The Amalfi Coast has been a place that I have been dreaming of going to for years. After seeing Sofia Richie spend her 21st birthday in Positano, it undoubtedly became number 1 on my bucket list for traveling. Like many of my impulsive decisions, I booked a trip to Italy and somehow convinced my sister to do the same.
Train from Naples to Salerno
We went on our trip to the coast in what is considered the off-season, mid-March. We still had beautiful 65-degree and sunny weather. Our Amalfi adventure started in Naples (which, in my opinion is not worth talking about), and our voyage started at the Napoli Centrale train station. The train is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to get around. We used the app “Trainline” to do so. In Napels, there was a little bit of a language barrier, but finding our way around was not difficult.
Naples seemed to be the only place in Italy where we found ourselves with language barrier issues, so Google Translate became a handy tool here. About an hour later, we arrived at Salerno train station, where our incredible Air B&B host offered to pick us up for our first day there, but if this is not an option, taking a bus is a reliable form of transportation around the coastline. You can purchase bus tickets at a nearby TABACCO shop for about €2.50 one way, which takes you all the way from Salerno to Sorrento. Just a PSA, there is one main road on the coastline, and it’s very zigzagy. Therefore, the bus has to drive extremely slow and takes a while.
Amalfi
Once driving along the coastline from Salerno to Amalfi for about an hour by car, we went a little north to reach the town we were staying in, Pogerola. Pogerola is a quiet little town that sits right above the Amalfi but still has the same amazing views. Our Air B&B looked over the water, which was probably one of the best views I have had the pleasure of waking up to. From Pogerola, you can take the bus back south to the town of Amalfi, or you can take a 45-minute walk down a concrete staircase to get into town. While it was a long walk down, we saw this incredible view of town from a downward angle.
Amalfi to Capri
On our second day, we decided to head to Capri. The original plan was to take the bus to Positano and spend the day there, but our 2.5-day time crunch and a slow bus ride put us in a dilemma. Before heading to the bus, we stopped at a café directly across from the cathedral. The bus ended up being about a 2-hour ride, and as I mentioned before, it was extremely curvy. So be sure to pack medicine for motion sickness. While the bus ride was not our favorite, we passed right by Positano, and it was as gorgeous as I could have imagined, even from a bus window.
A couple of hours later, we arrived in Sorrento. I should mention that our biggest mistake of the trip was spending our first night in Naples and not Sorrento! Nothing was wrong with Naples. We just found Sorrento to be more lively and closer to everything we wanted to be next to. You actually were able to see Naples from across the ocean while in Sorrento, which was pretty neat. We did not spend much time here and just got our ferry tickets for the island of Capri! Ferry tickets cost about €20 each one way, and the ride was about 25 minutes long.
Capri
I will just briefly talk about Capri because we did not do much while there due to many restaurants, bars, and shops being closed for the off-season, but it is just a short trip away from Sorrento, so it is worth mentioning. While Capri is beautiful during the off-season, it is the type of place you want to go to during their in-season or summertime.
The water was extremely clear on the rocky beaches, and most of the island went straight up on an incline. The incline made walking a hard choice for getting around while on the island. So, while the island may seem small, I would not advise walking as your primary choice of travel here. Stands alongside the port made buying bus tickets easy to get to the center of Capri. It was about a 10-15 minute bus ride to the town center, where restaurants and high-end shopping are.
From there, the views just got better! After eating along the water and having a few Peronis, we decided to head back to Amalfi since the Ferries closed at 5:00 p.m. during the off-season. The port sold us Ferry tickets for €20 each to head back to Sorrento, where we went to another tobacco shop to purchase our bus ticket to the Amalfi. On the way back, we saw the sunset over Positano from the bus window. We spent our last night at Trattoria Da Maria, eating fresh seafood, tiramisu, and a bottle of chardonnay.
On our last morning there, we headed to Gerry’s Pub in Pogerola for espresso. I should also mention that our Air B&B host owned this pub and was extremely welcoming. We even met his wonderful family, who helped out around the pub! We packed our bags and said our goodbyes before heading to Amalfi to hop on a bus to head back to Salerno, where we then caught a train to head to Roma.
Things we learned
While this coastline seems like it may be quick to travel around, the windy roads and transportation took a lot longer than planned. Therefore, we would recommend visiting one town per day, if only planning on staying in one place. Also, plan on having cash to purchase bus tickets because you will find yourself at these tobacco stands, quite often, buying one-way tickets to explore the Amalfi and surrounding towns.
If you plan to do this beautiful Italian coastline in the off-season, I think it is worth it, especially if you are not looking to do any water activities. If you are looking for a beautiful, quiet beach town in 70-degree weather, this will also work in your favor.
This beautiful Italian coast remains one of my favorite places ever, and I can’t wait to go back, so check it out!
Till next time – Mason 🙂
Check out our blog dealing our time spent in Rome!
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