Trains, Ferries, and Buses on 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 cocktail or mocktail you'll sip on while gazing out upon the turquoise, shimmering sea and mountain of colored houses rising from the sea. The only question is, how to get there? Here's information on the route I took there sand it certainly evokes 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 straight ahead to the waterfront then made a left and then a right onto the port where we paid for tickets to Amalfi.
Again, 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 fall away once you take in the beautiful views of the towns along the coast on your way to Amalfi. You amy even be inspired to travel back to visit Vetri Sul Mare, home of pottery artisans, and other towns whose 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, but in Positano, you would have to lug your bags up hill quite a distance before getting to the bus stop.
