Positano

The Town That Only Makes Sense From The Sea

Positano is not built on a hill. It is built down a cliff, in tiers, with one road switchbacking through it and everything else connected by staircases. From a boat it is the most beautiful town on the Italian coast. From inside it, it is several hundred steps between where you are staying and where you want to be. Neither of those facts is a criticism, but only one of them appears in the photographs, and knowing both before you book is the difference between a wonderful week and a frustrating one.

The planning decision: are you comfortable with steps

This is the whole planning conversation here, and it decides everything else. If steps are fine, Positano is glorious and you should stay in the middle of it. If anyone in the party has a knee, a hip, a stroller or simply does not want to earn every meal, then a hotel at the very bottom near the beach or at the very top by the road is the fix, or the base moves to Ravello above Amalfi, which is flat, quiet and looks down on the whole coast. Small boats and the local shuttle help. They do not eliminate the geometry.

Season, and the road

May, June, September and early October are the months. July and August are hot and the Amalfi coast road becomes genuinely difficult, with coaches, scooters and a single lane in each direction carved into a cliff. Some sections are restricted by number plate in high summer. Boats become the sensible way to move, which is also the pleasant way. Easter through mid May is beautiful and quieter. From November many hotels and restaurants close entirely and the town goes back to being a village of a few thousand people.

Where to base, and how you actually get around

Naples is the airport, roughly ninety minutes to two hours by road depending on traffic, and the transfer by private boat from Naples or Sorrento is faster, calmer and far more enjoyable in season. Sorrento is the practical hub for onward connections. From Positano, boats run to Capri in about forty minutes and along the coast to Amalfi. Path of the Gods, the ridge walk above the town, starts from Bomerano and is the best thing anyone does here on foot.

Stay strategy

Le Sirenuse is the great hotel of the coast and its terrace is the reason to book it. Il San Pietro di Positano sits alone on the cliff south of town with a lift down to its own beach platform, which quietly solves the steps problem and is the strongest choice for many travellers. Villa TreVille, in gardens above the sea, is the most private. Casa Angelina, along at Praiano, is white, modern and calmer. In Ravello, Palazzo Avino and Belmond Caruso are the flat, serene alternative with the best views on the coast.

When to begin

Eight to twelve months for the named hotels in June or September, longer for a specific room with a view, because these are small properties with intensely loyal repeat guests. Restaurant tables at the handful of serious places should be booked with the hotel at the time of booking, not on arrival. A boat for a day or for the week is worth arranging in advance, and the good skippers on this coast are spoken for by spring.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• A boat day to Capri, leaving early and being back on the coast before the afternoon crowds, or the Li Galli islands just offshore.
• The Path of the Gods from Bomerano to Nocelle, a few hours of the best coastal walking in Italy.
• Dinner on a terrace at the moment the lights come on down the cliff, which is the memory people actually keep.
• A morning in Ravello for the gardens at Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufolo, which are worth the drive even if you are not staying there.

Who this trip suits

Positano suits couples and honeymoons above all, and it suits confident walkers. It pairs naturally with Capri, Rome or a few nights in Tuscany to make a full Italian trip rather than a single stop.

When another plan may fit better

Families with young children and anyone with limited mobility should look at Ravello or at Puglia, where the coast is flat and the pace is slower. Anyone wanting a beach holiday in the conventional sense should know the beaches here are small, pebbled and busy. And anyone travelling in August should expect the road to shape the day.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

Tell us who is travelling and how you feel about stairs, and we will put you in the right hotel on the right part of the coast, with the boat and the tables already held. Our luxury leisure travel planning builds the full Italian route around it.