Getting Around the Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi Coast's beauty is legendary - and so are its twists and turns. From ferries that skim along the sea to buses navigating cliffside roads, here's how to travel this stunning coastline.
The Amalfi Coast's beauty is legendary - and so are its twists and turns. From ferries that skim along the sea to buses navigating cliffside roads, here's how to travel this stunning coastline.
Getting around the Amalfi Coast requires a slightly different approach than the rest of Italy. While train travel is the go-to option in many regions, only one of the Amalfi Coast towns is served by rail - and it's not a particularly convenient option. The cities of Sorrento and Salerno, which provide bookends for but are not technically part of the Amalfi Coast, are both easily reached by train. However, if you're heading to the famous towns of Positano and Amalfi, you'll need to use one of the transit methods outlined below. A combination of buses, boats and the occasional car ride will get you where you need to go. With the right transportation plan—and a little flexibility—you'll be ready to explore this breathtaking stretch of coastline with ease.
Coaches and smaller buses make up the bulk of the public transportation throughout the Amalfi Coast area. They stop at every town, including the little ones further up in the hills, and provide regular daytime service year-round. Bus tickets are inexpensive, though they must be purchased in advance at a tobacco shop (newsstand).
The main drag, SS163, is a narrow two-lane winding road that clings to the cliffside overlooking the water. It's an incredibly scenic or fairly scary view, depending on your tolerance for heights. During the high season, traffic jams are frequent and long, so plan ahead or take a ferry instead.
Buses are operated by Sita, and bus schedules are published on its website here. The site is only in Italian, but this site provides an up-to-date timetable for buses in English.
The Amalfi Coast may not be ideally designed for bus travel, but it's made for boat travel. Ferries operate like water buses, serving the coastal towns as well as the nearby islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida. Ferry tickets are more expensive than bus tickets, but you won't get stuck in traffic on the water.
Unlike the buses, however, Amalfi Coast ferries do not run a full service year-round. The schedule is weather-dependent, with the main season usually starting in April and running through the end of October. Travelmar and NLG both operate ferries along the Amalfi Coast. You can check Travelmar's schedules and ticket prices on their website, and NLG's schedules and ticket prices on theirs. During the winter season, there is more limited ferry service along the Amalfi Coast, primarily connecting Salerno to Amalfi.
Yes, there are taxis that can get you where you need to go up and down the Amalfi Coast, but that's rarely the best transportation option. Taxis get stuck in the same traffic that buses and other vehicles do, so they're certainly no faster, and they're exponentially more expensive.
There's one clear case when a taxi is your best bet: nighttime. Buses on the Amalfi Coast don't offer night service, but taxis do. If you're trying to get from one town to another after the buses have stopped running for the day, get a taxi. And if there are none waiting at the closest taxi stand, you can call (or have the hotel or restaurant call for you) a car to pick you up.
You can hire a private car and driver for a portion of your trip, too, though this comes with an even higher price tag than the occasional taxi ride. Again, private cars will be stuck in the same traffic jams as the buses and taxis, so you're unlikely to reach your destination any faster.
Having a private car and driver may be a good investment for a day trip to an attraction away from the coast itself, such as Pompeii, if you want more control over your time than you'd have if you were relying on local buses. But if you're just hopping from town to town, you'll save a great deal of money by taking a bus or ferry instead.
However, we highly recommend hiring a private car or driver for your arrival and departure as the convenience and comfort makes it very much worth the added expense.
Having a rental car affords you the same kind of control over your schedule that you'd have with a private car and driver, only you're the one behind the wheel. And, on the Amalfi Coast, that may be more stressful than it's worth.
It's one thing to be on a bus or in a taxi navigating the winding Amalfi Coast road, occasionally stymied at a hairpin turn by a traffic jam that requires a few people to get out of their vehicles and help guide drivers through multi-point turns. It's another thing entirely when you're one of the drivers. The narrow two-lane road doesn't have room for error, and the driver doesn't have the luxury of taking in the views along the way.
In addition to the challenges of driving on the Amalfi Coast, there's the added problem of finding parking once you get into any of the towns. There's very little in the way of public parking, and in the high season some of the towns close their main tourist areas to cars altogether.
Getting around the Amalfi Coast by moped or scooter can be exhilarating and fun, but you should only consider it if you already have a lot of experience driving a motorbike, moped or Vespa-like scooter. There are rental agencies in most of the towns along the coast where you can rent a scooter. You must carry a valid license to drive a car (for scooters up to 125 cc) or a motorcycle (for scooters over 125 cc).
Scooters can often maneuver through the traffic jams that often happen on the Amalfi Coast road in the high season, and parking is far easier with a small scooter rather than a car. It's also less expensive to rent a moped than a car. But it takes a high degree of skill and agility to pilot an unfamiliar vehicle through miles of hairpin turns, particularly when you're sharing the road with a whole bunch of coaches, taxis and cars (not to mention other scooters) that may not be very patient with inexperienced drivers.
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