sorrento to amalfi

The Amalfi Coast by bus

Getting around the Amalfi Coast by bus

SITA buses depart twice per hour from the little semi-enclosed piazza in front of the Sorrento train station headed to Positano (35–60 min.), Praiano (another 15–25 min.), and the town of Amalfi (another 25 min.).

(The reasons for the range of travel times above are: (a) before hitting the coast, the buses follow one of two routes, one of which take 10 minutes longer; and (b) there are two stops in Positano, 5 minutes apart.)

Amalfi is the coastal turnstile for all buses—you always have to change buses in Amalfi.

In Amalfi you can turn around to return the way you came, grab one of the hourly buses up to Ravello (25–35 min.), or continue on down the coast.

From Amalfi, 1-3 buses per hour continue east to Atrani (5 min.), Minori (another 10 min.), Maiori (5 min. beyond that), and then a long stretch to Vietri sul Mare (another 40 min.), and the end of the Amalfi Coast at Salerno (another 10 min.—or 75 min. total from Amalfi).

(Note that, on Sundays, there are only about 7 daily buses from Amalfi that continue all the way to Salerno.)

Amalfi Coast bus tickets

See the "Buying tickets" tip below for the slightly headache-inducing rules on how tickets works. In brief:

• As of summer 2015, there is no longer the old UNICA COSTIERA ticket, nor are there any daily or weekly passes. Sad.
• Cheaper "Corso Semplice" tickets are good for a journey on one form of transportation (i.e. the bus) with one company (here, SITA) between any two stops. Contrary to some advice out there, you can transfer buses with this ticket (they just have to be buses operated by the same company, and the transfer is required to get from point A to point B). If you plan to get off an explore at each major town, buying a series of these is the best way to cover the coast.
• Pricier "Biglietto Orario" tickets allow unlimited transfers, even between types of transport, within the time limit (90–190 min, depending on distance to be traveled). These are most useful (for our purposes) in order to combine a ride on the Circumvesuviana train (from Naples or Pompeii) and the Amalfi Coast bus, pausing in Sorrento just long enough to make the transfer. However, savvy travelers might be able to finagle a 15-minute layover in one town en route to another using a Biglietto Orario.
• If you are planning on doing a lot of sightseeing within Campania (especially Pompeii and Naples), consider the Campania Artecard sightseeing/transportation pass. It covers this bus.

How much do Amalfi Coast bus tickets cost?

You can buy tickets from any news stand or tobacconist—the newspaper kiosk inside or just outside train stations are good for this. If not, look for a nearby bar or shop displaying a sign with a white "T" on a brown background; that's a tabacchi (Basically, anywhere that sells lottery tickets and mobile phone top-ups cards also sells local transit tickets.)

In general, you're going to pay €1.20 to €3.90 for any one ride along the Amalfi Coast. In detail, here are the going prices between most major stops along the Amalfi Coast as of 2015.

	time	C.S.	B.O.
Sorrento to Positano	35-60 min	€1.80	€2.20
Sorrento to Amalfi	90–100 min	€2.70	€3.40
Sorrento to Ravello	2–3 hr	€2.70	€3.40
Sorrento to Salerno	~3 hr	€3.10	€3.90
Positano to Amalfi	40–50 min	€1.80	€2.20
Positano to Ravello	70–110 min	€2.20	€2.80
Positano to Sorrento	35–60 min	€1.80	€2.20
Positano to Salerno	~ 2 hr	€2.70	€3.40
Amalfi to Ravello	25–35 min	€1.20	€1.60
Amalfi to Positano	40–50 min	€1.80	€2.20
Amalfi to Sorrento	90–100 min	€2.70	€3.40
Amalfi to Salerno	75 min	€2.20	€2.80