Clinging to the cliffs of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Amalfi and Positano are more than just pretty towns. They’re a plunge into the beating heart of the Italian mystique. Steep and history-packed, Amalfi is a study in contrast to the slim, achingly cool terraces and beaches of Positano. Which one truly belongs at the top of your list of the ultimate Italian escape? Cut past the photo-op sea views and the ancient cultural tapestries of this Amalfi Coast double-act. Let’s compare the views, the vibes and the visitor perks of these two jewels in the crown of the Amalfi Coast to see which one might fit the bill of the Italian daydream in your imagination.
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Is Amalfi or Positano Better?
In short, if you’re looking for gloss – high-end boutiques, haute cuisine and a nightlife as polished as the cliffside views – Positano is the place to go. It’s an enclave for the jet-set, with Instagram-ready moments around every corner. But if you’re more flip-flops than stilettos, the town of Amalfi is your ticket to sprawling historic ruins, and the candy-colored streets swaddle it in the most authentic of Italian aromas. (It’s also more forgiving on the wallet and, despite the fact that it is the first port of call for tourists, it has plenty of postcard-perfect views of its own, and a cuisine that is rooted in tradition.) Whether your style is high-octane or low-drama, the entire Amalfi Coast has a town (or 10) that can pitch a perfect Italian escapade.
Amalfi vs. Positano: What's Your Flavor?
Which is better, Amalfi or Positano? On the Amalfi Coast of Italy, two great holiday towns vie for visitors’ affections. They face each other across a narrow stretch of sea and more than a millennium of history. Each has its own atmosphere, so the answer really depends on what you want from the trip.
Amalfi: A Slice of History
Perched on a cliff overlooking the spectacular coastline of southern Italy, Amalfi is every bit as atmospheric as it is beautiful. And at the heart of its colorful, medieval past is the Duomo di Sant’Andrea. The cathedral, more than any other building in the town, presides over the piazza with its imposing stairway and facade. In their cloisters and with their relics and memorials, its interiors are every bit as much a reminder of the town’s glorious past.
It’s only across the water from here, the Arsenale di Amalfi, a reminder of the town’s maritime past that still lives on, the halls of which have been converted into a museum of its former seafaring glory.
For the flâneur who seeks the liminal space where nature and history intersect, the Valle delle Ferriere is a gift. The valley’s rich ecosystem is only part of the reward; here, there are also the fragments of old paper mills, relics of Amalfi’s place in the history of papermaking.
Positano: The Siren of the Amalfi Coast
Positano jumps off the pages of travel lore with chromatic abandon in paintings and photographs that often struggle to contain its hue. A town built vertically, its roads snaking in and out like a maze of sharp turns and vertiginous vistas, Positano is alive with activity – its exteriors a profusion of painted homes, quirky boutiques and welcoming cafés, all of which invite you to turn that corner.
The Campanile as seen from the Church of Santa Maria Assunta stands sentinel over Positano. Inside the church are a number of sacred artworks which reveal much about the town and its ancient spiritual culture.
For the wild at heart, Positano is the gateway to the Sentiero degli Dei, or Path of the Gods, an epic footpath that snakes the Amalfi Coast’s craggy cliffs, not only testing your thigh muscles but also your soul with a living procession of memories from the landscape’s mythic past.
Shopping and Local Flavors
The shopping is as unusual as the destination: wander Amalfi’s winding streets and you’ll find store after store of hand-painted ceramics, all of it tiny masterpieces, the spirit of the Mediterranean — big, hot colors and patterns that somehow look as though they’d spilled directly from a palette — distilled into clay. Amalfi itself.
And then there’s limoncello, the sweet bite of the shore - it's a moment, steeped in the zest of the local lemons that seem to have caught the sun in their skins, so you must stop in any one of the shops to be poured a little sunshine and offered a vast array of lemon goodies.
Accessibility of Amalfi and Positano
Amalfi and Positano are beautiful, but don’t let my lyrical reverie mislead you – they’re not as easy to navigate, not with a wheelchair or a stroller, especially if you’re starting out from Positano, which is Amalfi’s baby sister on the other side of the peninsula. The town itself is a steep climb (as is pretty much all of Positano) with endless steps to scale. For those who aren’t fully mobile, or for those traveling with small children, this is a tough climb. Amalfi is the middle sibling, and it’s a decent base from which to jump from one town to the next, the streets themselves a bit more manageable for the infirm.
SITA Bus System: Connecting the Coast
The SITA bus system: it’s the arteries pulsing through the veins of the Amalfi Coast, ferrying locals and tourists to and fro: from Sorrento to Salerno, Naples, and the vertiginous hamlets of Amalfi and Positano. A blessing to the Amalfi Coast if you don’t have wheels of your own. They come often enough, but prepare yourself if you’re heading out during tourist high-tide: space is tight and a seat is a luxury, not a right.
Ticket Information
To buy your tickets for the SITA buses that wind up and down the Amalfi Coast, head to any of the town’s usual suspects: tabacchi, bars, newsstands. You can also buy tickets directly from the bus drivers, at least since last year when the rules changed. It does cost a little extra for the convenience. And if you’re going to be doing a lot of bus trips, think about the COSTIERASITA 24-hour ticket. It will get you as many rides as you want, all-day long, for a single set price.
Navigation Tips
This is a mass-tourist destination, especially in the balmy summer months, so the single-lane roads mean the SITA bus timetables are more a guide than gospel. Your best shot at a seat is to start your journey at the larger hubs such as Sorrento. And those timetables: they look as if they are striving to map it all, but they can be cryptic. Plan ahead.
Alternative Transport Options
If the thought of the sardine can experience on a bus puts you off, then the ferries are a good choice. They ply the coast from April to October, linking up the main centers of interest and offering a view that is hard to top – though you pay the price for the pleasure.
Is Positano More Expensive Than Amalfi?
Beautiful Positano will ruin you with its plush pads and gourmet restaurants, but Amalfi’s a bit easier on the buck, and its views of the Amalfi Coast just as staggering. Spend it or save it: go big in Positano for the full-on high life, or embrace the authentic local vibe in Amalfi – either way, you’re in for an unforgettable escape.
Analysis of Accommodation Costs
Prices in Positano are scarcely shy about its luxury, averaging more than $400 a night. It’s the place to go on the Amalfi Coast when wallets are lighter and views are darker, when you are paying for the view. A little further down, the cooler Amalfi is as inexpensive as it wants to be, with lodging around $175 a night. Positano costs an arm and a leg more for those picture-perfect views, but whether you’re in to cash in your chips for a splurge or just counting your euros, everyone can have their cake in both towns.
Comparison of Dining Costs
A seafood pasta in Positano costs you between 18 to 30 euros; in the posher spots, you pay at the top end of the euro. Amalfi is a little less high-end but it’s all in the same league. You can – however – score a deal that rates a bit lower than the norm. Positano’s restaurants are all about the red-carpet-and-champagne vibe, their prices reflecting their status.
Transportation Costs
Cruising the Amalfi Coast needn’t empty your wallet, if you opt for the bare-bones experience. The SITA bus trundles from town to town for around 3 euros per leg. Ferries from the shore take you out to sea, depending on your destination, for between 15 and 20 euros. Both Positano and Amalfi are served by these ferry routes, so unless you’re obsessed with which cliffs you’ll see from the water, you won’t be dumping too much money into the Amalfi tourism economy. Similarly priced, regardless of which pretty rainbow you’re chasing.
Activity Costs
Views are only part of the Positano purchase: with the scenery come chic restaurants and beach lounges, swanky galleries, all at a premium. A 30-euro beach chair at Spiaggia Grande is part of the deal. In Amalfi, you can stick to the shoestring with a visit to the Cathedral or the Paper Mills Museum for a dose of history, no price tag required. But both sites give you options for excursions by boat, and how much you are willing to spend is dependent on how fancy you want your day on the water to be.
What is the Prettiest Town in the Amalfi Coast?
Every town, as you drive along the serrated edge of the Amalfi, has its own magnetism, its own reasons for claiming the title of "Prettiest". The tilt and tumble of Amalfi’s streets, the chest-heaving, shoulder-straining drama of Positano’s cliffs, the silent vistas from Ravello: the Amalfi Coast’s patchwork of views, its heterogeneous splendors, are all part of the legend – part of what make a slice of Italy so remarkably, indelibly beautiful.
The Historical Patchwork of Amalfi
Amalfi’s story is one of the folds on an ancient nautical chart. Having formed as a Roman outpost, the town expanded with Byzantine feathers before taking off as a maritime powerhouse in the 9th century. During its golden era, Amalfi stood side by side with Venice, Genoa and Pisa, its ships a common sight across the Mediterranean. Amalfi’s wealth and vantage point also brought a flourishing cultural exchange, with Middle Eastern and North African fabrics finding their way into its building styles and traditions.
But tides – and fortunes – turned: a savage Pisan raid of 1135, followed by nature’s own outbursts, swept Amalfi from the center-stage, yet the will of Amalfi continued, rising like a phoenix from the rubble. No longer the mighty sea port, it became a sleepy haven of what it is today – a city coveted by artists, writers and wanderers, all enticed by its history and the ethereal beauty of its landscapes.
Architectural Wonders of Amalfi
The Cathedral of Saint Andrew
The Cathedral of Saint Andrew looms over the Piazza Duomo in Amalfi like an extraordinary form of modernism, all the more striking for its position as one of the town’s oldest buildings. The church was completed in the 9th century, but it’s a building that has undergone morphological changes against the flow of time, blending Romanesque bones with Byzantine and Moorish additions. Its façade, capped with a 19th-century mosaic set in the side of the building, reflects the sunshine of the Mediterranean to dazzle the onlooker, before leading up a series of steps that cut through the voices of the Piazza Duomo below.
Cloister of Paradise and Diocesan Museum
Right beside the cathedral, the 13th-century Cloister of Paradise, where Amalfi’s nobility was buried, has Moorish arches that open onto a garden, and a collection of medieval artifacts and frescos that tell their own story of Amalfi’s spiritual and cultural history. The Diocesan Museum next door is dedicated to sacred relics, paintings and sculptures that piece together the story of this pious town.
Ancient Arsenale of Amalfi
The cavernous Ancient Arsenale, where the republic’s galleys were built, is a reminder of Amalfi’s former maritime might. The vaulted stone of its interior and its heavy facade – the product of the work of the town’s master shipwrights – are impressive to see. Today, the Arsenale houses the ‘Tavole Amalfitane’, one of the earliest maritime codes.
Cultural Landscape and UNESCO Recognition
The Amalfi Coast, topped by the town of Amalfi, wears the UNESCO medal of honor not just for its pristinely wild cliffs but for the drama of human tenacity and ingenuity that has unfolded here, as nests of terraced gardens burrow up into craggy slopes, and ancient settlements nestle like jewels in the crook of a bend. Amalfi: a place where human existence has not just survived but flourished, where indomitable humanity has bent the wild vines of nature into a devastatingly beautiful silhouette of cultural heritage.
Positano: Vertical Beauty
Positano is not simply a pin on the map. It is an elevation to the sublime. For this is a town that seems to rise like a Renaissance fresco, each successive layer of culture and breathtaking vista stacked vertically upon the other and ascending as steeply as the hillside itself. Whether it’s the tang of its local cuisine you are after, the prehistoric pathways on which to meander, or simply the unbeatable vistas to drink in, Positano excels in offering the quintessential Italian experience, one that distills the essence of what is so alluring about the Amalfi Coast.
The Enchanting Landscape of Positano
Positano’s vertigo-inducing terraces, precariously perched one on top of the other, seem to dare you to climb their vertical world. From the higher ledges, the view pours down — past peach, pink and terracotta façades, slicing through a palimpsest of greenery, to the glistening Mediterranean far below. It’s an encapsulation of Italian coastal charm, and every turn brings a postcard-worthy panorama.
Positano's Historical and Cultural Highlights
An old, once-thriving port of the Amalfi Republic, Positano had been the commercial hub of the region. However, it was only towards the beginning of the 20th century that Positano became a resort. First came the road, the SS163, that connected the town to Sorrento and Naples, and then the artists and writers, followed by the jet set.
The cultural and spiritual heart of Positano is the town’s Church of Santa Maria Assunta, with a magnificent dome that is clearly legible from a distance. A veritable treasure trove of art, it is anchored by a Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary.
Dig a little deeper – literally, underneath the Church of Santa Maria Assunta – and come up against the layers of Positano’s Roman past, in the Museo Archeologico Romano, where the remains of a Roman villa lie beneath the town. Among the architectural fragments and ornate decorations, here and now, one can catch a glimpse of life as it was.
But the real stinger is how the sheer cliffs and azure ocean waters of Positano have attracted creatives like moths to a flame. Escher, Steinbeck, even Picasso – all fell in love and stayed away, or were inspired by its views, which are so mythical, in fact, that they look ripped out of myth.
Culinary Delights in Positano
The food is almost as memorable as the views it’s served with: from a table on a cliffside perched over the sea to deep exploration of local tradition and gastronomic proclamations of nobility. Positano feeds the appetite of any kind of diner.
Traditional Italian Cuisine:
La Cambusa, in the heart of Positano, serves up fresh fish with classics of Italian cuisine, whilst you are looking at the Mediterranean. It’s dining with an authentic Italian ambience.
A few steps further up the road, Da Vincenzo has a rustic and cosy ambience, where they have stuck to traditional Italian cooking. It boasts the freshest local ingredients – fish from the sea, olive oil and cherry tomatoes that are bursting with flavor.
Positano's Innovative and Upscale Dining:
In the foyer of the Le Sirenuse Hotel, La Sponda serves haute cuisine in an elegant, candlelit setting, surrounded by postcard-perfect views of the sea and, in the distance, a glittering Capri. Dinner here is like dessert most nights, with a menu of fresh, local ingredients executed with a knowing twist on Mediterranean classics – perfect for when you feel like adding a little magic to the evening.
Quattro Passi, up the road in Nerano, is a Michelin-starred maestro in a bright yellow villa. Its sophisticated cuisine combines traditional flavors of Italian ingredients and classic cooking methods with eye-popping theatricality. Raw calamari sits atop a bowl of pasta and peas, red mullet wafers have a racy kick of rosemary and orange in a signature dish.
Positano's Local Specialties to Try:
The Scialatielli ai Frutti di Mare is a roll of homemade pasta, tossed with a variety of fresh seafood – grilled, baked or already cooked – and simmered in a light, tomato sauce redolent of the sea. It’s a celebration of the local catch at its freshest.
For something a bit lighter but no less intense in flavor, the Insalata Caprese is an example of less is more: ripe local tomatoes, fresh, creamy mozzarella, and basil. Again, it is the product of excellent ingredients, and works wonderfully for a meal that is both hearty and unassumingly elegant.
Positano's Unique Dining Experiences:
Il Tridente’s rooftop terrace – undoubtedly the boldest deployment of al fresco dining, hooking you with light-footed tidbits and local flavors – is a vista that you can roam while admiring the main event, the dramatic Positano view.
Meanwhile, at Lo Guarracino, close to Fornillo Beach, sights and tastes take a turn for the idyllic in the obligatory lush garden, with a broad Italiano menu to cover both a lengthy lunch and a dreamy dinner.
Shopping and Leisure in Positano
But if you go to Positano, you’ll find a pedestrian mall as chic as it is historic. The narrow stone-flagged lanes – Via Cristoforo Colombo, Via Pasitea – are jammed with boutiques hawking handcrafted sandals and high-priced jewelry. Italy’s finery is on parade here, homegrown handicraft appliquéd to the glamour of luxury.
Along these serpentine avenues, you’ll encounter names such as Ceramica Assunta and La Bottega di Brunella, bastions of local production, bursting with hand-painted ceramics and linen garments, respectively. Of course, you can go one step further, and invest in a pair of sandals cut to the measurements of your feet, or a item of clothing tailored to fit your body. This is the true souvenir: it was shaped to your specifications.
But the real pleasure of Positano is sartorial only in a culinary sense: between the boutiques (and amongst the fellow shoppers) you can stop to sample local specialties – tangles of fresh pasta, hand-made liqueurs, the tart kick of Amalfi lemons. From a scarf spun from the finest threads to a bottle of limoncello redolent of high sun, the vicissitudes of Italian luxury are enfolded here in the reassuringly traditional warmth of local tradition.
The Best Time to Visit Positano
If you want to visit Positano, do it from April through June. It’s perfectly hot then, but the tourist deluge hasn’t quite hit. Or if you’re into something more peaceful, go in September and October, the seaside equally as beautiful and hot, but sans high season.
Other Amalfi Coast Notable Contenders
Praiano is a postcard with teeth. It hangs off cliffs that drop into the blue, its houses blobs of color in a rocky panorama, the whole plundering the dying sun.
Minori takes the slightly hipper route, with fewer of the crowds but more of the charisma. Antiquity has breath-treatment gum for every ancient party you’ve ever crashed. Ancient Roman ruins and sacred sites share the secrets of the ages. The town itself shares its own local secrets via its local food.
Then there’s Furore, a cove dug into the cliffs. Its deep fjord of a harbor makes for a place where nature and architecture conspire to astonish, with a lone bridge drawn like a dare across the chasm.
And then there is Tramonti, hidden in hills, quieter, where the vineyards and the old buildings are the stars. This is for the slow travelers, those whose idea of holiday entertainment is to get lost in the verdant past.
My Final Takeaway of Amalfi and Positano
This spring I visited the Italian coast: Amalfi and Positano on their cliff-top pins, colored badges bobbing like dry cleaning on the ragged shoulder of some old gypsy’s bag. These places are cool, each with its briny me-ness silently jostling for the title of most charming.
Amalfi flaunts its past like a faded sailor’s tattoo. Poke your nose into any street, even the modest back alleys and you are thumbing through the diary of a sea captain from bygone years. The cathedral on its hill looms over a series of piazzas, the beating hearts of Italian daily life, unchanged for centuries.
And then there’s Positano, its brazenness a core part of the 1,200ft-high cliffs. The houses plunge down the rock face in flamboyant colors; the town itself is an urban vertical waterfall of flowers. Doing just about anything there involves strolling through the living exhibitions of a gallery of artists and dreamers who have passed through and departed, seduced by the jagged crags and curls.
One evening, as the sun set over the Mediterranean, I found I wasn’t sure which to prefer. It was like being presented with two outstanding wines – each a perfection in its own way. And so my heart, like those cliffs on which the towns perch, remained divided, the one, magnificent part of the same wide, wild whole that is the rest of the Italian coastline.
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