[Dec. 2024] On the day we took an excursion to Amalfi while staying in Sorrento in southern Italy, we walked around the town after a delicious lunch.
Amalfi has one main street lined with shops, and the rest of the town is a whitish maze with stairs.
In the Middle Ages, it was an independent city-state, and it was a key point for Mediterranean trade in the 9th to 11th centuries, but now it is a small town with a population of about 5,000.
It’s so small after all, so even if you get lost in the maze, you’ll eventually be able to get back down to the main Via Lorenzo d’Amalfi.
After wandering aimlessly through the maze for a while, we headed out to the sea.
Along the sea, there is a main road that runs along the busy Amalfi Coast, and beyond that there is a small beach and a pier.
It’s lovely to look back from the pier and see the whole town of Amalfi.
The bus back to Sorrento also leaves from around here.
When I said, “But we could go back by boat,” my husband was all for it.
I thought he had gone to the ticket office to get some information, but he came back already having bought the tickets.
And it was expensive!
It was €47 for two people.
The trip takes just under an hour, and the main attraction is being able to see the Amalfi Coast from the sea.
The sun was still high in the sky from Amalfi to Positano, and the scenery was amazing.
I thought it would be all nature, but I could see quite a lot of towns lined up.
After that, the sun went down and the scenery wasn’t so great, but unlike the crowded bus, we were able to relax on the boat and the journey was smooth.
It’s definitely worth taking, but 47 euros is still a bit expensive.
It was already dark when we arrived in Sorrento.
And it was cold.
We quickly found a shuttle bus from the port to the train station where our Airbnb was, but it cost €2 per person.
Another price that takes advantage of tourists.
The driver noticed one couple getting on the bus without paying and demanded payment.
I learned from the driver’s comment that the Italian idiomatic expression “fare il portoghese (doing Portuguese)” which means “to cheat.”
I don’t know the background, but I’m sure the Portuguese people would be upset to be told such a thing by a southern Italian.
