The Amalfi Coast in three days

💡Think twice before driving the SS163

It is narrow, hangs off the cliff, and the line buses take up nearly the whole width: meeting one on a bend means reversing. And parking runs four to six euros an hour in the villages, when there is space at all. The SITA bus covers the whole coast, and in summer the boat between villages beats the road.

💡August is the worst month, and not only for the crowds

In August the heat, the cruise ships and the Italian holidays all land at once: the villages seize up, prices jump and the bus goes past full. May, June and September have the same sea and half of everything else. From October many hotels and boats close until Easter, so check before booking off-season.

💡There is no flat ground here: count steps, not kilometres

Positano, Atrani, Praiano and Ravello are hillsides, and moving around them means going up and down all the time. Three hundred metres on the map can be two hundred steps. Wear shoes with a sole, not flat sandals, and if you are travelling with someone who struggles with slopes, factor it into where you sleep.