Private Amalfi Coast Day Trip from Naples with Ravello

Sorrento, the gateway to the coast

Sorrento sits on tall tuff cliffs facing the Bay of Naples, with Mount Vesuvius on the horizon. It is the first stop of this Amalfi Coast day trip from Naples, reached in about an hour and a quarter by motorway and the peninsula road. The old town is a grid of lanes dating back to Roman times, with craft shops selling inlaid woodwork and lemon-scented soaps, while the Villa Comunale gardens look straight down on the harbour of Marina Piccola.

Do not miss the Vallone dei Mulini, a deep green gorge right in the centre with the ruins of an old mill at the bottom. Your driver-guide suggests where to walk during the free time, usually around thirty to forty-five minutes, before the road climbs over the ridge of the peninsula and the Amalfi side opens up below you.

Positano, the vertical village

Positano is the picture everyone has in mind: pink, peach and white houses stacked up a steep ravine down to a dark-sand beach, crowned by a church dome covered in green and yellow majolica tiles. The first view comes from the coast road above the village, where we stop for photos with the whole bay in the frame and, on clear days, the Li Galli islands offshore.

With a private Amalfi Coast tour you can also go down into the village. Your driver drops you as close as traffic allows, and you have time to wander the stepped lanes lined with boutiques of linen clothing and handmade sandals, or sit by the Spiaggia Grande. Positano is at its liveliest from May to September; outside those months it is calmer and many shops keep shorter hours.

The Amalfi Drive and its viewpoints

The road that links the villages, built in the nineteenth century and now known as the Amalfi Drive, is one of the most spectacular coastal roads in Europe. It clings to the cliffs for about fifty kilometres, bending around headlands and crossing gorges on high bridges, with the sea directly below. Driving it yourself is stressful; with our driver you simply enjoy the view.

Between Positano and Amalfi the road passes Praiano, perched on a headland, and the narrow fjord of Furore, where a single arch bridge spans a deep cleft in the rock above a tiny beach. Further on is Conca dei Marini and the entrance to the Emerald Grotto. Your driver-guide knows the safe places to pull over, so each photo stop is relaxed and short.

Amalfi, the old maritime republic

Amalfi gave its name to the whole coast. Between the ninth and eleventh centuries it was a powerful maritime republic trading across the Mediterranean, and its sailors helped spread the use of the compass at sea. The cathedral square is the heart of town: a broad staircase leads up to the striped Arab-Norman facade, and next to it the thirteenth-century Cloister of Paradise surrounds a palm garden with interlaced arches.

Amalfi is also known for handmade paper, still produced in the Valle dei Mulini above the town, where a small museum shows the old water-powered mills. Free time here is usually around an hour, enough to visit the cathedral, buy lemon sweets and have lunch by the harbour. Lunch and entrance fees are not included, so you choose exactly what you want.

Ravello, gardens above the sea

Is Ravello worth visiting? For many travellers it is the most beautiful stop of the day. The town sits about three hundred and fifty metres above the sea, reached by a winding road from Amalfi, and it is quieter and greener than the beach villages. Villa Rufolo, begun in the thirteenth century, has terraced gardens and a Moorish-style courtyard with one of the most photographed views of the coast, and it hosts open-air summer concerts.

A short walk away, the gardens of Villa Cimbrone end at the Terrace of Infinity, a balcony lined with marble busts overlooking the whole Gulf of Salerno. Both villas are generally open daily from morning until early evening, with shorter hours in winter; entry is paid on the spot. After Ravello we drive back to your hotel in Naples.