The Amalfi Coast Without a Car

The striped cathedral at the top of a long flight of steps. Pay for the cloister ticket — it takes you through the crypt as well.

A medieval paper mill at the top of the main street. Short guided visits — check the hours before walking up.

The garden above the sea where the summer concerts are staged. Tickets are sold at the gate.

Walk the full length of the garden to the Terrace of Infinity: a row of marble busts and nothing behind them but air. Ten minutes on foot from the square; no car reaches it.

The tiled dome in every photograph of Positano. The church sits at the bottom of the town, a few steps above the beach.

Ten minutes on foot from Amalfi and a different volume entirely. One square, one beach, laundry overhead. Neighborhood only — never post the address.

The hub: ferries, buses and the one main street all meet at the waterfront. See the cathedral early, then walk uphill until the shops stop.

High above the water and noticeably quieter. The square is car-free — stay for the hour after the day buses leave.

A flat little town with a working seafront and a serious pastry habit. The staircase down from Ravello ends here.

Strung along the road between Amalfi and Positano, facing west. Come for the last two hours of the day.

Arrive from above on foot, or from the water — both beat the road. See it, eat lunch, and leave by ferry before the evening queue.

About seven kilometres along the cliff from Bomerano to Nocelle, two to three hours, mostly gently downhill in this direction. Start early; there is almost no shade.

Roughly fifteen hundred steps to Positano. Your knees will file a complaint; a small local bus runs if they win.

A stone stairway down through the lemon terraces. About an hour, all downhill — walk it in this direction.

The old lemon-carriers' path between Minori and Maiori. Under an hour, terraces the whole way.

A green valley behind Amalfi with ruined ironworks and small waterfalls. An easy walk up from the paper museum if a morning is free.

A slot in the cliff with a stone bridge high overhead and a pocket beach below. Check that the stairs are open before making the trip.

A tiny beach wedged between two cliffs, with boats pulled up on the pebbles. The sun leaves early — go before lunch.

Dark sand under the road arches, two minutes from the square. The swim before dinner.

The coast was built to be seen from the water. Stand outside, on the land side, between Amalfi and Positano.

The long, knobbly Amalfi lemon. Eat it sliced with sugar or salt once, before the limoncello.

A lemon-cream dome, the coast's signature pastry. Minori is the town that takes it most seriously.

The local pasta — short, thick, usually with seafood. Order it at lunch somewhere without a view; it is cheaper and better.

Cetara's amber anchovy sauce, a few drops over spaghetti. Some ferries toward Salerno stop there if a lunch is free.

Bread, mozzarella, tomatoes, a lemon. Buy it in Bomerano before the Path of the Gods — there is very little on the trail.

Fast trains take around forty minutes. Coming in from the Salerno end avoids the coast road entirely.

About thirty-five minutes across the bay, roughly April to October. The best arrival on the coast, and the cheapest boat ride on it.

The buses cover everything the ferries don't. Buy tickets at a tabacchi before boarding — drivers do not sell them — and expect to stand.

Amalfi and Positano are about twenty-five minutes apart by sea and an unknowable time apart by road. Boats stop in rough weather; keep the bus as the backup.

One lane each way, parking that is scarce and priced accordingly, and on peak dates plates are restricted to alternate days. Everything on this route works without one.

One day seeing the coast from a small boat: sea caves, swim stops, the towns from below. Keep the group small and go when the sea is flat.

The coast is stairs. Trail shoes for the Path of the Gods, and nothing with a smooth sole anywhere.

Every arrival ends in steps. Pack what you can take up a hundred of them without stopping.