Getting the Most out of a Trip to The Amalfi Coast

Getting the Most out of a Trip to The Amalfi Coast

While living in Europe this summer for an internship, I made it a priority to get the most out of all of my free time.  Free time is something that we only have so much of, and we need to take advantage of every second of it.

With every trip (especially to somewhere you have never been), it is paramount that you plan precisely in order to get the most out of each day, hour, and minute.  In July I decided to visit the iconic Amalfi coast in Italy with a friend. 

Our planning for this trip began two months before we ever got to Italy.  It was easy for me to travel from Switzerland (where I was living) to Milan where I was going to meet my friend.  We spent less than 24 hours in Milan and stayed in a cheap yet surprisingly really nice Airbnb in the financial district.  We left Milan on the Freccia Rosa high speed train for Napoli where we would take a regional train to Sorrento (the gateway to the Amalfi Coast).  Planning out our train schedules ahead of time and buying our tickets online saved us a lot of time and money.  The train rides turned into naps since we had been up for almost 24 hours!

We decided to spend one day at the beach (sort of a beach, more like a boardwalk with beach chairs) in Sorrento before traversing our way down the coast to Amalfi.  

The drive to Amalfi, along the Amalfi coast is one of the most interesting and beautiful parts of the trip.  That is why we decided to rent a car in Sorrento so that we could drive the coast ourselves and enjoy the views as we pleased.  Rental cars aren't that expensive and are a great alternative to the sickness inducing buses on those narrow roads, just make sure you can drive a stick!

Amalfi and Positano are the two largest and most tourist packed cities on the Amalfi coast.  They are definitely worth spending most of your time there, however, if possible try and stay in the town of Atrani.  Atrani is only about a 5 minute walk through a tunnel to Amalfi but it is worlds apart in its sense of commercialization.  Atrani is a tiny town of less than 1,000 people where you can get a real sense of the way some Italians live in these mountain/sea towns.  Our Airnbnb host was extremely helpful even if we were without wifi!  (always check the Airbnb listing for wifi)

Eat as much Gnocchi Sorrentina and lemon based gelatos as you can while on the coast, and always pay for beach access!  Spending time with locals in this region of Italy was a wonderful experience that I hope to have again soon.  The food was incredible and I am still recovering from the weight gain I experience in just eight days in that celestial country.

Travel Budget expectations:

Flights from US to Rome Roundtrip: $600 - $1,2000
Airbnbs in Italy: $50-$140 a night
Rental Car In Italy: $50-$80 a day
Train from Rome to Napoli: $60
Train from Napoli to Sorrento: $4
Food: $40 a day