How to Get to Positano from Rome

Either for a day trip, or fresh off the plane, here are the best ways to get to Positano from Rome

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If you're thinking of a quick day-trip to the Amalfi Coast, Positano is a natural choice for a visit. It has shopping, two beaches, tons of restaurants, a beautiful pergola-covered street with blooming bougainvillea and wisteria, and gorgeous views.

Of course, the problem is, it's a bit of a pain to reach, no matter how you try to get there.

Before jumping into the article, I want to answer a major question:

Is a day trip to Positano from Rome possible?

Technically, yes. In theory, I highly encourage you not to unless it's your only chance to see the Amalfi Coast while you're in Italy and you have to go to Positano. Other towns on the Amalfi Coast, like Vietri sul Mare, are a better choice for a day trip, as is Sorrento, on the Sorrentino coast.

It will take anywhere from 2.5 to 4 hours to reach Positano from Rome, providing you take the fastest forms of all transportation available and miss nothing. That's 5-8 hours, just on transportation.

But you didn't come here for Negative Nathaniel! You're a do-er! So, let's make that day-trip happen.

Positano from above. Photo by Only a Bag.

For the purposes of your sanity and the fact that you probably won't be taking a silly mode of transportation to the Amalfi Coast (like a flight from Rome to the Amalfi Coast Airport, or a cruise from Civitavecchia, or a private car all the way down), this article will only focus on the best and quickest way(s) to get from Rome to Positano.

Getting to Naples from Rome

Your first step on the way to Positano will be getting to Naples from Rome.

Naples will be your actual starting point since, again, there are no other ways to get from Rome to Positano that don't involve shenanigans.

From Rome, I highly recommend getting on a "fast train" which would be the Frecciarossa or Italo. I personally recommend Frecciarossa because it's cheaper, faster (usually), and the seats are better. But Italo uses a cooler color of red on their livery, so it's up to you. It takes anywhere between 1 hour and change to 2 hours and change, depending on whether or not you're on the fast train or not. (The InterCity and Regionale will take longer.)

Screenshot from the Trenitalia website. Prices shown are one-way, one person, leaving day after the article is written (most expensive, no discounts).

As you can tell from the screenshot, there are tons of trains from Rome to Naples, with one practically leaving every 15 minutes.

You can check the trains out for yourself at Trenitalia's website (Italian version since this version will show you the discounts) or, if you prefer an aggregate that shows Trenitalia and Italo, you can use a website like Trainline* (English-version).

Getting to Positano from Naples

Okay, here's where desire and budget start to butt heads a bit. If you've been dying to see Positano and you'll stop at nothing, "budget" is just some fun word that has no meaning to you, then you need to get yourself to the port as soon as you step off the train.

If you want to see Positano, but let's not be too crazy, you also want dinner, then stick around the train station. And you can click that to jump to the section below that discusses trains instead of ferries.

Getting to Positano from Naples on a ferry

First things first, you need to get to to Molo Beverello, or Beverello Port. And if you're looking at Google Maps, wondering why someone would make like 8 different pins in 8 different spots for the port, it's this one. Gotta love southern Italy.

Getting to Naples Port (Molo Beverello) from Piazza Garibaldi via taxi

A taxi from Piazza Garibaldi (the Naples train station you should be getting off at, not Naples Afragola, click here for the difference) to Molo Beverello should cost a flat rate of €15.50. You can click here for the rates as posted by the city of Naples. This will cost more on holidays, at nights, and if you have a taxi driver that's a little bit... thumb on the scale. But those things aside, it should only cost around $17.

Getting to Naples Port (Molo Beverello) from Piazza Garibaldi via Metro

The closest Metro stop to Molo Beverello is Municipio. From there, it's about a 5-10 minute walk, depending on how fast you're moving.

A Metro ticket costs €1.50 and is good for 90 minutes. Keep in mind, and I mean this with only love, that Naples' Metro is often hot garbage. It comes like every 10-15 minutes (as opposed to Rome's every 2-4 minutes) and if you miss it, oof. That being said, it is getting better, but it's not super reliable.

Getting to Naples Port (Molo Beverello) from Piazza Garibaldi via bus and tram

With that €1.50 ticket, you can also take the bus or tram. A variety of buses and trams run in the direction of Molo Beverello, like bus 151 or R2, as well as tram 412. In this case, Google Maps can be an awesome tool, giving you an idea of when the next bus or tram should arrive, so you don't have to land in Naples with a list of possible buses, trams, and times.

Getting to Naples Port (Molo Beverello) from Piazza Garibaldi via walking

Of course, you're in Italy! Take a second, smell the roses, grab a fresh sfogliatella, and walk from Piazza Garibaldi to the port. It should take about 30 minutes, depending on how fast you walk and how often you stop for treats. (After all, how else are you going to keep yourself going?)

So, how do I get to Positano from Naples on the ferry?

Because I believe in continuity, I'm going to use that first screenshot of train times as a jumping-off point and assume you're still going the day after this article was written, July 16th. As explained in the caption to that screenshot, leaving so last-minute means no discounts, no deals, and paying full price. However, in both cases, all of the available times are listed, some are just "sold out". So this will still give us a good idea of how much time to plan for. Looking at Omio*, which will aggregate ferry options, we have a few options in the morning, and then a few after lunch. The ferry will also, inexplicably, just cut straight through the peninsula.

Ferry options from Naples to Positano. One way, per person.

As you can see from the options, most of the tickets are about €30 a person, one way, with one holdout costing a whopping €11, cheaper than the ferry from Salerno at €17.

Likewise, the times vary from just around an hour, to just over two.

And that's it! You're in Positano! Cue the fireworks! Within essentially 1 hour on the train, about 7 minutes in a taxi, and 1 hour on the ferry (assuming you can get the times to line up beautifully), you're in Positano, having a relaxing swim, only two and a half hours after you left Rome.

Getting to Positano from Naples on a train

Picking up where we left off, you're at the train station at Piazza Garibaldi, and I told you to wait there.

Wait for what?

Why, the train to Sorrento! If you want a longer, more in-depth article, you can click that link which goes to my article on getting to Sorrento from the Naples train station. However, in the pursuit of brevity, I'll give a quicker version here.

There are two trains from Naples to Sorrento: the Circumvesuviana and the Campania Express.

Circumvesuviana

This is like the "local subway" that stops at every station between Naples and Sorrento. Costing €3.60 (as of 2025), and taking 1 hour and 10 minutes, this is the slow but affordable option. There is no air conditioning, no assigned seats, and it can get packed in the summer, with people standing in the aisles.

Campania Express

This is essentially the "tourist train" that only goes to handful of stops, like Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Sorrento. It costs €15 per person and takes roughly 30 minutes to get from Naples to Sorrento. This train has assigned seats, air conditioning, and is more like the Frecciarossa you probably just got off of.

In either case, you're now at Sorrento! If you'd like to end your trip here, this is a great approximation of the Amalfi Coast. Similar buildings, color palette, affinity for citrus, but with a much worse view (Gulf of Naples).

How to get to Positano from Sorrento

There are two ways to get from Sorrento to Positano: the ferry and the bus.

Let's look at the ferry first, since that's what we looked at first last time.

Getting to Positano from Sorrento via ferry

Despite what the below imagine shows, the ferry does, in fact, go around the peninsula, and not through it.

In fact, the ferry might be one of the most beautiful ways to see the peninsula, as it rounds the point and glides between Capri and Nerano. In anywhere from half an hour to an hour and a half, you can be at the shores of Positano. As you can see from the screenshot below, a ride on the ferry runs around €20 per person, making the ferry from Naples not such a bad deal, considering you also had to pay for a train ticket to get to Sorrento.

I highly recommend the ferry to anyone who might have trouble walking, especially up and down hills. The ferry will drop you at the base of Positano where the life in the town is (shopping, the church, restaurants, etc.) whereas the bus will drop you at the top of town and you have to walk downhill (and back up when you leave) to see anything interesting.

Ferry from Sorrento to Positano. Price per person, one way.

Getting to Positano from Sorrento via bus

The other way to get to Positano (short of a taxi or rental car) is the SitaSUD bus. For €2.20, you can board at the Sorrento train station and be dropped off at the top of Positano half an hour later.

If you've never taken the bus along the Amalfi Coast, I highly recommend it. The views are gorgeous, the drivers are incredible, and it's simply one of the most evocative road trips in Italy.

If you are planning on taking the bus, there are some things to keep in mind.

First: you have to buy a ticket in person (not online) and they're good for any trip, once they're validated. This means they don't expire, but it also means you can't reserve a seat. So you'll have to get in line and, at some points in the year, the line might take an hour and change to move through since the buses don't run super frequently. At the height of summer in the middle of the day, there's a bus every 15 minutes, but in the off season, it's closer to once an hour.

Second: If you're bringing luggage, room is limited. Be prepared to put your bag in your lap.

Third: If you get carsick easily, don't take the bus. There are a lot of turns.

From Rome, using the slower methods, you're door-to-door in about 4 hours, depending on how well the times line up. And that's it, you're in Positano! Well, the top of Positano, so you'll still have to walk down to the beach. And then walk back up to catch the bus. But, you're in Positano!