Amalfi Coast Itinerary: Day-by-Day Plans for 2–7 Days

This Amalfi Coast itinerary is built for travelers who want a realistic trip plan, not a fantasy version where you see Positano, Ravello, Capri and Pompeii in three unhurried days. It's structured in blocks — 2–3 days, 4–5 days, 6–7 days — so you can match the plan to however much time you've actually got, then adjust.

Couples and honeymooners will find the shorter plans hit the romantic high notes: cliffside dinners, a sunset boat ride, Ravello's gardens. Families with children do better stretching to five or seven days, since little legs struggle with the stairs in Positano and the switchback trails above Praiano, and you'll want slower mornings. Solo travelers can move faster and lean on SITA buses and ferries rather than renting a car. Senior travelers should weight their itinerary toward Amalfi and Ravello, which involve less uphill walking than Positano's layered streets.

If you're coming from northern Europe for a long weekend, the 2–3 day version is honest about what's possible — it won't pretend you can also fit in Capri. If you've got a full week, you can genuinely slow down, which this coast rewards more than almost anywhere else in Italy.

Three days is the minimum for a satisfying Amalfi Coast trip plan — two days is workable but means picking one town and barely glimpsing the rest. This short version assumes you're based in Sorrento or Positano and treating the coast as a focused side trip, perhaps from Naples or Rome.

The longer your Amalfi Coast itinerary, the more towns and day trips you can realistically add without rushing.

Amalfi Coast itinerary lengths compared: what fits in 2, 4, and 7 days

Typical breakdowns; actual pace depends on ferry schedules and summer crowd levels, so check timings before you travel.

Day 1: Positano & Praiano

Arrive early and settle into Positano by mid-morning. Spend the first hours wandering down to Spiaggia Grande, then up through the boutique-lined lanes toward the Church of Santa Maria Assunta with its majolica dome. Lunch on a terrace overlooking the bay — expect to pay more here than almost anywhere else on the coast, since Positano trades on its view.

In the afternoon, take a local bus or taxi 15–20 minutes to Praiano, a quieter village with fewer crowds and better value restaurants. It's also the jumping-off point for the Sentiero degli Dei (Path of the Gods), though at this pace you'll only want a short stretch of it, not the full 7km hike. Evening is the slot to book a sunset boat tour along the coast — this is the single experience worth reserving ahead, since good-weather slots fill fast in summer. Compare current boat tours and prices before you book, and confirm whether it departs from Positano or Praiano's marina.

Day 2–3: Amalfi & Ravello

Take the ferry or SITA bus to Amalfi town — the ferry is faster and far less nauseating if the road's hairpins bother you. Amalfi is flatter and easier to explore than Positano, with its Duomo and cloister worth an hour. From the harbor, it's a short bus ride up to Ravello, 365 meters above sea level, for the gardens of Villa Rufolo and Villa Cembalo (Villa d'Este). Ravello is noticeably calmer than Amalfi or Positano — no beach, but better views and thinner crowds.

If you only have two days total, compress this into a single long day: Amalfi by late morning, Ravello by early afternoon, back to your base by evening. With a third day, add Atrani, the tiny village next to Amalfi reachable on foot in under ten minutes — it's one of the most overlooked spots on the whole coast and worth the detour for lunch alone.

Five days is the sweet spot for a first Amalfi Coast itinerary — long enough to avoid feeling rushed, short enough that you're not padding the schedule with filler days.

Day 1–2: Positano highlights

Give Positano two full days instead of rushing through in an afternoon. Day one covers the town itself and Spiaggia Grande; day two is for Fornillo beach, which is quieter and cheaper than the main beach, plus a cooking class in the late afternoon — a genuinely good bookable experience here, since several run hands-on pasta or limoncello-making sessions with small group sizes. Book this a few days ahead in high season, as classes cap around 8–12 people.

Day 3–4: Amalfi & Ravello

Follow the same Amalfi-Ravello route as the shorter itinerary, but spread it over two days with a hiking day added. The Valle delle Ferriere trail above Amalfi is a shaded 2–3 hour loop past old paper mills and waterfalls — a good alternative if you've had enough of beach towns and want tree cover. Stay a night in or near Amalfi if you can; it cuts transfer time and lets you see Ravello lit up in the evening, when most day-trippers have left.

Day 5: Emerald Grotto & villages

Head toward Conca dei Marini to visit the Emerald Grotto (Grotta dello Smeraldo), a sea cave reached by a small rowboat from a lift or stairs at road level — it's a 15–20 minute stop, not worth building a full day around, but worth combining with Furore, the village built into a fjord-like gorge nearby. Furore's Fiordo di Furore beach is small and rocky but photogenic in a way Positano's crowded shore no longer is. End the day back near your base, or start winding toward Salerno if that's your departure point.

A week-long Amalfi Coast itinerary lets you add Capri and slow everything else down, which matters more than people expect — this coast punishes rushing with traffic jams and overpriced hurried meals.

Day 1–2: Positano deep dive

Same as the five-day plan, but add a half-day boat excursion to nearby coves only reachable by water, such as the beaches below Praiano. This is where a full-day or half-day boat tour earns its cost — Positano's coastline looks completely different from the water, and several coves have no road access at all.

Day 3–4: Amalfi & Ravello

Follow the four-day plan above, but add a full day trip inland to Pompeii, about 40 minutes from Amalfi by car or roughly 90 minutes combining bus and train via Sorrento. It's a jarring but worthwhile contrast — ash-preserved ruins instead of sea views — and most visitors regret skipping it more than they regret the travel time.

Day 5–6: Capri day trip & coast

Ferries to Capri run from Amalfi, Positano and Sorrento, with crossing times of roughly 25–50 minutes depending on origin and boat type. Capri is more polished and considerably more expensive than anywhere on the mainland coast — lunch prices near the Piazzetta can run double what you'd pay in Praiano. Go for the Blue Grotto, the chairlift up Monte Solaro, and the walk to Villa Jovis, but skip staying overnight unless budget isn't a concern; day-tripping keeps costs sane. Use day six to decompress in Atrani or revisit Amalfi's restaurants without a schedule.

Day 7: Leisure & departure

Keep this day deliberately loose. Many travelers route their departure through Salerno, which has direct rail connections to Naples and Rome and is calmer than fighting Sorrento's summer bus queues with luggage. If your flight isn't until evening, a final swim or a last espresso in whichever town you liked best beats trying to squeeze in one more sight.

The SITA buses that run the coastal road are cheap — a few euros per ride — but they're also the itinerary's biggest bottleneck. In July and August, expect standing room only and waits of 30–45 minutes at peak times, especially between Positano and Amalfi. Ferries between coastal towns run roughly April through October and are faster, calmer, and arguably the best way to see the cliffs, though they're weather-dependent and stop in rougher seas.

Renting a car sounds appealing and usually isn't. The coastal road (SS163) is narrow, parking in Positano and Amalfi is scarce and expensive, and traffic in high season can turn a 20-minute drive into 90 minutes. If you do drive, do it outside July–August, or use it only to reach the coast from Naples or Salerno, then park and switch to buses and boats.

For most itineraries, a mix works best: ferries for the scenic town-to-town hops, buses for shorter inland connections like Amalfi to Ravello, and walking for everything within a single town. Private transfers cost more but save real time if you're short on days or traveling with small children or heavy luggage.

Your base shapes the whole itinerary more than any single day's plan does. The real choice is usually Positano vs Ravello vs Amalfi, and each suits a different kind of trip.

Positano for luxury & views

Positano has the best-known views and the highest prices — a mid-range double room in high season commonly runs well above what the same standard costs in Amalfi or Praiano. The trade-off is stairs: nearly every route in town involves steep steps, which matters for senior travelers or anyone with knee issues. It's an excellent base for couples prioritizing atmosphere over budget, less ideal for families managing strollers or travelers who want to minimize walking.

Amalfi for central access

Amalfi town is flatter, better connected by ferry and bus to both Ravello and Positano, and generally 20–30% cheaper for accommodation than Positano in comparable categories. It lacks Positano's postcard drama but makes a far more practical base for a 5–7 day trip, since you're not backtracking as much. Sorrento, further out, is cheaper still and well-connected by train to Naples, but adds 45–60 minutes to every coastal excursion — fine for budget-conscious travelers, frustrating if you want spontaneous evenings in Amalfi or Positano.

A handful of activities on this coast genuinely benefit from advance booking, and the rest you can decide on the day. Sunset boat tours along the Positano-Praiano-Amalfi stretch are the standout — weather and sea conditions mean operators sometimes reshuffle schedules, so book a couple of days out rather than weeks in advance, and always check the cancellation policy for rough-sea days.

Cooking classes in Positano or Ravello are worth reserving 3–5 days ahead in peak season since group sizes are small. A guided hike along the Path of the Gods is bookable too, though it's also easy to do independently if you're comfortable navigating trail markers yourself — guides add value mainly through pacing and local context, not safety. The Emerald Grotto doesn't need pre-booking; it's pay-on-arrival and rarely full. Capri day trips from Amalfi, Positano, or Sorrento are the one exception where booking ferry tickets ahead matters most in July and August, when midday sailings sell out. Compare current boat tours and prices before you book, since routes and departure points shift slightly by season.