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Voykit pocket guide · Italy
Amalfi
Give Amalfi 2 nights as a base: the town itself is half a day, but ferries and buses to Positano, Ravello and Atrani need a full day each side of it.
Amalfi is a small former maritime republic at the mouth of a ravine, with a 13th-century cathedral, a pebble beach and a working ferry pier. It is the practical base for the central Amalfi Coast: buses and ferries to Positano, Ravello, Atrani, Praiano and Furore leave from the same square. Two nights covers the town and one day out; three nights lets you add a second. In July and August the beach and the single coastal road both jam, so May, June, September and early October are the months that work.
- Country
- Italy
- Best months
- May–Jun, Sep–early Oct
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (heat, crowds, road traffic), late Oct–Mar (many ferries and hotels closed)
- Stay
- 2–3 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR, €). Cards and contactless are widely accepted in cities; small cafés, markets and rural places may prefer cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget €70–110 excl. bed · Mid €110–200 excl. bed · High €200+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- TIM, Vodafone, WindTre and Iliad sell prepaid SIMs in shops and at airports; a passport and an Italian tax code (codice fiscale, issued in-store) are needed.
- Emergency
- All emergencies 112 · Police 113 · Ambulance 118 · Coast guard 1530
- Plugs
- Types C, F, L · 230 V · 50 Hz · Italian type L plugs have three pins in a row; most sockets also take two-pin Europlugs (C), and bivalent sockets take Schuko (F).
- Tipping
- Bar: Leave €0.10–0.20 of change on the counter if you like.; Restaurant: Coperto or service may already be on the bill; leave €1–2 a person or round up for good service.; Taxi: Round up to the next euro.; Hotel porter or housekeeping: €1–2 per bag or per night.; Tour guide: €5–10 per person for a half day.
- Water
- Tap water is safe unless signed otherwise; Rome's nasoni fountains run all day. Restaurants serve bottled water (naturale or frizzante) unless you ask for tap (acqua del rubinetto).
- Toilets
- Few public toilets; use bars (buy a coffee), museums and stations, where some charge €1.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Espresso at the bar | €1.20–2 |
| Coffee and a cake on Piazza Duomo | €5–9 |
| Pizza or a plate of pasta, trattoria | €10–18 |
| Seafood dinner with wine, mid-range restaurant | €35–60 a person |
| Limoncello, 0.5 l bottle | €10–18 |
| Beach lido, chair and umbrella per day | €20–40 |
| Ferry Amalfi–Positano / Amalfi–Salerno | €12–20 / €15–25 |
| Taxi Amalfi–Positano | €80–120 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- NAP · Naples Capodichino
- Closest airport; about 1.5–2 h by car or pre-booked transfer to Amalfi, longer in summer traffic
- FCO · Rome Fiumicino
- High-speed train to Salerno or Naples, then bus, ferry or car; about 3.5–4.5 h door to door
Typical fares
- Ferry Amalfi → Positano
- about €12–20, 25 min
- SITA bus Amalfi → Ravello
- about €2.50, 30 min
- Taxi Amalfi → Positano
- €80–120
Get around
The centre is pedestrian and walkable in 10 minutes end to end; everything else is steps. SITA buses run the coast road to Positano and Sorrento and up to Ravello, and ferries link Amalfi with Positano, Salerno, Capri and Sorrento in season. Driving means one narrow road with summer queues and almost no parking: leave the car outside town.
See and do
Known for
- Amalfi Cathedral and its staircase
- Cloister of Paradise
- Paper Mill Museum in the Valle dei Mulini
- Lemon groves and limoncello
- Ferry pier to Positano, Capri and Salerno
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Ravello | SITA bus from Amalfi terminal up the valley, or a taxi | About 40–50 min |
| Positano | Ferry from the Amalfi pier, or SITA bus along the coast road | 25–40 min by ferry; 40–90 min by bus in season |
| Atrani | On foot east along the coast road and through the tunnel | About 10 min |
| Praiano | SITA bus along the coast road, or ferry in season | About 30–45 min |
| Furore | SITA bus towards Positano, get off above the fjord | About 25–35 min |
| Scala | SITA bus towards Ravello, then walk down | About 30–40 min |
Sleep
- Piazza Duomo and the historic centre
- Steps from the cathedral, restaurants and the SITA bus stop; no sea view, noise until late.
- Marina and the seafront (Largo Cesareo Console, Via Lungomare dei Cavalieri)
- Ferry pier, beach and marina on the doorstep; the coastal road runs directly behind, so ask for a sea-facing room.
- Vettica Minore and Pogerola (hillside, 2–3 km out)
- Cheaper rooms, terraces and quiet; you need the SITA bus or a car for every trip into town.
- Atrani (1 km east, 10 min on foot)
- Smaller, flatter and often cheaper; walk into Amalfi through the tunnel under the road.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Good morning | Buongiornobwon-JOR-no |
| Thank you | GrazieGRAT-tsyeh |
| The bill, please | Il conto, per favoreeel KON-to per fa-VO-reh |
| Is the cover charge included? | Il coperto è incluso?eel ko-PER-to eh in-KLOO-zo |
| Two tickets to Positano, please | Due biglietti per Positano, per favoreDOO-eh bee-LYET-tee per po-zee-TA-no |
| Where is the ferry pier? | Dov'è il molo dei traghetti?do-VEH eel MO-lo day tra-GET-tee |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Say buongiorno (until mid-afternoon) or buonasera on entering shops and bars; avoid: Walking in and pointing without a greeting
- Cheek kisses: Two kisses, right cheek first, among friends; follow their lead; avoid: Kissing strangers or in business settings
- Dress: Smart-casual in cities; covered shoulders and knees in churches; avoid: Beachwear, bare chests and flip-flops away from the beach
- Queues: At delis and pharmacies take a number (numerino); avoid: Assuming the crowd at a bar counter is chaos — pay at the till first where asked
- Restaurants: Wait to be seated and ask for the bill; avoid: Splitting a bill item by item with a large group
- Conversation: Food, football and family are safe openers; avoid: Mafia jokes and north–south stereotypes
- Dinner at a home: Bring pastries, wine or flowers (not chrysanthemums, which are for funerals); avoid: Refusing seconds too firmly
Scams and watch-outs
- The coast road (SS163) can take an hour or more for the 25-minute run to Positano in July and August.
- SITA buses fill up and can pass a full stop; board at the Amalfi terminal and buy tickets before boarding.
- Ferry and bus timetables thin out sharply from late October to March; check the operator's site the day before.
- Beach space is pebbles and is charged by the day at the lidos; the free sections are small.
- Restaurants on Piazza Duomo and the seafront cost more than places one street back; check the menu and the coperto before sitting.
- Steps and uneven paving everywhere: this is not a town for a wheeled suitcase or limited mobility.
Amalfi is a safe, well-policed tourist town; the real risks are the summer heat, the steps, sea conditions when swimming, and pickpockets in the packed ferry and bus queues.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Amalfi yet. Suggested stay: 2–3 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Amalfi Cathedral and its staircase
- Cloister of Paradise
- Paper Mill Museum in the Valle dei Mulini
- Lemon groves and limoncello
- Ferry pier to Positano, Capri and Salerno
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Comune di Amalfi (official town site): comune.amalfi.sa.it
- Arsenale di Amalfi (Arsenal museum): www.arsenalediamalfi.it/
- Wikivoyage: Amalfi, revision 5248339 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5248339
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Amalfi
A questo indirizzo, per favore
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Amalfi; the US consulate-general and most other missions are in Naples, embassies in Rome.
Ferry and SITA timetables change by season and by year: confirm the day before you travel.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/amalfi). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.