Amalfi Coast in 5 Days: Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello and Capri

Five days is the sweet spot where the Amalfi Coast stops feeling rushed: it is long enough to add Capri to the usual Positano-Amalfi-Ravello trio, but short enough that the trip can still collapse into an exhausting string of transfers if you pick the wrong bases. The fix is discipline, not more stops. This itinerary uses exactly two bases — Sorrento for the bookends, Positano for the middle — and treats every other stop as a day trip reached by SITA bus or seasonal ferry.

Why Sorrento and Positano, and Not Five Different Hotels

The temptation on a 5-day trip is to sleep in Sorrento one night, Positano the next, then Amalfi, then Ravello, then Capri. Without a car, each change of base costs the better part of a morning or afternoon on a bus or boat, so a five-town itinerary can quietly turn into three real sightseeing days out of five. This plan avoids that by keeping Sorrento as the arrival and departure hub — it is the only town on this stretch of coast reached directly from Naples by the Circumvesuviana train — and using Positano as a second base for the days spent on the coast itself. If you would rather stay in one place the whole trip and day-trip everywhere, see Amalfi Coast without a car for the trade-offs.

Day 1: Arrival in Sorrento

Fly or take the train into Naples, then continue to Sorrento on the Circumvesuviana or by private transfer; the direct trip takes roughly 70 minutes by train. Sorrento sits on a clifftop over the Bay of Naples, not on the Amalfi Coast proper, but it makes an easy, well-connected first stop.

Spend the afternoon on foot in the old town, through the narrow lanes around Corso Italia and Piazza Tasso, then down to Marina Grande for an early dinner facing the water. Sorrento is also the traditional home of limoncello made from local lemons, so a tasting is a natural way to end the first evening — see limoncello tasting in Amalfi for background on how it is made across the peninsula. If you want a more hands-on evening, book a pizza-making class in a Sorrento kitchen instead of a sit-down restaurant.

Sleep in Sorrento.

Day 2: Transfer to Positano

Move to Positano by SITA bus or, from around April to October, by seasonal ferry along the coast — the boat gives a better first view of the town’s stacked houses but should never be assumed to be running outside the warm months. Check ferries between Amalfi Coast, Sorrento and Capri before you count on it.

Once in Positano, drop your bags and spend the rest of the day at low intensity: the main beach and Fornillo for a few hours, then a walk up through the pastel stairways for the well-known photo viewpoints. Positano’s beaches are mostly pebble and largely organized as paid lidos in high season, so do not expect free Caribbean-style sand. In the late afternoon, a short boat trip is a good way to see the coastline from the water — the mini-cruise along the coast toward Amalfi works well as a low-effort second-day activity. Positano has a lively evening scene if you want it, or a quiet dinner terrace if you don’t.

Sleep in Positano.

Day 3: Amalfi and Ravello in One Day

This is the busiest day of the trip, combining two towns that are often mistakenly treated as one region: Amalfi and Ravello sit on the same bus route but have almost nothing else in common. Take a morning SITA bus or ferry from Positano to Amalfi.

In Amalfi, see the striped facade of the Duomo, then the Museo della Carta, since papermaking — not ceramics — is Amalfi’s own craft tradition. A short guided walk covers the historic core efficiently; the half-day tour of Amalfi’s old town and waterfront is a practical way to see the highlights without planning your own route. Have lunch in Amalfi before moving on.

In the early afternoon, take a local bus up to Ravello, which sits roughly 350 meters above the water on a ridge and has no beach of its own — the shoreline belongs to Amalfi and Minori below it. Ravello’s draw is its gardens and views: Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone both look straight out over the Gulf of Salerno. A guided walk through Ravello’s historic center and gardens is an efficient way to cover both villas plus the Duomo in a single pass before heading back down to the coast for the bus or ferry return to Positano.

Sleep in Positano.

Day 4: Day Trip to Capri

Capri is the reason five days beats three or four: it needs a full day of its own and does not fit comfortably into a shorter trip. Catch an early hydrofoil to Capri from Positano or, if the connection works better, backtrack to Sorrento first — both routes run in season, but neither should be treated as guaranteed outside roughly April to October, since winter sailings are thin and weather-dependent. See day trip to Capri from Sorrento for realistic timings.

From Marina Grande, the funicular climbs to Capri town; Anacapri is a separate onward trip by bus or by the Monte Solaro chairlift, so decide in advance whether you want both or just one. If the sea is calm, the Blue Grotto is worth attempting in the late morning, but it closes without notice whenever tide or swell make it unsafe, so build in a backup plan rather than anchoring the whole day around it. For a guided overview that does not depend on the grotto being open, the full-day tour of Capri’s highlights covers the funicular, Capri town and a boat pass along the coastline. Leave enough buffer before the last return sailing — Capri departures can back up badly on the return leg in peak season.

Sleep in Positano.

Day 5: Return and Departure via Sorrento

On the final morning, take the SITA bus or ferry back to Sorrento rather than heading straight to Naples — it keeps the loop tidy and gives a last few hours in a town with direct train access. Use the time for any last-minute shopping in Sorrento’s old town, or a final walk along the clifftop gardens above Marina Piccola.

From Sorrento, the Circumvesuviana runs back to Naples for flights or onward trains; budget at least 90 minutes of margin for the connection, since the line can run slower than the timetable suggests. If your flight is early the next day instead, an overnight in Sorrento before departure removes the risk entirely.

Where to Stay for This Itinerary

Sorrento and Positano cover very different budgets and atmospheres, and picking the wrong one for your dates can undo the two-base logic above. Sorrento has a wider spread of hotels near the train station and old town, which makes it the easier base for arrival and departure nights if cost matters. Positano runs at the higher end for nearly everything, especially anything with a sea view in July or August, so booking early matters more there than anywhere else on this route. For a fuller comparison of the trade-offs between the two towns, see Sorrento vs Amalfi Coast: where to stay; for ways to trim costs across transport, food and lodging on the whole trip, Amalfi Coast budget guide breaks each of those down separately.

What to Pack for Five Days

Layers matter more than any single item on this itinerary, since the temperature on a shaded Ravello terrace can feel noticeably cooler than a sun-exposed Positano beach an hour later. Comfortable, closed-toe walking shoes are worth prioritizing over anything else — Sorrento’s old town, Amalfi’s steps and Capri’s funicular queue are all easier in real walking shoes than sandals. A light rain layer earns its space outside the June-to-September window, when a sudden squall along the SS163 is not unusual. See the Amalfi Coast packing list for a fuller rundown organized by season.

Adjusting This Itinerary

This plan assumes no rental car, which keeps things simpler on the SS163 — a narrow, cliffside road with ZTL restrictions in Amalfi, Positano and Ravello during high season. If you do have extra time, Amalfi Coast in a week adds slower days and a Sorrentine Peninsula stop; if you have less, Amalfi Coast in 3 days drops Capri to focus on the coast itself. Travelling in July or August, expect the SS163 and the SITA buses to be at their most crowded — see Amalfi Coast in August for what that looks like in practice. Travelling with children changes the pacing more than the route itself; Amalfi Coast with kids itinerary reworks this same five days around shorter transfers and fewer back-to-back sightseeing stops.

FAQ: Planning an Amalfi Coast Itinerary in 5 Days

Should I base myself in Sorrento or Positano for 5 days on the Amalfi Coast?

Two bases work best: Sorrento for arrival, departure and the Capri day trip, and Positano for the middle days covering Amalfi and Ravello. Sorrento is the only town in the area connected to Naples by train, which makes it the practical entry and exit point.

Can I visit Capri, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello in 5 days without a car?

Yes. SITA buses link Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, and seasonal ferries or hydrofoils connect Sorrento, Positano and Capri. A rental car adds little on the narrow SS163 and creates parking and ZTL problems in high season.

Is 5 days enough time for the Amalfi Coast plus Capri?

5 days is enough to see Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello and Capri at a comfortable pace if you limit yourself to two bases. Trying to sleep in a different town each night turns most of the trip into transfers.

How do I get from Sorrento to Positano?

SITA buses run along the SS163 between Sorrento and Positano year-round, and seasonal ferries operate roughly from April to October. The bus takes about 50 minutes; the boat is faster in clear weather but is never guaranteed outside the warm months.

Can I do Amalfi and Ravello in the same day?

Yes, this is a standard day trip. Take a SITA bus or ferry to Amalfi in the morning, then a connecting local bus up to Ravello for the afternoon, since Ravello sits about 350 meters above the coast and has no beach of its own.

Is the ferry to Capri reliable in October or November?

No. Hydrofoil schedules to Capri thin out sharply after the summer season and can be cancelled with rough seas at any time of year. If your Capri day falls outside April to October, check the operator’s schedule the day before and keep a backup plan.

Do I need to book the Capri hydrofoil in advance?

In July and August, yes — early departures from Sorrento and Positano sell out. In shoulder season, buying the same day is usually fine, but always confirm the return schedule before you leave port.