How to Get to the Amalfi Coast from Naples (Without a Car)

The Amalfi Coast is considered one of the most beautiful destinations in all of Italy. However, this tourist hotspot is equally as stunning as it is difficult to reach. If you’re wondering how to get to the Amalfi Coast from Naples (especially without a car) and super confused, I totally get it.

I’ve traveled to the Amalfi Coast myself, and between navigating transportation options and figuring out the best routes, I know how much planning goes into reaching this stunning stretch of coastline. And now that I’ve lived in Italy for almost 2 years, I have personal insight into navigating Italy, so you don’t have to sweat it.

After experiencing the journey firsthand and spending hours researching the different options, I’m sharing what I learned about getting to the Amalfi Coast by train, bus, ferry, or car so you can choose the best route for your trip without the headache!

Let’s dive in.

By car

Possibly the easiest and most convenient option would be to rent a car and drive the 1.5-hour trip from Naples to Amalfi or the 3.5-hour trip from Rome to Amalfi.

You can reserve a car with either manual (stick shift) or automatic transmission, although automatic will be a bit more expensive. Make sure to make that reservation a few months in advance, especially during the busy summer months.

If you’re renting a car, I recommend finding a rental through DiscoverCars. The search filters on DiscoverCars make it super easy to find out which rental company has the lowest deposit and the highest overall ratings. I personally use DiscoverCars every time I need to rent a car.

An alternative is hiring a private car service, which should cost about €100-120 (to or from Naples). It’s probably the most stress-free option, but it’s not the most budget-friendly.

If you’re flying into Naples Airport and need a direct transfer to Sorrento, I recommend booking a private transfer with WelcomePickups. From Sorrento, you can take the ferry to Positano or other cities along the Amalfi Coast.

If you’re already in Naples and just want to go straight to Positano without taking the ferry, I recommend this private transfer on GetYourGuide, which will get you there directly and save you a lot of hassle.

Okay, but what if you don’t want to rent a car during your trip to the Amalfi Coast? Let’s go over the public transit options available.

How to Get to the Amalfi Coast by Ferry

Prior to leaving for our trip, I spent hours and hours figuring out the best way to get from Naples to Positano, our destination on the Amalfi Coast. I looked at Google Maps repeatedly, read TripAdvisor forums, found other blog posts on the topic, and even watched YouTube videos.

Considering cost, convenience, and our tight timeline, here’s what I decided to do: We took a train from Naples to Salerno, then took a ferry from Salerno to Positano.

In my opinion, this is the best route because there are more ferries available daily from Salerno. From Sorrento, there are only 2-3 ferries daily.

I worried that if we missed the last ferry, we’d be stranded in Sorrento for the night. Not a bad place to be stranded by any means, but it would be a costly hiccup.

We’d just spent one day exploring Naples, which was chaotically beautiful and filled with delicious food. On that particular occasion, it was a quick visit to Naples, but so worth it. I highly recommend adding Naples to your travel plans!

Step 1: Reserve your train ticket on Trenitalia

We booked an Intercity train from Naples to Salerno for €18 for two people. On this route, it was only €1 more to sit in first class, so we tried it out. It seems like there is not much of a difference. Quieter, maybe!

Also, side note on trains in Italy: This was an Intercity train that didn’t have WiFi; the high-speed trains (Frecce) do offer free WiFi, although it was pretty spotty on ours.

During the busy summer months, you WILL want to reserve tickets in advance to select a seat and save money. More info on trains in Italy here.

Step 2: Reserve your ferry ticket through TravelMar or another ferry service.

Once we arrived in Salerno, we opted to take the Travelmar ferry instead of the SITA bus – more on the bus further below.

The ferry, rather than the bus, seemed the least complicated and also the most scenic.

What better way to view the rugged and scenic coastline of Amalfi than by boat? Plus, it’s much better from a photographer’s point of view — we didn’t have to worry about glare from a bus window.

Here’s a breakdown of our itinerary:

• 8:45am – Departure from Napoli Centrale – luckily, it ran on time
• 9:20am – Arrival in Salerno
• Brisk walk to the port across the street – a 20-minute connection worked for us, but if the train had been delayed, we definitely would have missed the ferry
• 9:40am – Ferry departure
• 11:15am – Arrival in Positano

If we had missed that ferry, we could’ve been in big trouble. Who knows if the next one had already been fully booked?

We were traveling on a Wednesday in June – even though it was a weekday, the ferry was packed with other tourists like us!

The seats on the top deck were already full, so we worked our way to the front of the boat to get a better view.

Once the ferry reached higher speeds, some seats at the front opened up. Spray from the ocean was pretty overwhelming, but luckily, I’d packed my green raincoat. I braved the sea spray and relished the incredible views.

The ferry made one stop at Amalfi. Passengers got off the boat and some new ones boarded. Then, we were on our way to Positano!

It was 11:15am sharp by the time we arrived.

A 2.5-hour trip from Naples to Positano, most of which was very scenic and enjoyable. The time really flies by when you’re experiencing incredible views in stunning, sunny weather!

How to Get to the Amalfi Coast by Bus

If the ferry isn’t your thing or if it happens to be raining, you could opt to take the bus to the Amalfi Coast instead. More info on the SITA bus, timetables, and where to buy tickets.

The SITA bus operates between Sorrento and Positano and Salerno and Amalfi. You can also take it to other towns along the Amalfi Coast – Ravello, Praiano, etc.

You can get some great views from the bus, but only if you happen to sit on the side that has a view of the coastline.

If you’re going from Sorrento south to Positano and Amalfi, sit on the right side of the bus to look over the Mediterranean. When traveling north, sit on the left side.

It looks like you can only buy tickets on the same day, in person. Look for a “tabaccherie” (cigarette shop), newspaper stand, or bar/café where tickets are sold. In the summer, anticipate long waits and a line to get on the bus.

I don’t recommend taking the bus if you are easily carsick or afraid of heights. There can be some narrow turns and a lot of winding roads getting up to the Amalfi Coast.

Once back on land, we hit the ground running and climbed the steps – with heavy packs on our backs – all the way up to our Airbnb on Via Corvo!

Are you planning a trip to the Amalfi Coast soon? Any questions?

Feel free to leave me a comment or message me on Instagram, and I’ll get back to you!