Ravello

Above The Coast Rather Than On It

Ravello sits about a thousand feet above the Amalfi coast on a ridge between two valleys, and it is the one town up here rather than down on the water. That single fact changes everything about staying in it. It is cooler in August. It is flat, so you walk rather than climb. There are no day boats, no beach crowds and no coast road running through the middle of it. And it has two clifftop gardens, Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone, whose terraces give the best views in southern Italy, which is why Wagner, Greta Garbo, Gore Vidal and a long list of others spent serious time here.

The planning decision: Ravello or down on the water

Positano is more beautiful to look at and much harder to live in, with hundreds of steps between your room and anywhere. Amalfi is the working town at the bottom, convenient and busy. Ravello is the calm one. If your trip is about swimming and boats every day, base on the water and come up here for an afternoon. If your trip is about views, gardens, quiet evenings and using the coast rather than being inside its traffic, base in Ravello and take the shuttle or the car down to the water when you want it, about twenty five minutes to Amalfi. For families, older travellers, and anyone who wants to actually rest, Ravello is usually the better answer and very few people consider it.

Season, and the festival

May, June, September and early October are the best months. Ravello holds its altitude advantage through July and August, when the coast below is heavy with traffic and heat, and it stays several degrees cooler with a breeze. The Ravello Festival runs through the summer, with concerts on the famous stage that cantilevers out over the sea from the Villa Rufolo gardens, and hearing an orchestra up there is one of the genuinely memorable things in Italy. Winter is quiet with many places closed from November.

Where to base, and getting up here

Naples is the airport, about two hours by road, and the drive up from Amalfi is a series of switchbacks that is beautiful and slow. Arriving by private boat to Amalfi and driving the last twenty five minutes up is the calmest way in. Once here, the town is entirely walkable and the main square is closed to traffic, which is a relief after the coast road. Buses and taxis run down to Amalfi regularly, and boats leave Amalfi for Positano, Capri and along the coast.

Stay strategy

Palazzo Avino, the pink palace on the edge of the ridge, is the most complete hotel in town and has its own beach club down at the water with a shuttle. Belmond Hotel Caruso occupies an eleventh century palace with an infinity pool that appears to end at the horizon, and it is the most photographed pool on this coast for good reason. Villa Cimbrone Hotel puts you inside the garden itself, which after the day visitors leave is an extraordinary thing. Villa Maria and Palumbo are the smaller, more traditional choices. Nothing here is large, and that is the character of the place.

When to begin

Eight to twelve months for the two leading hotels in June or September, longer for a specific room with the coast view, because they are small and heavily repeated. Festival concert tickets are released in spring and the best evenings sell. If you want the beach club shuttle and a boat day, arrange both with the hotel at booking rather than on arrival.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• Villa Cimbrone's Terrace of Infinity early in the morning, before the coaches come up from the coast, which is the view people remember for the rest of their lives.
• A concert at the Ravello Festival on the Villa Rufolo stage above the sea.
• A boat day out of Amalfi to Capri or along to the Li Galli islands, using the coast without living in its traffic.
• The walk down the Valle delle Ferriere or the old stepped path towards Atrani, which is a lovely couple of hours and downhill.

Who this trip suits

Ravello suits couples, honeymooners who want calm rather than a scene, families, older travellers and anyone who has been to Positano and found it hard work. It pairs well with Capri, Rome or Puglia for a fuller Italian route.

When another plan may fit better

If you want the sea at your door and a beach day every day, base on the water instead. If you want nightlife, there is essentially none here after ten. And if you have only two nights on this coast, the drive up and back may not earn itself, in which case stay below.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

Ravello is the answer to a question most people do not know to ask, and it solves the Amalfi coast for a lot of travellers. Tell us who is coming and how you like to spend a day. Our luxury leisure travel planning builds the full Italian route around it.