Amalfi Coast & Naples Itinerary 2026: Positano, Ravello, Pompeii & Pizza Guide

Amalfi Coast & Naples 7-Day Itinerary 2026

The Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana; UNESCO World Heritage Site; 50km of the southern face of the Sorrento Peninsula) is the most scenic coastal road in Europe — the SS163 hangs on cliff faces 300m above the Tyrrhenian Sea; the white and pastel-colored buildings climb the vertical hillsides above the road; the lemon groves (limoneti; the sfusato amalfitano lemon, the basis of limoncello) terraced into the cliff faces. Naples, 60km north, is the chaotic, magnificent, Baroque opposite — the city where Western civilization’s most complex urban energy meets 3,000 years of continuous habitation and the finest pizza on Earth.

The essential planning note: The SS163 (the coast road) in July and August is among the most congested roads in Europe — single-lane passes shared by buses, tourist coaches, delivery vehicles, and rental scooters; the drive from Sorrento to Amalfi can take 2+ hours in summer. Alternative: SITA buses (the local bus service along the coast; buy tickets in advance; the bus uses the same road but has priority at passing points) or the ferry service (Sorrento → Positano → Amalfi → Salerno; the most comfortable and often fastest).

Day 1: Arrival in Naples

Naples (Napoli; the third-largest city in Italy; 1 million in the city; 3 million in the metropolitan area; the most intensely urban city in Europe):

Arrivals: Naples Capodichino Airport (NAP) has connections to all major European cities. The train station (Napoli Centrale) connects to Rome in 1 hour 10 minutes by high-speed Frecciarossa.

The historic center (Centro Storico; UNESCO World Heritage Site): The Greek grid plan (Neapolis, founded 470 BC) survives in the three decumani (the east-west streets) — the Spaccanapoli (the Decumano Inferiore; the arrow-straight street that cuts Naples in half from the Capodimonte down to the sea; walking its full length is the essential Naples experience) and the Via dei Tribunali (the Decumano Maggiore; the main street of the historic center, lined with churches, palaces, and pizza shops).

The San Gregorio Armeno (the street of the presepe — the Neapolitan nativity figurine workshops): The ceramic and terracotta craftsmen of San Gregorio Armeno have been making nativity figures here since the 17th century; the figures now include political satirical portraits alongside the traditional biblical figures (the Re Magi on horseback; the pastori — the shepherds). The finest workshops: Ferrigno (Via San Gregorio Armeno 8; the finest figurine tradition in Naples; established 1836).

First dinner in Naples: Pizzeria Sorbillo (Via dei Tribunali 32; the most famous pizza queue in Naples) or L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele (Via Cesare Sersale 1; established 1870; serves only Margherita and Marinara; the most stripped-down pizza experience in the world; the queue is 30–60 minutes).

Day 2: Naples — The Archaeological Museum and Capodimonte

Morning: National Archaeological Museum of Naples

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN; Piazza Museo 19; €22; open 9am–7:30pm; closed Tuesday): The finest collection of Greco-Roman antiquities in the world — almost the entire contents of Pompeii and Herculaneum, including every portable object from the excavations (1738–present), are here.

Essential galleries:

The Farnese Collection (the ground floor; the finest single collection of Roman marble sculpture outside Rome): The Toro Farnese (the largest single marble group from antiquity; carved from a single block; 3m high; depicting the punishment of Dirce) and the Ercole Farnese (the Hercules Resting; 3.17m; the most famous depiction of the resting hero in antiquity)
The Secret Cabinet (Gabinetto Segreto; first floor; erotic art from Pompeii): The collection of erotic objects and frescoes kept locked from the 18th to the 20th century — the Pan and the Goat group (the most controversial piece of ancient sculpture; the pan god in sexual congress with a goat) and the wall paintings from the lupanar (the Pompeii brothel) are here
The Alexander Mosaic (Battaglia di Isso; the Alexander Mosaic Room; the 5.82m × 3.13m floor mosaic from the House of the Faun in Pompeii): The most significant floor mosaic in antiquity — the depiction of the Battle of Issus (333 BC; Alexander the Great vs. Darius III of Persia) from the original Greek painting by Philoxenos of Eretria; Alexander’s face in the left section of the mosaic is the most frequently reproduced ancient image

Afternoon: Capodimonte

Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte (Bourbon Royal Palace on the hill above Naples; €15; take the Capodimonte shuttle bus from Piazza Trieste e Trento): The finest art museum in southern Italy — the collection of the Farnese family (brought to Naples by Charles III of Bourbon when he became King of the Two Sicilies in 1738), plus the Neapolitan painting collection.

Essential works:

Caravaggio, Flagellation of Christ (1607–1610; the second Caravaggio in Naples; the most powerful of his religious works): The three torturers and the passive Christ; the dramatic chiaroscuro of the late Roman period
Titian, Portrait of Paul III (the finest portrait of a pope in the Renaissance; the old Pope’s intensity and intelligence are disturbing in their penetration)
Annibale Carracci, Pietà (the finest Baroque religious painting in Naples)

Day 3: Pompeii and Herculaneum

Morning: Herculaneum (Ercolano)

Herculaneum (Ercolano; 30 minutes from Naples Centrale by Circumvesuviana train; Ercolano-Scavi station): The smaller and better-preserved ancient city buried by the Vesuvius eruption of 79 AD — the pyroclastic surge (900°C; carbonizing everything; moving faster than a bullet) instantly carbonized the wooden furnishings, food, and clothing that the ash burial of Pompeii decomposed. The result: the only ancient houses in the world with original wooden furniture, carbonized loaves of bread still in the oven, and the remains of 300 people who sheltered in the boat houses on the beach (the fornici — their skeletons visible, some in family embraces, the carbonized remains of cloth and wood around them).

Essential sites in Herculaneum:

The House of the Wooden Partition (the original folding wooden partition that divided the atrium from the tablinum — the owner’s office — is the oldest surviving piece of functional furniture in Italy)
The House of Neptune and Amphitrite (the finest mosaic in Herculaneum: the nymphaeum — the garden fountain room — with the iridescent mosaic of Neptune and his wife, with the blue and green of the sea behind)
The Samnite House (the oldest house in Herculaneum; the loggia above the atrium)
The thermopolium (the ancient fast-food counter; the bronze and terracotta pots still in place in the marble counter; this is the exact origin of the restaurant counter)

Afternoon: Pompeii

Pompeii (Scavi di Pompei; Pompeii-Villa dei Misteri station; the full site takes 3–4 hours): The most significant archaeological site in the Western world — the 64-hectare city buried under 6m of ash in 79 AD; the excavation (1748–present) revealed the most complete picture of daily life in the Roman world.

Essential sites in Pompeii:

The Forum (the political and religious center; the Capitoline Temple of Jupiter; the Basilica — the oldest surviving basilica in the Roman world)
The House of the Faun (the largest private house; the original location of the Alexander Mosaic now in Naples)
The House of the Vettii (the best-preserved house interior in Pompeii; the frescoes of the four seasons; the priapic fresco at the entrance)
The Lupanar (the only purpose-built brothel in Pompeii; the numbered rooms with the stone beds; the erotic frescoes above each door advertising the services)
The Garden of the Fugitives (the garden where the hollow spaces left by decomposed bodies have been filled with plaster by archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli in 1863 — the plaster casts of the bodies in their positions of death are the most emotional element in Pompeii)

Day 4: Sorrento and the Ferry to Positano

Sorrento (the hill city at the tip of the Sorrento Peninsula; 1 hour from Naples by Circumvesuviana): The most convenient base for exploring the Amalfi Coast — regular ferries and SITA buses to all coastal towns; the historic center (the narrow Corso Italia; the Piazza Tasso; the lemon grove terraces) is pleasant without being extraordinary.

Limoncello in Sorrento: The sfusato sorrentino (the lemon variety specific to this peninsula; the basis of the liqueur limoncello) grows on terraced limoneti along the cliffs; the finest limoncello producers (Limonoro at Via San Cesareo 49; Gargiulo & Jannuzzi) offer free tastings.

Ferry Sorrento → Positano → Amalfi: The most civilized way to travel the coast — the ferry bypasses the traffic of the SS163 and provides the finest perspectives on the vertical cliff villages from the sea. Timetables at alilauro.it and metrodelmare.com.

Day 5: Positano — The Vertical Village

Positano (the most photographed village on the Amalfi Coast): The pink, white, and ochre buildings rising 250m from the two beaches (Spiaggia Grande and Spiaggia del Fornillo) to the church dome of Santa Maria Assunta (the black-and-white mosaic dome above the village) create the most distinctive silhouette on the coast.

What to do in Positano:

Rent a small boat: The most free way to explore the coast — rent by the hour or day from the Spiaggia Grande (€30–50/hour for a small motorboat without captain; or with captain for the Grotta dello Smeraldo at Conca dei Marini)
Walk the Path of the Gods (Sentiero degli Dei; 7.5km from Bomerano to Nocelle above Positano; the finest coastal walk in Italy; 5–6 hours round trip from Positano including the descent): The path traverses the cliff face 500–600m above the sea from Bomerano to the village of Nocelle above Positano — the view over the coast toward Capri and the Faraglioni rocks at every bend
The beach: Spiaggia Grande has water taxis to Spiaggia del Fornillo (less crowded; equally beautiful); both beaches are pebble (no sand), with the beach clubs renting umbrellas and loungers (€20–30/day)

Day 6: Amalfi Town and Ravello

Amalfi Town

Amalfi Cathedral (Cattedrale di Sant’Andrea; the only original bronze doors in Italy; commissioned in Constantinople 1065): The Arabic-Norman Romanesque facade (the 1875 reconstruction of the 13th-century original is considered among the finer 19th-century architectural interventions in Italy); the cloisters (Chiostro del Paradiso, 1266) with the interlaced Arab arches; and the Crypt of Sant’Andrea (the relics of St. Andrew, brought from Constantinople in 1208, the year after the Fourth Crusade looted Constantinople).

The Paper Museum (Museo della Carta, Via delle Cartiere 23): Amalfi was the center of the Italian paper industry from the 13th–19th centuries — the water mills of the Valle dei Mulini produced the finest paper in Europe for 500 years; the museum demonstrates the handmade paper process.

Ravello

Ravello (the hill town 350m above Amalfi; the most celebrated cultural village on the coast):

Villa Cimbrone (Via Santa Chiara 26; gardens open daily; €7): The most dramatic garden in southern Italy — the Belvedere of Infinity (Terrazza dell’Infinito), a 600-year-old stone terrace on the cliff edge of the Ravello ridge, with the Tyrrhenian Sea 300m below and the entire coastline from Positano to Salerno visible. The garden (created by Lord Grimthorpe in 1904) is a mix of Graeco-Roman archaeology, medieval architectural fragments, and Romantic English garden design.

Villa Rufolo (Piazza Vescovado; gardens open daily; €7): The medieval villa (1270) with the Moorish tower and the famous Wagneresque garden — Richard Wagner visited in 1880 and recognized the garden as the inspiration for the Klingsor’s Magic Garden in Parsifal. The Ravello Festival (June–September 2026; ravellofestival.com) uses the Villa Rufolo terrace as its concert stage — the world-class music program against the backdrop of the coast is exceptional.

Day 7: Capri Day Trip

Capri (the island 5km from the tip of the Sorrento Peninsula; ferry from Sorrento 20 minutes or Positano 40 minutes):

The Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra; the sea cave with the azure internal light): The azure color is produced by sunlight filtering through an underwater passage and refracting in the cave water — the effect is extraordinary (the bright azure illumination of the ceiling and walls from below); the experience (a rowboat guided through the small entrance hole by the boatman pulling on a chain) is brief (5 minutes) but unforgettable. Arrive at the grotto before 11am (the entrance becomes too rough with boat traffic and wind by midday).

Anacapri (the upper village; cable car from the Marina Grande): The Monte Solaro chairlift (the single-person open-air chairlift to the highest point of Capri; 589m; the finest view of the Bay of Naples): The Sorrento Peninsula, the Faraglioni rocks, Ischia, and Procida visible from the summit.

The Faraglioni (the three sea stacks off the southeastern tip of Capri): The boat tour around the Faraglioni (passing through the natural arch of the middle stack) is the most popular excursion on the island.

Naples Pizza Guide

Naples is the birthplace of pizza — the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) codifies the precise rules of the authentic Neapolitan pizza:

Dough: 00 flour, salt, water, yeast; 24-hour leavening
Tomatoes: San Marzano DOP (grown in the volcanic soil below Vesuvius)
Mozzarella: Fior di latte (cow’s milk; the most common) or Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP (buffalo milk; the most prized)
Cooking: Wood-fired stone oven at 450°C; 60–90 seconds cooking time

The finest pizza in Naples (and therefore in the world):

L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele (Via Cesare Sersale 1; only Margherita and Marinara; the most legendary queue)
Sorbillo (Via dei Tribunali 32; the longest menu; the shortest quality compromise)
Starita (Via Materdei 27; the Materdei neighborhood; the most creative toppings on a traditional base)

FAQ

What is the best way to get around the Amalfi Coast? In summer (June–September): Ferry service (bypasses the traffic; Sorrento → Positano → Amalfi takes 1 hour by sea vs 2–3 hours by road) and SITA buses (the cheapest; buy tickets at tabacchi before boarding). In spring and autumn: Car or scooter (less traffic; the driving experience is genuinely spectacular; park at Amalfi or Ravello and explore on foot).

When to visit? May, June, and September are the finest months — the best weather (25–28°C), the Mediterranean in swimming condition, and significantly fewer visitors than July–August. April: Sometimes cool and rainy. October: Beautiful light, quiet, some coastal restaurants closed.

Is the Blue Grotto worth it? The Blue Grotto is extraordinary in the right conditions (calm sea; high sun angle; before 11am). In rough seas or after midday it is closed or the light effect is diminished. Budget 2 hours for the round trip from the Marina Grande.