Amalfi Coast & Naples:
A Sort-Of Travel Guide
The coastline stuns even on a grey Spring day
May 2025 - By Kate Carey
When you imagine a girl’s trip to the Amalfi Coast, you probably picture sparkling blue vistas, sprinkled with picturesque, pastel-painted homes and charming, narrow cobblestone lanes.
This is all completely true.
But what you don't picture is the white-knuckle driving experience. Your romantic image of Fiats and mopeds weaving along the coast quickly loses its charm, as they drift over the centreline in front of you, or gear up to overtake you on a blind bend.
Breathtaking, yes. Just not in the way you imagined.
Nor did you dream of the older Italian gentleman who collects you in a courtesy van to drive you to dinner at the local restaurant. He proudly proclaims that he “catches fish in the morning and women in the evening”, and then tries to high-five you in praise of his joke. After dinner, he’ll invite you for a private boat tour of a nearby cave, before he drives you back home ("No, no, grazie milli, signore!").
The fantasy is very real but best served with a large pinch of salt.
Where To Stay: Sant'Agatta
The path to Ristorante il Cantuccio Nerano
A major drawback of much of the Amalfi is that it is, of course, everyone's bucket list destination, not just yours. So a lot of areas are crowded and over-touristed.
We went off the beaten track for our accommodation and I implore (nay, urge!) you to do the same.
We visited in early May, just before the holiday rush and chose to stay in Sant'Agata, up in the hills near Sorrento. It's a charming little town that makes you feel fully immersed in the local culture, much more so than staying in a densely populated area.
Specifically, we stayed in this Airbnb villa which had a lovely woman running it.
She was happy to help with restaurant and tour bookings, connecting you with locals she knew and liked.
This included Ristorante il Cantuccio Nerano and the courtesy van that picked us up. This is, of course, so that you can drink copious amounts of Costa d’Amalfi Bianco before getting dropped safely back home. The restaurant is perched on stilts over the water and they serve impeccably fresh seafood, allegedly caught by the same man who drives the van.
The Hike That Made Hiring A Car Worth It
The Path of The Gods
A warm welcome from friendly locals in Bomerano
Staying up in the hills with our own wheels meant we had the freedom to explore further afield, without being tied to bus routes and timetables. This ancient walking trail was one such joy, not too far from Positano.
Expect an uphill weave between traditional farms, filled with highland cattle and over-enthusiastic mountain dogs. Originally, the path was carved by locals to get between towns and, today, the path can be a little unclear and uneven. We saw young families doing the hike so it's not impossibly strenuous, but in some parts it really is just a "goat track" to scramble along.
Only two of our crew wanted to do the hike, so the others dropped us off in Bomerano and we hiked to Nocelle, where they picked us up three hours later. An Aperol Spritz went down extremely well by the end of the afternoon.
Luca's Restaurant
Il pranzo at Luca’s Restuarant
This was my favourite meal of our trip. Before starting the Path of the Gods in Bomerano, we stopped off at a totally non-descript, very local restaurant up in the hills.
Luca himself serves you the potatoes he's grown in his garden, and the limoncello his mother has made. The food was fresh, simple and perfect, and the mountain air was just glorious.
A Note on Allergies
As a woman with an autoimmune disease, who can't eat gluten or dairy, you may wonder why on earth I would go to Italy in the first place.
But in reality, coastal areas like Amalfi are incredibly accommodating. Fresh fish is served in abundance, cooked in locally made olive oil, not butter. Steaming pots of mussels were steeped in white wine, garlic and lemon, with gluten-free spaghetti. I didn't even have to ask them to remove the butter; A lot of Italians simply wouldn't dare to mix seafood with dairy, allergies or no.
Daylight robbery in front of the Duomo
A Day of Driving Along Costa d’Amalfi
Stop One: Amalfi City
It's the stunning tourist trap you imagine it to be. An hour-long exploration along the narrow cobbled main street is mesmerising, but stay any longer and you'll pay extortionate parking and get sucked into buying expensive trinkets.
I myself paid 20 Euros to eat a lemon sorbet in front of the Duomo di Sant'Andrea Apostolo. My joyous grin (pictured) was captured just before the bill came out, served by a man missing a finger. Rumour has it, this is a sign of Mafia activity. But it could equally have just been a kitchen accident. Who knows?
Swim Stop: Fiordo Di Furore
A cold dip at Fiordo di Furore
On the road between Amalfi City and Positano is a sumptuous little swim spot, if you’re lucky enough to squeeze into a parking space.
You'll walk down stone steps carved into the cliff and sunbathe on the stones, while you watch locals jump off the rocks (or join them yourself).
Somewhere along this road, we stopped to buy granita and fresh strawberries from a road side stand. The little old man weighed up the fruit, then smiled sweetly at us as he handed over the bag and said “that’s 15 euros”. We were too nice to decline but couldn’t stop complaining about nonno ripping us off for the rest of the trip. Mannaggia!
Stop Three: Positano
En route to the beach in Positano
Now this is the quintessential Amalfi Coast town you were hoping for when you went to Amalfi City. A stroll through the town and down to the beach will make you pinch yourself and say "oh my god, we're actually here".
It's the kind of place where simply walking around with no aim is the best thing to do. But again, expect to pay through the nose for parking, cafés and restaurants.
We browsed boutiques, had a coffee, splashed around at the beach and then moved on before our parking fee could swell any larger.
Ancient bath house in Pompeii
Going Further Afield
Pompeii
To save money on flights, we flew into Amalfi City and out of Naples, meaning we got to stop by Pompeii and, my God, was it incredible.
Pompeii was a very advanced city that was wiped out by the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. This means that the scale and preservation of these ruins is just unbelievable.
You're walking along wide, basalt streets, with grooves worn into the rock where horses and carriages once travelled. Blocks and blocks of houses stretch for miles, with near-perfect frescoes and mosaics still intact on the walls and floors.
Neighbourhoods were complete with amphitheaters, bath houses and wells. It’s simultaneously devastating and awe-inspiring, as you get an unparalleled glimpse into what life might have looked like as an Italian living in the 1st Century AD.
Be warned: there is zero shade and the queues are enormous. They take their entry times very seriously and they couldn’t care less what time you joined the line.
A typical strada in Napoli
Naples
Napoli, Napoli… You've probably heard the mixed reviews about this hectic Italian city. We went with low expectations and had a pretty good time. We stopped for only one night and I'm glad we did: No more, no less. If you can ditch your car before you get into the City, do. If not, may the Lord be with you.
Being the home of pizza, we had to get a slice for dinner. The place we chose was nothing to write home about so I won’t misdirect you by recommending it.
Afterwards, we worked our way through several bottles of Lambrusco, perched on stools outside a grungy little local bar.
But even a dive-y little establishment feels quite romantic when you’re surrounded by locals speaking Italian, in the shadow of their classically styled apartments with tiny little balconies.
And even slipping over feels a little dreamy, when you’re weaving your way home along the steep, limestone lanes. We all laughed, including several local men who saw the incident and offered no help.
An optional squeeze for those without claustrophobia
Underground Tour
On our final morning, we did a walking tour of the Naples underground and this was, unexpectedly, one of my favourite tours I've done anywhere.
When the Romans first established Naples, they built an underground cistern that fed water to the city from over 70km away. This meant that even poor Neapolitans had access to personal wells in their homes (or shared between a few neighbours), way back in the 1st Century BC.
Later, these tunnels saw a lot of action, including becoming an underground bunker for locals during WWII. Tens of thousands of people essentially lived down there, for months at a time.
I’m not even telling you half of the good stuff. The tour truly was incredible. It was run by a non-profit who are maintaining the tunnel network. The guides are super passionate and knowledgeable and it was a very unique experience.
La Dolce Vita
Hiring a villa with your girls in the Amalfi Coast? What a friggen’ dream. Don’t hesitate to snap that up - you won’t regret a moment of it. It’s as lush as the picture in your head, and just a touch more colourful.