Are you looking for the best itinerary for 5 days of traveling the Amalfi Coast? Read along to learn what the most recommended towns to visit are and things to do in each for this breathtaking, pleasant region of Italy.
Planning a trip to the Amalfi Coast is very exciting! If you’re anything like me, you’re here because you love to research and plan your trip ahead of time. The Amalfi Coast is located in the Campania region of Italy. Known for its incredible views of the Gulf of Naples and Tyrrhenian Sea, sheer cliffs, exquisite cuisine, and a slow paced lifestyle. There is so much to see and do in this beautiful region of Italy. This travel guide will give you some ideas of how to make the most of 5 Days Traveling the Amalfi Coast.
You will learn about which towns to visit, what activities to do including a sunset cruise, some restaurant suggestions, and navigation tips. After learning about these places, you are going to be ready for your next Amalfi Coast travel adventure!
This post is about 5 Radiant Days Traveling the Amalfi Coast.
Traveling the Amalfi Coast
Day One: Conca dei Marini and Amalfi Town
To begin this part of our Italy tour, we took a high speed train from Rome to Salerno. The train ride was about 2 hours long. Once we arrived in Salerno, we had a short walk from the train station to the port where we would board the ferry. We used Google Maps to give us walking directions from the train station to Piazza Concordia ferry port. We then took the ferry from Salerno to Amalfi. This ferry ride can take anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour, depending on which ferry you book. I booked our ferry trip in advance using Ferryhopper.
Conca dei Marini
We stayed in a small town between Amalfi and Positano, Conca dei Marini. This was the most affordable option for us. At less than 500€ a night, we stayed at Hotel Le Terraze and were able to have incredible views of the sea from our hotel room, great customer service, and free daily breakfast. The downside to staying in Conca dei Marini is that it is not one of the main cities, making it a bit more challenging to use public transportation. However, I mention some navigation tips at the end of this post that are helpful to get around more easily.
In Conca dei Marini, I highly recommend visiting Monastero Santa Rosa Hotel & Spa. Within this hotel you will find the Michelin Star restaurant Il Refettorio perched on top of a cliff, with magnificent views of the sea and delicious food. Be sure to ask to try the sfogliatella here! This is where the delicious pastry originated. It is one of my favorite Italian pastries! A shell shaped filo dough filled with creamy ricotta, yum!
Another must-see in Conca dei Marini is the Grotto dello Smeraldo. Unfortunately, we did not have a chance to see this magical natural wonder, but it came highly recommended.
Amalfi Town
Once we arrived in Amalfi, we immediately walked around to get our bearings. On the main street there are several cute shops and restaurants. At the entrance of the main street you will find the beautiful Cathedral of St. Andrew Apostle.
Some of our favorite restaurants (and bakeries) were here in Amalfi. We enjoyed the meatballs from Locanda del Marinaio, pasta vongole from Albergo Sant’Andrea, and all of the yummy pastries from Andrea Pansa. You must try the lemon delight!
In the evening, we went on a sunset cruise! I highly recommend going on a sunset cruise while traveling the Amalfi Coast. There are cruises that depart from most major cities including Amalfi, Positano, and Salerno. The cruise included some small appetizers and drinks. It was a great experience being able to see the stunning coastline from the water. Each little town and city has their own aesthetic and seeing all of the natural beauty is breathtaking.
Day Two: Positano
In the morning we took the public SITA bus from Conca dei Marini to Positano. Even with leaving early, around 8:30 AM, it took us a few hours to get to Positano. The SITA bus often runs behind, or is too full to add more passengers. Especially in the busy season between May and August (although we visited in September and it was still busy). Therefore, it is not the most reliable transportation, although it is the most affordable at only a few euros per ride.
Once we arrived in Positano, we had to make our way straight to our lunch reservation at Da Vincenzo. This restaurant offered spectacular views of the water while being tucked in one of the cliffs. We enjoyed the lobster pasta and bolognese. I highly recommend booking a reservation in advance for this restaurant. Many people who wanted to sit on the patio were turned away because they were already booked.
There are many cute shops all around Positano. You will find several stores selling hand crafted, custom made sandals and shoes. I strongly considered purchasing a pair, but didn’t see a style I was truly in love with enough to buy. However, I recommend checking these stores out because you may find a unique yet functional souvenir at an affordable price!
For a snack, dessert, or anytime food, make sure to get lemon sorbet! Positano and the Amalfi Coast is known for their large, flavorful lemons. The lemon sorbet is so delicious and super refreshing!
Although the views of Positano are amazing, and it is a very popular tourist destination, it wasn’t our favorite city in Amalfi. There are a lot of stairs to climb as the city is vertical, and many of the stores offer similar items. For us, one day was enough time to visit Positano.
Day Three: Capri
On our third day traveling the Amalfi Coast, we took a ferry from Amalfi to Capri. Once we arrived in Marina Grande of Capri, we immediately got in line for the funicular to take us up to Piazza Umberto. If you are with another person or a group, I recommend having one person get in line for the funicular (if it’s very busy like it was for us), and one person go to the ticket station to save time. The ticket station is located opposite the funicular. You can’t miss either, they are centrally located in the Marina Grande area.
Piazza Umberto is the main area of the island. Here you will find many shops, restaurants, and beautiful scenery. I recommend getting lost in the streets of Capri and soaking in the natural beauty. We walked along Via Camerelle, the famous street for luxury shopping.
For lunch we stopped at Ristorante Il Geranio Capri before going to Giardini di Augusto. The views from the restaurant patio are stunning! We were fortunate enough to get a spot in the back of the patio without a reservation, however, if you want the best views, I recommend making a reservation in advance. The admission to the gardens is only 2.50€. It is a very affordable activity and we really enjoyed the views! If you want to dive deeper into the gardens, there are tours offered.
Overall, Capri is a beautiful island and we were able to see enough of it in one day. The advantage of booking our own ferry rides to and from the island was being able to come and go when we wanted. There are several tour options available to Capri if you are staying in one of the major cities, and the tours may include views of the famous Blue Grotto.
Day Four: Ravello
Ravello was our favorite city during our entire stay in Amalfi Coast! Perched high above, it is farther away from the water than the other well known cities. We started the day soaking up the morning sun in the main square at one of the cafes.
We took our time exploring the city, walking through the small, picturesque streets. In the afternoon we went to Villa Cimbrone Gardens. The entrance fee is 10€ and includes a map of the gardens. The gardens are so beautiful! This is a great location to take photos! I highly recommend visiting Villa Cimbrone Gardens.
After walking through the gardens, we noticed that there was a Michelin star restaurant located in the hotel on the property. It wasn’t until we sat down at restaurant Mediterraneo that we realized the Michelin star restaurant is Il Flauto di Pan. However, we were not disappointed with Mediterraneo. I had the most delicious linguine alla Nerano, a popular pasta dish in the region, with spectacular views of the cliffs and water.
After lunch, we visited a second garden, inside Villa Rufolo. The entrance fee here was also 10€. These gardens have incredible views of the sea. We spent a lot of time soaking in the views. I highly recommend visiting both gardens if you have the chance. The natural beauty of Ravello made it our favorite visit of the entire trip!
Day Five: Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Naples
In the very early morning of our fifth day, we took a taxi from our hotel in Conca dei Marini to Naples. After checking in early at our hotel, we took public transportation to get to our Pompeii and Herculaneum tour. Unfortunately, taking public transportation was a bit confusing for us, and we were short on time, making us late for the first part of the tour. Once we were in Pompeii, we waited to meet up with our tour group to make our way to Herculaneum.
Herculaneum is the smaller, lesser known Roman ruins in the area. However, there are more fully intact buildings and some really great stories about what occurred during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. If you have time, make sure to visit this archaeological park and be sure to do a tour!
Since we missed our morning Pompeii tour, we decided to take a taxi from Herculaneum and make our way back to Pompeii where we signed up for a private tour. It was well worth the cost, because we learned so much about the Roman time period and what it was like to live in Pompeii. We really enjoyed our tour!
My takeaway from this crazy day, is that it may be best to book a tour of Pompeii and/or Herculaneum that includes transportation. Many tours offer pickups by bus if you are staying in Naples or Sorrento.
In the evening, we explored the city of Naples and enjoyed Napoleon pizza from L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele. This is one of the most famous pizza restaurants in the city, so it is very busy! They have such an efficient system though, it only took about 20 minutes for us to get takeout pizza. There is a window where you get a number for either dine in or takeout. Go there first and choose your own adventure!
Navigation Tips
Here are a few navigation tips that will be useful when planning your own trip traveling the Amalfi Coast:
- Use the Amalfi Coast Bus App! It is a private shuttle service with prices per ticket ranging from 7€ to 10€ . Although it is a bit more expensive than the SITA bus, it will give you a guaranteed seat on the shuttle. Taxis have a standard rate of 50€ to 100€, so it can get quite expensive. We found the Amalfi Coast Bus to be the most convenient and affordable.
- The SITA bus stops are identified with signs that say SITA. Many of these bus stops are also used by Amalfi Coast Bus.
- As mentioned previously, we used Google Maps to help us get around and navigate through each town.
- For any popular restaurants you find online, I recommend booking reservations in advance.
- The ferries can be the fastest and most affordable way to get around from city to city while avoiding the traffic and crazy curves of the streets on land. You also get beautiful views of the coastline! We used Ferryhopper to book our ferry tickets.
- For us, we wanted to save money on accommodations and chose to stay in a smaller town. However, it does make it trickier with having to take transportation daily to bigger nearby cities. You may want to stay in Amalfi, Positano, or Sorrento to have easy access to restaurants, ferries, and other transportation.
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