Bussing it to Positano

They say the best way to see Positano is by boat. We did it by bus….but we saw it by boat later. I would do both. We took the bus there. It was complete insanity. I seriously thought that was the end of me. It was only a 40 minute ride but it seemed to take forever. I counted the minutes and prayed (and I’m not even religious) the whole way there. The bus drivers drive really really fast on tiny roads that look wide enough for only 1 car (but somehow fit two going in both directions) on mountains overlooking cliffs and the sea….and it feels like you are literally just inches from the cliff. It didn’t help that I had discovered Limoncello the night before either…. If you get carsick easy you’re screwed.

Luckily we made it ok, although we missed our bus stop – which turned out fine since we met a really friendly shop owner (Positano Profumi) who waved down the local Positano bus for us and told the driver where to drop us off. Thankfully we made it to our hotel with no issues and we were pleasantly surprised with the view of the sea from our terrace. Casa Maresca is run by Paul and Lucia who were super friendly and gave us lots of information on what to do, see, eat, etc. She even did a load of our laundry, which was totally necessary at this point. :) Our room was simple but spotless and the huge bonus was the terrace and seaview….which we used every day. We were on the Fornillo side of Positano, which is about a 15 min walk to the main town and main beach Spiaggia Grande. We didn’t mind the walk since it was our only form of exercise these days…. I was hoping to do this crazy hike called the Path of the Gods but we were told that there aren’t many signs and it seemed like too much of a pain to get there....and most importantly there could be snakes so we skipped it….oh well!

Positano is a lovely, quaint, little town. And it really has a small town feel. Every Positano native we met was extremely friendly and warm. We spent a lot of time chilling on our terrace, hanging by the beach, and just walking through the main town’s winding roads window shopping.

One day, we took the boat to Amalfi and discovered why Positano is best seen by boat. As you pull away from Positano (or as you pull in) you really see the beauty of the whole coast….with the colorful houses stacked up against each other on large cliffs overlooking the striking blue of the sea . It is stunning!

We didn’t stay in Amalfi long as we caught the bus up the hill to Ravello. We were with our neighbors Chris and Laura (from Melbourne, Australia and also traveling for 4 months) and it was fun to hang with new peeps for the day. Ravello is another cute town on the Amalfi Coast with 2 huge Villas (Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufulo). We only made it to Villa Cimbrone which was beautifully landscaped and had great views of the sea and towns below. Ravello is also known for outdoor concerts during it’s annual summer festival. Unfortunately it didn’t work out logistically for us but it would have been really cool to see.

Our favorite meal was at La Tagliata, which was just above the hill near Nocelle with incredible views overlooking all of Positano. They even pick you up and drop you off for free. It is a cute, family fun restaurant. There is no menu – they just bring out 4 courses of daily specials….Antipasti, Pasta, Meat, and Dessert. Oh and wine is included. There was a TON of food. I skipped breakfast the next day because I was so full! Our last day, we stopped at La Sirenuse hotel and had coffee. This hotel is in a beautiful setting. If you can afford it – stay there. If not, at least go check it out – totally worth it….unbelievable views and great ambiance! I wish we could have spent more time there....next time!!