8 Things You Should Know About the Amalfi Coast (part 2)

Let’s continue discovering the 8 Things You Should Know about the Amalfi Coast (part 1)!

5) Beaches are beautiful but small

The Amalfi Coast is all about cliffs, fiords and inlets so, inevitably, the beaches are going to be small, rocky and pebbly. During high season finding a little spot for you and your friends can prove to be an arduous quest. In addition, most of the space is taken by private beach clubs that rent beach chairs and umbrellas at quite high a price (See number 3: The Amalfi Coast is frigging expensive). Particularly in the town of Amalfi the space left to public use is reduced to a tiny stretch of pebbly sand where people have to fight hard to conquer a tiny space for themselves. For this reason, always check in advance if you can go to quieter inlets by boat. As a matter of fact, many beaches are accessible only by boat. You’ll have to pay a price for it, but at least you’ll definitely find a more relaxing space.

Pro tip: as far as Amalfi is concerned, instead of the Marina Grande beach head for the beaches called Il Duoglio and/or Santa Croce. You can reach both by taking a boat from the little port near Marina Grande beach. Il Duoglio beach can be accessed also by a long staircase (about 400 steps) starting from the Strada Statale Amalfitana. Remember! Being located in two inlets, the sun in both beaches goes beyond the horizon quite early, so you might want to go there early morning and go back to Amalfi around 5 when the sun “wanes” because of the cliffs.

6) Salerno or Vietri sul Mare are two excellent base camps

If you have set your mind to visit all or some of the 13 towns of the Amalfi Coast, you need to set a base camp for your excursions. As I have said in part 1, many tourists opt for Sorrento. However, I’d say that a better choice would be Salerno or even Vietri sul Mare. The reasons for this tip are the following:

1) Both Salerno and Vietri sul Mare have a train station (Vietri sul mare being the only exception to the rule "NO train service along the Amalfi Coast"). This means that both towns are connected to places other than the Amalfi Coast such as Pompeii, Naples or the amazing archeological site of Paestum.

2) Being at the beginning of the Amalfi Coast prices here are more affordable.

3) Both town still retain a very strong “local” flavor because they’re not (yet) overwhelmed by hordes of tourists.

7) Walk!

The Amalfi Coast offers a variety of hiking trails one more beautiful than the other. However, if your goal is not walking in the mountains and see the sea from afar, you can still save some money while taking the opportunity of admiring a great scenery by walking from one town to another. If you take the bus from Salerno, you can get off at colorful Cetara and then, from there, walk towards Erchie (about 20 minutes). You can’t get lost since there is just one road. Another walkable distance is the one from Maiori to Minori (around 20 minutes) and from Atrani to Amalfi (lesser than 10 minutes). Needless to say, as I’ve already mentioned, the road is as incredibly astonishing as possibly dangerous, since cars and buses will be running along it non-stop. This option is definitely more doable if you’re visiting the Amalfi coast during spring/ early summer or late summer/early autumn where the road is less busy.

8) Buy Local

The range of local products that the Amalfi Coast offers goes from the typical ceramics of Vietri sul Mare to the lemon-flavoured pastries of Amalfi. Being in between mountains and sea the Amalfi Coast is the kingdom of lemon and fish, specially anchovies. Some things that you don’t want to miss out during your stay are: the already mentioned ceramics of Vietri sul Mare, the colatura di alice of Cetara (a sauce made from anchovies processed in a particular way that usually goes with spaghetti), the delizia al limone (a cake made of lemon cream), the ndunderi of Minori (a typical kind of gnocchi made with ricotta), the provola cheese of Agerola and, last but not least the limoncello, a lemon liqueur that you really, really, really don't want to miss out! The list of the local products can go on and on, but at least you know now that there are some specific things you can find only in this piece of heaven on earth: the wonderful Amalfi Coast!

Click here for 8 Things You Should Know About the Amalfi Coast (part 1)! I hope these 8 tips about the Amalfi Coast will come in handy during your stay! Enjoy!

Parco Archeologico Paestum

Via Magna Graecia 919, 84047 Capaccio

Atrani

84010 Atrani SA, Italie

Amalfi Coast

84011 Amalfi SA, Italie

Positano

84017 Positano, Province of Salerno, Italie

Villa Cimbrone - Terrace of Infinity

Via Santa Chiara, 26, 84010 Ravello SA, Italia

A glass of Limocello

Naples, Italie