A guide to Positano & the Amalfi Coast

We got back not too long ago from our two-week honeymoon in Italy, and I am so excited to finally share our experiences with you! We spent our time in Rome, Positano, Florence, Pisa, and Venice, but the Amalfi Coast was by far my favorite. I’ve never been anywhere so postcard perfect!

This trip was especially relaxing for me, because Asher planned everything. All I did was give him a list of things I absolutely had to do, and he filled in the gaps. I told him since I was planning the wedding, he had to plan the honeymoon. And both were an absolute dream! So while I’m telling you all the fun parts and logistics, I have to give the credit to him.

How We Got There

The logistics in getting to Positano can be a little daunting, especially when you’re not from the country. We flew into the airport in Rome, took the train to Naples and used a driving company to take us to our Airbnb. This isn’t the only way to get there though. Here are some options:

Train: Unfortunately, you can’t get to Positano by train. You can get to Sorrento and Salerno by train, but will need to either take the ferry or bus to Positano. Traveling by train in Europe is fairly cheap. There are two options: Eurail and ItaliaRail. Eurail allows you to travel all throughout Europe and buy one ticket for a set price for however many days you want to travel. ItaliaRail allows you to buy individual train tickets for each trip. Eurail was cheaper for us since we were traveling for more than one day.

Ferry: The ferry to Positano runs from Sorrento, Amalfi, Salerno and Naples, but if you have lots of luggage, this might not be the best option.

Bus: After taking the train to Sorrento, you can hop on a bus to Positano for about two euros.

Car: This is the most expensive, but easiest way to get to Positano. We took a private car from the train station in Naples to Positano. Depending on where you get a driver, it’s usually around 100 euros. We used Daytrip and had a really good experience.

Also note: it’s somewhat rude to tip in Italy. Their tip is built into their pay unless they tell you otherwise. While you may want to tip your driver or the person that made your cappuccino, it’s considered a little rude.

In the end, I would pay the money to take the car to Positano. We had the SWEETEST driver. He stopped on the side of the road for us to see the view of Sorrento. While we were taking photos, he walked over to a lemon cart (because lemons are what’s up on the Amalfi Coast) and bought us lemon slush so we “could taste the lemons of Sorrento.” It was such a wonderful experience. Everyone in Positano is so welcoming!

Where We Stayed

I’m a firm believer in Airbnb. You get a true authentic experience that you might not get in a hotel at more than half the price. Our Airbnb in Positano was by far my favorite. I mean, check out that view! Barbara, our host, was so kind and even offered to make us dinner reservations. I loved her, and her cute little abode! One thing to note when looking for an Airbnb or hotel in Italy is to make sure they have air conditioning or heating depending on what season you’re going.

How We Spent Our Days

Positano Day 1: The Arrival

We arrived a little later in the day on our first day in Positano. After checking in, we had dinner at Da Constantino, one of our Airbnb host’s suggestions. Located closer to our Airbnb, it’s quite a bit of a hike from the beach, but it was so good! We ordered the gnocchi with tomato sauce, local grilled fish and grilled veggies. Rumor has it they also have the best limoncello in town.

After dinner, we spent the rest of the day exploring the city at night and getting gelato at my favorite gelateria in Italy, Collina. I’m partial because I loved the little old man working there. My favorites were the chocolate, pistachio and hazelnut, although Asher swears by their stracciatella.

Positano Day 2: The Beach

On the first full day of our stay, we found our favorite little breakfast spot, Casa e Bottega, and shamelessly went back every morning to be greeted by the owner’s dog and have a healthy start to our day. We ordered pancakes, muesli and yogurt, chia seed pudding, and poached eggs in tomatoes. Everything was so good, but our favorites were the pancakes and the muesli and yogurt bowl. You have to visit this place when planning your trip to Positano!

We spent our first day on the beach to relax and recover from all the wedding festivities. There’s a section where you can buy beach chairs for about 20 euros each, but we just used our beach towels since it was free. Our favorite place for a snack on the beach is Blu Bar. They have everything from coffee to cocktails and snacks to full meals. We ordered the bruschetta more than once during our stay – it was to die for!

Positano is such an easy town to explore. There’s a strip of shops (not too touristy might I add) that leads straight up to the top of the city. We spent a lot of time there, taking in the views. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in the world.

We finished up our day at Chez Black, which was good, but not my favorite. It was a little too touristy for me, but kind of a must since so many celebrities have eaten there. We had prosciutto pizza and stuffed peppers. I was a huge fan of the stuffed peppers. And of course, more veggies equals more gelato, right?

Positano Day 3: The Vespa

Day three in Positano might be our favorite day out of our two weeks in Italy. We grabbed brunch at Casa e Bottega of course, and then headed up the hill to rent a Vespa. They have Vespa rentals along the Amalfi Coast in each town. Ours costed about 70 euros for the whole day, and it was well worth it. The lady asked if Asher had experience driving one before. He said yes. LOL. The only experience he’s had is on one of those little electric ones in the big cities – not at all like a Vespa. So we were a little nervous at first – at least I was.

We drove the Amalfi Coast beginning in Positano with stops in Praiano, Amalfi and Revello. Revello was my favorite of the three we visited. It was so neat, clean and not too crowded. We stopped in Amalfi for some frozen yogurt, but it was a little too crowded for me.

If you do anything on the Amalfi Coast, rent a Vespa. It was my only must-do on the honeymoon list, and we had the best time.

We had Chez Black again for dinner that night because it was the only thing open and we were so hungry after our ride. Take note that a lot of places close right after lunchtime and don’t open back up until around 7 p.m. This time we had pesto linguine and eggplant parmesan. It was really good, but again, I would try going somewhere more authentic.

Positano Day 4: The Last Day

We spent our last day in Positano exploring and taking in the sights before our early ride to the train station the next morning. We started the morning saying goodbye to the cats of Positano on our way to the main area of the town. Honestly, the cats were one of my favorite parts.

We visited our breakfast spot again before purchasing some souvenirs. Our favorite place to buy gifts was Sapori e Profumi di Positano, a shop dedicated to the lemons of the Amalfi Coast. You can find everything lemon here, like limoncello, giant and small lemon candles, soaps, perfumes, candy and handmade bags.

We visited some art studios and purchased some artwork by a local Positano artist, Antonio Iannicelli. I love finding pieces of artwork on our adventures, and his was my favorite. His artwork features the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, the town’s architectural focus. The geometrical designs surrounding the church grounds are so beautiful!

We decided to go big on our last night by visiting Franco’s Bar before dinner. The bar is owned by the Le Sirenuse Hotel, and features one of the best views of Positano. The area only holds about 30 people and operates on a first come, first served basis. We found the line on the way to dinner and had some time to kill. The bar is beautifully decorated with pops of blues and yellows, and is certainly worth the experience.

For dinner, we went to one of my favorite places of the whole trip – Casa Mele. One thing to note: make reservations and ask to sit by the kitchen. We were able to watch the chefs prepare our meal. They brought us several kinds of their homemade bread to try with olive oil and gazpacho on the house. Asher ordered the pasta carbonara and I ordered the cappelletti with a roast beef filling covered in Genovese sauce – it was SO good. When the manager found out it was our honeymoon, they brought out licorice crème brûlée with a raspberry sorbet, crackers topped with sweet cream, chocolate candy, gummies and marshmallows. Let’s just say I left unable to get gelato that night. Casa Mele is quite pricey (unless they give you all the free stuff for your honeymoon), but SO worth the experience.