How To Plan A Romantic Holiday In Amalfi Coast, Italy

Myth 1: Amalfi Coast is way out of budget.

Myth Buster: Just because it’s a favourite destination with the rich and famous doesn’t mean that you can’t do it. There’s no travel that good planning can’t afford. Trust me, I’ve done it.

Myth 2: A day trip is all you need for Amalfi Coast.

Myth Buster: Unless you are on a super tight schedule, a day trip to Amalfi is not enough. I gave it three precious days in my Italy itinerary of 17 days and felt like I could have stayed forever!

Don’t believe me? Read on and decide for yourself.

For those of you wondering what this is about, let’s start with a quick introduction. After sharing details of my honeymoon sojourn part deux, I thought it’s only logical to share where it all began. I went to Italy for my honeymoon (woohoo!). Much to my parents’ dismay, my husband and I spent more time researching our holiday than planning the wedding. We looked up every travel portal and spoke with every friend’s friend who had ever set foot on the Italian soil. Here’s a sneak peek into one of the most special chapters of my Italy diaries.

Why Amalfi Coast?

Because it’s just so beautiful. It looks like it’s straight out of a fairy-tale. Amalfi Coast is a stunning coastline in Southern Italy with steep cliffs that drop right into the sea creating a dramatic union of land, sea and sky. What adds to the charm are the lemon groves winding down the luxurious villas leaning out over the edge. No wonder it’s a favourite with writers and poets!

Located just about two hours from Naples, you will also cross the ancient town of Pompeii, which was destroyed after the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The coast itself has a number of towns, the popular ones being Positano, Amalfi and Ravello.

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Is A Day Trip Enough?

Often, people plan a day trip to Amalfi from Rome (costing 217 Euros) or Naples (costing 85 Euros). The overall cost usually includes a trip to Pompeii followed by a coach tour to the coast with about one hour free in one of the towns. While this option works well if you are short on time, I strongly recommend spending at least one night by the coast if you really want to do justice to your travel.

How To Reach?

If you do decide to stay here, you will have the following three ways to reach.

1. Hotel Pick Up

The first option is to ask your hotel to send for a pick up at Naples. This is of course very convenient but much more expensive than if you were to take public transport. For some perspective, our hotel in Positano offered to pick us up from Naples at a charge of 100 Euros each way. Alternatively, they also offered to pick us up from Sorrento (the base town connecting Naples and Amalfi Coast) at a charge of 45 Euros each way.

2. Train + Bus

Both my husband and I love using public transport. No, not because we are stingy! We love the whole local experience, travelling with the locals, asking for directions, finding a new place all by ourselves.

Our journey started with the Circumvesuviana Train that goes from Naples and takes you to Meta di Sorrento. Remember, this is not your fancy Euro Rail, this is a cheap (and dirty!) but safe and efficient way to reach the coast.

Once you reach Sorrento, which is the base of the cliff, there is a regular bus service called Sita Bus (don’t ask me why) which goes every half an hour to all the towns all the way to the top. So we took the “Sita Bus” to Positano. Obviously, this doesn’t drop you right up to your hotel. For that, you need to take another internal red bus till the hotel. It might sound a little complicated, but it’s really not. To give you an idea, we left Naples at around 9 am and checked into our hotel at Positano before lunch. Easy breezy!

Naples to Sorrento via Circumvesuviana Train: 4.10 Euros 

Sorrento to Positano via Sita Bus:1.60 Euros

3. Self-Drive

The third option is to rent a car and drive yourself. This is also a great option because the drive up the cliff is spellbinding. Just make sure you find a hotel that allows free parking, otherwise you would end up paying a lot for that.

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Where I Stayed

We had booked a hotel called Conca D’Oro in Positano for two nights. At first I was a little disappointed because we had to climb an awful lot of stairs with our luggage to actually get to the hotel. But after much whining, all my complaints dissolved as soon as I stepped into this cosy little family-run property. The hotel was beyond beautiful and we had the most gorgeous sea facing balcony in our room. The morning welcomed us with clouds gliding through the window and nights were spent gazing at the stars twinkling over the sea.

Honeymoon Tip: Hotels across the world are very nice to newlyweds. The staff here gave us a complimentary bottle of champagne when they found out that we were on our honeymoon! #cheapthrills

My Itinerary

We spent months planning our Italy itinerary which we are very proud of, so for those of you planning or dreaming of a trip to Amalfi Coast, here are the details.

Day 1: Positano

After checking into our hotel, we headed out immediately to paint the town red. We stopped for lunch and had one of the best (and most expensive!) pizzas of the trip. Meals here in general are more costly than in say Rome or Florence. Then we just walked around and went to the beach. The town is quite small so you can easily cover all of it on foot in less than a day. But it’s so gorgeous that you can just soak in the views for hours. There isn’t much nightlife, so it’s best to catch a good dinner, buy some delicious (and very reasonable) Italian wine from the local grocery and take it back to your hotel for a relaxed time.

Day 2: Capri-Anacapri And Sorrento

The next day we had planned to visit the islands of Capri-Anacapri. The ferry to the islands leaves from Sorrento so we had to take the bus back. Because we were running a little late, the lady at our hotel told us a ‘shortcut’ to the bus stop was through a staircase close to the hotel.

A word of caution: If an Italian tells you to take the ‘stairs’ be careful because in Italy stairs are like streets, long ones. This one seemed to never end.

Also, don’t buy a tour from anyone on the ferry. It started raining and we bought a tour for 30 Euros each and ended up feeling quite cheated because the coach just took us up and down the island, which we could have easily done ourselves for one-fourth the price.

Because it was raining we couldn’t go to the Blue Grotto, which otherwise is a must-do attraction from Capri. But we managed to explore both Capri and Anacapri with their little churches, boutiques and cosy little coffee shops.

In the evening we took the ferry back to Sorrento and spent a few hours exploring this town. Sorrento is busier compared to Positano and is a convenient hub for tourists because of its easy accessibility. There are a lot more reasonable restaurants and quirky geletarias that you can choose from. I even managed to shop for some clothes here!

Day 3: Amalfi And Ravello

On the third day while we checked out from our hotel, we were planning to spend the day exploring the rest of the coast. So we left our luggage at the concierge and went back to the bus stop (this time not from the ‘shortcut’!) and took the Sita to Amalfi. The drive is just so beautiful that it leaves you speechless. The town has a lively vibe with people relaxing by the sea or walking by the main market area. Since we were feeling particularly enterprising, we decided to take the bus up to Ravello. I must confess that being an obsessive literature enthusiast I also wanted to see Ravello because this was a favourite with both Virginia Woolf and DH Lawrence. Yes, it is beautiful, but my loyalties remain with Positano.

Finally, we headed back to Sorrento and then Naples. But somewhere up there, maybe in the narrow staircase, maybe in the clouds, I left a piece of my heart behind.

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