Italian Summer (Amalfi Coast)

View of Positano, Italy from the sea; picture taken by Anieka Sarmer

After spending four days in the bustling ancient city of Rome, my family and I took a train from the central station to Naples. There, we met a driver, who would drive us to the Airbnb we booked in Positano. What we thought would be a relaxing four days along the central coast of Italy in the center of Positano, went sour when the address turned out to be incorrect. Our Airbnb hosts gave us the wrong address and they actually lived 7 miles away from Positano; The house was set on the hill above a busy dangerous winding road. With no car to get around, we instantly had to switch up our expectations for this part of our trip, and had to rely on our hosts to drive us to our desired destinations. Even with this slight hiccup, we turned what initially was a disaster into a very spontaneous rollercoaster of a trip, where we got to explore much of the coast and its surrounding areas. Keep reading to find out how our trip went, and what I would suggest for your Italian summer along the Amalfi Coast.

Day 1 - Rome to Amalfi

This was our travel day from Rome's city center to the mountainous coastline of Amalfi. We tried booking a driver to take us from our hotel to the main train station of Rome but the drivers kept canceling on us. After continuous failed drive requests, we decided to haul our luggage through the cobblestone streets to the metro station. With the metro, we transferred at the main station onto a faster speed train which took us down south to Naples. Originally, we were going to take a smaller slower train to Sorrento after that, but we were tired from dragging our luggage, so we booked a driver from Naples to Positano. This is where we had some difficulty. 

When we arrived at the address given to us by the host, it turned out to be the wrong address. Our driver interrogated the people who lived there and a nice local man helped us call our host to get the correct address. Once we had the address, the local man told us that the house was miles away from Positano, along a busy dangerous road that we wouldn't be able to walk on. He got mad at our host, yelling at him in Italian for tricking us tourists into paying money and staying at his house, which was practically in the middle of nowhere, with no access to transportation.

Our driver took us to the correct address, free of extra charge, and bid us farewell. He gave us his contact information and said if we needed a driver to take us away from Positano, he would drive us. We were very grateful for him helping us. I have no idea what the driver or the local man said to our host, but when we got to the house, our host and his wife were very apologetic. He offered to take us to the grocery store for food, which we agreed to, and told us that he or his wife could take us anywhere we wanted along the coast, as long as we let them know ahead of time. After so much travel and stress, we spent a quiet evening eating pasta and drinking wine at the house.

View of a small Italian island from the Amalfi Coast, Italy; picture taken by Anieka Sarmer

Day 2 - Positano

Our second day, my parents decided they didn't want to rely on our hosts for transportation, so they went to a local rental shop to get a car. While my sister and I were waiting for them, we made ourselves breakfast, and spent the early afternoon tanning by the pool. Unfortunately, the rental car did not work out, because my parents were used to driving manual cars in flat areas, and struggled too much with driving up and down the steep hills. They took the car back to the shop after they failed to get the car up the very steep driveway.

At the end of the day, we ended up relying on our hosts for transportation, now for a hefty amount of money, but they were our only option. In the early evening, our host drove us to Positano. We walked down to the water where we explored the shops. Spiaggia di Positano Marina Grande is a very popular beach in Positano with a walk-way, a dock for boats, and many restaurants/ shops. We walked down there and took pictures of the beach. Later in the evening, we ate dinner at Ristorante Le Tre Sorelle where I had really delicious Gnocchi and Tiramisu. Our host met us there and drove us back to the house where we spent the rest of the night drinking wine by the pool and chatting. 

Positano, Italy ; picture taken by Anieka Sarmer

Day 3 - Bagni Regina Giovanna & Sorrento

We woke up early in the morning and had our host's wife drive us near Bagni Regina Giovanna, where we then trekked through the forest and spent most of the morning swimming. Bagni Regina Giovanna is the ruins of an ancient Roman bath house. The pool is protected by the cliffs shielding it from the ocean. Many people were using this opportunity to climb the cliffs and jump, but you can also just float in the bath and pretend to be a Roman. There is an opening in the cliffs where, for more advanced swimmers, you can swim out to the ocean. I thought this place was absolutely gorgeous and worth the trek. Just know that there aren't bathrooms anywhere nearby, and the rocky terrain does not provide a nice space for laying out your towel and sunbathing. My sister and I trekked along the cliffs surrounding the bath to see views of Mount Vesuvius and Naples. I would really recommend finding this beautiful place, and basking in its wondrous nature. It's one of those natural spaces that just completely takes your breath away.

After swimming, we dried off and made the trek back up to the bus stop, where we then took a bus into the heart of Sorrento. I honestly liked this town much more than Positano. The streets were more walkable, there were less people, and it wasn't as touristy. We had a late lunch at Fauno Bar in Piazza Tasso, and ate Gelato right across the Piazza, before walking down to the water. If in Sorrento, I would recommend stopping through Piazza Tasso, grabbing a cappuccino and people watching. You could do this your first day, as a way to still get a feel for the city, without walking around so much. It's a very central part of the city. 

Late in the day, we took a ferry from Sorrento's marina back to Positano, where we had dinner at Ristorante Buca Di Bacco. There had been a sandal shop the night before, which I saw and wanted to check out. I was intrigued because two women ran the shop; one of them handled sales and purchasing, and the other made the sandals by hand at the window. When we got into Positano, I immediately went to that shop and got custom sandals made with emeralds. After I had dinner with my family, I went back to the shop and my sandals had been made. This was my one and only purchase in Amalfi, and even now, I'm happy I got them. They're stunning. 

Picture of me at Bagni Regina Giovanna in Sorrento, Italy ; picture taken by family member

Day 4 - Pompeii

Day four was another early morning, waking up at 6:30 to catch an early train in Meta to Pompeii. We hadn't booked a tour or reservation at all for this destination, but with our luck in Rome, we thought we would keep the ball rolling in Amalfi. There are tours that you can pay for at the Pompeii train station, which is exactly what we did. It was the smoothest tour process of the trip thus far, and our tour guide was exceptional. If you're in the Naples/Amalfi region, you absolutely have to walk through Pompeii. This was my favorite experience while in Amalfi, and it's a memory I will tell people about for the rest of my life. We got to walk through the streets of ancient Pompeii, went into the houses, saw how people lived, learned about the Gods they worshiped, saw how their markets were structured, and also saw castings of a few of the bodies. There was a body which appeared to be praying at the time that the volcano erupted, which I had found very moving and emotional. The ruins are so preserved that you can almost picture the people still living there. I think in this time of climate change and extinction, it's especially emotional to visit a past civilization that was entirely wiped out by a natural force of that magnitude.

Although we did not visit it, I would also recommend seeing Herculaneum; a smaller dig site of a community along the coast that was also wiped out from Mount Vesuvius. This site hasn't been excavated as much as Pompeii has, so you have access to more of the site. My family and I wanted to go, but after walking around Pompeii, we were very tired. If you do decide to go, the train that takes you to Pompeii also takes you to Herculaneum. I believe it's only a few stops past Pompeii if you're coming from the direction of Sorrento.

After Pompeii, we took the train back to Sorrento and ate an early dinner there, before heading back to our airbnb to pack. Although we were confined to our airbnb for most of the time we spent on the Amalfi Coast, we still got to make the most out of it and explored a lot of Positano, Sorrento, and the surrounding area. I don't think I personally would go back to the Amalfi Coast. I think it's overhyped and there are prettier, cleaner, less commercialized beaches elsewhere. However, that is just my opinion. I had heard from friends that they didn't like Rome, and when I went I absolutely loved it. Don't take my dislike as a reason not to go and experience it for yourself. Keep reading for my recommendations about the Amalfi Coast.  

Pompeii Archeological Site with Mount Vesuvius in the background ; picture taken by Anieka Sarmer

Do's & Don'ts in Amalfi

View from Bagni Regina Giovanna cliffs of Sorrento, Italy ; picture taken by Anieka Sarmer

Don't Stay in Positano

Positano is one of the most touristy and expensive towns to stay in along the Amalfi Coast. The town is very busy, the shops / restaurants are pricey, and the town is not a transportation hub. Stay in Sorrento instead. The town is more walkable, the streets aren't as packed with tourists, shops are more reasonably priced, and ferry transportation is central there. In Sorrento, there are more car and moped rental shops, and the ferry can take you to all the other popular towns along the coast, including the island of Capri. There is also a train station there, which you can use if you want to take a day trip to another city away from the coast. Sorrento doesn't have all of those trendy picture spots that Positano may have, but with only a ferry ride away, you can make a day out of visiting Positano and take all the instagram worthy pictures you want. 

Don't Rent a Car

Most cars in Europe are stick shift. There are very limited amounts of automatic cars at the rental shops there, and most small town rentals don't even have automatic cars to rent. Even for people who grew up around manual cars, the Amalfi coast has very steep hills, especially once you get into the towns. Positano is literally built on a cliff. When you visit, you have to drive all the way down to get to the beaches and shops. This was a problem for my parents, who both know how to drive manual cars, but who have only driven them in the Netherlands. This is amusing for anyone who knows about Dutch elevation. We had to return our car when they burnt the clutch trying to get the car up the driveway of our Airbnb, and ended up just using our hosts for transportation. I would highly recommend avoiding cars altogether. Instead, travel by moped when needing to get around on land, or travel by boat if you want to see all the towns by water.

Don't Rent Airbnbs Located Outside of City Centers

From my family's experience with the house we rented, I would highly suggest looking at the general area listed on the Airbnb profile before committing to renting it. When my mom rented our house, she pictured it being just outside of Positano, because the hosts were advertising that the town and beaches were easily accessible. However, when we got there, it was very far away from town and not accessible at all. When booking your stay anywhere, do not believe everything your hosts advertise. If you're not staying at a hotel, make sure you research everything about the place you will be staying at to ensure it's what you want. We definitely did not enjoy having to rely on our hosts anytime we needed transportation. Although the property was gorgeous, and I enjoyed relaxing by the pool, the inner explorer in me disliked the feeling of isolation and dependence. 

Church in Positano, Italy with the sun setting in background ; picture taken by Anieka Sarmer

Spend A Day in Each Coastal Town

Like I already recommended, I would suggest having Sorrento as your home base just because it has the ferry, the train station, and buses. If I could re-do my Amalfi trip, I would stay there. I would spend the first day exploring Sorrento. Every day after that, I would spend a day in each coastal town and get there by ferry; spend one day in Capri, a day in Positano, and then a day in Amalfi. I personally think this is the best and most efficient way of exploring the coast.

Use Public Transportation

For day trips away from the Amalfi Coast, use the train station in Sorrento. We used it when we needed to get to Pompeii, and when we left Amalfi to go to Tuscany. When we were in and around Sorrento we used the bus to get from one end of town to the other. The day we got dropped off at Bagni Regina Giovanna, we took the bus to get back into the city for food and water. For the buses, just make sure you have coins to pay for your ride. 

Cook Meals in Your Room

Food and restaurants are very touristy on the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to find reasonably priced authentic fine dining, especially in Positano. If you have access to a kitchen at the hotel or airbnb you're staying at, use it to your advantage on days you don't want to spend the big bucks on food. 

Me with the city of Sorrento in the background ; picture taken by family member

Thank you for reading, and hopefully this post helped you with planning your future Italian summer vacation. For information about Rome, read part 1 of my Italian summer series. For information about Tuscany and the city of Florence, stay updated by following me on Instagram. I will be publishing part 3 and 4 of my Italian summer shortly.  

So with that being said, my instagram is @aniekasarmer. Follow for more updates about new blog posts and future destinations. 

Now go out and explore the world!

Love, 

Anieka ♡