Rediscovering the Amalfi Coast

I found myself in a faintly familiar place, just four years older and with a lot more travel experience under my belt. I was back in the place that initially sparked my passion for travel at the young age of 17. I left the Amalfi Coast last time feeling like I had learned something new about myself. Turns out, this is how my love of travel was surfaced. A few years later I’m back, wrapping up my year abroad with two of my closest friends. Here is my story of my  rediscovering of the Alamfi Coast.

We traveled from the island of Capri to Sorrento, which is known for being the gateway to the Amalfi Coast. The journey from Sorrento to Amalfi was about a 3-hour bus ride. There are very few winding roads like this that are quite secluded as they spiral through a labyrinth of olive groves and vineyards.

However, I will say, there are parts of this road that are very sketchy. It’s a narrow road that hangs right on the edge of a diving cliff. The road is too small for two fiats to pass each other, let alone two giant tour buses. One wrong move from the bus driver and we all could have been goners.

Even though taking this road felt like we were jeopardizing our lives, the stunning views made it completely worth it. Since this was not my first visit, I thought I had properly anticipated what to expect, however this time around I just had such a deeper appreciation for its beauty. I was getting glimpses and flashbacks of my first visit to this coastline. Even though I had some recollection, it was still surprisingly beautiful to me, as if it was my first time seeing it all over again.

The road’s edge plummets straight down hundreds of feet to the ocean below. We were surrounded by beautiful mountains on one side and the Tyrrhenian Sea on the other.

Home Base for Exploring the Amalfi Coast

By afternoon, we had made it to Amalfi. We continued up the road for about ten minutes to a small fisherman’s village called Atrani, which was right outside of Amalfi. This is where our Airbnb was located. We paid less being outside of the more populated and well-known towns and were surrounded by local Italians. For us, Atrani was perfect. That night we went into Amalfi for dinner and began our routine of a nightly stroll.

Amalfi is a great spot to relax in the evenings. There are plenty of gelato shops and cafes to people watch or to just enjoy some good conversation.

Path of the Gods

The next day, Katie and I woke up and decided we were going to have an adventure. Ashley was completely content staying back and wanted to relax on the beach, so it would just be Katie and I. We had heard about a hike called the Path of the Gods that traveled along the coast and supposedly was incredible. With very little planning and information, we just decided to “wing it”. We took one of the smaller buses to a quaint village called Bomerano. We had no idea where the hike started or how long it would take, but we were certain we would find some type of hiking. Lucky for us, this hike is very popular and the bus was filled with decked out hikers in all their mountain gear. Katie and I looked embarrassingly unprepared with our one water bottle to share and our All Star Adidas.

We followed the group of hikers until we found the trailhead, which was clearly labeled. We spent the next few hours rambling on about life, laughing at our previous travel failures, and enjoying the most perfect day we’ve had abroad. The sun was shining and we were hiking along the most beautiful hiking trail in the Italian coast. I tell yeah, life was good. We had zero complaints or worries; this was the peak of contentment for us.

The hike finished off in Positano, which is probably the most well known town along the Amalfi Coast. This seaside village is a burst of colorful buildings, tightly bundled together. It is an incredible town to see.

Renting a Boat

Before we even started this trip, we decided there would be one day where we would splurge on a fun activity. Since the Blue Grotto in Capri was a no go, we decided to rent a boat around the coast for a few hours. We were willing to go on any boat ride that would be the cheapest option, however in the Amalfi Coast the only thing available is to hire a private boat service.

Every company tried to sell us an all day excursion to Capri, but since we had already been there we just wanted to stay around the Amalfi for a few hours.

We each paid 40€ for a 4 hour boat ride. Even though all of us were hesitant to spend the money, it was hands down the best decision we could have made. Our own personal skipper, Luigi, gave us a private tour of the surrounding towns. We packed the cheapest bottle of wine we could find, and enjoyed the Amalfi Coast exactly how it is meant to be.

Half way through the tour our driver stopped to let us inside the emerald grotto. This grotto is completely underrated compared to the famous Blue Grotto on Capri, however it was just as stunning. For 5€, you can enter a cave at the base of the cliff and take a quick boat ride around an emerald lit cave. The cave itself is like a little hidden gem. Not only is it cheaper than the famously noted Blue Grotto, but it is also larger with less crowds.

After that, we hopped back on our boat and headed to a nice secluded cove for a quick dip in the ocean. I will admit, the water was freezing. Normally I’m a chicken when it comes to cold water, but I could not pass up the opportunity to jump off the front of the boat.

We had our driver leave us in Positano, where we would spend the remainder of our day relaxing on its pebbled beach. I will warn you, Positano’s beach is by far the most crowded, but the town itself is also the most picturesque you can find.

Somehow we managed to have two very successful days in the Amalfi Coast. We were beginning to think that was impossible with the kind of luck we previously experienced traveling. Of course there was the small mishaps here and there, but nothing big enough to rain on our parade! Well, until we ran into our final issue…

Transportation

Like I said before, the one road that links each town together is very sketchy. There is no way to even walk from town to town even if you wanted to.   You have three options. First, you could take a taxi between the towns, but of course that was always too expensive for us students on a budget. Next you can take a boat that connects Amalfi and Positano together; this costs about 8€. If the cruise ships are in that day I suggest taking a different route due to the mobs of crowds that use the ferry. Lastly, you could take the city bus, which is what we did. This only costs around 2€.

We always go for the cheapest transportation option, however this time it was such a nightmare. For starters, you cannot buy the ticket on the bus, you have to find a tobacco shop and buy one there. Then once you get to the bus stop it is very unclear which line is for what bus, and no one is there to monitor it. Then people will begin to cut the front of the line, pretending they are oblivious to the back of the line.

Even if you try to be organized and look up the bus times, don’t even bother. They are NEVER on time and you will most likely wait at least 30 minutes. Even if a bus does come within a reasonable time, most likely if you are in the back of the line you will have to wait for the next one because there are so many people. Let’s just say avoid these buses at all cost in the afternoon. Every day we ended up having to wait an hour to an hour and a half just to get on a bus back to Amalfi from Positano.

On the very last day of our trip, we had the worst experience with these buses. We thought we had timed it perfectly, got in line 20 minutes before it was supposed to arrive and we still ended up waiting an hour and a half. When the bus finally did come, the line was about 50 people deep, and everyone was swarming the bus from every direction trying to get on. I got split up from Katie and Ashley from a Grandpa who was shoving me out of the way to get him and his wife on the bus. Katie and Ashley had to literally pull me onto the bus by both arms and take out the people in front of me before I got sucked back into the mob of angry tourists. It was worse than the hunger games I tell you.

All in all, we had an epic adventure. Every day we were faced with our challenges, but by the end we felt like we had seen it all. We made plenty of mistakes, but they all were lessons in disguise.

This trip was particularly special to me. I got to spend almost three weeks with an old and a new friend, while revisiting a very special place. Just within those couple of weeks I felt like all of us appreciated traveling even more than we ever had before. It really was an eye opening experience that left me with such positive memories as I wrapped up my last few weeks abroad.

And just like that, our long over due backpacking extravaganza through Greece and Italy was finally completed. Amalfi will always be a place that I find myself dreaming about whenever I need a dose of paradise. Amalfi is really what it’s hyped up to be. Don’t believe me? Why not go check it out for yourself!