Amalfi Coast and Sorrento from Naples: Minivan Tour or DIY?

Amalfi Coast from Naples: the short answer

The Amalfi Coast is the one day trip from Naples where the organised tour almost always beats doing it yourself, and the reason is the road: the SS163 is narrow, slow and has no railway. A minivan from Naples to Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi costs from €53.10 to €67.32 per person for 8–9 hours, leaving from the city centre and returning in the evening. By public transport you spend €19.20 (Circumvesuviana plus a 24-hour SITA ticket) but the day lasts 10–11 hours, with a change at Sorrento and buses that leave people at the stop in summer. Partner prices are checked regularly; official fares are those of eavsrl.it, sitasudtrasporti.it and nlg.it.

There’s a third way, only from April to early November: the ferry from Molo Beverello to Positano or Amalfi, €32–32.50 each way. It’s the most beautiful journey, but it covers a single town.

Why the minivan wins on the Amalfi Coast

On paper Sorrento is 50 km from Naples and Amalfi 70: the problem isn’t distance but access. The railway stops at Sorrento; from there on there’s only the coast road and the sea. The SITA bus from Sorrento takes about an hour to Positano and an hour and forty minutes to Amalfi, and in high season the most convenient departures leave already full. Anyone doing the loop on their own ends up in Amalfi mid-afternoon with a three-hour journey home ahead and no chance of stopping where they’d like.

The minivan solves exactly this: 8 seats, a driver who knows the scenic lay-bys, 1–2 hours of free time in each town and a return to Naples with no changes. For €53–67 you’re buying time, not luxury. It’s why the Amalfi Coast tours have the highest reviews of all the day trips from Naples, and why this site, which normally recommends the train for Pompeii, recommends the tour here.

How to get there on your own, step by step

1. Train to Sorrento: Circumvesuviana or Campania Express

The Circumvesuviana (EAV) leaves from Napoli Porta Nolana and, three minutes later, from Napoli Garibaldi (beneath Napoli Centrale station). The Naples–Sorrento line takes 65–75 minutes and also stops at Ercolano Scavi and Pompei Scavi; the Naples–Sorrento ticket costs €4.60 each way (UnicoCampania fare, verified regularly) and can’t be booked. The train is packed in the morning between 8 and 9:30 and air conditioning isn’t guaranteed: if you can, take the first train after 7:30.

The Campania Express is EAV’s tourist train on the same line: reserved seat, air conditioning, hostess, few stops. It costs €15 each way and €25 return; the 8:22 from Porta Nolana reaches Sorrento at 9:35, and the 16:20 from Sorrento is in Naples at 17:34. Note: EAV has currently suspended the service until further notice; anyone holding tickets for dates covered by the suspension can ask for a refund. When it runs it is the most comfortable option; otherwise it’s back to the ordinary Circumvesuviana. Check eavsrl.it before you go. The Headout ticket for the Campania Express costs the same €15 as on the EAV website.

2. From Sorrento by SITA bus

The SITA stop is in front of the Circumvesuviana station. The ticket is part of the UnicoCampania system: Sorrento–Positano €2.40, Sorrento–Amalfi €3.40 per ride, or COSTIERASITA at €10, valid for 24 hours on all SITA buses between Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello and Salerno. If you get off in more than one town, the 24-hour ticket pays off from the third ride. Buy it at a tobacconist or newsstand, not on board; validate it when you first board.

Times from the timetable currently in force: the 9:30 bus from Sorrento is in Positano (Sponda stop) at 10:30 and in Amalfi at 11:10; for the return, leaving Amalfi at 15:30 you’re in Sorrento at 17:10 and, on the first available Circumvesuviana, in Naples around 7 pm. Positano has two stops: Chiesa Nuova at the top (400 steps from the beach) and Sponda closer to the centre; get off at Sponda, climb back up to Chiesa Nuova.

3. By ferry, from April to early November

From April to 3 November NLG links Molo Beverello with Positano and Amalfi: departures at 8:35 (from 1 May), 10:00, 10:40, 14:40 (from 1 May) and 15:35; returns from Positano at 9:15, 10:55, 16:24 and 16:35, from Amalfi at 8:54, 10:30, 15:45 and 17:00.

Fares: Positano €32 each way (€30 on the 10:40 departure), €65 return, children aged 2–12 €18.50; Amalfi €32.50 (€26 on the 10:40 departure), €65 return. The 10:40 departure involves changing boats at Capri: slower, cheaper and with the Faraglioni along the way. Alilauro runs Naples–Sorrento five or six times a day at €19 for adults and €14.80 for children aged 2–12: for this route the website only publishes the tourist fare, the regional fare being for residents (€8).

On the booking platforms you’ll find the same journey as a “Naples–Positano ferry” at €34.45 and as an Amalfi and Positano day package at €74: handy if you want a single voucher, but always check that the crossing actually runs on your date.

Sorrento alone from Naples: when the train is enough

If your destination is Sorrento and not the coast, forget the minivan. The Circumvesuviana at €4.60 takes you into the centre in 65–75 minutes, and, when the Campania Express is in service, it does the same journey in 73 minutes with a reserved seat for €15. Alternatively, Alilauro links Molo Beverello with the port of Marina Piccola in Sorrento five times a day (9:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:05 and 17:15, plus 19:30 on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays until 15 September; returns from 8:15 to 16:25, 18:45 in summer), in autumn as well and, from November, on weekdays only: dearer than the train but with Vesuvius in front of you the whole way.

From Sorrento, hydrofoils to Capri take 30 minutes: Naples–Sorrento by train and Sorrento–Capri by hydrofoil is the cheapest way to see the island from Naples.

Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello: what to see and how long you need

Sorrento is the gateway to the peninsula: Piazza Tasso, the old town with its marquetry workshops, the Villa Comunale with its view over the gulf. An hour and a half is enough; tours use it as the first stop, with coffee. Positano is vertical: you walk down to the main beach past the Church of Santa Maria Assunta with its majolica dome and climb slowly back up; two hours, lunch included, if you don’t swim. Amalfi is flat and compact: the Cathedral of Sant’Andrea with the Cloister of Paradise, the Paper Museum, the walk along the pier. An hour and a half.

Ravello, 350 metres above Amalfi, has Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone with its Terrace of Infinity: worth the bus from Amalfi (about 25 minutes) if you have an extra day or a tour that includes it.

With a single day, the honest choice is: Sorrento + Positano + Amalfi by minivan, or one town done properly. With two days, do Ravello and Amalfi on the second, sleeping in Amalfi or returning to Naples by ferry.

When to go: seasons, traffic and the sea

The best time is from mid-April to June and from mid-September to October: ferries in service, the road passable in normal times, temperatures made for walking. July and August are the peak: the SS163 grinds to a halt at weekends, the SITA buses skip stops because they’re full, and that’s why the minivan tours leave at 7:30.

From November to March the ferries stop, many restaurants in Positano close and the day trips become minivan tours or DIY with train and bus; the coast is beautiful even in January, but check the weather because in rain the road can close for landslides. For the month-by-month picture see when to visit Naples.

Amalfi Coast tours from Naples: the variations and what they include

The “premium” tours in 8-seater minivans are the standard formula: departure from Naples between 7:30 and 8:30, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, return around 5:30 pm. Lunch is never included; the driver is not a licensed guide, but makes the scenic stops you don’t get from the bus. The exact meeting point is on the voucher. Here’s the comparison between the platforms, prices verified regularly:

The variation with a boat trip adds about an hour on the water between Amalfi and Positano (or a short trip in front of Positano): it’s the best way to see the coast from below without giving up the towns. It costs from €55 to €89.10:

The other useful formulas, depending on what you want to cut or add:

Positano, Amalfi and Ravello at €63.20 swaps Sorrento for Ravello: choose this if you’ve already seen Sorrento or if you want the villas. Amalfi Coast plus Pompeii at €65 is a long compromise (9 hours) with Pompeii but no guide inside: better only if you have a single day for both; otherwise Pompeii deserves its own day by train. The shared shuttle to Sorrento at €40 is for anyone staying in Sorrento with luggage who doesn’t fancy the Circumvesuviana.

Combinations: Capri, Pompeii and the coast over several days

From Sorrento, hydrofoils reach Capri in 30 minutes: with two days, do the coast on the first and Capri on the second, sleeping in Sorrento or returning to Naples. With three days the classic sequence is Pompeii by train, the coast by minivan, Capri by hydrofoil; you’ll find ready-made plans in the itineraries. If you prefer the sea to the towns, look at the boat tours in the gulf, which go from Naples as far as Positano and Amalfi by sea with stops for swimming. For the full picture of journey times and costs for every destination there’s the table in day trips from Naples.

In short: Amalfi Coast from Naples, what to choose

One day, three towns: take the minivan tour, from €53.10 to €67.32, and book it a few days ahead from May to September. One day, one town: Sorrento by Circumvesuviana at €4.60, or Positano by ferry at €32 between April and early November. Two days: train and bus with the €10 COSTIERASITA, sleeping on the coast. The Amalfi Coast from Naples can be done all three ways; only the first leaves you with no regrets in the evening about the towns you skipped.