Positano is famous for the hills with colorful houses and views of a deep blue Mediterranean. As Italy has one of the finest cuisine in the world, visiting the Amalfi coast seemed to be the perfect honeymoon destination (or any other holiday really). We visited Positano in May and lucked out with the weather, we had clear blue skies each day and temperatures of 20+ degrees, while it had been stormy and rainy in the weeks before.
How to get there & around
There are many ways to get to Positano. We rented a car in Rome and drove to Positano in about four hours. You can also take the train or an airplane into Naples and arrange transport from there. There are local buses as well, but they seemed overcrowded in May already. In Positano itself your car if of little use, you can walk anywhere and parking costs about € 25 per day. Our Airbnb arranged a parking spot at Parking Anna for us, which was really close to our Airbnb. As we wanted to do a daytrip to Ravello it was still comfortable to have a car. Parking at the Amalfi coast is difficult and it usually gets more crowded during the day. We left early for Ravello and did not have any problems finding a parking spot (at 10AM). Unfortunately when we wanted to have lunch in Amalfi, we could not find a parking spot and we decided to skip it. You either have to do a lot of planning, or you have to be willing to spend a lot of money when you want to visit the Amalfi coast.
Location
We stayed in Positano town itself, just at the other side of town. We rented a room on Airbnb with a gigantic terrace, so we could enjoy the view while having breakfast. We were really happy with our room, it totally had the Positano feels as it was located in between the colorful houses and had a sea view. We were warned for the amount of steps in Positano, but we could easily walk everywhere from our room and if you took a smart route the amount of steps was fine. Our room cost € 140, which is not cheap, but seemed to a cheap option in Positano (?).
Things to do
My favorite activity in Positano was walking around, relaxing on our terrace, enjoying the view and eating food. Hielke also did some swimming, which he did from the small beach (Fornillo beach). On the beach you can rent beach chairs (which are as expensive as in every other touristy area) or just bring a towel and put it on the rocky sand.
Positano is also really good for shopping. They have lots of linen dresses, handmade sandals and colorful pottery, which makes for great souvenirs. Blue Positano sells great menswear, they have lots of pastel colored linen shirts and other Mediterranean classics such as boat shoes and preppy shorts. Hielke bought a linen shirt and is super satisfied about the quality and fit.
Daytrip to Ravello: I heard that Ravello is even more beautiful than Positano and we decided to do a daytrip there. We visited Villa Rufolo, which has a really pretty flower garden. We were there around opening time and were able to take shots without other people in it. Ravello got crowded during lunch time, it was nice to wander around for a bit but I did not love it as much as Positano, as it was less colorful and the restaurants were less stylish.
Food
We did not have a bad meal in the Amalfi coast, but the first two are food experiences I specifically want to highlight.
Lemons: The Amalfi coast is famous for its lemons and you can buy lemon related products everywhere (Limoncello, lemon dresses, lemon pottery, you name it). I loved bumping into lemon trees everywhere, but the most fun lemon activity was the lemonade stall just outside of Positano. I expected there to be lemon stalls everywhere, as I had frequently seen them on Instagram, but apparently everybody poses in front of the same stall. The owner was really funny and even took the camera from Hielke so we would get the best pictures 😉 Overall it was a really funny experience, we got loads of cheesy pictures and we tasted great lemonade!
Hotel Poseidon: Our best meal in Positano (and in Italy) was at Il Tridente in Hotel Poseidon. I made a reservation for lunch one month before and we actually got one of the best seats with great views! Luckily the food was just as good as the view, the antipasti and the pasta with aubergine were absolutely amazing. Just thinking back of this meal makes me want to go back to Positano… The service is great as well, the personnel is super kind and charming and really treats you like you are royalty. They have vegan and vegetarian options as well and good information regarding allergies. Make sure to reserve a table in time. We wanted to go back another night, but they were fully booked. To compensate for the price of this lunch we had pizza on our terrace the first night.
Le Sirenuse: I was as naïve to think that staying in Le Sirenuse would be an option for our honeymoon, until I discovered that the rooms cost about € 1.500 a night (!!!). Still I was super curious for this hotel, so we went here for drinks. If you show up at around 19PM their terrace opens, so you can ask for a table. As expected wine costs € 14 a glass, but you get little snacks with it, we watched the sunset behind the beautiful dome of Positano and you can catch glimpses of this hotel when you use the toilet. I would absolutely recommend to check out the old fashioned Italian glamour of this hotel, everything is in perfect condition, but I don’t think a hotel can ever really deliver on a price of € 1.500 a night.
