amalfi coast sights, attractions and itinerary

Welcome to the Drink in the Sights Amalfi Coast itinerary. Here you'll find information about all the main Amalfi coast sights and towns including the Greek temples of Paestum, the tourist town of Sorrento and the second city of the Vesuvius region Salerno. On top of all of this we'll also cover the coastal towns of Ravello, Amalfi and Positano  and say hello to some buffalo.

Sun, Sea, Ancient Sites and Some Teeth.

There are few more beautiful sights in the world than the view from Meta beach, just outside Sorrento, at sunset with Capri in the distance. I'm not even someone that usually enjoys sitting on, or around a beach. I prefer a city break, a chance to get out and do things, but this place had me mesmerised. This begs the question, why did I decide to visit The Amalfi Coast, and the surrounding area in the first place?

The answer is I didn't. I was desperate to see Pompeii and Herculaneum. The fact that I ended up in this paradise was entirely down to convenience. There's a train that runs from Sorrento to Naples, stopping off at Pompeii and Herculaneum on the way, so this was meant to just be a base to stop at. But then I started doing my research, and decided to extend my holiday to include trips to The Amalfi Coast, Paestum, and Capri, and I really didn't regret it as there's so many things to put on an Amalfi Coast itinerary.

I actually stayed in a small town called Meta, which is one stop away from Sorrento by train, or about a 30 minute walk. All the pictures of gorgeous sunsets are from Meta, and I'd honestly recommend it much more than Sorrento. Meta is a quiet, peaceful place to relax away from the crowds of primarily British tourists, that flood to Sorrento every year. With the train only costing a euro each way, you can easily have the best of both. If I'm honest though the real reason I stayed in Meta wasn't any of this, it was the price.

Amalfi Coast Sights

Meta is a wonderful, cheap alternative to Naples or Sorrento, to use as a base to see everything this incredible area has to offer. It's worth keeping in mind that to get here you fly to Naples airport, take a shuttle to the city, and a train to Sorrento or Meta. This train only runs during the day, so try to get a flight that lands early enough to catch it, or you'll end up blowing 100 euros on a taxi, and there's better things to spend your money on. If you can't get there while the trains are running you can book a transfer through ShuttleDirect which is cheaper than the local taxi. Now we've got you there it's time to drink in the Amalfi Coast sights.

Sorrento

I'll make my bit on Sorrento sights pretty brief, because I wasn't here to see to see it, and you probably wont be either. Sorrento is a convenient base to see all the things to do in Amalfi Coast, and because it's got the most bars and restaurants in the area, it's the liveliest place to stay. There's a small, pleasant enough church to visit, if you enjoy that kind of thing, but the overall impression you'll get of Sorrento is that it's hectic.

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There's touts everywhere trying to get you to eat at their restaurant, which always annoys me, and you can just tell the place is primed for British tourists. I'd best describe Sorrento as Skegness on steroids. It's probably really pretty, but it's obscured by people and traffic everywhere. The nicest thing to see is Il Vallone Dei Mulini, which is a valley buried at the heart of the town. It's very pretty. Right that's the Sorrento sights out the way, lets talk about the real reasons you're here.

The Amalfi Coast Attractions

To book an Amalfi Coast tour from Sorrento click here

I did this as part of a tour from Sorrento. It costs about £70 for the day, but includes all the transport and a guide, which seemed easier than trying to navigate numerous buses. As I had already allocated one day to Pompeii, one to Vesuvius, one to Capri, one to Herculaneum, and one to Paestum, I really didn't have any time left over to mess around trying to figure out how to get everywhere. Anyway the tour is excellent, and you get plenty of time in each stop, so you regret spending the extra money.

The first stop is the port village of Positano, the jewel in the crown of the Amalfi Coast. This is the one you see in all the pictures of the area, and I'm sorry to say my photos don't do it justice. This is partly because unusually for the area it wasn't sunny, and partly because it probably looks better at night, all lit up. It's still one of the most beautiful villages you'll ever visit though, even when it's overcast. 

It's a lovely scenic area set on a cliff edge, by the sea, with some great views. I'd say Positano is much more of a photo opportunity than a place to spend a lot of time. It's a village after all, so there's not a huge amount going on. So just wander around the quaint little streets, take a few nice pictures, hopefully in the sun, and hop back on the bus.  

The next stop on the tour is Amalfi, the town the whole area is named after. For me this was the highlight of the tour. Like Positano this gorgeous town is set on the cliff edge, looking out to the sea. Unlike Positano it was sunny when we got there, and there was stuff to do.

Comfortably the main sight in Amalfi is the glorious 11th century Cathedral, which shimmers a beautiful gold in the sunlight. Walking up the steps to get to the entrance just adds an extra feeling that this is a little bit special, while the intricate facade confirms that belief. The cathedral is dedicated to St Andrew, the lesser known brother of St Peter.

The inside of the cathedral certainly doesn't disappoint. With its lavish gold ceiling, and spectacular alter depicting the crucifixion of St Andrew. There's also statues lining the whole naive, and a museum which is well worth a look. The cloister is a beautiful sun trap, with a lovely garden to sit around in.

Leaving Amalfi it's time to head to Ravello. This gorgeous town is rightly famous for it's gardens and scenery, and for me it's the prettiest area of the Amalfi Coast. The whole place is awash with greenery, and little medieval stone buildings. This really is a proper tranquil paradise, almost free from the sounds of cars and people. There's a nice little church with a bell tower, but other than that it's just really scenic so take a break and drink in the Amalfi sights.

If you want to see Alalfi, Sorrento and much more without any hassle have a look at Travelsphere.co.uk. They have an 8 day trip Amalfi Coast Tour including Sorrento, Naples, Amalfi, Minori and Ravello. Travelsphere will sort out the transfers, the flights, the hotels, two or three meals a day and the tours for you while you just sit back and enjoy the trip. Check them out here.

I can imagine one day heading to Ravello or Positano to enjoy a peaceful, quiet life, but I'm just not ready for that yet. I need more to do, and while everything in Amalfi, Ravello, and Positano is beautiful, they aren't places to spend more than a day or two. The tour is a lovely well paced day trip, which allows you to see the main areas of the Amalfi Coast, hassle free. But would I travel all the way to Sorrento for this? Probably not. So it's a good job there's a lot more around.

Salerno

Having come to Sorrento primarily to see Pompeii and Herculaneum, I was delighted to find out I could go even further back in time, with a trip to Paestum. This is a great opportunity to see some 2500 year old Greek temples, and having not been to Athens at this point, I jumped at the chance. Sadly public transport wont get you to Paestum. So you'll need to book a tour for about £50, which includes a trip to Salerno, and inexplicably a trip to see a buffalo farm.

The first stop is seeing the Salerno sights, the second biggest town in the area after Naples. If I'm brutally honest when I went no-one was interested in Salerno, as we all just wanted to see the temples. But it turned out it's a really pretty, Amalfi Coast type city, with one or two happy little bonuses. The first one was the peculiar Norman, for the most part, cathedral, with a baroque crypt. So it was bereft of colour everywhere except where you'd least expect.

The crypt is absolutely lavish, as you'd expect from anything baroque, and contains the tomb of St Mathew, and a truly special relic... His teeth. I find relics more than a little weird, and this is just another example of their oddness as far as I'm concerned. Regardless though you wont find a more ornate crypt anywhere, so here's a few more pictures of it, with the Black Madonna centrepiece.

Once the tour leaves the cathedral you get 30 minutes to explore the city. In this time I found something wonderful, a bizarre room next to another church, where it was Christmas forever. Italian Christmas songs were playing, there was a manger scene, and various other Christmas themed stuff. Weird but wonderful. I am only assuming it's like this all the time because I went in summer. Maybe it's not, but if anyone else goes could they please find out for me? Salerno has to be one of the top things to do in the Amalfi Coast.

Amalfi Coast Itinerary Extras

Paestum

Finally we got to the ancient Greek city of Paestum. To be honest there's not much left except three, amazingly well preserved temples, a small Roman Forum, and a museum. However anyone with an interest in Ancient Greek history is going to make this trip, and not be disappointed. Two of the temples are dedicated to Hera, who the guide insisted on telling us time and time again holds a pomegranate, and is the goddess of fertility. The third temple is dedicated to Athena, of Athens fame.

The temples date back to 500 BC, so they're seriously old, which makes their preservation all the more impressive, especially if you've ever been to Athens and seen the state of the Parthenon. Sure these aren't quite to the same scale, but look at them, they're pretty impressive. And unlike the ones in Athens you can get up close to these temples, and walk around inside them, which is nice.

The two  temples to Hera are right next to each other, while the Athena one is just a short walk away. All of them are unmistakably Doric in style, and you wont find better examples anywhere. Even the relatively untouched temple of Hephaestus in Athens isn't at this level. It's nice to be able to walk around, and inside something this ancient, rather than been fenced off from it. beyond any doubt the temples are the top Paestum sights.

Slightly less ancient, but still worth seeing on the same site, are the Roman Forum and Amphitheatre. It's no Colosseum that's for sure, but you're in the area so why not pay it a visit. Following this the tour moves to a restaurant in Paestum, where you'll have, among other things, buffalo mozzarella. We'll get to the relevance of that in a minute.

The last part of the Paestum leg of the trip is to the museum, where the artefacts from the temples are hidden, including statues of Hera and her pomegranate. It's alright. There's lots of old Greek stuff to mull over, and a Christian art exhibition, so lots of angels, saints, and crucifixes. There's also several frescoes of women pulling their hair out. Apparently when a woman's husband died, it was customary for them to show such grief that they made themselves cry continually, and pulled their own hair out. This is allegedly where the saying don't pull your hair out comes from. Everyday is a lesson with me. Amusingly if the woman was rich, she could pay someone else to mourn instead, to retain her looks, mourners were paid based on how many tears they shed.

The final part of the trip is where you get to find out where buffalo mozzarella comes from. My assumption was that the clue was in the name, nevertheless off you go to see some buffalo. It's not a problem that the tour goes there, it's on the way back, and the only other thing to do is hang around the Skeg Vegas like Sorrento. But still it felt like a weird add on to an otherwise enjoyable trip. The simple truth with this one though is if you want to see Greek temples you'll love it. If you don't, then I'm not sure why you even read this far.

To book the Amalfi Coast tour through Expedia click here

To book the Paestum tour through Expedia click here

For the real historians among you, you can book a trip to Paestum, Pompeii, Herculaneum and more through Travelsphere here.

For what so eaily could have just been a beach holiday I think you'll agree there's plenty of things to do in the Amalfi Coast.

I hope you enjoyed my Amalfi Coast itinerary. Now I've introduced you to the best Amalfi Coast sights lets get this trip booked. If you want anymore help feel free to contact me via Facebook Messenger or the contact me section on my Free Travel Planning Service page.