Positano’s Spiaggia Grande
The iconic umbrella-lined beach. Arrive before ten for a front-row spot, or take a small boat to the quieter Fornillo cove around the headland.
The Amalfi Coast
Pastel villages above a turquoise sea
Best time
May – June & September
Gentle pace
4–6 slow days
Ideal for
Couples · Families with older kids · First-time Italy
The Amalfi Coast is a place that seems designed for lingering. Thirteen towns cling to the cliffs between Sorrento and Salerno, each one a cascade of pastel houses, lemon groves and bougainvillea, with the Tyrrhenian Sea glittering far below. Positano is the postcard, but the quieter villages — Praiano, Ravello, Atrani — are where the coast reveals its softer side.
Days here arrange themselves: a slow breakfast of cornetti and cappuccino, a morning swim from a pebble beach, a long lunch of scialatielli ai frutti di mare, and an evening stroll as the cliffs turn rose-gold. With children, base yourselves in one town and let the ferries — not the hairpin buses — do the exploring.
Worth lingering over
Ravello’s garden terraces
Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone float above the sea in a haze of flowers. The Terrace of Infinity at sunset is worth every step of the climb.
The Path of the Gods
A gentle cliff-top trail from Bomerano to Nocelle with the coast spread out beneath you — doable with carriers for little ones, magical for older kids.
Hidden gem
The Fiordo di Furore
Tucked between Praiano and Amalfi, where a narrow gorge cuts through the cliffs to a sliver of pebble beach, lies the Fiordo di Furore — a tiny hidden fjord that most coast traffic simply drives over on the high bridge above. Walk down the steep path to the old fishing huts at the water’s edge, swim in the deep blue cove, and watch the cliff divers leap from the bridge in the afternoon.