Italy has so many special things, beautiful from the coastal fishing villages to the ancient cities that bring in themself with long-standing cultural, artistic and historical values that nowhere can be found. If you’re talking about a very different Italian place, besides Rome or Venice which are so familiar, it definitely must be Positano, the romantic city in the Amalfi Coast. The photos of Positano on Instagram made me fall in love at the first sight. Let’s joining us to explore Positano, the romantic, vibrant and so beautiful of Italy through our Positano blog (Positano travel blog) with the fullest Positano travel guide (Positano tourist guide, Positano visitor guide) for a wonderful trip to Positano on a budget from best time to visit, top things to do, where to stay to what to eat, day trips from Positano… for the first time to Positano below.
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The small city with a few hundred houses overlooking the sea is just over 3.000 people, but many travel books written about Italy say it is the most photographed coastal city in the world.
The Amalfi Coast is quite isolated from the outside, with no local trains passing by (unlike the Cinque Terre still having trains running through the villages). There are famous and beautiful tourist spots such as Positano, Sorrento, Amalfi or Capri island. But the most beautiful and most famous is still Positano with colorful houses, hang on the cliffs facing the deep blue sea.
Positano travel guide: When is the best time to visit Positano?
The best season to travel to Positano is August and September, when the weather is quite pleasant and sunny all day. The winter months will be less touristy, cold sea water will be difficult to bathe. If you go in August, do not miss the Assumption of Our Lady Day festival, which will take place on August 15, and there will be activities before this day taking place in the Bay of Positano and maybe fireworks in the evening.
In Positano, it can be seen that has very few Chinese visitors, almost negligible, only see beautiful boys and beautiful girls in Europe. Everything is very Western, style and style is slightly more “noble”, “royal” than other places. You will meet a lot of couples on colorful cars, players like “The Gatsby”, or Paris Hilton-style girls on the street.
Positano blog: How to get to Positano from Naples
There are many ways to get to Positano, depending on the affordability and convenience you want. However, most options start from Naples – the large city nearest Positano. If you fly or take a train from other countries or cities in Europe, you will need to go to Naples and then continue to move to Positano.
Naples (also known as Napoli in Italian), is a large Italian city about 2.5-3 hours from Positano. Below are some ways to get from Naples to Positano.
Take the train from Naples to Sorrento and then catch the bus to Positano
This is probably the most economical way but also the longest and most difficult way. You can go to Naples Central Station, buy train tickets to Sorrento. After down at Sorrento station you will see the bus just outside the station, buy a ticket and go to Positano. Note that Naples train to Sorrento is a local train, bad, quite crowded, noisy and stops at a lot of stations. The total time spent in this way takes about 2.5 hours with a cost of EUR10/person, no need to buy tickets in advance and you probably won’t have seats both on the train and the bus on the peak season.
Take the bus/taxi, or rent a self-driving car from Naples to Positano
There is a shuttle bus runs directly between Naples and Positano, with price of EUR30-35/person and pick-up and drop-off at hotel or airport/Naples central station, every 1 hour/trip. If you want faster and more convenient you can rent a private transfers separately, with a maximum price of 3 people for EUR120-150/way.
Another option for those who want to experience the maximum, is you can rent a car from Naples (or from Rome or anywhere in Europe) go to straight to Positano. Note that the road in the central area is very small, if you are not familiar easy to get stuck in traffic, and it is difficult to find parking space as well as the fee for sending cars in Positano is very high at EUR4-5/hour, there is no space for parking free.
Positano travel blog: Getting around Positano
Positano is not really big, it is like a town (or also called a fishing village) on the steep cliffs. So it is most convenient way to getting around Positano is by foot. If you take a bus from Sorrento to Positano, the bus will stop at the point above the highway, from here you can walk into the center (about 0.5-1km).
In addition, if you are lazy to walk, in the center of Positano also has a round-trip bus to serve tourists. You notice that the road in the center is very small, so the vehicles are only allowed moving in one way. Bus too, they will take a turn around Positano with only one way. Bus tickets must be purchased before boarding, the driver here does not sell tickets, including tickets to go around town and tickets to travel between Sorrento – Positano – Amalfi Coast.
Another means you might consider is to hire a Vespa to moving around the city. However, the rent price is truly in the sky, I went to ask a store and they offered a price of EUR70/day, shaking my head and sticking my tongue out!
In general, prices in Positano are very expensive and the price of means of transportation here also are very high. If you pay attention, you can see that taxi or car pick up or drop off visitors are all high-class vehicles, mostly Mercedes and Audi. If it’s the first time to Positano, or simply just see photos on Instagram, you’ll be mesmerized by the charming color of Positano. The pure, noble color, and it seems that Positano is a familiar destination for many rich people, a tourist destination whose price is the most expensive in Italy, even higher than Venice.
Positano blog: Where to stay in Positano?
Positano is an area quite isolated from the outside world, because it is far from other towns and cities. So it is definitely that you will have to book a hotel room in the center of Positano and can not rent in a nearby location and visit Positano in a day. Having traveled to Positano, you have to spend at least 2 nights here to experience, it is enough.
I rented 2 nights in a small apartment on Airbnb, because I rented quite close to the day I depart, so I didn’t have many options. My room is actually a 2 bedroom apartment, can accommodate 4 people, extremely spacious. You can refer to Airbnb here, Francesco – the host – quite young, friendly, welcoming and very detailed room guide. Looking at photos on Airbnb, it is quite shabby, but when checking in, it cannot be criticized, spacious and comfortable, with all necessary items.
The apartment is located on the main road, in the middle of the town, if you getting to Positano by bus, it takes about 20 minutes by foot from stop point on the highway, and it takes about 20 minutes to walk to the main beach of Positano. If you getting to by private car, Francesco will show you an overnight parking spot nearby for only EUR20/night.
Also if you want to stay in more luxurious hotels and resorts, you can refer to the hotels below
Le Sirenuse Hotel, 5 star-hotel with a beautiful view (this hotel needs to book early because it often runs out of rooms). Le Sirenuse has a swimming pool and a large balcony that overlooks Positano beach, this is a place where lots of hot Instagrammers, celebs choose to stay when they visiting Positano. The price of 1 night here can be equal to the whole month elsewhere. The room rates from $726. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
The Il San Pietro di Positano hotel, however, it is not located in the center but rather isolated, a completely private and high-end cliff hotel. San Pietro still has a straight view of Positano’s beach but a further view with room price from $518. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
Hotel Poseidon, one of the hotels belongs the famous chain of Poseidon hotels, is located right on the main road. With the main light tone, Poseidon brings a noble, luxurious yet equally gentle and romantic feeling. Walking in the neighborhood, you will see Poseidon’s shuttle bus pick up and drop off tourists very much with room rates from $284. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
Some mid-range and budget hotels with good reviews in Positano you can refer to
Hotel Reginella (Address: Viale Pasitea, 154, 84017 Positano SA, Italy), 3-star property, with room rates from $199.51/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
Pensione Maria Luisa (Address: Via Fornillo, 42, 84017 Positano SA, Italy), 2-star property, with room rates from $104.95/night.(Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
Hotel Savoia (Address: Via Fornillo, 42, 84017 Positano SA, Italy), 3-star property, with room rates from $347.72/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
Hotel Royal Prisco (Address: Viale Pasitea, 102, 84017 Positano SA, Italy), 3-star property, with room rates from $136.52/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
Hotel La Bougainville (Address: Via Cristoforo Colombo, 25, 84017 Positano SA, Italy), 3-star property, with room rates from $131.64/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
Hotel Montemare (Address: Viale Pasitea, 119, 84017 Positano SA, Italy), 4-star property, with room rates from $245.69/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).