Summertime on the Amalfi Coast might be crowded and expensive, but there are still ways to enjoy a visit.
The sun-drenched Amalfi Coast—with its dramatic cliffs, 800-year-old villas, and endless expanses of the ink-blue sea—is everyone’s favorite version of Italy. How could it ever disappoint? Easy. Just go during the summertime.
Hoo boy, here come the @s. Look, the Amalfi Coast is indeed exquisitely beautiful. Of course, you want to stroll the whitewashed streets of bougainvillea-draped Positano. Of course, you want to sip limoncello in sweetly-perfumed lemon groves with Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. And you want to go during the summertime, when you have time off for vacation, and the weather is perfect for your Instagrammable summer dresses.
Trust me: I get it. But, as someone who’s lived in the region for over 10 years, please allow me to warn you that the Amalfi Coast during high season is so overrated, you might as well be throwing your money (and your lifelong dolce vita dreams) away. This famous lovers’ paradise becomes a sweat-drenched hellscape in the torrid summer months between July and August.
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High Season Comes With High Temps and High Prices
As soon as the high season begins, prices skyrocket. An espresso can cost €5 (compared to a typical price of €1 in other parts of Southern Italy), and an average night’s stay will run you around €150. The chicest resorts in Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello can cost thousands of euros a night. Temperatures soar as well, hovering around 90 degrees in July and August.
Expect Crowds…Lots of Crowds
Close your eyes. I want you to imagine the most beautiful juicy peach. Now imagine it overrun with ants. That’s the Amalfi Coast during high season.
The Amalfi Coast’s beauty is also its greatest curse. The area becomes so clogged with tourists that its piazzas and attractions become a steaming parking lot for dazed humans, to say nothing of the actual roads. The SS163–the coastal highway linking the Amalfi coast towns–is already terrifying for its hairpin curves. Now add streams of cars, scooters, and angrily honking buses and subtract adherence to traffic laws.
The public SITA buses can be just as intense, with massive queues and standing room only if you can get on since buses are often too full to stop. Once, coming back from the Path of the Gods hike, which gets its heavenly name from the trail’s seeming proximity to the sky, I needed to change buses at Amalfi, the coast’s principal transit hub.
Remember the ants? The swarm was closing in, anguished shouts and screams filling the air. My guide muttered, “We’ll never get on. And it’s an hour until the next bus.”
“Watch this,” I said, grabbing his arm and yanking us both inside. Did I shove someone? Maybe. Survival of the fittest.
The madness comes to its frothing, rabid peak in August when Italians have off for vacation and join the fray. This miserable month is also when many churches, museums, and attractions will be closed.
The Beaches Aren’t What You Expect
Readjust your expectations if your Amalfi Coast fantasy involves sprawling out on a sugar sand beach. Apart from a few sandy stretches, most of the area’s beaches are pebble or cliff beaches, which, while strikingly beautiful, can be rough on the toes and not ideal for laying out.
Can You Still Enjoy the Amalfi Coast During the High Season?
Sorry to be such a bummer. But don’t give up on your dream just yet–the shoulder season (Easter to early June; the glorious month of September) is a wonderful time to visit the Amalfi Coast. It may not quite be warm enough to wear that spaghetti strap sundress, but you’ll be able to soak up the sunshine and stroll the cobblestone and ceramic tile-lined streets without being trampled.
The off-season can also offer surprising delights. Though the weather won’t be ideal and many hotels, restaurants, and activities will be closed, you will get a far more local experience, as B&Bs will still be operating, and the restaurants that are left open are the ones locals visit. You’ll also be to explore the villages freely, and you can still enjoy the many spectacular hikes and sailing experiences. Download the free Unico Campania app transit app to keep an eye on ferry and bus schedules as services peter out after the high season. If you like driving, the traffic, while still hairy, will be less so.
And for those worried about the people I shoved out of the way to get on the bus, we were the same size. They’re fine.
Please don't poo poo my trip this September to Positano. It was suppose to be a 30th wedding anniversary trip but delayed three times - twice during covid and this last time due to my son's cancer diagnosis. If anyone is going to the Amalfi coast this summer, their plans will have been made (and paid for) almost a year ago. Anyone thinking about going at this point will be out of luck. So coming out with this now only puts a damper on many people's plans that can't be changed now. Maybe an article about going next summer??
And don't forget the dull food served in restaurants, especially if you don't eat fish/seafood.