Positano is a magical place. I’ve said it a million times and I will say it a million more. Every inch, every angle there is this pure and simple beauty I haven’t experienced anywhere else. I can see why people are so drawn to this city: it’s gorgeous. Outside of its beauty, I love how locals live in the city on a year round basis and how they are so intertwined within their community.
I would recommend visiting Positano to anyone in a heartbeat and I am not sure I will visit somewhere else as beautiful as this city. If I haven’t convinced you already, I am sharing my complete Positano Travel Guide including when to visit, where to stay, what to eat and what to do.
As author John Steinbeck wrote: Positano bites deep. It sure does, and it has an indescribable place in my heart.
Outfits are linked at the bottom of my post too!
XO.
Lex
When to Visit
I spent A LOT of time researching when the best time was to visit Positano, and based on my findings, everything pointed to early/mid October. Why was October the best time to visit? Not as many tourists was the number one reason followed by the weather was still great during this time. Due to our schedules Bill and I took a huge chance and went the last week of October which is known to be rainy, but I am not kidding when I say the weather was absolute bliss! Not once did it rain and we were overly comfortable in our summer attire.
At night it gets cooler sure, but I was perfect with a jean jacket! If I could do it again I would go a week earlier JUST to play it safe! Even the locals said the weather we had was not normal. You are absolutely correct I said a huge THANK YOU to the weather gods!
Where to Stay
Bill and I decided we wanted to try two different ways to stay in Positano: one from up high and one more located in the city center. For the first half of the trip, we stayed at a cute AirBnB which hands down had the most stunning views I have ever seen. It was $122 a night and worth every penny. The patio and views sells itself and the room was comfortable and spotless. The reviews on our AirBnB did not lie!
Pros: The views were amazing, more quaint, very romantic, street parking
The Cons: About a 35 minute walk to the city center and STRAP IN because there are a lot of stairs! I mean this in the nicest way possible but make sure you are in good shape because the stairs are a beast and while an amazing workout, it is definitely a journey to get down to the city and walk back up. Not as many food options but a few GREAT local restaurants close by!
For the last three days we stayed closer to the city center at Hotel L’Ancora. It’s located next door to Le Sirenuse and shares the same amazing views! We had a beautiful balcony that overlooked the ocean and city. Overall if you are open to splurging, I would recommend Hotel L’Ancora!
Pros: Close to everything, family owned hotel so super local, large bedroom and bathroom, comfy bed and a spacious balcony with killer views! Oh and it comes with a continental breakfast every morning!
Cons: A little pricey for the condition of the room, no parking if you rent a car (there is a garage down the street)
Where to Eat
Everywhere. Just kidding but serious too! Our favorite restaurants are shared in order of preference! One huge tip is to make sure to make a reservation in advance! Most of these restaurants are locally owned and don’t have a formal reservation system so you have to email the address on their contact page.
Bar Bruno: A minute walk from Hotel L’Ancora and has amazing views overlooking the ocean and cliff. Bill and I liked Bar Bruno so much (thanks to our taxi driver we met!) we went back 3 times! They also have live music and the dishes are inexpensive! I ate the baby shrimp pasta with mushrooms and it was DELICIOUS and Bill had the pasta with clams. Stamp of approval from both of us!
Chez Black: A Positano classic located right on the beach. Their seafood is out of this world good and it’s known for having lots of celebs dine there. I had the lobster pasta and it was soo tasty.
Le Sponda: Located in Le Sirenuse I would recommend Le Sirenuse for lunch but you must make a reservation! I had a Nicoise Salad and Bill tried their pasta. They also have a little champagne cart which was a nice touch and the views are dreamy. We spent hours here!
Other recommendations from locals included: Da vincenzo, Saraceno d’Oro, drinks at Franco’s.
What to Do
My favorite section of my blog post! Bill and I spent hours deciding how we wanted to spend our trip and we left Italy so content with no regrets!
RENT A BOAT: Bill and I rented a private boat with Buestar Positano (their team is amazing!!) for 4 hours and cruised up the Amalfi Coast. It was pure bliss. Drinks and snacks are included and it is an amazing way to see the Amalfi Coast. If you want to get off for a a bit you can actually have them dock at the city of Amalfi and explore the town too! This was a fun way to break up the boating excursion! Hands down this was worth every penny and our favorite part of the trip.
Visit Villa Cimbrone in Ravello: The gardens of Villa Cimbrone are beautiful and definitely worth exploring. The city of Ravello is about an hour drive from Positano *it is a windy drive!! But worth it. Bill and I stopped at a restaurant on our way up to Villa Cimbrone and it overlooked the green hills of Ravello. There were quite a few wineries in the area too but mostly closed for the season. You can get lost in the town before you even get to the gardens because the town is so cute and has so many stores.
Day trip to Capri: Definitely take the ferry over to Capri and explore the town. You can take the tram up to the main city center, grab lunch in the main square, and explore the shops. We headed down the mountain to the other side of the island to a beautiful museum but by the time we hiked (yes, hiked because the stairs killed us) we had to head back town to catch the last ferry back!! Next time ;). Key learning: take an early ferry ride to have enough time to explore the island!
Walk of the Gods: Bring your hiking shoes and go on a hike! The views from above are spectacular. They have a lot of AirBnB experiences you can book that include the walk of the gods
Mar Positano Museum Tour: This tour was soooo cool and gave us so much information about Positano and how it came to be what it is today! (Did you know it started as a Roman Villa in the early BC!?) A little but eerie but thrilling at the same time! The tour is about an hour and is easy to get to, right in the city center.
A few other more low key recommendations:
- WALK through the city! You can’t go wrong by getting lost in the streets and finding a cute bar for wine!
- Rent Vespas! This was one thing we wanted to do but ended up doing the boat instead. Loved our choice but wish we could have done both! Note: It is about $300 a person and the tours are ~6 hours long.
- Walk through Atrani: Another town about a 30 minute drive from Positano. Definitely more local and not as busy but beautiful nonetheless!
My Outfits
