8 hours along the Amalfi Coast

If you really want to do the Amalfi coast but just don’t have time on your trip to Italy, have no fear! It can absolutely be done in 1 day [no overnight stay] if you simply cannot miss out.

Don’t get me wrong, I will 100% be back there and spend a week, however I did get a good feel for the place during the day trip that I took from Naples!

“In 8 hours I saw Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, with pick up and drop off from our hotel in Naples!”

The Provider

I booked a day trip with Viator which was a small group tour of 8 people, which also included free hotel pick up and drop off. I would absolutely recommend this tour as the Mini bus was lovely, the driver was great and the day wasn’t too long - yet still allowed enough time to see everything! It cost £78pp for the whole day which I thought great, considering the amount of ground you cover!

The Route

We were able to spend 1 hour in each of the locations before driving to the next one, which did not actually feel rushed at all. We were allowed to roam free and so we could do whatever we wanted in that hour.

• Pick up: Naples

• Stop 1: Sorrento [1 hour to spend]

• Stop 2: Positano

• Stop 3: Amalfi

• Stop 4: Ravello

• Drop off: Naples

Sorrento

We got picked up around 8:00am, and the first stop was Sorrento. This was around a 40 min drive and we stayed there for about 45 minutes. This was enough time to sit and have a coffee on the water overlooking Mt Vesuvius, and to explore all of the market stalls selling Limoncello, Lemon decorated plates - Lemon everything actually!

From here we drove to Positano which took around an hour. We also stopped along the coastline around twice to take pictures of the scenery and to stretch our legs. Of course many of you would like to rent a scooter and travel through the winding roads that way, and I don’t blame you! However I was very grateful for our driver as I wouldn’t have wanted to drive a minibus along the narrow roads! Please note if you are planning on driving in a car down the Amalfi Coast, cars are not allowed down many of the roads, and so you will need to park before these zones. There are no designated car parks or anything like that, and so unless on a tour I wouldn’t advise driving in a car down here.

Positano

We explored Positano for an hour, which was enough time to eat some Cannoli’s on the sand and take some photos with the iconic houses behind us! Interestingly, it’s Positano that has the recognisable landscape that everyone associates with the Amalfi coast!

Amalfi

We then headed to Amalfi where we stayed for another hour. Interestingly, the 'iconic Amalfi' pictures of the colourful buildings on the hills are actually in Positano!

One thing that is a MUST in Amalfi however, is eat is the lemon sorbet that is served inside a giant lemon. It’s sour, but amazing!

You might see some in Positano, but skip those and focus on taking in the epic views, and save yourself until you get to Amalfi!

Ravello

Our last stop was Ravello, a smaller town but one filled with incredible ceramic shops! We also stayed here for 1 hour [by this point it was 4pm] and so took a look around before hopping back on the bus home.

Summary

We got back to the hotel around 5/5:30pm, which wasn’t too bad at all!

In total we spent 4 hours in towns along the coast [Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello], stopped at other places for photos along the way, and got back in time for dinner.

It’s given me a great taster of the Amalfi Coast, and has got me excited about my next visit. All in all I would recommend doing this is you don’t have time to do the Amalfi Coast in depth, and are looking for a way to squeeze it in.