Private Amalfi and Ravello Day Trip from Positano

The Amalfi Coast road from Positano

The day starts in Positano and follows the Amalfi Coast road (the Amalfitana), carved into the cliffs in the nineteenth century and today part of the UNESCO-listed landscape of the coast. East of Positano the road winds above Praiano and its ridge of Capo Sottile, crosses the high bridge over the fjord of Furore and passes Conca dei Marini, where a lift leads down from the road to the Emerald Grotto. Every bend opens a new view of terraces, watchtowers and turquoise coves.

Public buses on this road are often full in summer and stop only at fixed points, and car parks in the towns are scarce. With a private driver you can sit on the sea side, stop for photos at the lay-bys and leave the bends to someone who drives them every day. The stretch from Positano to Amalfi takes about forty minutes without traffic, longer in July and August.

Amalfi town, heart of the old republic

Amalfi gave its name to the whole coast. Between the ninth and the twelfth centuries it was one of the great Maritime Republics, trading with Constantinople and the ports of North Africa, and its sea laws were followed across the Mediterranean. The cathedral, reached by a wide flight of steps from Piazza Duomo, mixes Arab-Norman and Byzantine styles, with a striped façade, a bronze door cast in Constantinople and the elegant Cloister of Paradise.

In your free time in Amalfi town you can climb to the cathedral, sit by the fountain in the square, follow the main street up towards the Valley of the Mills, where Amalfi's handmade paper was produced for centuries, or walk out along the harbour wall for a view back at the town. The best time to visit Amalfi is the morning, before the day-trippers arrive, which is easy to arrange with an early start time.

Ravello, the town above the sea

From Amalfi the road climbs through the Dragone valley to Ravello, perched about 350 metres above the sea on a ridge between two valleys. In the Middle Ages its merchant families grew rich on trade with the East and built palaces, churches and gardens; today it is the most peaceful and elegant town on the coast, with a car-free main square and views that stretch from the lemon terraces down to the Gulf of Salerno.

How to get to Ravello? It is about twenty minutes by road from Amalfi, with no train and only a small bus up the hill, which makes a private Ravello tour from Positano by far the easiest way. The cathedral on the main square, founded in the eleventh century, has a fine bronze door and a carved marble pulpit decorated with mosaics. Is Ravello worth visiting? For the views and the calm after busy Amalfi, absolutely.

Villa Rufolo and its gardens

Villa Rufolo stands just off Ravello's main square. It was built in the thirteenth century by the Rufolo merchant family and still keeps its square entrance tower, a cloister with interlaced Moorish arches and a tall main tower. Below, the gardens are laid out on terraces above the sea, with flower beds, palms and pines framing the famous view of the coast towards Maiori and Minori. In summer, concerts are held on a stage that seems to float over the cliff.

Our driver stops close to the villa, and you can visit it during your free time; the entry ticket is not included and is bought at the gate. Allow about forty-five minutes to an hour for the towers, the cloister and the garden terraces. Villa Rufolo opening hours are long in summer and shorter in winter, so a morning or early-afternoon start time gives you the most flexibility.

Villa Cimbrone and the Ravello viewpoints

If you still have time in Ravello, a lane of about fifteen minutes on foot leads past old houses and gardens to Villa Cimbrone, at the tip of the ridge. Its long garden avenue ends at the Terrace of Infinity, a balcony lined with marble busts that hangs over the sea; many travellers call it the most beautiful view on the Amalfi Coast. Entry is separate and paid on site.

Closer to the square, the small viewpoints around the cathedral and along the lanes look down over Atrani, Minori and the lemon groves. The best time to visit Ravello is late spring and early autumn, when the gardens are in flower and the air is clear. When you are ready, your driver takes you back down to the coast road and returns you to your pickup point in Positano.