Part of rVacation.com Network

Amalfi Coast Gateway

Use Naples as your base for Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello: buses, ferries, and the routes that beat the traffic.

Positano • Amalfi • Ravello • The Ferry Beats the Bus

Explore → Get Early Access

🌋 Your Perfect Visit

Getting There: Ferry

Seasonal boats from Naples; or train to Sorrento then the coast bus

Duration: Full Day

Two towns done well beats four done breathless

Season: April to October

Ferries run and the coast is open for business

Start: Positano or Amalfi

Ravello above for the quiet and the views

🧭 Why Visit

An hour from the city, the coast road begins its theater — Positano stacked like a pastel amphitheater, Amalfi's cathedral stairs, Ravello's gardens in the sky. Doing it from Naples means you can day-trip the icons or slow-travel the whole ribbon.

🏛️ A Little History

These fishing towns were once the maritime republic of Amalfi, whose navigation code ruled Mediterranean shipping; earthquakes and Pisan raids reduced the republic, leaving beauty where power had been.

💡 Did You Know?

The SS163 coast road — 'the road of a thousand bends' — was carved in the 1850s and remains the drive of a lifetime or the bus ride of white knuckles, depending on your seat. Ferries from Naples turn the same journey into pure scenery.

Live Prices & Availability

Powered by GetYourGuide

Stay Nearby

Some links may earn us a commission at no cost to you — we only recommend places we would stay.

Local Tips

  • Take the ferry, not the bus, in season. The coast road is beautiful and carsick-making in equal measure, and the view from the water is the postcard.
  • Leave early. The coast is a morning place; by noon the lanes of Positano are a slow-moving queue.
  • Climb to Ravello if crowds wear on you. It sits above the circus with gardens, villas, and half the people.
  • Head back before sunset. The last boats and buses fill fast, and the coast empties toward Naples all at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you day trip the Amalfi Coast from Naples?
Yes. In season the ferry from Molo Beverello makes it easy; otherwise the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento and the SITA coast bus. It is a long, worthwhile day, and choosing two towns rather than four is the secret.
Positano or Amalfi?
Positano for the famous vertical postcard and the beach clubs; Amalfi for the cathedral, the paper mills, and a town that feels less staged. Ravello above either for gardens and quiet.
Should I drive the Amalfi Coast?
We say no. The road is narrow, parking is scarce and expensive, and the ferry or bus lets you look at the coast instead of the bumper ahead. Leave the car in Naples.
When is the best time to go?
Late spring and early fall: open ferries, warm water, and crowds a notch below the August crush. Winter closes much of the coast down.

Explore More of Naples

Underground Naples

Forty meters below the streets: Greek quarries, Roman aqueducts, wartime shelters, and catacombs stacked with centuries.

Capri Island

Ferry to the island of the Blue Grotto, the Gardens of Augustus, and clifftop views that…

Spanish Quarter

Laundry overhead, Maradona murals, and life lived in the street: the most Neapolitan neighborhood of them…

Centro Storico

2,800 years of history in UNESCO-listed streets where ancient Greek grid lines still shape vibrant Neapolitan…

Authentic Pizza Napoletana

Taste pizza where it was invented: from the legendary queues at Da Michele to the neighborhood…

Herculaneum

The other city Vesuvius buried: smaller and quieter than Pompeii, and preserved down to the wooden…

Continue Your Italian Journey

Explore more destinations in our Italian travel network

🏛️ Rome 🎨 Florence 🚤 Venice 👗 Milan 🍝 Bologna 💕 Verona 🍷 Tuscany 🌊 Amalfi Coast 🏘️ Cinque Terre 🌋 Sicily 🇮🇹 rItalian ✈️ rVacation

More journeys: 🌺 rHawaii 📷 rPhotography

Some links on this site are affiliate links — if you book through them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend tours and stays we would book ourselves.