One Week Amalfi Coast Itinerary (5 Days to 7 Days)

Wondering what to do for one week on the Amalfi Coast in Italy? I recently visited the Amalfi Coast and completely fell in love with it. My itinerary will show you everything I did and my tips for you to have a great trip.

The Amalfi Coast is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Italy and should be on any Italy itinerary. I’ve always wanted to visit the Amalfi Coast since the photos online looked so nice and I’m glad I was finally able to see it for myself.

From the historical Naples and Pompeii to the beaches of Positano and to the hillside of Ravello, Amalfi Coast offers a little bit of everything to everyone. While many people know Amalfi Coast as Positano, I learned that there is a lot more to the area!

My 1 week Amalfi Coast itinerary is perfect for someone who is intending on spending 5 days to 7 days in the area and someone who just wants to relax, see the beautiful sites, and eat great food. You can also do a number of day trips on the side to fill up your time.

One Week on the Amalfi Coast: Itinerary Overview

My one week Amalfi Coast itinerary includes some of the most popular cities and towns. The itinerary starts in Naples, with day trips to Capri and other towns before moving onto Sorrento, with trips to other famous towns on the Amalfi Coast.

Day 1: Arrival in Naples, half day trip to Caserta
Day 2: Day Trip to Pompeii & Mt. Vesuvius
Day 3: Day Trip to Ischia and train to Sorrento
Day 4: Explore Capri
Day 5: Ravello & Amalfi
Day 6-7: Positano

If you only have 5 days on the Amalfi Coast, you will need to take off a day trip from Naples and only spend one day in Positano. If you have 7 days then you can do everything on this itinerary.

Getting to the Amalfi Coast

The closest airport to the Amalfi Coast include Naples Capodichino International Airport (NAP), and Salerno Costa d’Amalfi Airport that opened in July of 2024, with limited airlines flying into there.

If you fly into Naples, you will need to take a train to the large town of Sorrento, which takes about an hour only. You can also take a private transfer from Naples to the Amalfi Coast. In my eyes, Sorrento is the true gateway to the Amalfi Coast and a great base to explore the different towns on the coast.

Getting Around the Amalfi Coast

The best ways to get around the Amalfi Coast include: public bus, ferry, tours, private driver.

Public SITA bus

The public SITA bus is a cheap way to get around the Amalfi Coast. Departing from Sorrento train station, the SITA bus usually costs between 1 to 3 Euros one way, starting around 6:30 am, and can take you directly to Amalfi, Positano and other towns.

Keep in mind that if you are traveling during peak summer months to the Amalfi Coast, the SITA bus can often be delayed due to heavy traffic, and it can be full so you need to budget extra time.

If the bus is full and the driver refuses to take you, you will need to wait for the next bus, which can take any time from 30 minutes to an hour. My advice would be to try to catch a very early bus for your day trip on the Amalfi Coast if you can, and be prepared to wait.

Amalfi Coast Ferries

Ferry rides are the best way to get to islands such as Capri on the Amalfi Coast. Keep in mind that ferry schedules are seasonal, with many ferries suspended in the winter months.

You can buy at the ferry terminal or online ahead of time, but you cannot buy tickets on the ferries themselves. The most reputable ferry companies that operate in the Amalfi Coast include TravelMar, AliCost or NGL. Avoid buying ferry tickets from random sellers on the streets as many are scams or charge way higher prices.

Other Options to Get Around

If you do not want to take public transportation on the Amalfi Coast, your other options would be to take a tour, hire a driver (very expensive, like 80 – 120 Euro one way), or rent a car yourself.

If you really want to rent a car and drive around yourself, I suggest looking at Discover Cars. I used them for car rentals all over Europe and really liked the selections.

Best (and Worst) Months to Visit the Amalfi Coast

Late April, May, late September and October are the best months to visit the Amalfi Coast. The weather is warm but not insanely hot during these shoulder seasons. You will also see fewer visitors during these months, so hotel prices are cheaper and buses won’t be as crowded.

June, July, and August are peak summer months on the Amalfi Coast, with temperatures as high as the 90s F (33 C) during the day and high humidity. I visited in July and I was drenched in sweat everyday under the burning sun.

Unless you are planning to just lie on the beach all day everyday, I would not recommend visiting the Amalfi Coast during the peak summer months.

November to March are when many hotels and restaurants are closed on the Amalfi Coast, therefore I would not recommend visiting during these months but crowd level is low.

One Week on the Amalfi Coast: Itinerary in Detail

Now let’s dive right into this super detailed Amalfi Coast itinerary for 5 to 7 days. The reason I put 5 to 7 days is because there are a number of day trips you can take on the Amalfi Coast, especially from Naples.

This Amalfi Coast Itinerary is super flexible since you can certainly customize this to your liking. This itinerary is also family friendly, since it is mostly sightseeing with little hiking.

Day 1: Naples + Caserta Afternoon Trip

Arriving in Naples

During our Italy trip, we first flew into Naples in the morning, so if you are arriving on the Amalfi Coast anytime before noon, this itinerary would work for you. If not, you can always push back the Caserta half day trip to the next day, since it is super close to Naples.

Assuming you arrived in Naples by noon like we did, then you should be able to make it to your hotel in the Naples Historic Center (close to the train station), drop off your luggage, freshen up and get some food.

Where to stay in Naples:

There are several areas you can stay in Naples, with the best ones being Chiaia, Vomero and the historic center.

We stayed at the historic center in a cute B&B called South Hands. It had an excellent view of the city, but the main reason we chose this place is because of its proximity to the train station. It’s also only a few minutes walk to the piers for day trips to the islands.

Grab Lunch in Naples

In case you didn’t know, Naples is the birth place of pizza. So you can imagine that you can get the best pizza in Naples out of anywhere in the world.

If you are staying near the train station like we did, then I would highly recommend pizza from Pizzeria Pellone. We were recommended to this restaurant by our hotel and we are super glad they told us about it. The portion is big and there are a lot of options for toppings. Most importantly the pizza was really good.

Another pizza place you can try is Insolito, it has excellent reviews but it was kinda far for us so we didn’t get to go.

After getting a taste of Napoli pizza, it is time to do your half day trip to Caserta.

Afternoon Trip to Caserta

What’s in Caserta? Caserta is not a super well known day trip in Naples compared to places like Pompeii.

Caserta is famous for its royal palace, a former royal residence for Charles VII of Naples (even though he never actually stayed there). The construction of the royal residence started in 1752, and it was actually modeled after the world renowned Palace of Versailles outside of Paris.

Although it doesn’t exactly look like the Palace of Versailles, there are definitely elements of it that reminded me of Versailles, especially with its beautiful gardens and fountains. Unlike Versailles, the Royal Palace of Caserta is not overrun by tourists; in fact it was super empty when we visited on a July afternoon.

Caserta is about 40 km (24 miles) north of Naples, and it only takes about 40 minutes to get to Caserta from Naples by train.

Tickets to the royal palace cost 18 Euros and you can just buy it in person or online ahead of time. If you want to fully explore the palace and the garden, you will need at least 3 to 4 hours, making it the perfect half day trip from Naples.

The great thing about this palace is that it also opens till 7:30pm, so you have plenty of time to explore even if you arrive in Naples that same day.

Keep in mind that the Royal Palace of Caserta is closed every Tuesday.

Dinner in Naples

After you come back to Naples, it’s time for dinner. Since you already had pizza for lunch, I would recommend trying Vesuvio Roof Bar & Restaurant (with a nice rooftop) or Mimì alla Ferrovia, a more traditional Italian restaurant.

Day 2: Day Trip to Pompeii <Optional>

Pompeii is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Italy and the top day trip from Naples due to its proximity.

Located only about 25 km (15 miles) from Naples, Pompeii is a must-visit site for anyone interested in history and seeing the ruins of an ancient Roman town.

The history of Pompeii is a tragic one, with thousands of people perishing almost overnight due to the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD. Pompeii was a thriving city before the eruption, and although most people evacuated Pompeii, many decided to stay and died.

The Pompeii archaeological site provides you with a fascinating insight into the various aspects of ancient Roman lives as you walk through the ruined town.

Some of the most noteworthy sites you should not miss in Pompeii include the Amphitheatre, the House of the Tragic Poet, the House of Venus, the Stabian Baths, the Garden of the Fugitives, the House of Lovers, etc.

While you can visit Pompeii by yourself, if you want to learn more about the history and what you are looking at, then I would highly recommend taking a guided tour with an archaeologist.

I personally did not go to Pompeii (hence the optional tag) since I’m not big on ruins and history. But I might be a minority in this case since Pompeii is the no.1 most popular day trip from Naples.

Day 3: Naples Day Trip to Ischia and train to Sorrento

There are two small islands in the Gulf of Naples, Ischia and Procida. Both of these islands can be reached by ferry from Naples, making them ideal for a half day trip.

Ischia is the bigger of the two islands, and that’s the one I visited during my trip to the Amalfi Coast. But if you like, you can visit Procida instead (or together with Ischia), as it is smaller and less crowded.

You may have never heard of Ischia Island and that’s ok! Ischia Island remains off radar for most international tourists as most people just visit Pompeii and Capri instead. This means the island is way less crowded and a lot more authentic.

You can either visit Ischia island by yourself or do a boat tour that serves food and shows you many different spots of the island from the sea. The advantage of the boat tour is that you can see a lot more, especially from water, than if you were to visit on your own.

If you were to visit Ischia by yourself, you can take the slow ferry or a faster (and more expensive) hydrofoils from Naples. There are 3 ports in Naples that you can take the ferry from:

• Porto di Pozzuoli: slow ferries only (1.5 hours)
• Calata Porta di Massa: slow ferries only (1.5 hours)
• Molo Beverello: hydrofoils only (1 hour)

Both Calata Porta di Massa and Molo Beverello are about 20-35 minute walk from the train station, which was very convenient for us.

Things to do on Ischia Island

The most significant structure on Ischia is Castello Aragonese, a castle that dates back to 474 BC. Since different groups of people occupied Ischia before, Castello Aragonese was used as a fortress by the Byzantines and other cultures in the past. The castle does not sit on Ischia itself, but it is on a rocky islet, connected to Ischia only by a stone bridge.

To get to the castle you will need to walk 20-30 minutes from Porto di Ischia or take the No.7 bus. After getting off the bus you will need to walk across the stone bridge on foot in order to enter. You can spend an hour or two at the castle, exploring its grounds or even do a guided tour. When I visited I found numerous pretty photo spots there and we spent about 1.5 hours there just walking around and taking photos.

After visiting the castle, you can grab an early lunch (depending on the time), and head to the beach. The two closest beaches to Aragonese Castle include Miramare e Castello and Spiaggia dei Pescatori.

Spiaggia di San Pietro is another beach that’s very close to the port (Porto d’Ischia) if you want to do that before you head back to Naples. If you do plan on going to the beach, be sure to bring a beach towel and bathing suit.

Other things you can do on Ischia include a kayaking tour, vineyard tour, distillery tour, and even a tour to the island of Procida.

Personally, we only went to the castle and the beach, grabbed lunch and headed back to Naples because we wanted to get to Sorrento in the afternoon.

Afternoon: Naples to Sorrento

After getting back to Naples and getting your luggage, it’s time to head to Sorrento, the gateway of Amalfi Coast.

Sorrento is actually technically not on the Amalfi Coast, but it’s a large city that is used as the base to explore the various towns of the Amalfi Coast.

Compared to the famous towns of Positano on the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento is a lot bigger and a lot cheaper. It is also super well connected to the rest of Italy as well as the towns on the Amalfi Coast because the trains go there.

I used Sorrento as a base for our Amalfi Coast trip and did different day trips, and it worked out well. It saved us quite a lot of money, and there were so many restaurants and places to shop at, making it a very convenient place to stay.

The train from Naples (Napoli) to Sorrento takes about an hour and there are multiple trains everyday. You can use Omio, Trainline, and Trenitalia to book the train tickets ahead of time, or you can just buy them at the station. We went in July and there were no issues getting train tickets in person.

Once you arrive at Sorrento, you can literally walk to your hotel. We stayed at The Night Guest House and it was about a 13 minute walk (1 km) from the train station. But you can stay even closer to the station and just pay a little more.

Dinner in Sorrento

There are a ton of restaurants and shops in Sorrento, since it is quite a large city. The area towards the north near the water is lively at night, with a ton of bars, restaurants, and shops.

We ate at Trattoria Da Emilia by the water, and it was very tasty. There was a bit of a wait when we went since we didn’t have any reservations but we finally got a table. But there are a ton of other restaurants there, such as Porta Marina Seafood, O’ Puledrone, Ristorante, Nonna Emilia, etc.

After dinner, grab some gelato and just walk around the streets north of Corso Italia and you will be pleasantly surprised by how lively and happening the area is.

Day 4: Day Trip to Ravello & Amalfi

Ravello and Amalfi are two of the most popular villages on the actual Amalfi Coast and luckily there are buses from Sorrento that will take you there.

There is no direct bus or ferry to Ravello, so first you will need to take either a SITA bus or a ferry to Amalfi, then switch to another bus from Amalfi to Ravello.

I would recommend visiting Ravello first as it is the furthest, then visit Amalfi on your way back to Sorrento.

It takes about 2 hours from Sorrento to Ravello by bus, and I highly suggest you go as early as possible to avoid traffic. The earliest bus from Sorrento is at 6:30am (check the time as it may change during different seasons).

The good thing about visiting early is that you don’t have to worry about not having seats on the bus and Ravello is very quiet when you get there, so you feel like you have the entire place to yourself.

What to do in Ravello

Ravello is about 360 meters above sea level. Since it is high up, you can get sweeping views of the Amalfi Coast and Tyrrhenian Sea from the various viewpoints in Ravello.

Because it does take some time to get to Ravello, it is not nearly as crowded as Amalfi or Positano, making it the perfect romantic getaway.

You can spend half a day in Ravello since it really is a tiny town. Based on our experience, you would need at least 2-3 hours (if not more) in Ravello to explore the various villas and eat lunch.

Villa Cimbrone

Villa Cimbrone is the most famous villa (now a hotel) in Ravello. It used to be private property but has been converted to a hotel. You can stay there and as you can expect, it is very expensive. Even though it’s a hotel, you can pay to visit the garden (open from 9 to 6), the best part of the villa grounds in my opinion.

The best view of Ravello is no other than the view from the villa’s Terrace of Infinity (Terrazza dell’Infinito). This terrace has many statues, making them a signature feature of the villa.

Besides the terrace, you can also explore the garden, take photos of the main walkway and see other statues and sculptures while you are there.

Villa Rufolo

Another beautiful villa and garden that you need to see in Ravello is Villa Rufolo. It was once the most expensive villa on the Amalfi Coast so you can imagine how grand the place is.

Its garden is beautifully groomed, with tons of flower arrangement. There is also a cloister at the villa as well as many other structures. Some of the towers actually remind me of the buildings in Andalusia in Spain.

You can also get a beautiful view of the coastline and the rugged cliffs from Villa Rufolo and believe it or not, my favorite photo of the Amalfi Coast is from this villa.

Besides these two villas, you can check out Giardini Principessa di Piemonte, a community garden, Duomo di Ravello, the town square, do a cooking class, and just explore the beautiful side streets.

Things to do in Amalfi

After you grab lunch in Ravello and finish exploring, take the bus back down to Amalfi.

Amalfi is a very busy town and as the name Amalfi Coast takes after Amalfi, it’s not hard to guess that this town is popular with lots to do, eat, and buy.

Once a powerful maritime republic during the Middle Ages, Amalfi retains remnants of its glorious past in its quaint streets, ancient architecture, and historic landmarks.

Depending on what time you get to Amalfi and what time you want to take the bus back to Sorrento, you may only have a couple of hours in Amalfi.

The main sight in Amalfi is Duomo di Amalfi, the famous church right in the middle of town. You don’t need to be religious to appreciate this cathedral, as its beauty can be seen even from the outside, and of course the interior also does not disappoint.

Right outside of the steps of the Amalfi Cathedral is Saint Andrew’s Fountain, built in 1760. There are a ton of cafes surrounding the fountain, and you will see many people hanging around the fountain.

You can spend the rest of the afternoon walking around Amalfi, check out the shops, stop by the Antico Arsenale della Repubblica di Amalfi museum if you have time and just enjoy the atmosphere of this lively town.

When you take the bus back to Sorrento, expect the bus to be very crowded and you might even need to wait for the next bus. Another option is to take a ferry, so be sure to check the ferry time.

Day 5: Capri Day Trip From Sorrento

Capri is one of the most visited islands on the Amalfi Coast and it is not hard to see why. Only a short ferry ride from Sorrento, Capri offers amazing views, fun activities, beautiful gardens, cute towns and nice hiking trails.

You can spend a day or two (and overnight) on Capri but for the purpose of this 7 day Amalfi Coast itinerary, you will just do a day trip to Capri from Sorrento.

It is super easy to get to Capri from Sorrento, as there are numerous ferries daily and the ride only takes about 20 to 25 minutes.

It’s better to book the ferry tickets online ahead of time, especially during peak summer months since they could potentially sell out.

Things to do in Capri

There are a lot of things to do in Capri as there are two major towns on this large island: Capri and Anacapri, separated by Monte Solaro in the middle. With only one day in Capri, your itinerary will probably look something like this:

• Take the earliest boat from Sorrento and arrive at the port in Marina Grande

• Take the bus from Marina Grande to Monte Solaro Chair Lift in Anacapri (opens at 9:30am)

• Take photos from the top then go back down and explore Anacapri

• Walk down from Anacapri to the port for a boat tour (and potentially see the blue grotto)

• Take the bus to Capri to explore, then bus back to the port and go back to Sorrento

I always recommend people to go to the Monte Solaro Chair Lift first because it is the single most popular thing to do in Capri. We got there really early so we didn’t really need to wait, but I heard from friends that if you go mid day in the summer, you will have to wait 2 hours to get on, so people end up walking up in the heat.

Since the chair lift is not near the port, you will need to take a bus to get there. From the top of the chair lift there are several viewpoints, with the most classic postcard view of Capri that you see everywhere.

You can take the chair lift back down, check out the small town, especially the beautiful Villa San Michele, and walk down the Scala Fenicia stairway back to the port for a boat tour.

We enjoyed this walk a lot because we really got to see a lot of Anacapri and explored a bit. But if you don’t want to walk, you can always take the bus back to the port at Marina Grande for your boat tour.

There are a couple of boat tour companies at the port, and you don’t really need to book tickets ahead of time. The boat tours will take you around Capri, see the Faraglioni Rocks and the Blue Grotto.

Blue Grotto is not always accessible. The boat tour people will check every morning at 9am to see if the water is calm enough to enter the Blue Grotto. If you were to go to the Blue Grotto, you need to transfer to a small row boat to enter the cave, and the wait can be long for a short visit to the grotto.

Unfortunately when we visited we did not get to go to the Blue Grotto, but fortunately I had seen a similar blue grotto in Croatia before so it wasn’t a big loss for me.

If you have time after the boat tour, take the bus to the town of Capri and explore more.

In Capri, instead of chairlifts, there is a funicular (Funicolare di Capri) that can take you to the top for a nice view. You can also walk along Via Camerelle, a luxury shopping street, visit the beautiful Giardini di Augusto for a view of Via Krupp and the south side of Capri.

Day 6 & 7: Explore Positano

On the last day or 2 of your week long Amalfi Coast trip, you will be visiting Positano, the most postcard-famous town on the Amalfi Coast.

I always like to save the best for last and in this case, Positano!

Positano is a postcard perfect hillside village that almost everyone knows about when they think of the Amalfi Coast. From the beaches to the colorful seaside buildings on the hills to the fancy hotels and restaurants, Positano is the perfect place for honeymoons, babymoons, and a romantic vacation.

If you are limited on time, you can just spend a day in Positano as a day trip from Sorrento and explore the town itself. But if you have the full week on the Amalfi Coast, then you can do more around Positano, like hiking and a cooking class.

If you do plan to hike, you should spend the night in Positano or in Amalfi, otherwise it would take you way too long to get to the trailhead from Sorrento.

Traveling to and from Positano

In terms of logistics and geography, Positano is closer to Sorrento than Amalfi or Ravello, and there are buses that will take you to Positano in the morning.

There are 2 bus stops in Positano, Chiesa Nuova and Sponda. Chiesa Nuova is on the west and Sponda is to the east. I would highly recommend that you get off at Sponda as this is where you can get that postcard view of Positano.

If you want to get on the bus from Positano to go back to Sorrento, you need to walk east to the next stop, Orticelli-via Arienzo, to get on the bus. Otherwise, you will be stuck waiting for that bus in Positano with 50 other people for hours because the bus gets so packed.

Things to do in Positano

Before I get into what you can do in Positano, keep in mind that Positano is very hilly! There are stairs everywhere and you probably will end up hiking up the hills just to eat at specific restaurants (like the ones with the views).

If you are only planning to spend one day in Positano (without hiking), then you can just do the following:

• Check out Positano Spiaggia, the “main” beach of Positano against the backdrop of colorful houses on the hill

• Chill on Fornillo Beach, a more quiet beach west of Positano Spiaggia

• Walk around the hilly steps and make your way to the main town center, see Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta, the Catholic church in Positano and check out all the shops.

• Have a romantic meal at La Sponda, the instagram famous restaurant in the luxury hotel, Le Sirenuse. Another option is Il Tridente, located in Hotel Poseidon.

• Do a kayaking tour and see Positano from the water or do a photoshoot session in a Fiat.

If you have two days in Positano, you can add the following to your itinerary:

You won’t have time to do both things, so depending on your preference (and also your ability to get a reservation for the cooking class), these will be something you can do on your second day in Positano.

• Hiking the Path of Gods: Sentiero degli Dei is the best hike in Positano. It’s a 5-6 km (3-4 mile) walk that gives you an amazing view of the coast. The trail starts in Bomerano, and you will need to take a bus to get there. You can always hire a private transfer to avoid taking the bus.
• Do the cooking class at La Tagliata and have a meal there. You need to make a reservation for the cooking class months in advance. They have a shuttle that would take you from Positano to the restaurant, but also need to be arranged ahead of time. The class is from 10am to 3pm.

Once you are done with Positano, you will need to travel back to Sorrento and from there, you can take a train back to Naples and that will conclude your 5 to 7 days on the Amalfi Coast!

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