Is 4 days enough time on the Amalfi Coast?
 

Good morning,
We are planning our next trip to Italy that will start and end in Naples with stops on the Amalfi Coast, Puglia and Tuscany in a loop route. At this point, we have set aside 4 nights in Positano which includes our arrival day. so its just really 3 full days there. I know we'll want to hike the Path of the Gods which is 3/4 of day and not likely on our first day there. I have the Way of Lemons, a boat cruise, day in Capri and of course the different churches. Adding another day there would not be difficult at this early stage. Just looking for advice, experiences, etc. The trip will be in October, 2025 to avoid crowds and high heat. For this trip, we chose Amalfi as we've never been then, Puglia because it just looks interesting and still not overly touristy and Tuscany/Montalcino as the other couple we are travelling with really want to stay a week there (and the wine isn't half bad!!).

Thank you all in advance!

If those are your ONLY goals for the Amalfi Coast, then 3 days is probably sufficient, though you might need to pare your wish list a bit. But don't you want to see the Villa Rufolo or Villa Cimbrone? No interest in Salerno (or Paestum)?

Can we assume you plan to travel for at least three weeks? That's what I would think necessary for a rushed, see-only-a-few-highlights trip that includes the places you list.

We stayed in Positano for 3 nights in 2014 (can't believe it has been 10 years ago already). On our arrival day we walked around Positano and then took the short and pretty walk to Fornillo Beach. The next day we took a ferry to Amalfi and a bus to Ravello. The next day we went to Capri for the day. We took the short hike to the Arco Naturale then a bus to AnaCapri. Our last day we took a taxi to Bomerano and hiked the Path of the Gods to Nocelle where we had lunch then caught a bus back to our hotel in Positano. I know there is a lot in the area that we missed but we enjoyed every minute of our 3 and a half days there. If you want more details, I have posted a trip report.

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...ispreloading=1

Sadly the links in the report to our pictures do not work anymore - shutterfly discontinued their Share Site service.

I love Puglia, having been a few times, but I think it does not pair well with the Amalfi area. How will you get there from Positano?
Do you plan to rent a car?

It's a long drive and if you take a train or bus or fly you will waste a lot of time in transit, too.
Puglia has become VERY much touristed these days. We met people in Matera towards the end of last September who had left Polignano early despite having to pay for the hotel days not used, because the town was so packed.


Where do you plan to go there--it is a very large, long region.
In October the beach towns are kind of dead.
Bari and Lecce would be great but do you really want to go all the way there? Do you see how far south Lecce is, and then to go all the way northwest to Tuscany?
A better choice and a little closer to Amalfi would be Maters which, to me, is a highlight of Italy and of Europe. We have been a few times and cannot get enough. You could easily spend three nights there.

If you go to Puglia, another long, long drive to Tuscany.....
Why not add Umbria...great truffles and mushrooms in October, close to Tuscany, also has great wines....leave Puglia for another time when you can go in May or September.

A boat trip in October off the Amalfi Coast could be iffy..weather is unpredictable the later in the month you go. We spent a week on Ischia in late September and barely saw the sun.
As KJA said..No Ravello? No Paestum?

How many days in Naples? I hope at least three full days and four if you go to Pompeii/Ercolano.

The main thing that sticks out at me is Puglia..Puglia but no Matera.

A few more details:
We will land in naples and take a private car to amalfi
The car will pick us up 4 or 5 days later and drive us back to naples with a stop in Pompeii.
We wont spend our entire Amalfi coast stay in Positano and will take public transport as needed.
We will pick up a rental car in Naples and drive to Cassino...about 1.5hrs and stay overnight
Next day we will tour Monte Cassino and drive on to montalcino for 5-6 nights. About 2 hrs
We will then drive to puglia for 5-6 nights. That will be a full day of driving with stops along the way.
After puglia, we will drive back to naples, drop the car off, stay overnight and depart the next day. That's a 5 hr drive

We will have 4 drivers between the two couples travelling. Our limit seems to be under 21 days of travel.

Way confused by this input, who, when, what, why so many car journeys into difficult to get places with a car? If this is a new thread please start one.

Forgive me but this. does not sounds like a good plan, at all, to me.

First to Naples, then up to Tuscany, THEN south to Puglia??

And where in Puglia?? Montalcino to Lecce,, your prime stop in the region In October, is about an 8 hour drive, without stops.
So just to include Lecce you are adding minimum 13 hours of driving. It does not matter how many drivers there are..it is the time spent on autostradas and highways and small roads.

PLUS driving to other parts of Puglia; imagine you would want to see Alberobello, Locorotondo, Gallipoli, etc.

And still no interest in Matera? No Umbria?

Puglia might be the hottest area in Italy now that it;s been discovered by Americans.....so get rid of the idea that you are going to some unspoiled paradise.

I can recommend a nice hotel near Montecassino where we stayed last fall, but thee trip could use some strong editing.......

But it does not really sound as if you are interested in our opinions....I am happy to help IF you are willing to be open.

To travel from Tuscany to Puglia and skip both part of Umbria AND Matera is a tremendous mistake....

You are going south, south again, then north, then south again, then back northwest to Naples. Why would you return home from Naples if you re determined to visit Puglia? That is a total and insane waste of time in the car......

AT the very least, fly into Florence, to to Montalcino, take train to Naples from (???).

Driver to Pompeii and then to Amalfi Coast.

Get around by buses on A/C and forget boat trips unless you get really lucky.

Take ferry to Salerno, and rent car to Paestum and Montecassiino, see the site, then head for Matera.

From Matera is one hour to Bari, in Puglia. Two nights there.

Drive south to Lecce, stopping at various spots in Puglia.....all the way to Lecce.

From Lecce, drive south to Salento or west to Gallipoli.....

Then drive back to Brindisi and catch flight to US which will have connection, probably in Roma.

Why Montecassino? Is one or all of you a World War Two buff????

May I ask how many trips you have made to Italy?

I imagine you have seen Florence,, Rome, etc.

If you want an "undiscovered" area that is MUCH more in keeping with your plan, go to Abruzzo. Or from Tuscany/Umbria to Le Marche.

But perhaps your friends have not heard of ithose places so do not know the wonders that would await there..in regions with comparatively few tourists and much more appropriate inn October.

I agree with ekscrunchy that Puglia has become very popular. I remember about 10 years ago my Italian teacher saying rather sardonically that it had become popular as a wedding destination "because it's cheaper than Tuscany." And it has exploded since then. Unless you have much-desired specific things you want to see in Puglia, I would look at a map and find someplace closer to Tuscany to add to your trip: Le Marche, Abruzzo, Umbria. Or skip Tuscany and stay south.

Five or six days for Puglia isn't much, by the way. I spent 12 there last year and barely scratched the surface. If you are looking for something not as touristy as the AC and Tuscany, you don't need to traipse all the way down to Puglia for a too-brief visit.

There seems to be some confusion here. You have posted to another member's thread but the two trips seem essentially identical. Are you part of the second couple the OP mentions?

You have also started a thread of your own linked here: https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...uglia-1725026/

If the two threads are indeed about the same trip it would better for them to be merged. Can either Iahawk or cmeyer54 please clarify if this is all one trip or should be separate threads.

Neither has returned to let us know what they think about our suggestions...