Exploring the Amazing Amalfi Coast

Fact Box

Boat: Dufour 405 (Smile)

Experience level: Day Skipper, Flotilla Sailors & Novices

Max. Wind: Force 5

Mooring fees: €280 for the week 

This July Abby set off to explore the amazing Amalfi Coast. Her crew included her lovely parents Mark & Carole (previous flotilla sailors) as well as friends Izzy and Emma (both completely new to sailing!). This is her account of an awesome week exploring the incredible Italian coastline!

Setting sail from Salerno

We arrived on Saturday into Naples airport and were met at the airport by our transfer driver. The drive to the base in Salerno was very quick (just over 45 minutes) and we got to see Mount Vesuvius on the way! Upon arrival at the port, we were dropped off at the quay and met by the local base manager Evaristo. Our boat was all ready for us to board – hooray! He was extremely helpful and asked us what kind of sailing we wanted to do. Based on our answer of ‘relaxed!’ he told us to head south from Salerno.

Salerno – Amalfi Town (with a stop off in Positano for lunch)

Before we took Evaristo’s advice to head south, we just had to head up north to the hotspots of Positano and Amalfi, to see what all the fuss was about. Our lunch stop in Positano was very scenic. We ate a delicious lunch on board, overlooking the colourful town, flanked by some incredible superyachts.

We then headed back south down the coastline to amazing Amalfi. We were pleasantly surprised to be guided into the harbour by the lovely harbour master ‘Julio’ who came out on his rib and boarded our boat to steer us in. What service! We realised quite how necessary this was, when we saw how narrow the tiny entrance was, with fishing boats lining one side and super yachts the other!

The fee for our 40ft boat was €100 and included water, electricity, Wi-Fi and even a free bottle of Limoncello! The town itself is gorgeously colourful with a beautiful church found up the steep winding streets. As the home of Limoncello it only seemed right that we sample a few along the seafront that evening.

Amalfi – Agropoli

Agropoli, like most towns on the Amalfi Coastline, is high in the cliffs. The walk up to Agropoli old town is steep but worth it. Built in 11th BC, with the original arch entrance still standing, this little part of Agropoli is very scenic and gives you great views out over the harbour. There is a little beach on the other side of the harbour where we went for a much needed dip. The mooring here was €70 for the night and included electricity, water and WiFi and the harbour master ‘Donato’ was very helpful.

Agropoli – Acciaroli

This sail was a long (ish) day, with a lovely lazy lunch stop in Oligastra. Acciaroli harbour had been recently renovated with toilets and showers along the quayside (what luxury!). The mooring fee here was €60 for the night and again included water, electricity and Wi-Fi. The harbour master here was very friendly and spoke very good English. The town of Acciaroli is very Italian and has a lovely little night market which we went to, following a fantastic dinner in a new restaurant called ‘Il Rocco’. Unlike the other towns in the area Acciaroli isn’t built into the hillside which meant the harbour area was large with a beautiful main promenade lined with lime trees.

Soaking up the sun in Acciaroli

We chose to stay here for a second night since there was a lovely beach to the right of the harbour. We spent the day soaking up the sun on the sandy beach and exploring the town more thoroughly in the evening. We ate in a sea front Trattoria that evening, where the waiter was extremely accommodating, offering to cook whatever we wanted!

San Marco Di Castellabate

From Acciaroli we decided to start heading back north up the coastline in order to get back to Salerno on the Friday night. We had lunch just round from the tip Punto Licosa and did some snorkelling. For the evening we went to San Marco, which was another very pretty town hidden up in the hillside. The sunset here was one of the best of the week, closely followed by Agropoli. This town looked very small upon arrival but as we walked up the hill towards the church spire we found a little piazza where there were two terrific restaurants. After dinner we went for a gelato (when in Italy!). There were so many flavours, spoilt for choice would be an understatement!

San Marco to Salerno

On our last day’s sail we had a short stop off at the Porto Touristo to the right of the main base to refuel. Once back in Salerno we had the boat checked over by the staff who gave us the all clear. For our last night we wandered to the main street in Salerno, a couple streets back from the sea front and full of restaurants! We ate in a lovely local restaurant, where we had no idea what we were ordering, as no one spoke a word of English. Our most authentic meal yet!

Salerno – Mount Vesuvius – Naples - Home

On our last day we opted for a one way car hire from Salerno to the airport and drove to Mount Vesuvius en route. We got to Mount Vesuvius and made the summit just before the midday heat – phew! There were brilliant views over the Bay of Naples on one side and Pompeii on the other. For the €10 ticket price there is a 15 minute tour included once you get to the top. After that we drove to the mountain top town of Corbara, which had brilliant views of the volcano! From there we headed back to Naples and dropped of the hire car at the airport before catching our flight home.

Fancy exploring the amazing Amalfi Coast?

Give us a call on 020 8438 1133 or drop us an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Need a little bit more inspiration? Check out our Rough Guide to sailing the Amalfi Coast here.