Quick answer: Base yourself in Amalfi or Positano, not Sorrento or Salerno, if you only have 3 days — you’ll lose too much time commuting. Day 1: Amalfi + Atrani. Day 2: Ravello (morning) + Maiori/Minori (afternoon). Day 3: Positano. Skip Capri unless you extend to 4 days — it deserves its own day, not a rushed half-day.
Three days is tight for the Amalfi Coast. We’ll say that upfront, because most itineraries you’ll find online try to cram in five or six towns plus Capri plus Pompeii, and the result is three days of running for buses instead of actually being there.
We’ve lived two hours from this coast for over 15 years. This is the itinerary we’d actually give a friend with exactly 3 days — not the maximum number of stops, but the right ones, paced so you leave wanting more rather than needing a vacation from your vacation.
Before You Start: 3 Decisions That Shape Everything
1. Where do you base yourself?
This matters more than anything else on this list. Pick one town and stay there all 3 nights — don’t move hotels daily, you’ll waste hours.
Amalfi is the smartest base. Central, ferry hub, walkable, good restaurants.
Positano works if budget isn’t a concern and you want to wake up there specifically.
Sorrento or Salerno save money but add 30-60 minutes of commuting each way, every day. With only 3 days, that’s a real cost.
→ Full breakdown: where to stay on the Amalfi Coast
2. Car or no car?
No car. We say this as people who’ve driven this coast on a motorcycle for 15 years. The SS163 in summer is one long traffic jam, and parking will eat hours you don’t have.
Use the SITA bus and the summer ferries instead. A multi-day SITA pass covers unlimited rides between towns.
3. What are you cutting?
This is the question every other guide avoids. With 3 days you cannot do Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Capri, Pompeii, AND the small towns properly. Pick a focus:
Coast-focused: Amalfi, Ravello, Positano (this itinerary)
Beach-focused: Maiori, Minori, Atrani, one famous town
Day-trip-focused: Base in Sorrento, do Capri + Pompeii + one coast town
We’re building the coast-focused version below because it’s what most first-timers actually want. If you want the other versions, the logic below adapts easily — just swap days.
🏨 Book your base before reading further — Amalfi and Positano fill up fast, especially May–September:
👉 Browse hotels on the Amalfi Coast
Day 1: Amalfi + Atrani
Start in the town that gives the whole coast its name. Amalfi was once one of Italy’s four great Maritime Republics — alongside Venice, Genoa, and Pisa — and the scale of its Cathedral still reflects that history.
Morning: Amalfi Cathedral and the old town
Go to the Duomo di Sant’Andrea first, ideally before 10am before the day-trip crowds arrive. The complex includes the Cathedral, the Cloister of Paradise, and the Crypt of St. Andrew — one ticket covers all three.
Walk the main street, Via Lorenzo d’Amalfi, up to the Nativity Fountain. This is the spine of the old town — small piazzas, lemon shops, the smell of fresh sfogliatella.
Don’t skip: The Paper Museum, a short walk up Via delle Cartiere. Amalfi’s medieval paper industry made the town genuinely wealthy, and the museum is inside one of the original working mills.
→ Full guide: what to see in Amalfi
Lunch in Amalfi
Eat scialatielli ai frutti di mare — thick, handmade pasta with mixed seafood. It’s the dish of this coast. Walk a block or two away from the seafront for better prices.
Afternoon: Atrani
Five minutes on foot from Amalfi (or a quick bus ride if you don’t want to risk the narrow tunnel walk along the SS163), Atrani is the smallest municipality in Italy by surface area — and the antidote to Amalfi’s crowds.
A tiny piazza, houses stacked on top of each other under the cliff, a black-sand beach, and prices noticeably lower than its famous neighbor. We often end up eating dinner here instead of Amalfi for exactly that reason.
⛵ Want to end Day 1 on the water? A short sunset boat tour from Amalfi is one of the best ways to see the coast from a completely different angle.
👉 Browse boat tours from Amalfi
Day 2: Ravello (Morning) + Maiori & Minori (Afternoon)
This is the day that surprises people most — mountains in the morning, beach in the afternoon, all within the same few hours.
Morning: Ravello
Take the SITA bus up from Amalfi — about 25 minutes through switchbacks lined with lemon groves. Ravello sits 365 meters above the sea and has no beach, which is exactly why it’s worth the climb: the views are unmatched anywhere else on this coast.
Visit Villa Rufolo first — its gardens host the famous Ravello Festival every summer, and the terrace views over the entire Gulf of Salerno are the best on the coast. If you only have time for one villa, Villa Cimbrone’s Terrace of Infinity is the other strong contender — both are worth it if your morning allows.
Walk the Cathedral’s piazza, have a coffee, try the limoncello — Ravello has several genuinely artisanal producers, not just tourist shops.
Afternoon: Maiori and Minori
Bus back down to Amalfi, then east to Minori (about 15 minutes) — home to a genuinely well-preserved 1st-century Roman villa, free to visit, with mosaics and thermal baths still intact. While you’re there, try the delizia al limone, a lemon cream dessert that originated in this town.
From Minori, walk the Path of the Lemons (Sentiero dei Limoni) to Maiori — about 45 minutes through terraced lemon groves, or take the bus if you’re short on time. Maiori has the longest beach on the entire Amalfi Coast and a proper flat promenade, rare on this stretch of coast.
→ Full guide: Minori ·
→ Full guide: Maiori
If you’d rather skip the mountain-to-beach combo: swap Maiori/Minori for Cetara, a quiet fishing village famous for colatura di alici (an ancient anchovy sauce) and largely untouched by mass tourism. Same bus route, completely different atmosphere.
Day 3: Positano
Save the most famous town for last — by day 3 you’ll appreciate the pace required to actually enjoy it.
Positano is vertical. There’s no way around that. Wear shoes you can actually walk in.
What to prioritize
The Church of Santa Maria Assunta and its majolica dome — recognizable from every postcard of this coast. The historic center’s linen shops and handmade leather sandals, made to measure while you wait.
Spiaggia Grande is the main beach — beautiful, crowded, expensive beach clubs. Fornillo Beach, a short walk further, is quieter and better value.
If your timing and budget allow, this is the day to add a boat trip to the hidden beaches only reachable by water — La Porta, Arienzo, San Pietro — or a short hop to Capri if you’re extending to 4 days.
Getting there from Amalfi
Ferry, if it’s running (April–October) — about 30 minutes and far more scenic than the bus. Otherwise, SITA bus, about 40-50 minutes depending on traffic.
🚤 Make Positano your big activity day: boat tours to the hidden beaches, Capri day trips, and Path of the Gods hikes all depart from here.
👉 Browse Positano tours and activities
Alternative Day 3: Praiano + Furore
If Positano’s crowds and prices don’t appeal — and that’s a completely reasonable position — swap it for this quieter version of the western coast.
Praiano is the underrated alternative to Positano: same coastline, same lemon terraces, none of the chaos. Visit the Church of San Gennaro for its majolica floor, then head to Marina di Praiano, one of the most private beaches on the whole coast.
Furore, a short ride further, is genuinely easy to miss — locals call it “the town that doesn’t exist.” Its famous fjord, with a tiny beach at the bottom of a steep staircase, is one of the most photographed and least understood spots on the coast. There’s a bus stop right at the entrance.
→ Full guide: Praiano ·
→ Full guide: Furore
What This Itinerary Deliberately Skips (And Why)
Every “complete” Amalfi Coast itinerary that tries to fit in 6+ towns plus Capri in 3 days is setting you up for a rushed, exhausting trip. Here’s what we’re skipping and why it’s the right call:
Capri. Worth a full day on its own, not a rushed half-day squeezed between coast towns. If you have a 4th day, add it then.
Pompeii. Same logic — it deserves 4+ hours minimum, and the transit time from the coast eats into your remaining days. Better as a day trip if you’re also spending time near Naples or Sorrento.
Vietri sul Mare and Cetara. Genuinely worth visiting, but with only 3 days, adding the entire eastern stretch means rushing everything else. If ceramics or an authentic fishing village matter specifically to you, swap them in for Maiori/Minori on Day 2.
Practical Tips for 3 Days on the Amalfi Coast
Book restaurants ahead in summer. The best tables fill days in advance, June through August. Ask your hotel to call ahead if you don’t speak Italian.
Many places close in winter. If you’re visiting October–March, check opening hours before building your day around a specific stop — some museums, trails, and restaurants close or reduce hours.
If you can’t get affordable rooms on the coast itself, Sorrento or Salerno work as bases — Sorrento is more polished and touristy, Salerno is cheaper and has its own train station, the only one on this entire stretch of coastline. Both connect by bus or summer ferry.
Starting from Salerno instead? Vietri sul Mare is the first town you’ll reach — known for its hand-painted ceramics, with family workshops you can visit directly. If your route starts from the east, it’s a natural first stop before continuing on to Cetara, Maiori, and the rest of this itinerary in reverse.
Don’t try to do everything. This is the single most useful piece of advice we can give. Positano in particular is genuinely difficult in summer heat with crowds and stairs — if you go, give it the better part of a day rather than squeezing it into an afternoon.
Want More Time? How to Extend This Itinerary
4 days: Add Capri as its own full day.
5 days: Add Capri, plus a slower day around Praiano, Furore, and the Path of the Gods hike.
7 days: Add Pompeii, Naples, or Paestum as well — now you have room to actually explore beyond the coast itself.
→ See our 5-day Amalfi Coast itinerary ·
→ See our 7-day Amalfi Coast itinerary
We’ve lived two hours from this coast for over 15 years and have tested this exact pace many times with visiting friends and family. Questions about adapting this itinerary to your specific trip? Leave a comment below.