Trains, Ferries, and Buses to the Amalfi Coast

Traveling to the Amalfi Coast

Considering a trip to the Amalfi Coast?  Excellent choice!  The Amalfi Coast is as stunningly gorgeous as all the pictures you've seen depict.  You can almost taste the fancy drink you'll sip on and fresh seafood you'll eat while gazing out upon the turquoise, shimmering sea and mountain of colored houses rising from it.  The only question is, how to get there?  Here's information on the route I took there - it certainly proves the truth of the saying the journey is as important as the destination.  

My husband and I traveled down from Rome on a reasonably scenic 3 hour train ride during which we passed beautiful Italian countryside.  Once we arrived at Salerno, there was no information visible in the train station regarding how to travel to the port to catch the ferry to the coast.  We relied on the kindness of a stranger who guided us and, with our backs to the train station, we walked pretty much straight ahead to the waterfront then made a left onto the waterfront and then a right onto the port where we paid for tickets to Amalfi. 

The staff at the port were not very helpful in explaining which ferry was the correct one to get on or when it was coming or if the ferry would stop at Amalfi or travel express to another town.  I recommend asking everyone and talking to other travelers to confirm you're getting on the right ferry!  

Your stress about the trip thus far will immediately subside once you take in the beautiful views of the towns along the coast on your way to Amalfi.  You may even be inspired to travel back to visit Vetri Sul Mare, home of pottery artisans, and other towns identifiable by the church domes you'll pass along the way.  

Eventually, you'll arrive in Amalfi and you'll be overcome with the beauty of the town rising up the mountain.  Take lots of photos then buy a ticket for the Sita bus that will take you alongside the mountain as far as Positano.  I stayed in Praiano and the Sita bus stopped there as well.  I recommend getting off the ferry at Amalfi even if you're going somewhere closer to Positano, if you have cumbersome luggage, as the buses are located a short distance from the ferry stop in Amalfi. In Positano, you will have to lug your bags up hill quite a distance before getting to the main road to catch a bus or taxi to your hotel.  

As you can see from photos above, there's one coastline road and it is very narrow and winding.  The bus driver honked at the woman walking on the side of the road to move over as it was about to hit her making a hairpin turn.  My husband and I did not dare rent a car, but some more daring than us do and in the picture on the right you can see parked cars lining the mountain and somehow the road remains a two-way highway!  The road there was even a bit frightening to walk along as it seemed like a stiff breeze could push you over the side of the low wall into the sea.  But, hugging the mountain and peering out the bus windows over the edge of the road to gaze at the beautiful water and coastline is part of the fun and magic that is the Amalfi Coast.  These views are worth the trouble!  

So in short, take the scenic route to the Amalfi Coast.  It's so beautiful and will be a memorable start to your trip! 

Heading back, we had a flight out of Naples to London so rather than spend a day going back the way we came, we decided to hire a car to go directly from Praiano to Naples.  Much to our surprise we discovered that there is no easy way through the mountain to get to Naples so we wound our way up the coastal side of the mountain and then had to wind our way back down into the valley on the other side. We were a bit car sick by the end of that drive so be prepared!