Practical Information for visiting Amalfi Coast

One road serves the entire coast, and understanding that is most of the planning. The SS163 is narrow, blind in places, and in summer slow enough that a fifteen-kilometre hop can take an hour and a half.

SITA buses run the length of it and are cheap, frequent and often too full to board at peak times — boarding at a terminus rather than mid-route helps. Ferries connect Positano, Amalfi, Minori, Maiori and Salerno from roughly April to October, and are usually faster, cooler and more reliable than the bus.

Driving is possible and rarely enjoyable. Parking is scarce and expensive, and restricted-access schemes operate in peak periods. A scooter is the exception: small enough for the road, and easy to park.

Within and between the nearer towns, the stepped paths are often quicker than any vehicle — Amalfi to Atrani on foot takes ten minutes and the bus takes longer.

There is no railway on the coast itself. The nearest stations are Salerno at the eastern end and Sorrento, reached by the Circumvesuviana, at the western end; both connect onward to Naples and the national network. Ferries run to Salerno, Sorrento, Capri and Naples from roughly April to October and thin out sharply in winter. Naples Capodichino is the nearest airport, with direct coaches in season. Every land route funnels onto the SS163, so allow generously before a flight.

Crime against visitors is low and mostly opportunistic — crowded buses and ferry queues are where bags go missing.

The genuine risks are the road and the terrain. The SS163 has blind bends, no pavement in long stretches and coaches taking the full width; walking along it is dangerous and should be avoided. Steps are everywhere, often wet, and the stepped paths are unfenced above serious drops.

Heavy rain brings rockfall and landslides on the terraced slopes, and the coast road closes for them periodically in winter. Check before setting out after a storm.

Swimming is from small shingle beaches with quick shelving and, in summer, a great deal of boat traffic close inshore.

No vaccinations or special precautions are needed and tap water is safe to drink. Pharmacies are in every town of any size and run a rota for nights and holidays.

There are small clinics along the coast; the nearest full hospitals are in Salerno and Naples. Getting there means the coast road or a boat, which is the reason to carry insurance covering transfer rather than assuming proximity.

The practical risks are heat and dehydration on the walking routes between June and September, and falls on wet steps — which, given how much of this coast is stairs, is the single most likely way to end a trip early.

The single emergency number across Italy is 112, covering police, fire and ambulance, with English-speaking operators. 118 still reaches medical services directly.

At sea, the coast guard answers on 1530 — relevant on a coast where a good deal of movement and rescue happens by boat.

Carabinieri posts are in Amalfi, Positano and the larger towns. Consulates are in Naples or Rome.