GUIDES
The Amalfi Coast, Done Right
Cliffs, coastline, and the particular art of doing one of Italy's most dramatic drives without doing it badly.
The Amalfi Coast is forty kilometres of vertical limestone dropping into the Tyrrhenian Sea. The road that connects it — the SS163, the Nastro Azzurro, the Blue Ribbon — is one of the most dramatic drives in Europe and one of the most congested in summer. The coaches arrive early. The day-trippers follow. By noon in July, Positano looks like a very beautiful traffic jam.
None of this should put you off. The Amalfi Coast rewards the traveller who arrives with patience and leaves the itinerary loose. The villages are extraordinary — Positano draped down its cliff face, Ravello sitting impossibly above the sea, Amalfi itself clustered around a cathedral that has no right to be this far south. The boat is always the answer when the road becomes impossible.
Come in May or September. Stay longer than you planned. Eat whatever the kitchen is proud of that day. The coast will do the rest.
THE TOWNS
Where to Base Yourself
Positano
The most photographed village on the coast and, despite everything, still worth it. The houses stack down the cliff in shades of pink and terracotta to a small beach that gets crowded by ten in the morning. Stay above the main drag, eat at the places without English menus, and take the path to Praiano in the early evening when the light goes horizontal and the crowds thin.
Ravello
Six hundred metres above the sea on a ridge between two valleys, Ravello is the Amalfi Coast's quietest and most civilised stop. The Villa Cimbrone gardens, with their terrace of busts overlooking the sea, are among the finest in Italy. Wagner composed here. Garbo came to hide. The town has maintained its dignity through a century of tourism by the simple expedient of being too high for the coaches to be bothered.
Amalfi
The town that gave the coast its name was once a maritime republic powerful enough to challenge Venice. The cathedral at the top of its broad staircase is the most unexpected piece of Arab-Norman architecture in southern Italy. The town itself is small, lively, and best experienced early in the morning before the ferry passengers arrive from Naples.
Praiano & Furore
The villages that most visitors drive past without stopping. Praiano sits on the cliff between Positano and Amalfi with a small beach, a handful of excellent restaurants, and none of the crowds. Furore is technically a village but consists of a single spectacular gorge with a beach at the bottom that requires commitment to reach. Both reward the traveller who pays attention.
WHERE TO STAY
Amalfi's Finest
Hotel Miramalfi
Amalfi
A clifftop hotel above Amalfi with a saltwater pool carved into the rock and sea views that stretch to the horizon. Unpretentious and genuinely restful — the Amalfi Coast without the performance.
"The moment you step onto the terrace, the world narrows to the essentials: blue water, white stone, and the quiet hum of a property that knows exactly what it is."
Palazzo Murat
Positano
A 18th-century palazzo tucked into the heart of Positano, steps from the beach and the chaos of the main drag — yet somehow removed from both.
" ... the noise of Positano falls away — lemon trees, stone archways, and the quiet confidence of a place that earns its elegance from history, not hype."
ON THE WATER
The LussoIQ Experience
PRIVATE YACHT
Luxury Yacht from Positano to Ischia
A full day aboard a private luxury yacht from Positano — past the Li Galli islands, around the Amalfi Coast, and into the volcanic shores of Ischia. Seven hours, twelve guests maximum, prosecco included.
Best For:
Duration:
Groups · Leisure Lovers
Full day