A Postcard from the Amalfi Coast

Where to stay, eat and play: a short guide

We’re just back from our family summer holiday: we took the boys (aged 5 and 11) for a week of sea, sunshine and pasta (so much unbelievably good pasta) on the Amalfi Coast. We’ve been going to the same place and doing pretty much the same thing for a good few years now and it’s our happy place. We love it there. We’re already planning a trip for next year, and in case you are too, I wanted to share a short guide to some of our favourite spots in that part of the world…

How To Get There

We took the train from Rome to Naples and then a car (just over a 1 hour drive) from there. If you’re already in Italy (and I know I’ve said this before) I can’t recommend travelling by train strongly enough: it’s easy (no airport stress!), heavily air-conditioned and, typically, very affordable. Otherwise you can fly into Naples airport and take it from there. We’ve always driven from Naples to the coast, but the other more spoiling way of doing things is to take a private boat (you can book one here) from the port to your hotel: that way, you can stop off for a swim along the way, which sort of turns your travel day into a holiday day.

Where To Stay

We like to stay in the seaside town of Nerano, which is on the coast, and roughly speaking, halfway up the coast between Capri and Positano. It was my friend Emily (who is the queen of all things Italian holidays and knows this particular corner of Italy like the back of her hand) who first recommended that we stay there and we couldn’t love it more: Nerano isn’t flashy, you feel like you’re living in a postcard from 1960s Italy. Everyone in the town is incredibly friendly and welcoming, and you’re right on the sea: as far as I’m concerned, it’s pretty much the dream.