“Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.” John Steinbeck

It is still surreal to me that I was able to cross off another dream location from my bucket list: Positano, Amalfi Coast, Italy. I have had pictures of Positano and Santorini both pinned to my pinterest travel board since I was but a teenager awaiting my chance to travel to far off and distant lands.

Seeing it all in real life felt like a wonderful dream… the one where you don’t dare blink for fear you might wake up right during the good part. This was a wondrous experience that I am assimilating still even now.

We spent 3 days in Positano wandering around delighting in this popular italian coastal town. Come join me as we explore together and you might find yourself falling in love with it too.

Where we stayed

View On Airbnb Kikki House

We stayed at the beautiful KIKI house in Positano. It was absolutely unreal to have coffee in the mornings on our private terrace and then settle down in the evenings to enjoy the twinkling lights of the town and waves from the sea.

Booking a spot in Positano

Absolutely recommend getting a room with a view like this when you visit Positano. You’re in POSITANO, likely never to be here again. Get a room with a view. A place like this can be snagged for an affordable price if you book out in advance for the dates you want. Positano is a summer hotspot, so if you wait to book until a month or two out, everything will be too expensive or you won’t get the type of place and within the budget you’re looking for.

Here’s the other thing you have to know about Positano. You’re going to be walking everywhere - it’s 100% unavoidable. Skip to my transportation section further down for for more details. Our airbnb (Kiki House) is relatively high up in Positano. It’s pretty close to the restaurant Il Fornillo, but about a 10 or so minute climb UP. Which meant lots and lots and LOTS of stairs and lots and lots and LOTS of climbing up and down in the heat of summer.

It’s absolutely worth it for the view in my opinion (which comes from being higher up), but just be aware of that potential con. There’s a bus stop about 5 min from the airbnb too to help with all that walking which we likely could have taken the time to utilize.

View from our private terrace in Positano

Our airbnb hosts were so incredible. At the end of the trip the owner took the steps two at a time as he ran to give us this painting of Tre Sorelle Ristorante (the restaurant he works at) with the exquisite Positano backdrop. His whole family had signed it. It was so thoughtful and definitely a “memory unlocked” kind of moment. I plan to get it framed as a memento of the trip and our time there.

What to do in Positano

Hike the Path of the Gods

Just in case you can’t get enough of the stairs and walking up and down and UP and DOWN in Positano, then you should try hiking the Path of Gods.

All sarcasm aside, this is a very famous, very popular and historic path. In the ancient times, this path was created between the main towns - Bomerano, Montepercuso, Positano, etc. and provided a way (notice I did not say an easy way) for travelers to get from one town to the next. It’s anywhere from 2-4 hours start to finish depending on pace.

It’s incredible - like something out of a movie scene. You’re literally walking through and above the clouds. To your left you can see a steep drop and a goat bleating blearily as it lazily climbs a precipice that makes you dizzy.

The view is spectacular, well worth it and definitely something you should see/do. Keep an eye out for an upcoming guide on what to know before you go.

Get engaged

Teehee. Surprise for those of you who didn’t know! We also took some actual engagement photos with a photographer while we were there, so I will be sharing those in an upcoming post. Stay tuned!

Have a beach day

I would be remiss not to mention the beautiful Positano beaches!

Spiaggia Grande is the main beach in Positano and the most famous. When you’re thinking of all the beautiful pinterest photos you’ve seen of Positano with the blue beach umbrellas, this is THAT beach.
Fornillo beach is the 2nd largest in Positano - it’s also relatively close to our area where we stayed (remember I said the Il Fornillo restaurant was near us).

Learn more details here.

Popular places with a view

Franco’s - bar spot

Very trendy. Hot spot for a drink, view and “to be seen” as some have said.

Lancora Bar/Restaurant - great views

The Lancora Bar and Restaurant - 10/10. This was honestly one of my favorite spots we went to! We had perfect seats to enjoy the inimitable Positano view while finally being able to relax. It felt like a sweet oasis away from all the swarms of people. Highly recommend popping in here for lunch/drinks if you’re in Positano!

Faro Bar

Faro Bar is the gorgeous terraced bar above the Il Capitano Restaurant bar and owned by Hotel Montemare. Many people stop in before or after their dinner or lunch reservation for a cocktail or two. This was one of only a few bars I came across that actually featured mocktails on their menu. Not only did Faro bar have mocktails but they had a whole page dedicated to them and featured my favorite NA mixer at the moment: Seedlip. How forward-thinking of them. The overall ambience is great here. There is plenty of seating and it’s actually quite quiet. A cool breeze floats in lazily from the ocean. This was my favorite bar in Positano.

Other popular places to grab a drink with a view

Hotel Poseidon
Le Sirenuse

Things to know before you go

How to get to Positano

From Sorrento

If you’re headed to Positano, it’s likely you’ll be coming from Sorrento unless you hopped onto a ferry coming from another coastal town. Be cognizant of that when you’re planning your italian summer adventure. We started our adventure in Sorrento, then headed to Positano as the next stop.

Ferry is ~ $18 and 40 minutes, book with Alilauro. You can get ferry tickets at the port in Sorrento.
Take a cab/private driver - with inflation and demand so high right not this is definitely NOT the most COST efficient way, but there’s no doubt it can be easier. This is what we did!
Bus - you can take a bus from Sorrento to Positano as well

Transportation and getting around

Walking/Stairs

Expect to walk in Positano. A LOT. It’s worth being repeated a few time so you hear me. EXPECT. TO. WALK. TIL. YOU. DROP. The stairs in Positano are no joke. Make sure to book your lodging as close as you can to the main area you expect to be.

Transportation in Positano

Please don’t be a cyclist - it’s frowned upon by locals to attempt to zip around in scooters and seriously dangerous on these roads. And it’s NOT recommended to rent your own car in Positano. Just don’t. Yes, everyone drives crazy - there are no rules, and people walk in front of cars, to the sides of cars, and everywhere. It’s overall not the ideal setup or location for American drivers and you’ll annoy literally everyone. Your viable options to get around are really to walk or take a bus.

Parting thoughts

Positano is no longer the Positano of John Steinbeck’s day. He likely had no idea when he wrote his famous essay that Positano would one day be overrun by tourists.

“Nearly always when you find a place as beautiful as Positano, your impulse is to conceal it,” wrote John Steinbeck in the May 1953 issue of Harper's Bazaar.

I find that intriguing and more than a little familiar. That’s the essence of Positano. You arrive and are overwhelmed with the beauty. You realize that time is fleeting and you will likely never be here again. So you drop everything and give in to what this new world, this place and time has to offer you. It’s a jolt back to the present moment - and you know? I think that’s what beauty does. It surprises you wonderfully back into place. That’s why we’re so obsessed with it. It’s not about how beautiful something is, it’s what that beauty DOES to us. It’s the feeling it leaves us with when we go back home with bits of sunlight still stuck to our hair, freckled constellations dotting our cheeks, and salt from the ocean dripping from our lips.

Postcard from Positano