In this 2 Days in Positano itinerary + guide we’ll cover everything you need to know before you go, plus where to eat, where to stay, and things to do in Positano!
After days of hiking in the Dolomites, getting lost in the Venice canals, and learning some awesome history in Matera, we headed to Positano for a relaxing couple of days at the beach. It’s hard to not love Positano and the Amalfi Coast.
The colorful buildings, architecture, cliffs, lemons, and mountain and ocean views instantly put you into vacation mode. It’s unlike any beachy spot we have ever been to and we loved it!
In this 2 Days in Positano guide we will cover our favorite restaurants, beaches, and things to do while exploring this town along the Amalfi Coast!
PS: For more Italy ideas, watch our Italy vlog series and check out the rest of our Italy guides:
Before embarking on your adventure, please review the Leave No Trace principles to ensure you leave every place better than you found it, so that others can enjoy these beautiful places for many years to come!
These seven principles include planning ahead and preparing, hiking and camping on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly (pack out what you pack in!), understanding campfire rules and always fully extinguishing your fires, respecting wildlife, and being considerate of other visitors.
Note: this guide contains affiliate links, which means that if you use the links provided and make a purchase, we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. We will only ever recommend products we truly love, actually use during our adventures, and think you can benefit from too!
Tips for a Great Trip
Positano Tips
- Positano is definitely a bit spendier than other Italian cities. While we tried our hardest to be budget conscious on our trip, our Positano portion was definitely the priciest part of our trip.
- There are TONS of stairs, so if you do not like stairs or are unable to walk up and down many flights, you may not enjoy Positano.
- It gets very hot during the day in the summer. There is no cover and you’ll be getting lots of sunshine, so make sure to wear sunscreen and drink lots of water!
- We found the bus schedule to be inconsistent. They have the bus schedule online and also around town, but the 6:25 AM bus never arrived for us. We learned this after waiting 40 minutes on a street for it.
- Buy your bus tickets in advance! Many spots around town, such as convenience stores and even a spot called Bar Internazionale sell them.
- We did not do this, but you can hire porters to carry your luggage to and from your lodging. We saw some available once getting off the ferry and if you’re staying at a hotel, they can book this for you.
- Lemons are grown in this region, so we highly recommend eating as many lemon treats as possible!
General Italy Tips
- Wake up early to beat the crowds. It’s 100% worth it!
- In Italy, they do not drink lattes (especially flavored ones) or many of the other coffee drinks we are used to in the US. The main drinks to order are: an espresso, macchiato, or a cappuccino (but only before 10:30 AM). We drank lots of macchiatos and loved them! Coffee is also way cheaper than in the US! You also usually drink your coffee and then pay, which is different than we were used to.
- Tipping is not expected in Italy like it is in the US. Some places do charge a small service fee or charge a little more for table service though.
- There is a rumor that gluten and dairy sensitive folks (NOT celiac) can eat gluten and dairy in Europe. Kathryn is gluten free in the US (and doesn’t eat much dairy) and decided to test the theory and felt fine the whole trip (and we ate a TON of gluten)!
- If you’re driving, make sure to get an International Driving Permit. You can get this from AAA for only $20. Make sure to bring your actual driver’s license with you too!
- We highly recommend getting an internet plan for your phone or SIM card. Relying solely on wifi can be a bit stressful at times and it’s worth the cost to be able to use your phone freely. We also suggest downloading offline Google Maps so you can use maps without eating up data.
- Buy an adapter before you go! Also, make sure your hair dryer and straightener (and other electrical items) are dual voltage. We took this hair dryer and this straightener with us during the trip and they worked great!
- None of our Airbnb’s had keypads so we had to meet the hosts in person, which wasn’t a huge deal, but this can be a tad trickier if you arrive somewhere late so keep that in mind. You also have to pay a tourist tax for all Airbnbs (this should be in their listing) and they will ask to see your passport, so don’t be alarmed when they ask!
- Bring Euros! We used Euros WAY more than we thought we would. We took out some Euros at our bank beforehand to ensure we had some on hand, but then used bank ATMs the rest of the trip (the ones in actual banks, NOT the ones just on the street in the big cities—those will charge you massive fees).
We ended up spending around 500 Euros in cash over two weeks. In the smaller cities, don’t expect everywhere to take a credit card, but even in some of the larger cities, some gelato spots or restaurants only took cash. You also need some coins handy if you want to use public restrooms.
- If you’re staying at Airbnbs and need somewhere to store your bags, we recommend checking out Luggage Hero. We have used this in many cities and it is a huge help!
- Sometimes restaurants/coffee shops/gelato spots weren’t open when Google said they would be (and we never knew why). We ran into this issue in almost every city, both big and small. We learned to not trust Google for hours and to not get too set on going somewhere because there was a chance it wouldn’t actually be open. Being flexible is key!
- Last, but not least, get travel insurance! We recommend using SafetyWing, which is travel medical insurance that will cover you outside of your home country for however long you need it. We have purchased their Nomad Insurance plan for international trips, which not only gives us travel medical insurance, but also provides coverage for lost baggage and travel delays. We hope to never have to use it, but it gives us great peace of mind to have it!
When to visit Positano
When to visit the Amalfi Coast depends a bit on the goals of your trip. Are you wanting to lay out on the beach? Or do you prefer to just go on hikes, walk around town, and soak up the views? Or both?
Although the Amalfi Coast never gets too cold, the winter months can be a bit chillier, so if you want to enjoy the beaches, we’d suggest not visiting during the winter. However, if you just want to explore the towns and see the beautiful scenery, the winter can be a great time to visit, as prices and crowds will be lower.
One important thing to know is that some shops and restaurants close in the winter, so we’d suggest checking the hours in advance to make sure you won’t miss out on any places you want to visit!
April-October is an amazing time to visit Positano! The weather will be warm enough to visit the beach, with the summertime being the ultimate beach weather.
We visited in July and it was pretty dang hot out (we were drenched in sweat from the heat and stairs!) and the crowds were a bit crazy, so if you want warmer weather (but not too hot) and some solitude, we suggest visiting in April, May, September, or October.
Getting to Positano
There are a handful of ways to get to Positano. There is no airport or train station in the town, so you have to arrive to a different destination first and then take additional transportation.
- From Salerno: Take the ferry to Positano. This was how we got there and it was incredible! The views from the boat were gorgeous and you get to see some other towns on the Amalfi Coast along the way. We booked ours through Travelmar. We almost missed the boat because it did not say Travelmar on it and we got confused. Oops!
- From Naples: Naples is the closest major city to Positano. If you’re arriving from Northern Italy, this will likely be where you will connect to get to Positano. You have a couple options from here:
- Take the train to Salerno and then the ferry to Positano (the same ferry as our first bullet point)
- Book a private shuttle
- Drive, but we hear it is a bit scary to drive in Naples and we don’t think you need a rental car in Positano–more on that below.
- Take the train to Salerno and then the ferry to Positano (the same ferry as our first bullet point)
- From Sorrento: If your starting point is Sorrento, you can take a Sita bus to Positano, which is about a 45-55 minute ride.
Where to Stay in Positano
We stayed at an Airbnb during our trip and LOVED it! We had ocean views, a kitchen to cook in, laundry (a must for us after one week of traveling!), and AC for a lot less than some of the hotels we saw. We had to walk up a bunch of stairs to get to it, but it was worth it!
- Airbnb Option #1 (where we stayed): A 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment with amazing views!
- Airbnb Option #2: A 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment with ocean views
- Airbnb Option #3: A 1 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with views
- Airbnb Option #4: A 1 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with both hillside and ocean views
If you prefer hotels, check out: Hotel Pupetto, Residence Villa Yiara, and Casa Guadagno. Warning: hotels are VERY pricey in Positano!
Getting Around Positano
Although there are tons of stairs in Positano, walking is the best option in our opinion. You could rent a car or a Vespa, but the roads are very narrow and windy, making driving a bit tricky sometimes when sharing the road with buses and even other cars. It also would be pretty hard to park in Positano, although people do it.
We took the bus from where the ferry dropped us off (a kind local helped us find the way) and we took the bus to the Path of the Gods and to Meta (where we connected to a train to eventually get to Rome) and that worked great, minus the schedule confusion we mentioned above.
Positano Itinerary
We felt that 2 days in Positano was enough to see it all, but if you love to just lounge around on the beach for days (we aren’t huge lay on the beach all day type of people), you may want to stay longer! There are also SO many ways to extend your time on the Amalfi Coast, which we will cover in the “If you have extra time…” section.
Day 1
- Grab coffee, breakfast, and a picnic lunch at Latteria. We loved this little spot! It’s a small market with a deli set up in the back where you can get premade food (that is delicious!), coffee and pastries, and sandwiches for lunch. Their sandwiches are massive and super delicious. We recommend enjoying a coffee and pastry there and then grabbing a sandwich or some of the other food items to take to the beach for lunch later!
- Spend time laying out on the main beach (Spiagga Grande). This is the beach that is right in the heart of town. It has a free area and also a paid area (around €20 a person…yikes). We ended up sitting in the free area and although it’s rocky, it wasn’t bad! That area filled up fast, so get there early!
- After laying out for a bit, grab some lemon sorbet in a lemon from The Brasserie. This is a bit spendy (a common theme in Positano), but delicious! And super fun to eat out of a lemon. To find this spot, look for the Covo dei Saraceni hotel and right below it on the right you’ll see a white cafe. They sell the lemons filled with sorbet inside!
- Walk around town for a bit and check out the shops.
- We recommend spending the rest of the afternoon at Fornillo Beach. This beach is a pretty quick walk from town and in our opinion, much better than the main one (however, we recommend checking out both!). It was less busy and felt more local and there was more room to lay out. The chairs are cheaper to rent too!
- If you get hungry, there’s a spot called Da Ferdinando right on the beach with affordable food and a view! They can also shuttle you from the main beach area to the restaurant during certain hours.
- If you get hungry, there’s a spot called Da Ferdinando right on the beach with affordable food and a view! They can also shuttle you from the main beach area to the restaurant during certain hours.
- Freshen up and go to dinner at La Tagliata. This is a family run restaurant up in the mountains above Positano. There isn’t a menu and they serve you a 5 course meal with appetizers, pastas, meats, and dessert. Our friends recommended this spot and said it was a huge highlight of their trip and we agree!
A few things to note: You will need to make a reservation in advance, as it’s pretty popular, and if you do not have a car or Vespa, it’s a bit tricky to get to. They do offer a shuttle for dinner and will come pick you up from your hotel or near your Airbnb.
This is what we did and it was a bit of a disaster to be honest–we waited 40 minutes and the shuttle ride back wasn’t super smooth either (we had to wait a bit). But despite the shuttle fiasco, the dinner, views, and service were incredible and we still highly recommend it!
Day 2
- Wake up early for a big day hiking the Path of the Gods (Il Sentiero degli Dei)! This is a ~7 km (4.35 miles) hike up in the mountains of the Amalfi Coast. It is by far our favorite thing we did in Positano! The views are gorgeous and the hike is not too strenuous until the end.
However, it can be a bit tricky to get to the start of the hike, so we wanted to share some step by step instructions of how to get there from Positano so you don’t make any mistakes (like we did).
Note: you can also start this hike from Positano (but it would be longer and require more stairs) and Praiano.
- Purchase your bus tickets the day before. You cannot buy them on the bus and it may be hard to buy them the morning of depending on what time you catch the bus. We bought ours from the Tabaccheria near our Airbnb and we know Bar Internazionale also sells them. Make sure to tell them you’re going to the Path of the Gods so you get the two bus tickets you need.
- On the morning of, take the Sita bus from Positano to Amalfi. We got on at C Nuoava, but there are a couple other stops in town. Amalfi is the last stop so it’ll be clear when you need to get off. As we have mentioned a few times, the 6:25 AM bus never arrived for us, so be prepared to have delays or issues with the bus. You can check the bus schedule here.
- Right when you get off the bus, look for the Agerola (Bomerano) bus. If you did forget to get the second bus ticket, you can get them right where the bus drops you off, but be careful, sometimes the buses are timed close together and you may miss the Bomerano bus (like we did when we couldn’t find our second bus ticket). The next one didn’t come for us for a couple hours.
If you do happen to have time to kill between buses, we went to Pasticceria Andrea Pansa in Amalfi for coffee and a lemon delight and it was a great plan B option! - When you get on the Agerola (Bomerano) bus, confirm with the driver it’ll take you to the Path of the Gods. They usually do not announce the stops, but they did announce the stop for the Path of the Gods. We also had a local help us know where to get off and we looked at Google Maps to see when we were close to Bomerano.
- Once you get off the bus, it’s a quick walk to the trailhead. But we recommend grabbing coffee or a snack in Bomerano. This will not only give you fuel for the hike, but also give you a staggered start on the trail from the others getting off the bus at the same time. There is a cafe right when you get off the bus that was great! (We cannot remember the name and cannot seem to find it on Google, but it’s right there!)
- The hike takes a few hours depending on your speed and how often you stop for breaks. We brought a picnic lunch with us and recommend doing that as well! The trail is very exposed, so make sure to bring sunscreen!
- The trail ends in Nocelle and shortly after you reach the little town you’ll find this spot called Lemon Point. Their fresh lemonade was the perfect treat after a hot hike!
- To get back to Positano, continue down the path through Nocelle to the most challenging part of the hike: ~1,700 steps down to Positano. It wasn’t that bad and the views are amazing the whole time!
- Once you finish the stairs, you’ll come out onto the main road on the Amalfi Coast. You can take a bus back to Positano, but we walked, which seems a tad scary at first since the road is pretty tight, but if you walk facing oncoming traffic and move between parked cars when cars pass, it’s not bad and the walk is beautiful!
- Purchase your bus tickets the day before. You cannot buy them on the bus and it may be hard to buy them the morning of depending on what time you catch the bus. We bought ours from the Tabaccheria near our Airbnb and we know Bar Internazionale also sells them. Make sure to tell them you’re going to the Path of the Gods so you get the two bus tickets you need.
- Once you get back to your Airbnb or hotel, rest a bit! We were pretty tired after the hike due to the heat and all of the steps.
- For dinner, we recommend going somewhere in town with a view! We really enjoyed Il Tridente. The service was incredible, the food was delicious, and the view was beautiful! This is not a cheap restaurant, but we decided to splurge a bit in Positano to get the full experience. We recommend getting a reservation for sunset!
If you have extra time…
FOOD
ACTIVITIES
- Go on a kayaking tour
- Take a sunset boat ride
- Tour a lemon grove or take a lemon cooking class!
- Music on the Rocks, a club built into a cave
- Take a day (or more) trip to Capri. We really wanted to do this, but didn’t have enough time. You can find instructions on how to get to Capri here.
- Explore more areas of the Amalfi Coast. We enjoyed our accidental couple hours in Amalfi!
- Visit Naples. We have heard mixed things about Naples, some have told us that it can be a tad dirty, but we hear the food, especially the pizza, is excellent!
- Take a trip to Vesuvius National Park or to Pompeii
Ready to explore beautiful Positano?
Pin this 2 Days in Positano guide to help plan your trip!
This part of the trip sounded absolutely wonderful!
It was amazing! A nice mix of city + nature!
Just finished watching your Positano vlog and wow! amazing views! In total, how long was the hike?
It was definitely a big highlight of our Italy trip! SO gorgeous!!! I think from the start of the trail to back to our Airbnb in Positano, we walked a total of 8km/~5 miles. The start of the trail to the bottom of the steps in Positano (where I believe you can take a bus to your final destination) is around 5.7km/3.5 miles.
The Path of Gods Hike is exactly what I want to do. I considered a guided tour because getting to Boomerano seems complicated for silly tourists like myself and the wife. But none of the guided tours transport you from Positano to Boomerano, so we might as well do it ourselves and hike at our own pace. Your detailed bus instructions make it seem like we can do it. Thanks for the blog and the video. We are going in early October so hopefully it will not be so hot like it was for you guys. Our AirBnB is also high up, even higher than the C Nueva bus stop, so hiking down the stairs from the end of the hike and then back up thru town to our AirBnB will likely be the killer part of the hike.
It definitely is a bit complex to get to, but I think it helps it stay slightly less overrun by tourists. Hopefully these tips still apply in 2022! We did this hike back in 2019 and tried to make this as helpful as we could!