Happy Wedneday, everyone! I hope you’re having a great week so far.
Before I get into today’s post, I just want to thank those of you who’ve been following along with my adventures in Italy – I really appreciate you joining me for the ride! It feels like I’ve been posting about this trip forever, and that doesn’t surprise me – we visited so many amazing cities and saw so many neat things, that there was just so much to write about! This post is a little bittersweet because it’ll be my final post about our Italy trip. Today, I’ll be talking about our final destination on the Amalfi Coast: the town of Amalfi itself.
Located about 20 kilometres east of Positano, Amalfi is one of the coast’s most historic towns. During the 9th and 10th centuries, it was one of the Mediterranean’s leading trading hubs. It started developing into a luxury travel destination in the early 20th century, when it became particularly popular with the British aristocracy. Amalfi is quite small, with a population of just over 5,000 – although you’d never know it by looking at the crowds in the streets! I was unable to find stats on just how many tourists visit Amalfi itself, but considering that the Amalfi Coast welcomes five million visitors per year and Amalfi is one of its most popular towns, there’s no way of getting around it: Amalfi will be busy. We visited in late May, which isn’t technically even peak tourist season, but it was so crowded you could barely walk around the main streets. Now, Positano’s port happened to be closed the day we visited Amalfi, which perhaps is why more visitors flocked here instead. Either way: if you’re coming to Amalfi, expect a crowd. But even with its congestion, Amalfi is truly such a beautiful place that it’s worth the trip – I promise! If you’re planning a trip to Amalfi, I hope the tips I’m about to provide will be helpful. Let’s start with the most important thing…
Getting To Amalfi
If you read my last post on Positano, you already know about the crazy adventures we had getting there and back. Just like Positano, there are three ways to get to Amalfi from Sorrento: a taxi, the Sita Bus, or a ferry. After our terrible experiences with the taxi and Sita Bus (click here to read all the gory details) we knew the ferry was our best option for getting to Amalfi.
There are a few different ferry companies that run between Sorrento and Amalfi, but two of the largest are Alilauro Gruson and NLG. We took an Alilauro Gruson ferry to Amalfi, and a NLG ferry back to Sorrento. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend Alilauro Gruson – we took a couple of different rides with them during our time on the Amalfi Coast, and found them to be slow, late and unreliable. We took the 10am ferry to Amalfi, which their website said would arrive at 11am. We didn’t end up arriving until noon. (Whatever you do, don’t trust the online schedules! We didn’t know any better, but you should budget at least one-and-a-half hours to get from Sorrento to Amalfi by ferry.) Unfortunately, our late arrival meant that we had to cancel our plans to visit the beautiful hilltop town of Ravello (three miles from Amalfi) as we simply didn’t have enough time. (Oh well, just another reason to go back!) But the nice thing about taking a ferry: it’s definitely the most scenic way to get around the coast!
Our NLG ferry back to Sorrento departed right on schedule, the ride was smooth and pleasant, and the staff were very professional. I would highly recommend this ferry service. We also got some amazing views of the Amalfi harbour as we departed!
My best tip for taking the ferry to Amalfi is to book early, which I mean in a couple of different ways. One, book your tickets online, as far in advance as possible. Amalfi is a popular destination, and you want to ensure you secure your spot on the ferry. Two, book the earliest ferry departure you can, to account for possible delays and maximize your time in Amalfi. And now, onto the fun stuff…
Things To See & Do In Amalfi
Explore the Duomo of Amalfi. This medieval Roman Catholic cathedral is the most famous landmark in Amalfi. Originally built during the 9th and 10th centuries, it’s famous for its bold patterned exterior, striking bell tower and grand staircase. For 3 Euros a person, you can take a tour of the interior, gardens and cloisters.
Shop for one-of-a-kind clothing, ceramics and souvenirs. Like Capri and Positano, Amalfi is well-known for its breezy, coastal chic fashions and gorgeous hand-painted ceramics (often featuring a lemon motif of some kind!) And of course, you’ll find lots of shops selling limoncello – we may have indulged in a free sample (or two or three.) One particularly lovely shop that I wanted to shout-out is Lo Scrigno di Santa Chiara. Owner and artist Andrea Pascucci sells luxury stationery, unique souvenirs, and his own amazing artwork. In addition to beautiful landscapes of the Amalfi Coast, Andrea paints delightfully whimsical illustrations of sea creatures, which you can get as art prints or postcards. We picked up an adorable “From Amalfi With Love” postcard to bring home, and it’s one of my favourite souvenirs of the trip. If you want a souvenir that’s truly one-of-a-kind, you have to pay Andrea a visit!
Admire the views from Via Pantaleone Comite. This is the main road that’s closest to the water. Start at Amalfi’s port, then keep walking east until you reach the Torre Saracena restaurant. It’s a nice, gradual uphill stroll – nothing like the crazy steep hike we did in Capri! The entire walk only takes 15-20 minutes one way. On your way up, you’ll get the most incredible views of Amalfi, its beaches and harbour. The best views come from Torre Saracen, a high-end restaurant located in an ancient coastal tower, but its five-star menu means you’ll definitely pay a premium for this view. However, you can still enjoy the view from outside the restaurant – there were lots of tourists there snapping photos. One word of caution about Via Pantaleone Comite: like most roads of the Amalfi Coast, this one has extremely narrow sidewalks. It also has plenty of car traffic. Walk single file, stay as far away from the road as possible, and be vigilant!
Take a trip to the town of Ravello. I have FOMO over this one because as I mentioned earlier, our longer-than-expected ferry ride meant we didn’t have time to experience Ravello for ourselves. It’s one of my biggest regrets from the trip, and if I ever go back to the Amalfi Coast, it’s the place I’d visit first! Ravello is a hilltop resort town located 365 metres above sea level, and it’s famous for its stunning views. Two of the best places to see these views (along with world-famous architecture and gardens) are Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone. If you ever find yourself in Ravello, please visit them for me!
Where To Eat In Amalfi
Silver Moon – This charming waterfront spot is one part restaurant, one part beach club. The restaurant patio overlooks the beach club, which is dotted with the cutest retro-chic red and white striped umbrellas. Silver Moon is known for their fresh seafood, pasta and pizza dishes. Tania and I shared an amazing pizza topped with pesto and walnuts. Just like the lemon zest pizza we enjoyed at Lo Guarracino in Positano, walnuts were another unexpected – but decidedly delicious – pizza topping I discovered on the Amalfi Coast. Our pizza was accompanied by a Peroni (for Tania) and a limoncello spritz (for me).
Pescheria CICA – We saw so many tourists walking around with scrumptious-looking seafood cones, and eventually we came across the spot that serves them: Pescheria CICA. This takeout spot fries up fresh local fish, shrimp and calamari, all of which comes conveniently served in a paper cone so you can eat on-the-go. It’s a very popular eatery in Amalfi, and it’s easy to see why! The food is delicious, and what a novel concept. A cone costs 10 Euros, and it’s the perfect snack for two to share.
Marvi Gelato – Another treat you’ll see a lot of tourists enjoying in Amalfi is lemon gelato served in a hollowed-out lemon. I’ll be the first to admit that the concept is a total Insta-trap, but that doesn’t mean I’m above it! (Sometimes you just have to pay a few extra Euros for the gram-worthy dessert.) There are a few gelato shops in Amalfi that serve these, but Il Pianeta Del Gelato is arguably the most popular. Along with the long lineups, expect high prices: one gelato will set you back 10 Euros, and you also have to pay extra to sit at a table. (Plus, each person has to order their own: they won’t let you share! Normally I wouldn’t mind that, but these are HUGE cups of gelato.) So we headed to the nearby Marvi Gelato instead. They only charge 8 Euros per gelato, and the presentation is just as cute as at Il Pianeta. The gelato is the perfect refreshing treat for a hot day, and one is more than enough for two to share!
Lo Scugnizzo – This little snack bar sells coffee, sandwiches and pastries, including the most delicious cannoli. I got a traditional Maraschino cherry-topped cannoli (though I was also eyeing the pistachio version) and it was so good. The ricotta was rich and creamy, and the freshly baked shell was perfectly crunchy and crispy. I’m still dreaming about it now!
Well… that’s all, folks! Thank you so much for joining me over the last few weeks as I shared our Italy trip. From Venice to Florence, Rome to the Amalfi Coast, you can view all my Italy travel guides here. And while it’s been fun reliving our international travels, I’m really excited to get back to what I do best: sharing the best things to do right here in Toronto and Southern Ontario! In my next post, I’ll be sharing what I’ve been up to since our return… stay tuned!
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