As spring turns to summer and thousands of tourists flock to Italy’s lush Amalfi Coast, you have to wonder, how do they all get around. With roads meant for Vespas and tour buses meant for highways, the challenge to get around the Amalfi Coast can be overwhelming, most of the time, but especially during the region’s high season of April through mid-October.
If you fly into Naples’ Capodichino Airport, there are buses waiting to take you to Sorrento and the coast beyond. At €10 it’s a must cheaper way than the pricey taxis lined up outside. You can prebook your airport transfer on their website but it’s not necessary, The bus is outside the airport’s main entrance and you can buy a ticket from the driver.
Experience tells us that islands and coastal towns are best reached by water. It’s the easiest way and during the season there are many ferries and private boats to charter you from Naples to the islands of Ischia, Procida and Capri. Other ferry lines move you between Sorrento and the entire Amalfi Coast down through Salerno. CLICK HERE for ferry schedules between all points on the Amalfi Coast and Salerno. The Travelmar site is easy to navigate in English. Gescab ferries shuttle you back and forth between Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast while Caremar ferries move you between Sorrento and the islands. If looking at their sites, search where it says “Orari” for schedules, which may or not be up-to-date. After all, it’s Italy!
You can dream of renting a Maserati to drive the twisty coastal road known as La Costiera Amalfitana but that’s about all you’ll do since traffic can remain at a standstill for hours. It can quickly turn a romantic drive from Sorrento to Positano into a huge headache, turning the usual 30 to 40 minute journey into something close to a half-day affair.
Sita buses down the Amalfi Coast leave the Sorrento train station routinely and you can check the schedule by CLICKING HERE. It’s better to head out by 7:30am and beat the potential for traffic jams by mid-morning. Don’t forget, you’ll be sharing the narrow cliff-hung roads with school buses, prams and shopping carts too. Then stay in Positano or Amalfi for dinner and catch a late bus home. You’ll avoid heavy traffic at both ends of your day.
Sorrento is an ideal place to station yourself during your holiday because it affords easy train access to Rome and Pompei. The unreliable Circumvesuviana line runs direct between Sorrento and Pompei (CLICK for schedules). You can also take the same line to Naples’ Garibaldi station where you can grab a high-speed train to be in Rome in time for lunch. Buon pranzo! Do be careful inside Garibaldi because gypsies are known to prey upon tourists with cameras, iPhones and money.
If all this getting to and fro sounds exhausting, it can be. Take an expensive taxi down to Marina di Praia in Praiano from Piazza Tasso in Sorrento. There you can board a private boat at LaSibilla and cruise the coast all day with a small group of people and a lengthy stop in Capri. Afterwards, when your tired toes hit the rocky shoreline back in Praiano, dine at Armandino’s in the borgo. You’ll feel like a star as you dine on the best the Amalfi Coast has to offer. And don’t forget to book a taxi back. If not, you’ll be climbing the long steep hill up to La Costiera for the last bus back to Sorrento or Positano and Amalfi. Getting around the Amalfi Coast can be challenging but just go with the flow, after all, you’re on holiday.
TOURIST TIP: The free magazine Surrentum is available online and at most hotels in Sorrento. It you grab the hard copy, it provides a detailed pullout of area maps and transit schedules. There is also a tourist office outside the Sorrento train station in an old train. The clerk inside can usually give you info in English while the worker at the tabaccheria nearby will only give you dirty looks.