The Amalfi Coast: Positano, Ravello & the Drive That Defines Italian Summer

The Amalfi Coast road — 40 kilometres of two-lane highway carved into the limestone cliffs of the Lattari Mountains above the Tyrrhenian Sea — is one of the most dramatic drives in the world. It is also, in high summer, one of the most frustrating: buses and tourist coaches have to reverse around blind corners to let each other pass. The solution is simple: arrive in late May or early October, drive it on a weekday morning before 9am, or take a private boat and view it from the sea, which is where it looks best anyway.

The Amalfi Coast was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape in 1997 — the first cultural landscape in Italy to receive the designation. It is the kind of place that makes every photograph look effortless and every Instagram story look like an aspirational advertisement, which is genuinely earned rather than performative. The light in June at 7pm on the terraced lemon groves above Ravello is as good as the photographs suggest.

Where to Stay: The Legendary Addresses

Le Sirenuse (sirenuse.it) in Positano has been family-owned since it opened in 1951 — the Sersale family converted their private villa into a hotel, and it has remained in their hands through four generations. The 58 rooms are decorated with 19th-century antiques and Vietri ceramic tiles; the pool terrace and Franco's Bar are among the most photographed places on the Amalfi Coast; and the Champagne and oyster breakfast served on the terrace overlooking the pastel-painted village and the sea is one of the great morning rituals in Italian travel. Suites from €2,500/night. sirenuse.it.

Hotel Caruso (belmond.com/hotels/europe/italy/ravello/belmond-hotel-caruso) in Ravello, managed by Belmond, occupies an 11th-century palace at the highest point of Ravello — 350 metres above the sea — with an infinity pool that appears to tip directly into the Mediterranean. The view from the pool is one of the most-photographed in Europe. Ravello itself, far from the coastal road traffic, has the quiet grandeur of a town that has attracted artists and writers — D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster, Gore Vidal — since the 19th century. Suites from €1,500/night.

The Amalfi Coast by Boat

A private wooden gozzo (the traditional Amalfi Coast wooden boat) rented for the day from any of the coast's marinas allows access to the caves, grottoes, and private beaches inaccessible from the road. The Grotta dello Smeraldo — an emerald-lit sea cave at Conca dei Marini, accessible only by boat or a steep staircase from the road — is one of the coast's most extraordinary natural spaces.

Da Adolfo (daadolfo.com) at Laurito beach, accessible only by the restaurant's own small red boat from Positano's Marina Grande, is the most charming restaurant on the Amalfi Coast: tables on a wooden deck above the sea, whole grilled fish, mozzarella in lemon leaves, cold Greco di Tufo white wine, and an absence of any pretension whatsoever.

Ravello: Music, Gardens & Gore Vidal's View

Ravello's Villa Rufolo (villarufolo.it) — whose gardens inspired Wagner to write the Klingsor's Magic Garden scene in Parsifal during his 1880 visit — hosts the Ravello Festival (ravellofestival.com) each summer, placing its stage on the cliff edge above the Mediterranean. The views from the Belvedere Cimbrone are frequently cited by travel writers as the most beautiful in Europe.

Getting There

Naples International Airport (NAP) is the main gateway — 60km from Positano, 90 minutes by car or a combination of the Circumvesuviana train and SITA bus. Private water taxis from Naples Mergellina harbour to Positano run from June to October (approximately €200 one-way, 1h30m).

Reference Links:

- Le Sirenuse Positano: sirenuse.it

- Belmond Hotel Caruso Ravello: belmond.com

- Da Adolfo restaurant: daadolfo.com

- Ravello Festival: ravellofestival.com

- Villa Rufolo gardens: villarufolo.it