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Italy’s Amalfi Coast is a one of the most popular destinations in Europe, and for good reason. Not only do you get some of the most beautiful views in the world, you also get to experience the amazing food, culture, and lifestyle of the beautiful southern Italy region of Campania.
After having visited five times now, I’ve made the perfect Amalfi Coast 4 day itinerary that I now want to share. This includes the best places to go, the best restaurants, possible day trips, transportation, and the best time to go. If you follow this, I am confident that you will maximize your experience on the Amalfi Coast.
Who is this itinerary for?
Someone who:
- Is more budget conscious
- Is relying on public transportation, the best option to both save money and eliminate the stress of driving the narrow roads and parking on the coast (it’s always scarce)
- Prefers more local experiences instead of hitting the high tourist points. While this itinerary does include short visits to Positano and Amalfi, I purposely excluded a visit to Capri
- Doesn’t mind staying in a quieter area
Jump-to sections:
WHERE TO STAY?
In this itinerary, I have you staying in the coastal town of Vietri sul Mare, the is the perfect place for a home base. It’s beautiful, has great restaurant options, a beach within a short walk, and it has a local feel (i.e. non-touristy) that you can’t find in some of the more popular towns like Positano or Amalfi. It’s also the only one of the coastal towns with a train station. However, Vietri sul Mare is not a place for nightlife (but nowhere on the Coast really is). If you prefer that, staying in Positano may be more suitable. Keep an eye out for a separate article soon for that itinerary.
I prefer to use Booking.com for finding a place to stay. It has everything from hotels, rooms, houses, and hostels. I recently stayed at La casetta di Ilma and couldn’t have been more pleased with the place and the amazing host.
WHAT TIME OF YEAR?
The summer months are the hottest and busiest times of year on the Amalfi Coast, the high season being in July and August. November is in the rainy season, though I have lucked out with perfect weather in November (cooler, as I prefer). However if this is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation for you or your first trip to the Coast, the best time to go to the Amalfi Coast is May or September. Those months will most likely have the best weather and bearable crowds. If you intend to swim however, the water will likely still be too cold in May.
ITINERARY
Day 1: Arrival
If you are flying into Italy, the nearest useful airport to the Amalfi Coast is Naples International Airport (NAP). From there, I suggest you take Alibus (online tickets) from and to the following stops: Bus Terminal to Naples Central Train Station. Unfortunately, there is no train or tram from the Airport. When you arrive at Napoli Centrale, take a train from Napoli Piazza Garibaldi (the subway station) directly to Vietri sul Mare-Amalfi (you can buy tickets online at Trainline).
If you are taking a train from another city such as Rome, you’ll want to take it to Salerno, then take a short train from Salerno to Vietri sul Mare (train tickets from Rome to Vietri sul Mare here).
Pro tip – Napoli Centrale (the train station) and Napoli Piazza Garibaldi (the metro/subway station) and are basically in the same location, they just couldn’t make it easy for us and call it by the same name.
When you arrive in Vietri sul Mare, find your nearest tabaccheria (like this one) and and buy 8 or 10 SITA Sud bus tickets (for a couple). Look for the big “T”.
Then, take the rest of the day and just chill out, walk around town, and people watch. Dinner recommendations: Lamè Trattoria (pasta, seafood, friendly staff), Ristopub Sud Est (casual pizza and fried seafood), Passariello Cantina Mediterranea (seafood, pasta, tucked away, cozy atmosphere). If you have time, walk down to the beach.
Day 2 (first full day): Amalfi, Path of the Gods, and Positano
For the first full day, you should hike the Path of the Gods, book-ended by visits to the town of Amalfi and Positano. The Path of the Gods gives you the best views of nearly the entire Amalfi coast. I have a separate article dedicated to it, including an itinerary, which I highly recommend you read beforehand. Take a ferry from Vietri sul Mare to the town of Amalfi (ferry tickets on DirectFerries). Enjoy a cornetto, coffee, maybe a cuoppo d’Amalfi and walk around before you catch a bus to Bomerano, the starting point of the hike. Note that during peak season, the buses will be very crowded.
You’ll finish the hike in Positano. There, you can walk around, snack, do some shopping, swim (weather permitting), etc. If you happen to find yourself in Positano at lunch or dinner time, I cannot recommend enough the restaurant C’era una Volta (take a bus up).
A lunch option that I sometimes settle for if I want table service (as it doesn’t close for afternoon hours) is La Pergola. The food is good but not great, and it’s about twice as expensive as it should be, but it works.
When I just want a casual lunch to go, I go to the small grocery store Delicatessen Di Cinque Emilia for a sandwich and beer (cheapest food in Positano!).
Take the ferry back to Vietri sul Mare from Positano. Ferry tickets online at DirectFerries.
If hiking isn’t your thing but you still want to see Amalfi and Positano, consider doing a boat tour from Salerno (online ticket link) which stops at both Amalfi and Positano. To get to Salerno from Vietri sul Mare, you can take a 15 minute bus ride from bus stop Vietri sul Mare to Piazza della Libertà, using the SITA Sud tickets you definitely bought when you first arrived on the coast.
Day 3: Ravello, Minori, and Maiori
For the second full day, after you have coffee and people watch in Vietri sul Mare, take a bus or rent a scooter and go walk around and have lunch in Minori or Maiori. I rented from Rent da Matteo in Vietri sul Mare, and it was about 45€ for the day. Restaurant suggestion: Taberna 33 Bistró (spectacular meal-sized bruschetta options, great pasta, and friendly staff).
After lunch, take a bus or scooter up to Ravello. If you take a scooter, park here along the road with all the other scooters. If you take a bus, you’ll have to first take bus 5120 or 5020 to Amalfi (the hub of the Amalfi Coast buses – have patience here), then change to bus 5110 and take it from Amalfi to Ravello.
In Ravello, check out the beautiful gardens at Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufolo and walk around the shops and have a coffee.
Disclaimer: If you have never driven a motorcycle or scooter, or plan on drinking, I do not recommend a scooter rental on the Amalfi Coast. No joke, last week I called an ambulance after a young couple from the U.S. riding tandem on a Vespa took a turn too wide and went into a wall. At least their honeymoon had a good story.
Back in Vietri sul Mare for the night, have a late afternoon aperitivo near the water then have a delicious yet casual dinner at Cerasella Bistrot & Drink, or try any of the options mentioned for Day 1.
Day 4: Free Day Options
This is your free day! Spend the day in Vietri with a long lunch followed by a nap on the beach, go to Salerno, or if you’ve got some extra time and energy, take a day trip to Naples.
Why Naples? I’m biased – it is one of my favorite cities. I recently took my dad and aunt to Naples (on a day trip from Vietri sul Mare) and they genuinely had a great time.
See my posts One Day in Naples: The Perfect Itinerary and Things to do in Naples.
Getting to Naples is very easy from Vietri sul Mare. Simply take a train from Vietri sul Mare-Amalfi directly to Napoli Piazza Garibaldi (tickets online at Trainline – about 6€ each way). I do not recommend doing this on a Monday or Friday, because if there is a train strike, it will be on one of those days and you do not want to get stuck in Naples.
Notice I didn’t recommend Pompeii here. Why? It’s a sea of tourists and overrated. There I said it. If you have your heart set on it, I recommend doing a guided tour like this one. Otherwise, it will quickly appear as indistinguishable roads and once buildings. In sum – it’s worth it if you have extra time or live in Italy, but I wouldn’t carve out precious time from a short vacation to go to Pompeii.
Day of Departure
If you’re going back to the Naples Airport, you can take the same train as day 4 from Vietri sul Mare-Amalfi to Napoli Piazza Garibaldi, then take Alibus to the airport.
If you’re going back to Rome, I suggest taking the short train from Vietri to Salerno, then taking the high speed train from Salerno to Roma Termini (online tickets on Trainline).
CONCLUSION
I sincerely hope you got value out of this itinerary. The Amalfi Coast is truly one of my favorite places in Italy. From the natural beauty, food, language, warm people, and spectacular views, it has so much to offer.
If you have recommendations of your own or have suggestions on what else you would like to see covered here, please write in the comments below. Additionally, if you’re planning a trip to Italy for the first time and need one-on-one support or guidance, check out my services page where you can get in touch with me.