Where to stay on the Amalfi Coast? The 5 best towns & areas 🍋

I fell in love with the Amalfi Coast on my first visit, but that came down to very proper travel planning from my hand. The Amalfi Coast is a fantastic place, but what the influencers don’t tell you is that it’s also extremely crowded and (can be) very expensive.

You could also end up booking an expensive hotel in a remote area without much to do.

Travel planning is always essential, but it’s extra important for your upcoming trip to the Amalfi Coast!

In this guide, I’ll share with you which areas on the Amalfi Coast are the best to stay in to get the Italian experience.

I’ve just returned home after a week in Italy, where the trip’s main destination was the Amalfi Coast.

We flew to Fiumicino Airport in Rome, took the train directly to Naples, where we spent the night, and then went to the Amalfi Coast.

Below I will share my personal experiences with the different areas and towns on the Amalfi Coast to answer questions quickly: where to stay on the Amalfi Coast?

Let’s go straight to the best area on the Amalfi Coast.

1 . Amalfi – truly the best place to stay on the Amalfi Coast ⭐ ️

The town of Amalfi has given its name to the holiday area Amalfi Coast, so it is natural to start your research by looking at the main town.

I did the same when I had to find out where we would stay on our trip a few months ago.

I quickly learned that driving a car on the Amalfi Coast can be a decidedly stressful affair. Many advise against renting a car but instead take buses and ferries.

I found this video on Youtube and then decided that we had to make do with ferries 😀

That’s why I chose to look for a place to stay in Amalfi town since from here you can quickly get around to the rest of the coast – and at the same time, the city is packed with restaurants and shops, so I thought it would be an exciting place to stay on our holiday.

And do you know what? I was right – even my girlfriend agreed with me after our trip 😀

See the best-rated hotels in Amalfi here.

Transport to Amalfi is convenient ⛴

We got to Amalfi by ferry from Sorrento in about 2 hours (I’ll get back to Sorrento later in the guide, by the way, what a revelation that town was) and took a ferry on a day trip to Positano (20 min).

When we had to continue north to Rome, we took the ferry to Salerno in 40 minutes, from where you can walk to the central train station in 5 minutes.

Logistically, Amalfi is simply the perfect city to stay in on the Amalfi Coast.

You can get to Amalfi town by ferry, car, public bus and of course taxis.

Is Amalfi town worth it?

We traveled from Sorrento to Amalfi by ferry where you arrive at the port, a few minutes walk from the main town square, Piazza Duomo.

Here we were met by the owner of the apartment we had booked (more on that later) and walked along the main street to our apartment.

There is only one main street in Amalfi, and it is mainly where you find restaurants, ice cream bars, cafes, and shops.

I could imagine that many on a day trip to Amalfi do not go further than the cathedral, the main street, and the waterfront.

We stayed about 10 minutes’ walk from the cathedral, which was enough to get away from the (very) touristy main street, which tells you a little about the fact that Amalfi is actually quite a small town.

I loved sitting on the steps up to the cathedral and enjoying a beer and people-watching at 8 pm when the sun went down.

We stayed in Amalfi for three nights which was just right: one day of arrival, one day on the beach, and one day of excursion to Positano, and then we travelled by ferry to Salerno and went to Rome.

More days in Amalfi would probably have become a bit boring – it’s a surprisingly small town, and you have to be careful when choosing a restaurant since this is one of the most touristic areas of Italy, so the prices have been turned up and the quality down, if you don’t think about it.

A great apartment with kitchen in Amalfi town

So Amalfi may not be a big city, but tourists still flock here from all over the world. This means that there is competition for hotels and holiday apartments.

This also increases the price for an overnight stay, and I have to admit that I was surprised by just how expensive it is to stay in Amalfi.

The hotels were either fully booked or cost hundreds of dollars per night for basic rooms.

So I’d definitely recommend that you book your accommodation on the Amalfi Coast as soon as possible.

See the 10 best hotels in Amalfi here.

I myself was out a few months before we traveled to Amalfi in June and there were plenty of options at good prices, but when we decided not to rent a car it narrowed down.

When you don’t have a car, you naturally either have to be ready to take the bus a lot or stay centrally in one of the towns on the Amalfi Coast.

Cheap accommodation in Amalfi (which isn’t easy to find)

I found a holiday apartment 10 minutes walk from the cathedral, which was almost too good to be true, at a price of around 150 USD per night, which looked very cheap.

However, the place had good reviews from previous guests, so I thought that you must also have a bit of luck as a travel planner 😎

It also turned out to be a perfect apartment, and after a few days in hotels in Naples and Sorrento, it was amazing to have a whole apartment with a kitchen, living room, and bedroom.

My only complaint about the apartment is that there might have been a few kitchen utensils missing, so if we had actually wanted to cook something other than eggs for breakfast, then we would probably have come up a little short.

But when you are in Italy, and there is an excellent pizzeria with the option of takeaway 5 minutes away, it’s not a problem 😀

See more photos of the place and book online here.

2. Positano – the most picturesque place to stay on the Amalfi coast 🙌🏻

The next area on the Amalfi Coast is, of course, Positano.

Before the trip, I started looking for hotels in Positano, as I thought it was the best place to stay on the Amalfi Coast.

Accommodation in Positano is not cheap!

However, the prices turned out insane (I couldn’t find anything under 1000 USD per night), and the idea was quickly shelved.

I was happy about that, as I also read and experienced that Amalfi has more to offer when you have to be there for several days.

That being said, Positano is truly something special and worth a visit.

It is a different experience than Amalfi, as Positano is smaller and more or less only has narrow streets of a meter or two, where there is no room for either cars or scooters.

On the other hand, the streets are filled with souvenir shops, cafes, restaurants and… really, really many one-day tourists who come to Positano to experience the place they have seen so often from home on Instagram and Youtube 😀

As previously mentioned, we took the ferry from Amalfi to Positano, which only took 20 minutes Positano Jet, and found a restaurant from which we could sit and have a view of the entire bay.

On Google Maps, it was only a 10-minute walk from the pier, but it turned out that you arrive at the beach in Positano, and then there is almost nowhere in the city where you don’t have to go uphill.

So it took a little longer, but in return, we got to go through all the small streets – which you can do incredibly quickly.

To be honest, it felt a bit weird to rush through one of the most sought-after places in Europe in 10 minutes.

Positano is small and beautiful

Like Amalfi, Positano is a very small town.

I must admit that I left Positano a little disappointed…

I don’t know what I expected, but it was simply too touristy for my taste.

It was great to spend a few hours in Positano because it’s an insanely beautiful city, but it’s most beautiful when you get there by boat. You can’t see the beautiful backdrop when you’re in the small streets, obviosuly 😀

If you want to stay in Positano at a price worth paying and get a good experience, you must come outside the high season in the summer months.

This probably applies to the entire Amalfi Coast, but even more so to Positano as it is tiny!

See if you can find any good hotel deals in Positano here.

3. Sorrento – my favourite place to stay in the area 🍋

Sorrento is not on the Amalfi Coast but on the “other side” of the peninsula. It is often mentioned in connection with trips to the world-famous coastal area.

This is precisely why we also chose to spend the night in Sorrento on the way from Naples – the city is easy to get to with a 1-hour regional train ride from Naples, and you can quickly get to the Amalfi Coast by ferry or bus.

We took the train from Naples to Sorrento, where you drive past Mount Vesuvius and can also stop off at Pompeii if you want to experience the city that was destroyed by the volcanic eruption back in 79.

The train journey takes just over 1 hour, and the station in Sorrento is right in the center, so you can quickly go to your hotel in the cozy coastal town.

Consider Sorrento as a base for your Amalfi Coast trip

When we traveled from Sorrento towards Amalfi after just one night, we were actually left with the feeling that it was a little too fast.

After the trip, I also have to admit that Sorrento is the city that surprised me the most and, at the same time, is the place I would most like to travel to again.

Other tourists have also discovered Sorrento, which for several decades has been a favorite destination just like (the rest of) the Amalfi Coast.

But because the city is a certain size, you don’t feel the same way you walk around in a real-world Disneyland as it can sometimes feel like in Amalfi and Positano.

There are lots of restaurants, and small cozy streets in the center and it is also possible to find hotels at really good prices with a central location in Sorrento.

I can also recommend going out to Bagni Regina Giovanna, where you will find the most glorious grotto, which (like the rest of Sorrento) has been used as a place of excursion since Roman times.

Sorrento surprised me positively, and I want to encourage you to consider spending a night or two here in the city, which has a few beaches and ferry connections to, e.g., Naples, Capri, and Amalfi.

Our hotel in Sorrento: great for a stay in Sorrento on a budget

As we only had a single night in Sorrento, we chose to spend the night relatively spartanly, even though there are plenty of excellent hotels in Sorrento, which, e.g. has swimming pools and sea views.

See the 10 best hotels in Sorrento here.

However, we wanted to save a little on the overnight stay in Sorrento, so we found a very cheap option called La Rada B&B, which scored top ratings from previous guests and is located a few minutes walk from the station in Sorrento.

Before arrival, there was really good communication from the owners, so we easily found the place, which is inside an ordinary apartment complex in the middle of Sorrento.

It is not really the nicest place to spend the night and I would not recommend it for more nights in Sorrento, but if you are looking for the classic “a place to sleep in the center at a cheap price“, then it is a good offer.

The hosts were nice, the breakfast was really nice and served in the room so we could sit on our little balcony and enjoy it.

A hotel in Sorrento if you’re looking for the best place to stay

I will 100% book into one of the more luxurious hotels with a view over the bay next time I go to Sorrento.

I’ve found this outstanding hotel:

The hotel is located in the city center, has good rooms with a view and this fantastic swimming pool with a sea view. You’ll probably have to save up a bit, but I also think it’s worth the money.

See more photos of the place and book online here.

4 . Ravello – only stay here if you rent a car 🚗

The following recommended area on the Amalfi Coast on the list is mainly for you who rent a car on your trip to the Amalfi Coast or are ready for a bus trip or two.

Ravello is located ‘up in the country, so you can’t jump on a ferry and get to the famous town on the Amalfi Coast.

I’ve talked about how easy it is to get around the Amalfi Coast with ferries, and I’ve told you that the traffic is terrible. It is, but having said that, you also earn considerable freedom by renting a car.

Ravello is very close to Amalfi, so it is also an excellent place to live for those who want to experience more areas on the coast.

See location on map here:

I never made it to Ravello myself, but I’ve read excellent things about the town in the mountains.

It should be an area where you slow down a bit more than in, Amalfi and Positano, where there are always many people.

See the 10 best hotels in Ravello here.

5. Maiori & Minori – best place to stay with children 🏖

5-6 kilometers east of Amalfi town, we find Maiori, which is often described as the best place on the Amalfi Coast if you travel with children.

Together with the sister city of Minori, which is also described as a good area, this place is thus a sensible place to look for hotels. The town has a certain size and is built up with many restaurants, cafes, and shops.

Maiori’s biggest attraction, however, is undoubtedly the beach, which is the longest on the Amalfi Coast, where they are typically relatively small and also enclosed in beach clubs, where you have to buy access to a deck chair for 20-30 euros per day (yes, that’s the price!).

I didn’t visit Maiori, but I would probably have booked a hotel here in town if I hadn’t found the cheap apartment in Amalfi.

There are good connections to Amalfi by bus and ferry (and also ferries for Capri and Salerno).

So you can also stay here if you don’t rent a car on your Amalfi trip.

See the 10 best hotels in Maiori here.

I hope you were able to use this guide to the best areas on the Amalfi Coast, and you are now ready to book your trip to the beautiful holiday area.

If you have any questions about the places or hotels I mentioned in the guide, please comment below, and I will do my best to help with travel planning.