The Amalfi Coast Without the Crowds: Where and When to Go

At six in the morning, Atrani is the colour of apricots. The fishermen are hosing down the boats on the little beach, a bar is putting out its first chairs under the arches, and the only sound is the sea against the rocks. Two hours later, the coast road above is a slow line of coaches and scooters. The Amalfi Coast is one of the most beautiful stretches of shoreline in Europe, and also one of the most crowded. Seeing the Amalfi Coast without the crowds comes down to three things: when you go, where you sleep, and what time you get up.

Go in the shoulder months

July and August are the busiest, hottest and most expensive, with mid-August, around Ferragosto, the peak of it all. The best months are late April, May, early June, late September and October. The sea is warm enough to swim from late spring into autumn, the lemon terraces are green, and you can walk into a restaurant without a booking.

Winter is quieter still, but many hotels and restaurants close from roughly November to March, and ferries run less often. If you go then, check what is open in the town you plan to stay in.

Sleep in a quieter town

Positano is the postcard, and it is lovely, but its steep lanes fill to bursting by midday. Where you sleep shapes everything, and the calmer towns are only a short ride away.

• Ravello, on the ridge above Amalfi, empties out in the late afternoon when the day visitors leave. Evenings here are hushed.
• Praiano, between Positano and Amalfi, is spread out along the cliff and faces west, which means long sunsets.
• Atrani, a few minutes' walk from Amalfi through a tunnel, is one of the smallest towns in Italy, with a tiny piazza and a real village feel.
• Minori and Maiori, further east, are working towns with longer beaches and more Italian families than tour groups.

Ravello in the late afternoon

Ravello sits high above the sea, and it has always attracted writers, composers and people looking for peace. Two villas make the visit. Villa Rufolo, with its gardens and the view that famously inspired Wagner, hosts concerts in summer on a stage that seems to hang over the coast. Villa Cimbrone has the Terrace of Infinity, a balcony of marble busts on the edge of a long drop, with nothing but sea and sky beyond. Go late in the day, when the light is soft and the coaches have left.

On the Amalfi Coast, the crowds keep office hours, so keep different ones.

Walk above it all

The coast is best seen from above, on the old mule paths and stepped tracks that linked the villages long before the road was built.

The Path of the Gods, or Sentiero degli Dei, runs from Bomerano, in the hills of Agerola, to Nocelle above Positano. It is a few hours on a ledge high above the sea, with terraces, wild herbs and the whole coast laid out below. It is popular, so start early. From Nocelle, you can take a long staircase down to Positano, or catch a local bus.

The Valle delle Ferriere, behind Amalfi, is a cool, green walk up a river valley past the ruins of old paper mills and ironworks, a world away from the beaches. Part of it is a nature reserve with restricted access, so check before you go.

Eat in the smaller towns

Some of the best food on the coast is in the places tour groups pass through without stopping.

Cetara is a fishing village known for its anchovies and for colatura di alici, an amber anchovy sauce descended from the fish sauces of ancient Rome. A plate of spaghetti with colatura, garlic and parsley is simple, salty and the thing I still think about months later. Minori is a pasta town with a long tradition, and its pastry shops do excellent lemon cakes. And everywhere, try the local lemons, the sfusato amalfitano: big, fragrant and sweet enough to eat in slices.

Getting around without the road

The coast road is spectacular and slow, with hairpins, tour buses and few places to park. In high season there have also been restrictions on non-resident cars, so check the latest rules before you hire one. Ferries are the calmer option: boats link Salerno, Amalfi, Positano and other towns, mostly from spring to autumn. Local buses also run along the coast, but they fill quickly in summer. On foot, many villages are linked by steps and paths.

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Good to know

• Go in May, June, September or October for the best balance of warmth and calm.
• Be out early. By mid-morning the day visitors arrive.
• Book sea-view rooms well in advance, especially in the smaller towns.
• Pack for steps. Every village is vertical, and luggage will be carried up stairs.
• Check ferry timetables and seasonal closures before you plan a day trip.
• Swim from the small beaches reached by steps, often quieter than the main ones.

The Amalfi Coast is crowded because it deserves to be. But the crowds keep to a few towns and a few hours. Stay somewhere smaller, walk in the morning, eat late, and the coast you see in photographs is still there, a little quieter than you expected.