Spectacular Amalfi Coast and Glamorous Capri
The Amalfi Coast is truly one of the most spectacular and famous coastal roads in the world. This cinematic stretch of road is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997 and features on many people’s bucket-list worldwide. It had certainly been on our wish list for many years. Situated on the southern shore of the Sorrentine Peninsula, the only land route to the Amalfi Coast is the 40 km (25 miles) long road called Strada Statale 163, which runs along the coastline from Positano in the West to Vietri Sul Mare in the East, stringing together some of the most glamorous and charming of Italy’s seaside towns.
The nearby island of Capri has for many decades been a magnet for the rich and famous. Situated just West of the Sorrento Peninsula this small island is seriously beautiful, with steep cliffs rising regally from the depths of a turquoise blue sea. We were really looking forward to spending at least one full day exploring it.
We had been staying at a campsite near Ercolano for our explorations of the Herculaneum ruins and Mt. Vesuvius, and also Naples and the ruins of Pompeii for a few days. We then decided to move on to Sorrento and make it our next base from whence to explore the Amalfi Coast and the Island of Capri. From our campsite, it would have been quite an easy drive on the Autostrada (Toll Road) to Sorrento, if not for our small detour to get supplies at a local Lidl supermarket.
This detour was a big mistake since we ended up going through small towns, tiny roads, double parking, and crazy traffic leaving us nervous wrecks for the rest of the day. We did eventually manage to get into the campsite at Sorrento, called Camping Nube D’Argento (GPS N40.62614, E14.36636) at around lunchtime. A very friendly place, although it was quite a tight squeeze to get into the parking area, which was built at the side of a hill, with terraces, and some very steep inclines to navigate.
The weather was not great for the first few days of our stay with on and off showers, but we were determined to drive the Amalfi Coastal road on our scooter “Little Bill” on a sunny day, so we sat tight and ended up staying in Sorrento for 8 days, our longest stay in one place in Italy so far.
Sorrento
Our campsite was within walking distance from the pedestrianized historic town center and its maze of narrow streets leading to the cliffside.
Entrance to our campsite, just a short walking distance from Sorrento town center.
Sorrento is quite a lively place with a few great restaurants, bars, shops, and local crafts. Its cliffside location is very charming making it a great place for catching a beautiful sunset looking across the Bay of Naples towards Mt. Vesuvius.
There isn’t a proper beach in Sorrento, but a short walk down from our campsite we found a really nice little fishing harbor, called Marina Grande with a little pier and small stretches of sand, surrounded by candy-colored houses and waterfront restaurants. We enjoyed sitting at a traditional Italian restaurant here having a drink and looking at Mt. Vesuvius just across the Bay from us. Often a relaxing way of ending a day of exploring the region.
Just down from our campsite, this little fishing harbor was a favorite in Sorrento.
There are great transport links from Sorrento to visit the rest of the region and one rainy day we decided to catch a bus from the town’s bus station towards Amalfi. The bus was virtually empty, but the few people on board were all wearing face masks. The bus offered a hop-on-hop-off kind of ride from Sorrento to Salermo. The sun eventually came out and we were able to enjoy the gorgeous views of the Amalfi Coastal Road.
We got off the bus in the town of Amalfi, to eat our lunch and to explore the town.
Amalfi
Once upon a time maritime super-power, Amalfi is now a small town that can be easily explored in one afternoon. Our bus stopped at the piazza next to the harbour, so we got out there and set off exploring.
Views over to Amalfi from the pier.
We just walked along the main street towards the medieval cathedral until we found the perfect place to have lunch, just next door to the cathedral. We sat at an outdoor restaurant savoring our meal, with a glass of wine, relaxing and people watching for a little while.
Cattedrale di Sant’Andrea.
The Cathedral was a mixture of architectural designs, with some of it dating back to the early 13th century, although its stripped facade has been rebuilt twice with a most recent 19th-century Norman-Arab-Byzantine facade. It was originally built next to an older cathedral called the Basilica del Crossefisso and the two are still interconnected. There are 62 steps leading up to the front door, and inside it houses the relics of Apostle St. Andrew. Unfortunately, the cathedral was closed during our visit.
The large buses pass each other with just inches to spare.
After our exploring, we decided to take the bus back to Sorrento, although we could have easily kept going all the way to Salerno, the weather was changing again with a few rain showers arriving. It was great to do the Amalfi Coast road by bus first, but we really wanted to ride Little Bill along this road, so with a better weather forecast, we decided that we would return the following day to explore Positano and also Ravello.
Amalfi Coast by Little Bill (our scooter).
Little Bill turned out to be the perfect way to explore the spectacular Amalfi Coast. We were able to stop whenever we felt like taking in the views over this incredible Mediterranean land and seascape. The sun was shining for was, but the October air was fresh. This amazing road was built along the side of lush green mountains that plunge into the sea below. Altogether there are thirteen small fishing towns clinging to the side of hills along this coastline.
The Amalfi Coast road goes through bridges, over gorges, and through tunnels cut through the mountains.
There are a few small places to stop along the way, perfect for a small car, bicycle, motorbike, or scooter. We did spot a few people walking along the route, although there is no dedicated lane for pedestrians or even a hard shoulder.
After stopping many times for photos we rode along to Positano and parked Little Bill at the one-way system road that cuts through the top of the village.
Positano
Positano is the Amalfi Coast post-card town. It is exquisitely pretty with pastel-colored houses tumbling down to the sea like layers of a wedding cake. There was hardly anyone visiting when we arrived mid-morning, and the narrow and steep streets were virtually empty.
We parked our scooter along this road and walked down to Positano. Forget trying to park a car here.
Positano, with the pastel-colored houses, all stack together at the side of a hill, like layers of a wedding cake.
The charm factor is off the scale, even though the beach is nothing to write home about, this town is not about white sandy beaches, but more about wisteria-draped terraces, small restaurants, cute shops, a memorable maze of narrow alleyways, and steep stairways that took our breath away. We explored for a couple of hours, before moving on to our next destination, the cute town of Ravello.
Ravello
Little Bill (our scooter) had to climb some steep hills to take us to Ravello, which is situated above the Amalfi Coast.
Ravello felt very elegant and sophisticated, the town has retained a number of palazzi of the mercantile nobility, such a the Rufolo, d’Aflitto, Confalone, and Della Marra, although many have now been turned into expensive hotels.
Views of the Amalfi Coast from Ravello.
Many impressive Palazzi and manicured gardens in Ravello.
There are more cats than humans in this town.
The famous German composer Richard Wagner visited Ravello’s Villa Rufolo in 1880 when he was 67 years old, and he was so impressed that he stayed long enough to write the second act of Parsifal, an opera that he had been working on for over two decades. He died just three years later.
There is a famous annual summer concert of classical music here every year, hosted at the Villa Rufolo. Although we did not enter the grounds of the Villa we did have a good look around the town, enjoyed a meal at the main Piazza Duomo, and wandered around its narrow back streets, neatly planted gardens, and whispered hello to many of its feline residents…we had never seen so many cats in one small town.
Apparently, the King of Italy lived in Ravello in 1944, during WWII, trying to keep a low profile until he was allowed to go back to Rome. We certainly enjoyed our visit, but at the end of the day, it was not a bed inside a Pallazi that would be waiting for us, but rather a more humble one inside our home-on-wheels (Big Bill). After a very restful night, we were super excited to wake up to a beautiful sunny day for our exploring of the glamorous island of Capri.
Island Of Capri
There are various ferry boats to Capri that leave at different times daily from the Marina Piccola port in Sorrento, so we walked there soon after breakfast and bought our ticket there at the Port. Since Sorrento is on top of a cliff, we walked towards the town center and descended about 100 steps down from there towards the marina. There is a bus service to the port called the Cooperativo Tasso bus, and also an elevator between Sorrento’s Villa Comunale and the port.
We got our ferry ticket to Capri here.
On-board the ferry we were approached by a tour guide offering an escorted tour of the Island on-board a small tour bus. Since the price was very reasonable we decided to go for it, although afterward, we realized that it is very easy to explore independently either walking or taking the local public bus service. In any case, we did save our legs quite a bit by taking the tour.
Arriving on the ferry at the Island of Capri.
The island is really beautiful, with white-washed stone buildings, expensive-looking boutiques, hotels, and restaurants. Our guide took us first to Anacapri, for a ride on the Seggiovia Del Solaro.
This old-fashion chair-lift was a little bit scary, but the views are a great distraction.
Views from Monte Solaro, the highest point in Capri.
Strange one-arm statue framing beautiful views, from Monte Solaro.
We had to sit on an old-fashion chair lift, that looked quite flimsy but offered stunning views over the island and surrounding area, rising up to the top of Capri’s highest mountain. The ride up to Monte Solaro is just about 15 minutes and it is definitely worth the nerve-wracking ride.
Lunch was not included on our bus tour, but our guide did take us to eat at a deliciously traditional Italian Trattoria in Ana Capri. After lunch, we were taken back into Capri, for a look around the old town.
Capri was just as beautiful as we had expected.
Our guide was 79 years young and very energetic, he told us that as well as working as a tour guide he also had a small farm in Ana Capri where he keeps honey-producing bees. He sold the honey to local shops for some extra cash. According to him, there is quite a lot of rivalry between Capri and Ana Capri, with both towns fighting for visitors’ attention.
We ended the trip on a high note, by boarding a small boat for a ride around the island, going inside secluded coves and caves. Unfortunately, the famous “Blue Grotto” was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic and therefore we only managed a glance at the cave entrance. But there was plenty to keep us happy on this boat trip, so we were not complaining.
This boat trip was great, although unfortunately we were not allowed inside the famous ” Grotta Azzurra”, we did enter a different cave, which was larger.
The iconic Faraglioni rock formations.
Punta Carena lighthouse.
The Punta Carena lighthouse has been standing watch on the island’s Southwest coast since 1866, apparently, it’s a great place to watch a sunset on the island of Capri. Unfortunately, we did not have time for that, since we were not staying overnight on the island and we were booked for a ferry ride back to the mainland.
Visiting Capri is definitely a must-do for anyone staying in this region, we would totally recommend it. Simply stunning.
After a long day of exploring gorgeous Capri and Ana Capri, we caught the ferry back to Sorrento and walked up the steep hill once more to our home-on-wheels. Sadly it was our last night in Sorrento and we left early the next day bound for Matera towards the Eastern side of Italy. Thoughts of returning home were already on our minds since the coronavirus pandemic was already taking a firm hold again in the UK and was starting to become a problem also in France and even here in Italy.
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Gorgeous scenery. Sounds like you had a great time!!
Darlene, the scenery around this region is off-the-scale gorgeous. For me it was a place the I have wanted to visit for such a long time and I was not disappointed.
unbelievable gorgeous. and so hilly!
Very hilly indeed Andy, it was not easy to drive our large motorhome around this part of Italy. Luckily for me I was not doing the driving 🙂
I can’t quite believe we’ve still not seen the Amalfi coast, it’s been on our wish list since ever. We absolutely have to get there. I have though been to Capri – it is, as you say, beautiful. Loved the little square in the main town. Your posts really bring places to life, this one certainly does. We can almost feel the warm sun whilst reading.
Phil, I also can’t believe it has taken me so long to visit the Amalfi Coast. I totally recommend it and I am sure you and Michaela will love it here. I am glad you have enjoyed this post and I hope you guys will make it to the Amalfi Cost soon, you will enjoy drinking and eating your way around this stunning region 🙂
This post brought some lovely memories of our first week in Sorrento. My husband and I were so young and into everything Italian at the time. After that horrid detour with Big Bill, thank God for little Bill. It must have felt wonderful riding through the Almafi Coast with no pressure and the wind behind you. Positano, Pallazzi, Capri look simply delightful. The views from that dodgy chair lift, were also spectacular. The photos always warm my heart. You look gorgeous and happy.
Val, I am glad to have given you a trip down memory lane 🙂 We ended up staying 8 nights in Sorrento, the longest stay of our tow-months motorhome trip to Italy. There was just so much to see in this region and Sorrento was the perfect base to explore from.
Little Bill was great for riding along the Amalfi Coast, since it was so easy for stopping in small parking areas and we were even able to ride it down to Positano, larger vehicles can’t go down there. Thank you for your lovely comment and compliments 🙂
Another magnificent post! Bravo!
Thank you so much guys, I have been enjoying writing these posts about our motorhome trip to Italy, it felt like being transported back there again. Fingers crossed we will all be able to travel again soon 🙂
Gilda,
We’ve been lucky enough to see some gorgeous scenery in our travels but none that I can remember that was as concentrated as in your post about the Amalfi coast – it seemed like the wow factor never ended and there was simply one stunning view after another for days on end! Can hardly wait to travel to Italy some day soon with Steven – looks like, thanks to your posts, the trip is getting longer by the moment! Certainly NOT a bad problem to have – ha!
Annie, thank you 🙂 this region is particularly rich in beautiful scenery and amazing cultural sites. We ended up staying a lot longer here, since there was so much to do and see. Since you and Steven can also take very long trips, I think Italy would definitely deserve at least a two months long stay to explore some of the many incredible places. These region around the Amalfi Coast and Naples has been a major highlight of our two months motorhome trip in Italy…I can’t recommend it enough.
Wow, Gilda, this surely is a fascinating, insanely beautiful region. I’ve never been to the Amalfi coast or to Capri, but you are whetting my appetite with your enjoyable experiences and stunning photos. I kept thinking how much easier it is to travel like this without a dog as I read your account. The roads look narrow, so exploring by scooter (or electric bike?) seems perfect. Nice that there weren’t many visitors while you were there. A positive of Covid.
Liesbet, you are not wrong “insanely beautiful” is a great description. I have wanted to visit this region for a very long time, not only for this amazing coastal road trip, but also because of the nearby cultural sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
I believe it is easier travelling without pets, also a lot cheaper I guess. But we did meet many van dwellers taking their dogs and even their cats along on their trips. A great perk for motorhome/RV/van travelling and pet owners is the ability to do that. Maya appears to have such a sweet nature and I guess she is a happy van dweller?
This region of Italy can be a bit too touristic and although there are not many positives to the pandemic, the low tourist numbers has certainly been a little silver lining. I have really enjoyed your recent travels to Mexico and I guess you have also felt this effect there?
Sorry for the delayed reply, Gilda. I don’t get notified of your comments/replies, so have to go back to this page and/or refresh to see your reply and interact again.
Yes, Maya is an adventurous dog, just happy to go and be wherever we are! While she enjoys the vanlife, the space inside is quite small for her and she is always glad to return to our room above the garage in Massachusetts, where she can stretch out in several places.
One of the reasons we decided to drive south of the border to Baja is because we knew the hordes of Canadian snowbirds wouldn’t be there, since they weren’t allowed to fly to warm climates or drive through the US. So, yes, it was much quieter than other years and this was nice. 🙂
Liesbet, no need to apologise it is the same situation for me, I also often will have to re-visit a page to see the reply and interact again. I am glad you have your bricks and mortar place in Massachusetts. Life in the van is a great adventure, but it is also good to have proper plumbing and all the other home comforts that we don’t get when travelling by van 🙂
I couldn’t help by sighing at the reading and gawking at your post. We loved our time on the Amalfi coast. Well after I got over the motion sickness of the winding road. How wonderful you could experience it without the crowds. One small benefit of this pandemic. wonderful post Gilda!
Sue, experiencing the Amalfi Coast without the crowds was great. I have seen pictures of a mobbed Positano and it does not look pretty. Definitely a little silver lining of this pandemic malarkey. I also felt a little queasy on those winding roads. Thank you for sharing my post on Tweeter, I have not got the hang of Tweeter yet and was very impressed how you managed to add those photos…wow.
Pretty pictures! I’ve read that the Amalfi Coast has become overwhelmed with tourists at some points in the year. When do you think is the best time of year to visit? Is there an off season?
I’ve wanted to visit Positano ever since the “first” time I saw the movie, “Under the Tuscan Sun.” Ha! Ha!
I love the picture of the lone chair lift chair.
Patti, thank you. This region of Italy is very photogenic 🙂 Indeed the Amalfi Coast has became very touristic and it can get mobbed in the summer. We visited in October 2020, so it was shoulder season, but also because of the coronavirus pandemic it was even more quiet than it would have been. I would suggest visiting in the shoulder season April/May or September/October, but definitely not in July/August since it is likely to be mobbed.
I loved the “Under the Tuscan Sun” movie, one of my all times favourite. I don’t think anyone can be disappointed with this region of Italy (or any other region) there is so much to do for all tastes. The wine and food are also good reasons to visit Italy.
What a wonderful account of your time exploring the Amalfi Coast Gilda – picture postcard perfect! How they built those charming houses that look like they are tumbling down the hillside I’ll never know! Those little fishing harbours are so charming – a perfect way to end the day with a lovely meal of fresh produce and a glass of the vino. Although some places were closed it must have been quite refreshing to explore in relative quietness. Have never been to this part of Italy – maybe one day!
Thank you Rosemay, this region of Italy has a lot to offer and we ended up staying a lot longer than we had planned. The Amalfi coast was just as stunning as I had imagined it would be and having Little Bill to explore it was great. The small fishing harbour near our campsite was indeed the perfect place for an evening glass of vino 🙂 I think you would love this place.
Yes I’m sure I would Gilda! A lot of places on the wishlist whenever we can travel freely again 🙂 🙂
Rosemay, the more we travel the longer our travel wish list gets 🙂 Being able to travel freely again will be even sweeter.
One of the best regions on planet earth in my view, and your post certainly makes me want to go back immediately. I admire your sense of adventure. I wouldn’t drive a mini in Italy, certainly never a mobile home! I can see how the scooter would be a better option, even though I’d probably still get scared senseless on those tiny mountain roads with those massive buses everywhere.
Capri certainly looks like it’s worth a trip. We’ve only visited the towns on the mainland so far and passed by Capri on the ferry back to Naples.
Thank you so much, I am glad you have enjoyed this post and it has taken you back in time to when you have visited this region. Totally agree that it is one of the best regions on planet earth, since it has so much to offer in terms of nature, history, culture, food and wine.
Travelling here by motorhome was at times scary, the roads are narrow and the Italian drivers a bit too crazy for us. Having our little scooter to drive along the Amalfi Coast was great and we were able to enjoy the coastal scenery at a slow pace.
We really enjoyed Capri and although it is usually very touristic, it was quiet when we visited in mid October. I guess Covid-19 also kept the tourists away.