Spending a whole day touring the Amalfi Coast with a driver in a few weeks.
Would like to find a spot for our kids (and us) to get a chance to wade/swim in a unique surrounding.
Can anyone tell me how Furor Gorge and Marina de Praia compare? Beach, atmosphere, etc?
Any other place you'd recommend?
Amalfi Coast Swim Spot?
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Is Furor Gorge a correct spelling? A cursory search turned up nothing.
You mean the Furore Gorge.
I just got back from another visit to the Amalfi Coast. You probably already know this, but you can visit most of the towns/cities along the coast by boat. It's a lot more pleasant than the twists and turns of the Amalfi Drive. Especially if you or your kids are prone to motion sickness!
There's a boat tour you can take right from the dock in Positano that will take you to three swimming spots. One of them is the Emerald Grotto in the town of Conca dei Marini ( near Amalfi). You go there by boat, then switch into a smaller rowboat that holds about 15-20 people for the narrow entrance into the grotto. There are also two other stops for swimming, plus a few hours to tour Amalfi. Just check at the dock in Positano. There are several companies that offer this kind of tour.
You can also take a tour of Capri and hope to get into the famous Blue Grotto. Of course that depends on the tides that day. Again, you switch from one boat to a very tiny rowboat, and once inside you're allowed to swim in the grotto. The water makes your body glow green/blue. It's an amazing experience, and my kids LOVED it.
Wow, and how could I have forgotten this?? Fornillo Beach! It's about a 10 minute walk from the center of Positano. It's reached by a sea front path that starts at the hotel COVO DEI SARCENI, and winds around. Just follow that path, then take the stairs down to the beach.
There's a famous snack bar called PUPETTO's at Fornillo Beach, which serves the usual kinds of beach food, plus wine, beer. But for something really extraordinary, stop on the way back for lunch at LO GUARRACINO, which is on the left hand side of the sea front path as you head back to Positano. We had some of the best meals of our entire stay there, and the waterfront views from the main dining room are gorgeous!
Based on the OPs mention of wades/swims I'm assuming we are talking about small kids. Unfortunately beaches on the Amalfi coast are rarely pleasant - most are rock or pebbls and very small/narrow - versus acres of pur white sand that Americans expect. Also many are in towns and half of hte beach covered with small boats and fishing paraphernalia.
I would look up the beaches on google earth to see what they are like - since they may not be up to your standards - esp with small kids.
Kids are 14 & 11.
We're not looking for a full day at the beach, just a chance to get wet in something other than a pool, so a little gravel is OK, as long as its a designated swimming area.
We really like the looks of the Furore Gorge with its tiny baech at the base of a cliff.
I've swum at both of those locations in the past year, as well as at a third beach, described below.
1. The beach area at Furore gorge in reachable down some fairly steep steps and the actual beach area is quite small. One issue that you may face is that in high season, the tides and the small size of the beach have been known to combine to bring in a bit of floating trash. So take a peek before you descend the steps.
There is at least one eating spot but I do not know the hours.
2. The Praia beach cove, Marina di Praia, is a bit larger and there is also swimming from concrete platforms to the west of the actual cove. Here you will have to descend a sloping stretch of pavement, along with some steps, to reach the beach area. It is a gentler walk than the one to the Furore gorge cove. There are a couple of eating places, including Alfonso a Mare and Da Armandino. Seafood is of course, the forte at these.
http://trattoriadaarmandino.it/?page_id=113
http://www.alfonsoamare.it/en/home.php
If you walk from the cove to the west you will skirt the sea as you pass sunbathing platforms, and eventually come to Il Pirata, a restaurant with beach club and lounge chairs/umbrellas.
http://www.ristoranteilpirata.net/restaurant
3. A third option nearby is the beach in Praiano known as Gavitella; this might be my own choice for swimming, as the water is a tad more open and may be cleaner than the others at times. But to reach the beach (concrete platforms adjacent to a pebbly cove), you have to descend quite a few steps. The steps are shallow and there is some shade on the route. You may be able to use the elevator of one of two local hotels for part of the ascent, but not guaranteed. Boats stop here that can take you to other beaches in the area, as well as to Positano or Amalfi, for a price.
Swimming is divine at all three of these places; you will have some local boat traffic to contend with but nothing unbearable. Again, for the actual swimming experience, you are best off at Gavitella.