12 Best Things to Do on the Amalfi Coast, and What Each One Costs
The short answer
The best things to do on the Amalfi Coast are a day on the water between Positano and Amalfi, the Path of the Gods above Positano, Amalfi's cathedral and cloister, the gardens of Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone in Ravello, and the lemons and anchovy sauce the coast grows. There is no railway, so plan them by boat or by road, not town by town.
The twelve at a glance
| # | Thing to do | Where | What you pay | How you reach it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spend a day on the water between Positano and Amalfi | Positano to Amalfi, by sea | From $110 (boat day) | Boat |
| 2 | Ride the Amalfi Drive, with somebody else at the wheel | The SS163 | From $109 (road day) | Road tour |
| 3 | Walk the Path of the Gods | Bomerano to Nocelle | — | On foot |
| 4 | Climb to Amalfi's Duomo and the Cloister of Paradise | Amalfi | Charged at the cloister, not in any fare | On foot in Amalfi |
| 5 | Watch paper made by hand at the Museo della Carta | Amalfi, Via delle Cartiere | €3.00–4.50 | On foot from Amalfi |
| 6 | Walk the gardens of Villa Rufolo in Ravello | Ravello | €8 | Bus or taxi up from Amalfi |
| 7 | Stand at the end of Villa Cimbrone's gardens | Ravello | €10 | Bus or taxi up from Amalfi |
| 8 | Hear a concert at the Ravello Festival | Ravello | Per concert | Bus or taxi up from Amalfi |
| 9 | Swim in a cove, and row into the Emerald Grotto | Conca dei Marini | Paid at the grotto, not in any fare | Boat |
| 10 | Taste the lemon that holds the cliff up | Montepertuso, above Positano | From $177 (cooking class) | Road up from Positano |
| 11 | Eat colatura di alici in Cetara | Cetara | — | Road, or a private boat |
| 12 | Go to Pompeii for the morning | Pompeii, off the coast | From $188 (guided half-day) | A driven half-day |
Gate prices are in euro and sit outside every tour fare; what the fare covers explains the rest.
1. Spend a day on the water between Positano and Amalfi
The coves, the Fiordo di Furore and the islands of Li Galli sit below the road with no way down to them. Boat days run four to eight hours, from mid-April to late October.
The snorkelling boat day from Amalfi or Positano is the most-reviewed of the Amalfi Coast boat trips, at 4.9 from 935 reviews. All the boat tours leave from a named pier, and what you pass from the water goes cove by cove.
Boat days that cover items 1 and 9
Amalfi Coast & Positano: Boat Tour with Snorkeling & Drinks
Four to eight hours from Amalfi or Positano, with the snorkel gear and the drinks included.
From $110 per person
Check Availability
Small-Group Amalfi Coast Day Cruise from Positano
Seven hours from Positano in a small group; the Emerald Grotto entry is paid on the spot.
From $130 per person
Check Availability2. Ride the Amalfi Drive, with somebody else at the wheel
The SS163 is 50.36 kilometres long and was ordered in 1832 by Ferdinand II of Bourbon. It is the only road along this coast, and the Amalfi Drive is what everyone calls it. It is a better ride from the passenger seat: on the busiest dates an alternate-plate scheme closes it to half of all number plates from 10:00 to 18:00.
The Positano, Amalfi and Ravello day from Sorrento runs eight to nine hours and swaps the road for a boat between Positano and Amalfi from April to October. If you want the stops to be yours, private tours collect you from your hotel; the private full day is from $337 a head.
3. Walk the Path of the Gods
The Path of the Gods is CAI trail 327, from Bomerano in Agerola to Nocelle above Positano, graded E: easy, with exposed stretches.
- Bomerano to Nocelle: about two hours on foot.
- On to Positano: over 1,500 steps down, or the local bus from Nocelle.
- The whole walk to Positano: about four hours.
4. Climb to Amalfi's Duomo and the Cloister of Paradise
The cathedral of Sant'Andrea dates from the 11th century. Twenty columns divide its nave and two aisles, and the relics of Saint Andrew arrived from Constantinople in 1206. Beside it is the Chiostro del Paradiso, built between 1266 and 1268 as the cemetery of Amalfi's nobles, with interlaced arches on 120 slender columns.
The cloister charges its own entry at the door, and no road tour includes it.
5. Watch paper made by hand at the Museo della Carta
Amalfi was one of the first paper-making centres in Europe, and the Museo della Carta on Via delle Cartiere shows sheets made by hand and the old water mills working. It opens 10:00–19:00 daily from 1 March to 2 November. Entry is €3.00 to €4.50 by age, or €6.00–7.00 with a guided visit.
6. Walk the gardens of Villa Rufolo in Ravello
No ferry reaches Ravello. Sir Francis Nevile Reid restored its terraced gardens in the 19th century, and Wagner, seeing them, said the magic garden of Klingsor was found.
- Entry: €8, or €6 for over-65s and children aged 5 to 12, sold on site only.
- Hours: 09:00–20:00, last entry 19:30.
- Free guided tours: the first Saturday of each month, in English at 11:00.
7. Stand at the end of Villa Cimbrone's gardens
Further along the same ridge, Villa Cimbrone's gardens are open every day for €10, with discounts for groups and children under 12. Vita Sackville-West had a hand in their redesign in the early 20th century. Do both villas in one visit.
The three-town day from Sorrento gives you time in Ravello and leaves the gate fees to you; check dates for the three-town day before you plan the villas around it.
8. Hear a concert at the Ravello Festival
🏛 Did you know? The Ravello Festival's main stage is the Belvedere of Villa Rufolo itself. The 2026 edition, the 74th, ran from 4 July to 5 September with 22 events: opera, symphonic, baroque and jazz. On festival days the villa's closing time can change.
Coming next summer? Watch for the Fondazione Ravello programme and book the concert before the hotel.
9. Swim in a cove, and row into the Emerald Grotto
Boat days stop to swim and snorkel. The Grotta dello Smeraldo at Conca dei Marini, lit green from below, is a stop on several of them:
- Small-Group Amalfi Coast Day Cruise from Positano, 7 hours;
- Small Group Boat Tour: Discover the Amalfi Coast from Positano;
- Private Amalfi Coast Boat Trip from Positano, Praiano or Amalfi, From $1,053 per group, up to 5.
The stop is in the fare; the grotto fee is not, and you pay it on the spot. The sea route, stop by stop has the coves around it.
10. Taste the lemon that holds the cliff up
The Limone Costa d'Amalfi IGP is the Sfusato Amalfitano, a lemon of at least 100 grams grown on terraces along the coast's steep slopes. Take the terraces away and there is no lemon, and no limoncello either.
The cooking class in Montepertuso, above Positano, includes lunch and limoncello. Lemon-farm tours also run from Sorrento, which is on the Bay of Naples, not on the Amalfi Coast.
11. Eat colatura di alici in Cetara
Cetara is the fishing village towards the eastern end of the coast, and colatura di alici is its sauce: the liquid from anchovies caught within 12 miles of the Salerno coast and matured under salt. It became a DOP on 21 October 2020. The private boat from Positano can start from Cetara, and the food and wine page has more.
12. Go to Pompeii for the morning
Pompeii is just off the coast, not on it. The full ticket is €20 from 12 January 2026, and from 16 March to 14 October the site opens 09:00–19:00 with last entry at 17:30. The guided tour from the Amalfi Coast takes four to five hours, with hotel pickup and the skip-the-line entry included. How it fits beside the coast is in One Day on the Amalfi Coast.
How do you fit them into two or three days?
Group them by how you get there, not by town:
- A boat day: 1 and 9, with a swim or two.
- A road day: 2, then 4 in Amalfi and 6 and 7 in Ravello.
- A walking morning: 3, finishing in Positano for lunch.
- A food half-day: 10 or 11.
- A morning off the coast: 12.
Amalfi Coast day trips are listed with the towns each one reaches, and the visiting page has the hours, the cash and the steps.
💡 Useful tip. Carry euro in small notes. Villa Rufolo sells tickets only at its gate, and the grotto fee is paid on the spot.
Frequently asked questions
What is the number one thing to do on the Amalfi Coast?
How much does it cost to visit Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone?
How long does the Path of the Gods take?
Can you do Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast on the same trip?
Is the Emerald Grotto included on boat tours?
When is the Ravello Festival?
Days that tick off the most of the twelve
Day Tour to Positano, Amalfi & Ravello from Sorrento
Items 2, 4, 6 and 7 in one day, and a boat leg from Positano to Amalfi between April and October.
From $109 per person
Check Availability
Ravioli & Tagliatelle Cooking Class at a Local's Home in Positano
Item 10 in a family kitchen above Positano, lunch and limoncello included.
From $177 per person
Check Availability
Pompeii Guided Tour from Amalfi Coast
Item 12 in half a day, ticket and pickup included.
From $188 per person
Check Availability