fatalities along the stretch of coastline. On more than one occasion I had to stop our little car and reverse along the road the allow trucks or buses through. It took us about two hours to travel 43 kilometers/27 miles with some stops along the way for photos and to check out some of the other little villages. Praiano, Ravello, Minori, Amalfi, all such beautiful towns with their own unique charm. It’s not hard to see why the part of Italy has been such a destination for centuries.
We decided on Minori for a full day on the Amalfi Coast, its quaint beachfront esplanade and beautiful beach the main draws. The towns alleyways and plethora of eateries were wonderful, and the fact that it was one of the closer towns to our base in Salerno was an added bonus. If you research the Amalfi Coast one will undoubtedly uncover comments about how difficult it is to park a car in any of the villages, something we had to tackle in Minori even arriving quite early (by Italian standards) in the morning. Most of the street parking in the Amalfi Coast towns is reserved for residents, Minori did have a small public lot for 3€ and hour but it only held about 20 cars and we arrived too late in the morning to secure a spot. I managed to wiggle our little hatchback into a culvert on the side of the main road just out of town after driving around for about 45 minutes, but I think I was quite lucky to find somewhere to park.
We spent pretty much the entire day enjoying the beach of Minori Spiaggia. Minori was decidedly more low key than some of the other towns along the coast but no less picturesque. It was the first time I’d ever paid to visit a beach in my life but well worth it at 10€ for entry and an umbrella for the day for the four of us. It was a hot one at 34°C/93°F and the dark grey sand of the Amalfi coastline was absolutely scorching after it had had time to heat up in the sun, I’ve never seen the kids move so fast over sand as when they occasionally had to walk up to the towels for a drink of water. We all spent the bulk of the day in the turquoise water of the Tyrrhenian Sea, I think the kids were in the water for close to five hours , swimming, snorkeling and hoisting themselves off the pier and rocks at the western end of the beach. Lunch in bathing suits along the esplanade was about the only time we ventured off the beach, an ideal spot to enjoy the Italian summer.
For a visit to the Amalfi Coast, one can either stay in a town along the Amalfi Drive, or choose to stay in one of the larger cities at either end of the coast: Naples or Salerno. Our choice to stay in Salerno ended up being quite a good one as it facilitated access to any of the towns along the coast within a reasonable drive and didn’t come with the $1000+ a night price tag of many hotels on the Amalfi Coast proper. We also very much enjoyed the vibe of Salerno, with its down-to-earth atmosphere and welcoming locals. Our little apartment on Via San Francesco di Paola was ideally located only a short walk to the beach at Spiaggia Santa Teresa – dubbed “Salifornia” by the locals (a portmanteau of “Salerno” and “California”) – and had some great eateries within a couple of blocks. The little lemon granita stand in the park next to our apartment was a spot we hit every night, such a delicious dessert that is quite endemic to the region and was so refreshing in the heat. Our evenings in Salerno typically culminated at the little beach bar on the esplanade next to Salifornia, enjoying cocktails and beers while the kids played on the beach or wiggled their way into a soccer game with the local kids using some rehearsed Italian phrases. The townsfolk were such a friendly bunch, each night we struck up conversation with Campanians who were keen to practice their English and chat about the region. A friendly fellow of note was a local yoga instructor who chatted up Lisa as she was lounging on the beach, his bulging fluorescent green Speedo is not something I’ll forget anytime soon.
A very enjoyable few days in Campania: great beaches, fantastic food and picturesque coastline. So many parallels to Cinque Terre to the north. I think if we were all forced to choose, we’d return to Cinque Terre over the Amalfi Coast but both were wonderful spots to spend a few days during the Italian summer. I’m definitely going to try my hand at making some of the Campanian lemon granita when I eventually have access to all my kitchen toys again.
Amalfi Coast is on my long list of places I hope to visit one day. It is great you have found your way there, and had such nice weather during your visit. Looks like I should bump Amalfi Coast up a few positions on my list of Dream Trips. I wonder if it should be combined with a trip to Sicily. Or maybe that would be too much to do see in a single trip
Great photos and memories to be cherished!
Wonderful pictures & travelogue. Lots of interesting stories to be told about travelling in Italy – we had some very hair-raising experiences whilst driving on narrow, steep, mountain roads. Very glad to arrive safely! The beaches all look amazing and terrific for Lilia & Max to enjoy so much time in the sea!
Sam, Your 3 point turns on roads in Italy reminded me of having to do a 3 point turn on a narrow mountain road in Italy in a campervan without brakes. However there was a handbrake & somehow I did it, with much instruction from the locals.