Where to Stay on the Amalfi Coast: 6 Best Towns, 25 Hotels & Where Not To

Where to Stay on the Amalfi Coast: Quick Picks

Short on time? Here's the short version.

Best overall: DieciSedici in Amalfi. A 4-star in the main square, 9.4 on Booking from 452 reviews.

Splurge: Le Sirenuse in Positano. 9.4 on Booking, though from only 166 reviews.

Value pick: Holidays Baia d'Amalfi in Amalfi. 9.2 from 1,447 reviews, so the score is well tested. We didn't verify nightly rates, so check the price for your dates.

For beaches, go to Maiori. For couples, Ravello or Praiano. For arriving by train from Naples with no car, Sorrento.

How to Choose Where to Stay on the Amalfi Coast

The UNESCO-listed Costiera Amalfitana covers 15 municipalities on the south side of the Sorrentine Peninsula.

Sorrento and Capri aren't among them, because they sit on the Bay of Naples side, which matters if a hotel promises you "Amalfi Coast views" from the wrong end of the peninsula.

One road ties the Amalfi Coast together, the SS163, and one fact decides your trip: you'll spend more time getting between towns than you expect.

The SITA bus takes about 40 minutes from Sorrento to Positano and about 50 from Positano to Amalfi. Sorrento to Amalfi is 70 to 90 minutes depending on who you ask. Amalfi to Ravello is under 30. A single ticket is €2.50 and lasts 90 minutes, and a 24-hour pass is €10.

In summer the buses fill up, and standing is common on the ones leaving Amalfi. They also stop around 10 p.m.

So choose one base, check how you'll arrive, and don't plan more than one town hop a day.

We cover the routes in our guide to getting to the Amalfi Coast and the full Amalfi Coast travel guide.

Every hotel below scores 8.7 or higher on Booking.com, checked on 1 November 2026, and most have 300-plus reviews. The small luxury places score 9.0 or higher from fewer reviews, and we say so each time.

Each one's address was checked against the town we've filed it under. The tiers (luxury, mid-range, budget) are our own grouping by stars and positioning, not a quoted rate. We haven't stayed at any of them.

1. Amalfi: Best for First-Timers

Best for: first visits, short stays, anyone without a car. Skip it if: you want a quiet village or a view from every window.

Amalfi is the practical answer on the Amalfi Coast. The cathedral square, the harbour, the ferries and the bus hub are all within a few streets, so you can drop your bags and be somewhere by lunch.

The centre is flat, which matters more than you'd think after a day in Positano. Ravello's bus leaves from here, and in season ferries run to Salerno, Positano and Capri.

The honest downside is the crowd that pours off the buses and boats from late morning.

The town beach is small, and the main street feels like a corridor in July. Book a hotel a few minutes up a side street and you'll hear far less of it. Want the town on its own? See our Amalfi town guide and, for the rivalry everyone asks about, Amalfi vs Positano.

Pros: flat centre, the best transport on the coast, the most year-round hotels, easy day trips. Cons: crowded by day, small beach, less dramatic than Positano.

Getting there: about 35 minutes by ferry from Salerno in season, or by SITA bus from Sorrento and Positano. Welcome Pickups can book a private transfer if you'd rather skip the bus.

Best Hotels in Amalfi

Luxury: Hotel Miramalfi — 5-star · 9.8 on Booking (324 reviews). Via Quasimodo 3, with a pool and sea views. Choose it if you want a resort feel and a swim without leaving the hotel.

→ Check availability and prices for Hotel Miramalfi

Luxury: Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel — 5-star · 9.1 on Booking (324 reviews). A converted convent on Via Annunziatella, with a pool. The lowest score in this section, so read recent reviews first. Choose it if history matters more than a perfect rating.

→ Check availability and prices for Anantara Convento di Amalfi

Mid-range: DieciSedici — 4-star · 9.4 on Booking (452 reviews). Piazza Municipio 13, right in the centre. Expect noise from the square on busy evenings. Choose it if you want to be in the middle of everything.

→ Check availability and prices for DieciSedici

Mid-range: La Bambagina — 4-star · 9.5 on Booking (382 reviews). Largo Duchi Piccolomini. Several of the competing guides we read recommend it, and the score backs them up. Choose it if you want a quieter feel near the centre.

→ Check availability and prices for La Bambagina

Budget: Amalfi Suite Boutique Hotel — 3-star · 9.3 on Booking (331 reviews). Salita Truglio 1. A 3-star, so expect compact rooms. Choose it if you'd rather spend on dinner than the room.

→ Check availability and prices for Amalfi Suite Boutique Hotel

Budget: Holidays Baia d'Amalfi — 4-star · 9.2 on Booking (1,447 reviews). Via Matteo Camera 5. The biggest review sample in this guide, so the score is trustworthy. Choose it if you want certainty at a lower price.

→ Check availability and prices for Holidays Baia d'Amalfi

2. Positano: Best for Views and Splurging

Best for: honeymoons, views, a luxury splurge. Skip it if: you're on a budget, travel with heavy luggage or have trouble with steps.

Positano is the postcard: pastel houses stacked down a cliff to a pebble beach, and almost everything involves stairs you'll feel with a suitcase.

Prices run highest here, the lanes are thick with day-trippers by midday, and buses can be full by the time they reach the town.

Stay here for two or three nights, not seven.

That's enough for the beach, the ferry and dinner above the sea. We cover the rest in our Positano travel guide, the things to do in Positano and the best hotels in Positano. Compare it with the alternative in Sorrento vs Positano.

Pros: the views, the beach, the ferries to Capri and Amalfi. Cons: the stairs, the cost, the crowds, the tourist tax at the top end of the coast.

Getting there: about 40 minutes by bus from Sorrento, 50 from Amalfi. Ferries from Amalfi take 20 to 25 minutes in season.

Best Hotels in Positano

Luxury: Le Sirenuse — 5-star · 9.4 on Booking (166 reviews). Via C. Colombo 30, with a pool. A small review sample for the price, so treat the score as a guide. Choose it if the splurge is the point.

→ Check availability and prices for Le Sirenuse

Luxury: Il San Pietro di Positano — 5-star · 9.9 on Booking (107 reviews). Via Laurito 2, with a pool, sitting just outside the centre. Only 107 reviews, so the 9.9 is a thin sample. Choose it if you want seclusion more than a stroll to the beach.

→ Check availability and prices for Il San Pietro di Positano

Mid-range: Villa Yiara — 4-star · 9.6 on Booking (525 reviews). Viale Pasitea 294. The strongest score-to-review ratio among Positano's mid-range hotels. Choose it if you want a view without a five-star bill.

→ Check availability and prices for Villa Yiara

Mid-range: Hotel Savoia — 4-star · 9.3 on Booking (295 reviews). On Via C. Colombo. Two of the guides we compared place it in different price brackets, so check the rate for your dates. Choose it if you want to stay near the main road.

→ Check availability and prices for Hotel Savoia

Mid-range: Hotel Buca di Bacco — 4-star · 9.3 on Booking (373 reviews). Via Rampa Teglia 4. Guests mention the sea views and the central spot. Choose it if you want to be close to the beach.

→ Check availability and prices for Hotel Buca di Bacco

3. Praiano: Best for Quiet and Sunsets

Best for: couples, quiet evenings, a base between Positano and Amalfi. Skip it if: you want shops, a big beach or nightlife.

Praiano sits between Positano and Amalfi on the coast road, and that's its charm and its limit.

It's a village of stepped lanes and cliffside hotels, with far fewer day-trippers than either neighbour, and evenings are calm. You'll take the bus for almost everything else, and the Positano to Amalfi bus runs through it.

Choose it if you've done Positano and Amalfi before and want a base that's calmer.

Don't choose it for a first trip with only three nights, because you'll spend too much of it on the bus.

Pros: calmer, good-value rooms, sea-facing terraces. Cons: hills and steps, bus-dependent, few restaurants compared with Amalfi.

Best Hotels in Praiano

Luxury: Grand Hotel Tritone — 5-star · 9.7 on Booking (255 reviews). Via Campo 5, with a pool. A clifftop resort that works well for couples. Choose it if you want quiet and a pool.

→ Check availability and prices for Grand Hotel Tritone

Mid-range: Hotel Il Pino — 3-star · 9.5 on Booking (418 reviews). Via Capriglione 13. A 3-star with the score of a much pricier hotel. Choose it if you want value and a sea view.

→ Check availability and prices for Hotel Il Pino

Budget: Hotel Pellegrino — 3-star · 9.9 on Booking (190 reviews). Via Capriglione 190. A high score from a modest sample. Choose it if you want to save and don't mind the climb.

→ Check availability and prices for Hotel Pellegrino

4. Ravello: Best for Couples and Gardens

Best for: couples, gardens, music and calm. Skip it if: you want a beach, nightlife or an easy walk to the sea.

Ravello sits high above the water, and nothing about the stay is beach-based.

You come for the terraces, the villa gardens and the stillness after the buses have left. The trade is distance: the bus to Amalfi takes under 30 minutes, the walk down is about 6.5 km on steps, and the way back is uphill.

It works as a two-night add-on to Amalfi, or as the quiet half of a split stay on the coast.

See our Ravello travel guide.

Pros: gardens and views, quiet evenings, a romantic feel. Cons: no beach, a bus ride to everything, fewer hotels.

Best Hotels in Ravello

Luxury: Caruso, A Belmond Hotel — 5-star · 9.6 on Booking (104 reviews). Piazza San Giovanni del Toro 2, with a pool. A small sample, but a famous terrace. Choose it if you want a landmark stay.

→ Check availability and prices for Caruso, A Belmond Hotel

Luxury: Palazzo Avino — 5-star · 9.7 on Booking (119 reviews). Via San Giovanni del Toro 28, with a pool. Choose it if you want a palace-style stay.

→ Check availability and prices for Palazzo Avino

Mid-range: Hotel Graal — 4-star · 9.0 on Booking (403 reviews). Via della Repubblica 8, with a pool. Choose it if you want sea views at a lower price than the palaces.

→ Check availability and prices for Hotel Graal

Budget: B&B il Vetraio — 9.0 on Booking (409 reviews). Viale Parco della Rimembranza 37. Choose it if you want a small, simple base.

→ Check availability and prices for B&B il Vetraio

5. Maiori: Best for Beach Days and Families

Best for: families, beach holidays, flat walks. Skip it if: you want the postcard Amalfi Coast.

Maiori trades glamour for space.

It has about a kilometre of sand, a flat seafront for strollers and a lower price level than its famous neighbours. The beach is also where you'll spend your money, because sun loungers cost extra on the sand, as they do all over Italy. It's less photogenic than Positano, and Naples is further away.

For families it's the most relaxed base here. Use it for beach days, with ferries and buses as day trips. See the wider picture in our Amalfi Coast towns guide.

Pros: a long sand beach, flat promenade, lower prices. Cons: less character, a bus ride to the best-known towns.

Best Hotels in Maiori

Mid-range: Hotel Club Due Torri — 4-star · 8.9 on Booking (355 reviews). Via Diego Taiani 3, with a pool. Choose it if you want a resort-style base near the sand.

→ Check availability and prices for Hotel Club Due Torri

Mid-range: Hotel Sole Splendid — 4-star · 8.7 on Booking (919 reviews). Via G. Capone 63. The lowest score in this guide, but from a big sample. Choose it if you want a large, reliable hotel.

→ Check availability and prices for Hotel Sole Splendid

Budget: B&B Maiori Luxury — 9.0 on Booking (339 reviews). Via Santa Tecla 13. Choose it if you want a small B&B and a beach day.

→ Check availability and prices for B&B Maiori Luxury

6. Sorrento: Best for Trains and Budgets (Not on the Coast)

Best for: no-car trips, budget, arriving from Naples. Skip it if: you want to wake up on the Amalfi Coast.

Sorrento isn't on the Amalfi Coast, and it's better to say so plainly.

It sits on the Bay of Naples side of the peninsula, and you reach the coast by a 40-minute bus to Positano or a ferry of 30 to 40 minutes in season. What it offers is practicality: a flat town with restaurants, hotels at every price and the Circumvesuviana train from Naples, which takes about an hour.

It makes the best base if you land in Naples without a car and want Pompeii, Capri and the coast from one place.

We'd rather you knew that than bought "Amalfi Coast views" from a hotel on the wrong side. See our Sorrento travel guide, best hotels in Sorrento and Naples to Sorrento. Staying in the city first? Our where to stay in Naples guide covers that.

Pros: trains, flat streets, more affordable beds, many dining options. Cons: not on the coast, a bus ride to Positano, a city feel.

Best Hotels in Sorrento

Luxury: Grand Hotel Ambasciatori — 5-star · 9.4 on Booking (335 reviews). Via Califano 18, with a pool and a lift. Choose it if you want a grand hotel above the sea.

→ Check availability and prices for Grand Hotel Ambasciatori

Mid-range: Palazzo Marziale — 4-star · 9.3 on Booking (604 reviews). Largo San Francesco 2. Choose it if you want to be in the old town.

→ Check availability and prices for Palazzo Marziale

Budget: Hotel Sorrento City — 3-star · 9.0 on Booking (965 reviews). Corso Italia 221. Choose it if you want a cheap, central base for trains.

→ Check availability and prices for Hotel Sorrento City

Also Consider: Conca dei Marini, Atrani, Capri and Salerno

Conca dei Marini is a tiny cliff village between Amalfi and Praiano, built for seclusion. Hotel Belvedere (4-star, 9.0 on Booking from 337 reviews, Via Smeraldo 19) is our pick here.

→ Check availability and prices for Hotel Belvedere

Atrani is a miniature village next door to Amalfi, a short walk through the tunnel. We couldn't verify a hotel there that met our standard, so use Amalfi as your base and walk over for dinner.

Capri isn't on the coast either, and it has its own page: see our Capri travel guide.

Salerno and Vietri sul Mare work only if you're arriving by train from Rome, since the fastest trains take about 1 hour 23 minutes. Take the ferry from Salerno to Amalfi from there, about 35 minutes in season.

Where Not to Stay on the Amalfi Coast

Nowhere on the Amalfi Coast is dangerous.

The risks are logistics, not neighbourhoods, and they are easy to avoid once you know them.

Positano on a tight budget. Even the cheaper rooms cost more than similar ones in Praiano or Maiori, and the stairs come with the price. If you can't manage steps, the town will wear you down.

Hillside B&Bs without a car. Cheap rooms in the hills above the coast road look good on a map. Without a car, you're reliant on buses that fill up in summer and stop around 10 p.m.

Ravello for a beach holiday. The sea is a bus ride below you, and the climb back is the point where the romance fades.

Sorrento if you need to wake up on the coast. It's on the other side of the peninsula. Great base, wrong view.

A different hotel every night. Moving hotels every night costs you half of each day. Hold one base and take day trips.

Getting to Your Base

Arriving by train from Rome: the fastest trains reach Salerno in about 1 hour 23 minutes. From there, take the ferry to Amalfi in season (35 minutes) or the SITA bus. Read our Rome to Amalfi Coast guide.

Flying into Naples: the Alibus runs to Napoli Garibaldi in 20 to 30 minutes for €5. From there the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento takes about 60 minutes and costs €4.10. A Curreri bus from the airport to Sorrento costs around €13, but check operator times first. Pre-book a private transfer with Welcome Pickups if you arrive late.

Ferries run from early April to the end of October, with no winter service on the coast. In season, Positano to Amalfi takes 20 to 25 minutes and Positano to Capri 40 to 50. Our guide to Sorrento to Positano covers that crossing. If you need a ferry ticket, use Ferryscanner.

Booking Tips for the Amalfi Coast

Tourist tax. Each town sets its own rate, charged per person per night and usually paid at the hotel.

Positano charges €5 at 5-star, €4 at 4-star, €3 at 3-star and €2.50 for B&Bs and rentals, from 1 April to 31 October, with children under 10 exempt.

Ravello's published table runs from €3 to €5 and caps at seven nights, though we found no 2026 update. Amalfi charges the full rate for four nights and half after that. Check the rate when you book.

Driving. If you're hiring a car, know that the SS163 has run an alternating-plate rule for non-resident vehicles in summer, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on certain days. Hotel guests with a booking are generally exempt on arrival and departure days.

The rules change, so confirm the current dates. Need a car? DiscoverCars compares rental firms, but most people on this coast manage fine without one.

Season. Most Positano hotels close for the winter, and ferries stop at the end of October, while Amalfi has the most options if you travel off-season. If you're searching for Amalfi Coast holidays from the UK, the same rule applies: April to October is when everything on the Amalfi Coast is open. See our best time to visit the Amalfi Coast.

Hotel or apartment? Choose a hotel on the Amalfi Coast for a short stay: breakfast, staff to carry bags up the steps and a front desk for transfers. Rent an apartment only if you're staying a week in one place and want a kitchen. For more on picking, see our best hotels on the Amalfi Coast.

How Many Nights, and Should You Split?

Three nights: one base, and make it Amalfi. Five nights: two bases, for example three in Amalfi and two in Praiano or Positano. A week: Amalfi plus one of Ravello, Praiano or Maiori, and add day trips. Our Amalfi Coast itinerary and things to do on the Amalfi Coast fill in the days. If you'd like to hike, the Path of the Gods is the classic walk, and a guided hike from Sorrento with transfers removes the logistics.

Best Base by Traveller Type

First-timers: DieciSedici in Amalfi. Honeymooners: Caruso in Ravello or Grand Hotel Tritone in Praiano. Families: Hotel Club Due Torri in Maiori. Splurgers: Le Sirenuse in Positano. Budget travellers: Hotel Sorrento City or Holidays Baia d'Amalfi. No car: Amalfi or Sorrento.

Plan Your Trip

Once you've picked a base, a boat day is the classic extra. Our Amalfi Coast boat tours and Amalfi Coast tours guides cover the options, and these are two popular bookable ones: a boat tour from Positano with snorkeling and drinks and a Positano and Amalfi boat trip from Sorrento.