Tourists in the Amalfi Coast, Italy?

Question

My heart has been stolen by gorgeous pictures of the Amalfi Coast! If I can get there (perhaps next year), is it quiet and calm, or is it full of noisy tourists? It just looks so peaceful. Also, it has been suggested that I visit Sorrento nearby. Is there a better time of year to go the places aren't too busy and the weather is still good (and not too hot!)?

Answer 1

i live here in florence, itally, and ive visited the areas and spots around. one of my favorites was the Amalfi Coast, i agree with you its one of the most beautiful places ever!!

i was there two years ago in the middle of august. i took off in car from florence with my bf in one of those family cars. we hadnt made any reservations, no hotels nothing, i mean our intentions where to save as much money as possible and since we are young, we can be flexible in staying aroudn anywhere from campsites to parking lots (we converted the back of the car into a bed).

since we were gong to be aroudn that area, it was our plan to visit as well napoli, pompeii and capri. we spent about 10 days in this trip spending about 800 to 900 euros including gas and all.

our stop was pompeii, we took of from florence early in the morning a 5 hour drive and directly arrived to pompeii early afternoon, we spend the entire day visiting it. that night we took off to napoli visited the area and i think it was on that same night, i dont recall, that we went to visit the sotterreano di napoli, the undergroudn hideouts in napoli which the tours were done only at night. going in car, really , i mean REALLY makes a difference. you can be extremly flexible and visiting things apart from each other quicker and faster than by traveling by bus or train.

since i didnt really like napoli and i was jsut curious to visit the underground, we spend the rest of the days in amalfi area. my favorite city of all was sorrento. we parked the car in those campgrounds along the area and paid only for the us and the car no tent nothing, we slept in the car-bed and during the day drove from place to place in the amalfi coast. i personally think that its MUCH more better to go by car in the amalfi coast because you are able to stop where ever you want, like for example there were people there in the middle of the cliff roads selling exotic drinks, i mean in bus you can stop and see, nor can you stop and take pics of the views whenever you want. another thing, one of the famous grottas is also along the cliff road, its much more fun going in car and even if you go by bus you have to follow the hours, inform from where to where they go, untl when are they open, how do you get from here to there, and the traffic makes no difference going by car or by bus.

plus ill tell you something, when i went to sorrento, my bf and i were following the guide books, you know going to the beach areas marked in the guide books. driving along finding them, we werent surprised they were ugly spots and plus you had to pay for them! so our destination was to at least find a simple public beach,  nothing big, but ill tell you something.....going by car and driving around in circles, asking locals where public beaches are, we realized that the locals kept pointing to one direction, they didnt say it was beautiful they didnt say it was different, they just pointed so we kinda followed where they said, and your not going to believe this but we found one of the MOST beautiful spots/beaches (if you call these 'beaches') ever!!!

we drove to where they reffered to, parked the car in this private parking made into parking lot (we made friends with the old man there). you have to realized that there was no sight, i mean there were trees, houses all around, you couldnt even tell to what direction the ocean was, but the man in the parking, a local, just told us where to go. close to the parking there was this little pebble road, only for walking with rock walls, it was so cute. it went downhill, but we were told to follow it, so we did. it was a long walk about 10 to 15 minutes and you have to realize that you still cant see whats ahead since there are turns and curves, you figure your going down to the ocean, but you dont see anything. then we finally reached the spot! it was all rock, huge rocks, and there were a few people there laying alolng the rock and there on the side was this old roman ruin...! yeah i mean talk about monuments along beach! it was all in ruins, but you could walk around it, go in and out it was soo cool. that was not all, so we kinda settle there along the rocks, dived in, swam to other huge rocks more ahead in the ocen, took pics, it was so much fun but that wasnt all!!

remember the pebble road? well that road at the end divided itself to other paths, we had chose the one that went directly towards the sea but there was other ones that headed opposite directions so we walked back wondering, where on earth do other ones take you to??? and we foudn one of THE Most coolest spots ever!!!!! one of these little roads led you to an isolated semi closed 'kinda like' pool. you know what i mean?? imagine a giant cave without a ceiling, but with huge walls and a little hole on the side that lead you directly to the sea and since it was a small entrance or exit the waves didnt go in, it remained like a pool and it wasnt deep at all, it went up to my shoulders maximun and the surprising thing above all, was that it was not even full of people, there were like 3 people there when we got there and it  was mid august!!. i mean theres no spot to lay down but its cool to be there. there was a way you could go and climb back up on the walls and jump off for fun.

so from then on we stood there in sorrent for about 4 days going to this cool paths and tiny isolated beaches, like i said we went there so often teh man at the parking didnt charge us anymore. the other pebble paths took you other spots you could lay down and hit the sun or the waves, but that beach pool was the best!! and your not going to believe it but it wasnt even written in the guide books!

well so in general my advice is, go by car!! and see everything, like the grottas along the amalfi coast (real cool as well) spend the day in capri for one day, go to the little town of amalfi, ecc, and spend the night in these camp groudsnn along the area, either sleep in the rented car or bring a small tent!

im going again to the amalfi coast this summer with my parents, i cant wait as well!

good luck in your trip and if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

Answer 2

Was going to answer, but then read the other responses and you are set.

Answer 3

It is a beautiful area, and you can avoid the tourists. Although the weather is not as amazing (warm and sunny),  February and March are tourist low times, have mild weather,  and there are fewer tourists, so the rates in hotels are also lower.

Answer 4

I visited the Amalfi Coast in April 2006.  I stayed a few nights in Sorrento, then moved on to Amalfi, then spent a night in Paestum (outside Salerno).  It's quiet, but there are a lot of tourists in the high season.  In June 2005 I spent five days on Ischia, which is a less-touristy version of Capri (thirty minutes by boat from Naples).  Try to go early in the season (April or May- NOT the Easter weekend) or late in the season (September or October).  You might not be able to swim at the extreme early/late dates, but the weather will be warm and the sun will be shining!

Sorrento is a great place to visit- there are fantastic citrus groves and beautiful sea views, plus easy access to other sites like Pompeii and Capri.  Amalfi and Positano are small, coastal resort towns with small beaches, great food and lots of opportunities for R&R.  From either town you can explore places like Ravello, which is famous for it's amazing music festival.  If you're interested in visiting The Big City, Naples is nearby and has an AMAZING archaeological museum (all the original artifacts from Pompeii are houses there), fantastic pizza and famously crazy drivers!

I would HIGHLY recommend making a side-trip to Paestum.  This truly was the highlight of my time in Campania.  It is about sixty minutes from Salerno and has amazing Ancient Greek temples!  There are three massive temples that will take your breath away, plus other smaller ruins.  I loved it a million times more than Pompeii.

I definitely suggest traveling by bus, train or boat, and NOT renting a car.  Traffic along the Amalfi Coast is often single-lane and can be backed up for hours, not to mention the 100-meter drops off the side of the road!  I felt EXTREMELY car-sick when I traveled by car, but boat and train were excellent connections.  

See my personal site, below, for information about my time in Amalfi.  I highly recommend VT (see link) for travel planning in Italy and beyond.  The Rick Steves book is a good choice for first-time travelers in the area.

Answer 5

The Amalfi Coast is incredible!  I've spent time hiking/exploring there from Sorrento to Minori.  I'd recommend going after mid-September.  The place does get quite busy with the tourist crowd but it slows down after the kids go back to school.  Sorrento is really worth the time to visit - I'm spending a week there this October.  If you stay along the coast, I'd recommend a B& B in Positano called La Fenice (the phoenix), or the Hotel Maison Raphael in Minori.  Both are run/owned by great local folks that know the area.  Minori is close (walking distance) from Ravello and Amalfi and home to the world's best pastry shop.  Positano is a great base for hiking around the local hills or just hanging out.  Have dinner at DaVincenza in Positano.  If you stay in Sorrento, spend a day at Pompeii and Herculenaeum.  Take the train back up to Stabiae and check out the pre-Vesuvian villas they are excavating.  You'll probably have go back a few times to take it all in.  Enjoy your trip!!!