Where to Stay on the Amalfi Coast

SD › Italy › Amalfi Coast Towns
Updated: May 28, 2023
By Santorini Dave

Our Favorite Amalfi Coast Hotels

• Positano: Il San Pietro
• Amalfi: Santa Caterina
• Ravello: Palazzo Avino
• Praiano: Casa Angelina
• Sorrento: Excelsior Vittoria
• Maiori: Botanico San Lazzaro
• Naples: Grand Vesuvio
• No Car: Hotel Fontana

Best hotel with view in Positano.

The Hotel Villa Franca in Positano. A fantastic boutique hotel with incredible views.

Staying on the Amalfi Coast

Where to go in Amalfi Coast.

With its soaring cliffs, picture-perfect villages, and dreamy blue seascapes, the Amalfi Coast is one of Italy’s most spectacular destinations. It’s also one of the busiest, and each summer, holiday-makers, and day-trippers flock to its main towns, Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello.

Accommodation is plentiful in the area, ranging from luxurious palaces to romantic hideaways and family-friendly vacation rentals. But with so much choice, it can be hard to pinpoint the best place for your traveling style. Are you on a honeymoon or a family holiday? Is beach access important or do you want to escape the crowds? Or maybe you’re a cultural traveler and want to stay in Naples for its top-notch historical sights and visit the coast on day trips. Check out our Amalfi Coast map to get a feel for the area.

Best Places to Stay on the Amalfi Coast

Best Places to Stay for …

  • Where to Stay on Amalfi Coast for First Timers: Positano
    Often considered the jewel of the Amalfi Coast, Positano is our recommended spot for first-time visitors. It’s a charming and idyllic town with colorful houses cascading down the cliffside. Its steep, narrow streets are lined with boutiques, cafes, and galleries, making a delightful area for exploration. The town’s main beach, Spiaggia Grande, is perfect for sunbathing and swimming. Positano is also well-connected by ferry to other coastal towns and the island of Capri, making it an excellent base for day trips.
Best place for first time visitors.

The magical town of Positano is best for most first-time visitors to the Amalfi Coast.

  • Where to Stay on Amalfi Coast for a Honeymoon: Ravello
    Few places can rival Ravello for couples and honeymooners. A charming hilltop village set amidst lemon terraces and olive groves, it oozes elegance with its historic villas and unforgettable views – for one of the best views, stay at Villa Cimbrone. Touristy by day, it comes into its own in the evening when the day-trippers have gone home and romance hangs in the balmy air. Accommodation-wise, it has several fabulous hotels, including the Caruso whose magical infinity pool is made for romantic selfies.
  • Where to Stay on Amalfi Coast for Families: Maiori and Minori
    Less obviously quaint than many Amalfi Coast towns, Maiori is a good bet for families with small kids. It has a long sandy beach and a good choice of restaurants and hotels – accommodation here tends to be slightly cheaper than elsewhere on the coast. Parents with strollers will appreciate the flat streets which make getting around pretty stress-free. A short hop away, the smaller town of Minori is another kid-friendly resort popular with Italian families.
  • Where to Stay on Amalfi Coast for Swimming and Beaches: Positano
    Beach-lovers are well served in Positano. The town has 2 beaches of its own, and with good bus connections and a wealth of boat hire outfits, it’s well set up for beach-combing. In town, Spiaggia Grande is the focus of Positano’s hectic summer scene, while Spiaggia Fornillo provides a quieter alternative. Nearby, Spiaggia Arienzo is a charming beach reached by a flight of almost 300 steps. Positano is many people’s first choice on the coast, so expect to pay top whack if you stay here.
  • Where to Stay on Amalfi Coast without a Car: Amalfi
    Without a vehicle, Amalfi makes an excellent base (especially for first time visitors). It’s centrally located, and as the coast’s main transport hub, has excellent bus and boat connections, making day-tripping a breeze. There’s plenty to see in town if you want to stay put, including a beach, medieval cathedral, and historic paper museum. All the main sights are in the compact center which can easily be explored on foot. There’s also a good choice of accommodations for all budgets and plenty of cafes, bars, and restaurants. Both the Hotel Fontana and Albergo Sant’Andrea Hotel have fantastic central locations close to buses and ferry in the heart of Amalfi.
Hotel with view in Amalfi.

The Hotel Luna Convento in Amalfi.

  • Where to fly into for the Amalfi Coast?
    The nearest airport is Naples International Airport though it’s also easy to get to the coast from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) Airport. From Naples, take the Campania Express (mid-March to mid-October) or slower Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento, from where buses run to Positano and Amalfi. Alternatively, get a faster train to Salerno and pick up a bus from there. Boats run year-round from Naples to Sorrento and in summer from Sorrento and Salerno to towns along the coast. Another option is a private transfer from Naples.
  • When is the best time to visit the Amalfi Coast?
    The coast is at its best in spring (April to June) and autumn (September and early October). Spring is a colorful time with pleasant temperatures and blooming flowers; autumn brings sunny weather and thinner crowds. As a rule, it’s generally warm enough to swim from June through to October. Try to avoid August when everywhere is packed, prices skyrocket, and temperatures are torrid. Note that many hotels, restaurants, and bars close over winter, typically from November to Easter.
  • How do you get around the Amalfi Coast?
    Forget driving. The narrow coastal road (the SS163) is not an easy drive and has many blind curves and heavy summer traffic. Parking is also a nightmare. Better to use public transport. Buses are a good, cheap option with regular services to all the main towns and villages. Be warned though, travel sickness is a possibility, particularly for kids. To avoid the roads, seasonal ferries run along the coast serving Amalfi, Positano, and other ports of call between mid-May and October.
  • How long is the Amalfi Coast?
    The Amalfi Coast forms the southern shore of the Sorrentine Peninsula, a mountainous spur of land about 30km south of Naples. The main stretch runs for 40km from Positano in the west to Vietri sul Mare in the east. Distances are not huge but traveling along the tortuous coastal road is time-consuming. As a rough guide, allow just over an hour for the bus ride from Sorrento to Positano, and an hour and forty-five minutes from Sorrento to Amalfi. Approaching from Salerno, plan on an hour and fifteen minutes to Amalfi.

The 10 Best Towns on the Amalfi Coast

Best place to stay in Positano.

The fantastic perch of Il San Pietro di Positano Hotel.

1. Positano

Positano is the most visually stunning of the coast’s main towns. A riot of multi-colored houses, it cascades down a steep hillside to a small beach overlooked by a domed church – to get the best views, try to arrive by sea. There are few sights in town, though time here is usually spent hanging out on the beach and browsing boutiques filled with ceramics and wispy linen fashions. There’s plenty of accommodation, but hotels are in high demand and rates are universally high.

2. Amalfi

One of the coast’s most popular towns, Amalfi impresses with its seafront location and historical attractions. These include a museum in a centuries-old paper mill and a striking cathedral, a vestige of Amalfi’s past as a medieval maritime republic. Action is centered on Piazza del Duomo, an attractive square flanked by cafes, restaurants, and bars. Nearby, you can laze on the town’s small beach or hop on a boat to the Grotta della Smeralda, a sea cave famous for its eerie emerald light.

3. Ravello

Hotel with view on Amalfi Coast.

The view from Villa Cimbrone in Ravello.

Overlooking the coast from its high hilltop perch, Ravello is an enchanting village famous for its breathtaking views and elegant gardens. Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone are the two main sights, both boasting lush, landscaped gardens. Culture-vultures will also enjoy its popular summer festival which sees events staged across the village from July to September. As there’s no direct access to the sea, few people stay in Ravello, but if you’re after a quiet, romantic stay, there are some magnificent top-end hotels here.

4. Praiano

Praiano is a sprawling village midway between Positano and Amalfi. Generally overlooked by visitors, it’s becoming increasingly trendy with travelers who are drawn by its authentic, low-key vibe. It boasts few sights but it’s well placed for the beach – a steep staircase leads to the popular Spiaggia della Gavitella – and its sunset views are among the best on the coast. Walkers will like it too as it marks the start of the Sentiero degli Dei, the Amalfi Coast’s best-known, and most accessible, hiking trail.

5. Maiori & Minori

With its long sandy beach and bustling seafront, Maiori is the most obvious resort-like town along the coast. It’s a favorite with vacationing Italians, and while it lacks the picture-postcard charms of its better-known neighbors, it is laid-back and lively. It’s also one of the coast’s less expensive towns. Minori, a short way to the west, offers more of the same but on a smaller scale. Minori is also home to one of the coast’s most important ancient sites, the 1st-century Villa Roma Antiquarium.

Amalfi hotel with family room and pool.

The 4-star Botanico San Lazzaro in Maiori has large family rooms that comfortably sleep a family of four or five.

6. Cetara

Cetara is a small village on the less crowded eastern part of the coast. It’s a pretty enough spot with a small beach and typical domed church, but its main claim to fame is its seafood, considered the best on the coast. Tuna is a local specialty, and the village is home to an important tuna fishing fleet. Anchovies are another revered local delicacy. For a taste, try spaghetti alla colatura, made with Cetara’s signature anchovy sauce.

7. Vietri sul Mare

Just 6km from Salerno, cliffside Vietri sul Mare marks the easternmost point of the Amalfi Coast. Few visitors stay here; most people stop by to shop for ceramics. Vietri is the capital of Campania’s ceramics industry and has been producing glazed majolica pottery since Roman times. Its colorful streets are lined with ceramic murals and shops burst with tiles, tableware, and objets d’art, many hand-painted in shades of sunny lemon yellow.

8. Sorrento

Though not technically on the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento makes a good base for exploring the coast and surrounding areas. It’s a handsome, laid-back town with an appealing historic center, dazzling views over to Mt Vesuvius, and a whole host of hotels, souvenir stores and restaurants. Good transport links give plenty of scope for day trips: buses and summer ferries run to Positano and Amalfi; hydrofoils serve Capri; the Circumvesuviana train rattles up to Pompeii and Naples.

9. Salerno

The coast’s principal eastern gateway, Salerno lies a few kilometers to the east of the Amalfi Coast. A working port city, it’s not an obvious place to stay, but if you’re looking for someplace well-connected, vibrant, and relatively tourist-free, it’s worth considering. In town, check out the palm-fringed seafront and historic center, an atmospheric tangle of shady cobbled lanes, neighborhood trattorias, bars, and boutiques. The city’s Norman cathedral, considered one of Italy’s most beautiful medieval churches, is a must-see.

10. Capri

The quintessential Mediterranean idyll, the island of Capri boasts ancient ruins, white cube villages, and a rugged, rocky coastline. Most people visit on a day trip – ferries sail from Naples and points along the coast – but it has a good supply of high-standard accommodation if you want to stay. Action is focused on Capri Town and its chic open-air salon, Piazza Umberto I, but try to make time for the hill-top Anacapri and the Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto), a famous sea cave accessible by boat from Marina Grande.

11. Naples

Naples is a great base (and transport hub) for exploring the highlights of the region: Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mt. Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei, and the Amalfi Coast. There are also regular boats to Capri, Ischia, Sicily, and Sardinia. But Naples is the 3rd largest city in Italy and packed with culture, charm, history, and plenty of must-see landmarks so travelers shouldn’t be too quick to head for the port or train station.

Where to stay in Naples, Italy.

The luxury hotels (from left to right) Grand Hotel Vesuvio, Grand Hotel Santa Lucia, and the Eurostars Hotel Excelsior on the Naples waterfront.

Read More

Get All New Content

• My Travel Newsletter