During our May 2023 trip to Italy, we decided to take a ferry along the Amalfi Coast from Salerno to Sorrento. We stopped briefly at both Amalfi and Positano on our journey. I hate to say this, but the Amalfi Coast was my least favorite part of this trip. Not that I did not love the area, it was just a bit too crowded for me.
Salerno
We started our journey on the Almafi Coast from Salerno. Having toured the Greek Temples in Paestum, our driver took us to the ferry port at Salerno.
What a drive it was! The poor guy went down a one way the wrong way, took the same wrong turn twice and delivered us to the wrong port. Thankfully he asked if he was in the right spot and didn’t just drop us off and leave. He was redirected and he must have hit every road construction possible! But he still got us to our ferry on time! Albeit, we had to run to catch the ferry as we saw it boarding in the distance. They saw us running waited for us and shut the gate behind us as we boarded. Out of breath, we climbed to top deck as the ferry was taking off. Much too close for comfort but we loved our driver and felt so bad for him.
Along the Way
As we settled on our seats and relaxed, we enjoyed all of the small towns we passed on our way towards our first stop of Almafi. The ferry was crowded and as we stopped at each village it seemed as if more people were boarding than departing so it was hard to get photos but I did snap a few.
Vietri su Mare
Maiori
Minori
Amalfi
It seemed like in no time we reached Amalfi. We were both pretty excited seeing the town from the sea. There even seemed to be an excitement on the ferry and many people disembarked. Once at the port, the crowd naturally gravitated towards the main entrance of the city. Since we don’t like crowds, we chose instead to walk a bit further to the right and then enter through a smaller entrance. It was a great decision.
It was after lunch time and we were feeling pretty hungry. We found ourselves in a bit more of a residential type area but much to our delight, we could smell some wonderful Italian cuisine and saw a cute little place to eat in the corner. This spot was perfect. We ordered our daily dose of pizza and Caprese salad. Not only was the pizza the best we had thus far, it was also the least expensive. Who would have figured, our least expensive meal would be in Amalfi.
After lunch we found a narrow street that led to the main part of Amalfi. We wandered the town and stopped at The Duomo of Amalfi. The Duomo is a Roman Catholic Church which dates back to the year 987. The large green doors of thee cathedral were made in Constantinople before 1066 and are one of the oldest doors of this type.
Other than eating and roaming the town a bit, we did not spend much time in Amalfi. The shops seemed to have the same types of merchandise that we saw in Sorrento only a heftier price tag. We went back to the port, enjoyed the views of the town from the dock and waited patiently for our ferry to take us to Positano.
Back on the Water
Once again, we boarded the ferry and enjoyed the views of the Amalfi Coast on our way to Positano.
Praiano
Positano
It did not take long at all before the famous panoramic view of Postiano came into view. I must say, it was pretty exciting pulling up to the port at Positano.
Again, in Positano we wandered the streets making our way up the hill to snap some photos of this iconic town. It was mid afternoon and the sun was not in a good spot for photo taking but I did get a couple of good ones. As it was crowded we didn’t stay long and in fact, we were looking forward to going back to Sorrento and spending the evening there.
After roaming Positano we hopped back on the ferry and returned to Sorrento. It was a long day and in the morning we were going to visit Capri so we called it an early night.
Conclusion
All in all, a ferry along the Amalfi coast and visiting Amalfi and Positano was enjoyable. Althouhg not the highlight of my trip as I had thought it would be, it was still worth doing. That being said, if we return to this area I would skip visiting these towns and instead hike more and visit some off the coast towns.
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Click below for more from my Italy 2023
Ancient Greek Temples in Paestum-Italy, May, 2023
Bagni Regina di Giovanna, Sorrento, Italy-May 2023
E-Bike tour Mt Vesuvius May 2023
Hiking Punta Campanella to Grotta di Minerva, May 2023
Our Rainy Day in Rome – May 2023
Rome to Pompeii by Train-May 2023
You can also check out my 2022 Italy trip posts:
Wandering Lecce, Italy – April 2022
Tenuta DonnAnna Cooking Class-Puglia, Italy, April 2022
Walking Through Porto Selvaggio-Puglia, Italy April 2022
Walking Through Capo di Leuca-Puglia, Italy April 2022
The Ciolo and Cipolliane Path-April 2022
Punta Palascia Italy-April 2022
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It does look pretty. I’m surprised and sad that it was already so busy in May. I thought that would be off season. Maggie
We were surprised at how busy it was too! I guess we should have went in April to avoid crowds!
We spent a month in Salerno, something like the other bookend of the Amalfi coast. We took that same ferry and had equal trouble getting there because of road construction and terrible traffic. We didn’t stay out on the peninsula to avoid all those steps(!) and found that Salerno was a good base. The ferry ride was lovely, I agree, and makes a good day trip.
We unfortunately did not spend any time in Solerno other than catching the ferry. It looked like it was lovely though, and would’ve made another nice space for visiting the coast!
Aww I ate in the exact same restaurant and it was delicious 😊
Oh wow!!! It was good!
After seeing some of Rick Steves’ PBS adventures this is the one area I always thought would be sweet to visit. Now, all that rock scrambling yountwo have done hiking in Greece got you prepped for dashing to the ferry. Funny how things like that work. 😳😏🤭
Lol! We leave for Greece on Sunday so hopefully scrambling for the ferry will help us climb rocks!
Your photos! Lori, they are fantastic. I would love to take the same ferry ride along the coast simply for the views. What a great day you had, despite the lost driver.
It was a nice day! The views from the ferry was the best part! So fun to pull up to each port and then back to sea.
WOW! What scenery! I haven’t been south of Rome, but it definitely looks worth the trip. Mel
Thank you! Very beautiful. My next post will be on Capri which we totally fell in love with! Hoping to get it out tomorrow!
I’ve heard the Amalfi Coast is extremely-touristy, to the point that it can’t be fully enjoyed while visiting there…I went there when I was 13, and while I don’t remember too much about it, I remember it being hot and busy. To be fair, though, the views of the colorful houses perched on the cliffs can’t be beat!
It is beautiful!! I don’t like crowds though!
My wife and I drove the Amalfi coastal road back in 2015. In our heads, we had the image of an open top sports car cruising the curves. In reality, it was a nerve-wracking experience, stop-start driving in nose to tail traffic, dodging the never-ending parade of tour buses. Hiwever, we did see some spectacular views. Your choice to take the ferry seems the much saner option. Thank you for sharing your experience and your photos.
I wondered how it would be to drive it as I have the same visual as you! The traffic was nuts from what I could see and it was only the first week of May! Thanks for sharing! Lori