From Naples the Amalfi Coast looks close, and on the map it is. The catch is that the towns sit on the far side of the Lattari mountains and you reach them almost only along the SS163, a single-lane road cut into the rock. That is why, from April to October, the easiest way from Naples to Amalfi or Positano is the sea.
How far the Amalfi Coast is from Naples
Naples to Positano is about 60 km by road, Naples to Amalfi about 70. With no traffic it takes an hour and a half or a little more; on summer weekends the coast road doubles that. By sea the distances are shorter, because you cut straight across the Gulf.
By sea
There are two ways to reach the coast from Naples by boat. The first is the boat tour from Naples to Amalfi and Positano: pick-up in the city at 7:00, sailing along the Sorrento peninsula, about three and a half hours free in Amalfi and one in Positano, back in the evening. The second is the seasonal ferry services from the port of Naples to Positano and Amalfi, whose timetables change every year: check them on the operators’ sites before you go.
Train and bus
By public transport the classic route is the Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento, then the SITA bus along the coast to Positano and Amalfi. For Amalfi there is also the Salerno way: a regional train from Naples and then a bus, or in season the boat from Salerno. Allow at least two and a half hours each way, and in summer the coast buses are already full at Sorrento.
By car
Take the A3 motorway to Castellammare di Stabia, then the SS145 to Meta and the SS163 towards Positano; for Amalfi you can also come down from Vietri sul Mare. It is the most scenic road and the slowest: parking in Positano and Amalfi is expensive and on busy days the spaces are gone by mid-morning. If you want a car without driving it, book a private transfer from Naples to the Amalfi Coast.
The Amalfi Coast in a day from Naples
It can be done, and the sea is the way that keeps to time: leave early in the morning and be back for dinner, with no bus timetables to juggle and no parking to hunt for. All our Amalfi Coast tours work like this, from Naples and from the other ports around the Gulf.
