Exploring the Amalfi Coast by Land and Sea

posted on : November 17, 2022 posted by : GNExplorer 0 Comment

Can you plan a last-minute exploration?

We arrived in Sorrento late in the day after a five-hour drive from Florence that included a two hour stop to explore Pompeii. We had been forewarned that the roads along the Amalfi coast are narrow and windy, but it didn’t quite prepare us for the reality, so our nerves were rather frayed. We snagged a table at a restaurant near our hotel, ate pasta, and then fell into bed without much preparation for the day ahead. We didn’t have boat reservations, restaurant reservations or a solid itinerary.

We woke feeling well rested and decided the best course of action would be to slather on some sunscreen, quickly grab our backpacks and head to Marina Piccola to determine our options. We found the steps leading down the cliffs of Sorento to Marina Piccola, a major hub for boat activity on the Amalfi coast. We secured two tickets from the ferry terminal for a boat that made stops in Positano and Amalfi. We could visit two cities in one day. We also booked a small private boat with a captain to take us to Capri the following day.

We waited along the ferry pier among throngs of people as the day grew warmer. Mid-September is summer like weather on the Amalfi coast. I can’t imagine what the crowds or heat would be like in July or August. Our ferry arrived and people squeezed on in a chaotic fashion.

It is a relatively short trip by ferry from Sorrento to Positano and the view along the coast is spectacular. Dramatic cliffs give way to the crystal blue waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. We disembarked the ferry and began our Positano walking tour.

Positano is a gem of a seaside town with colorful, cliffside villas overlooking the sea and lots of expensive boutiques, resorts, and restaurants. We found a staircase and started climbing. Up, up, up we hiked, peeking down little alleys, and pausing to look out at the impressive view. We didn’t quite make it to the main road that connects Sorrento and Positano, but our stomachs were rumbling so we stopped at a cliffside restaurant for a hearty breakfast. It was the only place in Italy that I saw pancakes on the menu, and I dug into mine with gusto. Hunger is the best condiment, so I wasn’t upset that the “genuine maple syrup” was some form of Log Cabin.

After breakfast we were rewarded with a downhill climb and took our time to stop in some of the boutiques featuring lots of linen, lemon products, leather sandals and ceramics. Prices are higher in Positano, so we window shopped rather than purchased. As we meandered downward, we found our way to the Church of Santa Maria Assunta and looked inside. According to my trusty Apple watch we walked for about an hour and twenty minutes and covered over a mile and a half.

There was time to kill before our ferry arrived, so we chucked off our shoes and walked out to the public section of the main beach to cool our feet in the enticing water. The beaches in Positano are fine pebbles rather than sand, and much to my delight there is an abundance of tiny sea glass. I collected bits of glass as I stood knee deep in the sea while my husband ate a lemon sorbet. The ferry ride between Positano and Amalfi provided us with more stunning views of the coastline.

Amalfi has an interesting history; it was a maritime republic and very important trading power from 839 to 1200 AD. It’s smaller than Positano and almost as pretty. We explored the narrow alleys and walked along Ruga Nova Mercatorum, Amalfi’s main street which extends from the water and past St. Andrew’s Cathedral. We grabbed a casual bite to eat at a little bar and after lunch looked in many of the bustling boutiques and souvenir shops. We covered about a mile and a quarter and walked for roughly forty-five minutes. There are lots of hikes you can do in the hills of the Amalfi coast if you are looking for less city exploration including the famed Path of the Gods. It had been our intention to do this, but we couldn’t fit it into our itinerary.

We waited along the narrow pier for our ferry and made it on despite the jostling crowd surge and scored seats along an outside railing. We enjoyed the terrific view of the coastline as our boat cruised past Capri and around the Sorrento peninsula. A boat hand made his way through the deck selling fresh melon as the sun got lower in the sky. We disembarked at Marina Piccola and climbed the steps up towards the town of Sorrento and our hotel. All in all, it was about four miles of city hiking with lots of uphill climbing, so we felt like we got plenty of exercise and successfully explored two towns along the Amalfi coast without much advanced planning.