How to Get to the Amalfi Coast from Rome

For a daytrip or the start of your vacation, we'll tell you the best way to get to the Amalfi Coast from Rome

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If you're coming from the airport in Rome, you can check out our article on getting to Rome from the FCO (Fiumicino) airport, or the one on getting to Rome from the CIA (Ciampino) airport.

For the purpose of this article, we'll leave from Rome's Termini station. Not Tiburtina (you can check out our article for the difference between the two).

So, onward!

But first:

Can I take a daytrip to the Amalfi Coast from Rome?

You absolutely can. I don't recommend it, especially if you can fit in a single night on the Amalfi Coast. However, if you have a free day in Rome and you're not sure what you want to do with it, but you wouldn't mind seeing some sea, waves, and lemons (and spending a few hours getting there), then head for the Amalfi Coast! Sea, waves, and lemons galore!

So pack your swimsuit, bring a snack for the trip, and a good book for the beach!

A beautiful day on the water off the Amalfi Coast. Photo by Only a Bag.

What if I want to get to Positano from Rome?

Very briefly, if you're only interested in getting to Positano (the "last" town on the Amalfi Coast) and not the Amalfi Coast itself, then I'd highly recommend you check out our article on getting to Positano from Rome.

Despite the fact that Positano is on the Amalfi Coast, it's on one end of the coast—the one that takes longer to reach—so it's not the easiest town to reach. Likewise, once you're in Positano, it can be difficult to reach the other towns, especially if you're on a daytrip and your time is limited. So because of this, the method for reaching the Amalfi Coast in general, rather than Positano in specific, is different.

How to get to the Amalfi Coast from Rome

First things first, you'll need to get down to Salerno. A major port city in the south (and really, the last major city on the west side of Italy until Reggio Calabria), Salerno is the gateway to the Amalfi Coast. All traffic to the Amalfi Coast flows through Salerno, making it your first stop.

How to get to Salerno from Rome

The easiest—and best—way to get Salerno from Rome is the "fast train". In this case, it's TrenItalia's Frecciarossa or Italo. Personally, we prefer Frecciarossa for the seats, speed, reward points, discounts, and times, but it's totally up to you! When you strip out all of the necessaries, the only real difference between the two is which time works best for you.

Throughout this article I will show screenshots of various trains and ferries. Prices are shown for the day after this article is written (meaning there are no discounts available as most discounts require that you book at least 3-5 weeks in advance). The prices are also for a one-way ticket for a single traveler. This is all to say, these are simply examples, and if you're booking in advance, you should have no problem finding a cheaper ticket than the one displayed.

Rome's Termini to Salerno.

As you can tell from the above screenshot, there are trains to Salerno leaving incredibly frequently. While they're not all the same—some require a change in Naples, others are the "slow train" (InterCity or Regionale), you can reach Salerno within 2-3 hours from Rome.

Rome's Termini to Salerno using an aggregate that shows Italo as well.

In the above screenshot I used Trainline instead. This shows all the trains leaving Rome's Termini station (not just TrenItalia, but also Italo). As you can tell, there aren't many Italo trains leaving Rome in that same time period, but they work well to fill the gaps. At 10:30 you can take a fast train arriving in 2 hours, or a slow train arriving in 4.

To check for your own dates, I recommend using TrenItalia's Italian-language website. The English-language website doesn't offer discounts or group discounts in the same way. So slap on the ol' browser translator.

If you'd prefer to use an aggregate like the one shown above, we use Trainline*. It's English-language and it does offer both the TrenItalia and Italo discount codes (if applicable).

Now you're in Salerno! 2 hours after leaving Rome, if you snagged a "fast train" ticket!

So, how do I get to the Amalfi Coast from Salerno?

You're basically there. Seriously. If you walk down to the water from the train station, you can see the length of the Amalfi Coast.

Now, if you've read that article on getting to Postiano from Rome, you might be asking, "Nathaniel, in 2 and a half hours I was able to reach Positano from Rome? But after 2 hours I'm only in Salerno? What's the deal with that?"

To which I say, "Great question, reader."

Here's the deal.

The Amalfi Coast essentially has one way in and one way out: SS163, the Strada Statale 163 Amalfitana. Or, more simply put, the Amalfi Coast highway. It's a two-lane (one lane there, one lane back) highway that's tight, narrow, and packed. There's a rock wall on one side of the road and a cliff down to the water below on the other side. While it's fairly safe, it's easy to feel trapped on the Amalfi Coast because you have to leave via this road. So if there's an accident, or some bus got stuck because a car didn't want to back up, you're gonna be on the Amalfi Coast for a while.

There is technically another way in and out, and that's by the ferry. Don't worry, we'll cover both the bus and ferry in just a second.

But first, to go back to your earlier question: Vietri sul Mare is the "first" town along the Amalfi Coast when you leave Salerno. It's famous for its ceramics and still has an operational ceramics factory to this day. It's also a 5-minute bus ride from Salerno, and the bus picks up right outside the train station.

So, yes, while you can reach Positano in 2 and a half hours from Rome (providing you take a taxi to the ferry port in Naples and have the perfectly lined up transfer in place), in 2 hours and 5 minutes you can be in Vietri sul Mare, the first town of the Amalfi Coast. And, if you really want to get into the Amalfi Coast, you can take the bus all the way to Amalfi (which is just past the halfway point between Vietri sul Mare and Positano) and be there in an hour, or half an hour if you take the ferry.

How to get to Amalfi from Salerno via bus

Simply for the purpose of this article, I'll assume you want to get to Amalfi, the actual town. I don't recommend it, if I'm being honest. It might just be the worst town on the Amalfi Coast since it also serves as the bus and ferry hub; it's noisy, filled with cars and buses, and is a fairly dank town in the crevice of a mountian. (Can you tell that I'd be the worst travel agent?)

However, along the way you'll pass through Vietri sul Marie, Cetara (a great town if you like finding little hidden beaches to swim at), Erchie (more of a quiet neighborhood on the beach), Maiori (Florida in the 90s on the beach), and Minori (less Florida but still Florida). With the bus ticket you use to get to Amalfi you can simply hop off at any of the towns along the way and enjoy your daytrip. Keep in mind, the tickets aren't round-trip!

Just out of the train station, to the right of the piazza across from you, you'll see a little bus stop. Here's a link to it on Google Maps if you'd like to save it/look at the streetview to get a sense of it.

This is where you'll catch the Sita SUD (the name of a bus company, not the route) to Amalfi.

And then, hop off wherever looks good! You're on the Amalfi Coast! Have a swim, read your book, grab a deliza al limone or a sorbetto al limone and enjoy your day!

Things to keep in mind for taking the Sita SUD to Amalfi from Salerno

First: You need to buy a ticket in advance. The tickets work on a "distance traveled" system, not a town-by-town system. Don't worry, you don't need to whip out the measuring tape. When you go to buy your ticket, tell them where you're going, and they'll give you the correct ticket. From Salerno, a ticket to Amalfi costs €2.20. It will cost €3.60 if you want to go from Salerno all the way to Positano. Keep in mind this is the price per ticket, so you'll need two if you want to get back.

Second: You cannot buy a ticket on board, so you'll need to go to a tabacchi (a place that sells tobacco products and salt, inexplicably), a bar, or an edicola (newspaper vendor). If you see a Sita SUD sign on the door to the shop, they will sell the tickets. There are bars around the train station where you can purchase tickets.

Third: You cannot reserve a seat. The bus is first-come, first-serve and they will ask people to stand in the aisle to fill up the bus. When it's full, it's full. What does this mean for you? First, some stops are nearly impossible to get on the bus. Because so many people embark at Salerno Station and don't disembark until at least Vietri sul Mare, you won't be able to get on the Sita SUD if you're at one of the other stops in Salerno. Keep this in mind if you're staying in Salerno and aren't near the station.

This also means that Amalfi, where everyone who is continuing west to Positano or Sorrento must change buses, can be a madhouse. Everyone has been waiting for the bus, sometimes for multiple hours since there's only a few buses an hour in the peak season, one bus an hour in the off-season. Unless you have plenty of time, I don't recommend trying to get to Positano from Amalfi on a daytrip. Stick to the east of Amalfi and you should be totally fine.

Insider tip for catching the Sita SUD to Amalfi from Salerno

The stop at Vinciprova, Salerno. Lookk for the SITA SUD sign. Photo by Only a Bag.

In the past, we've tried to catch the bus to Amalfi from Salerno and had the incredible experince of being some of the last few people in line, so we weren't able to get on. Nothing builds camraderie with fellow travelers like literally missing the bus.

When we checked the schedule, we realized that Salerno Train Station wasn't the first stop as we had previously assumed. The first stop is actually down the street in a little parking lot. Vinciprova, linked here on Google Maps, is the first stop on the way to Amalfi, stopping second at the Salerno Station. So we walked over and were the first people on the next bus to Amalfi.

Which is all to say, if you have 5-10 minutes and are up for a walk, instead of fighting the crowd at the Salerno Train Station, just walk over to Vinciprova and be the first one on.

How to get to Amalfi from Salerno via ferry

Let's backtrack to when you just arrived in Salerno, and you're at the front door of the train station.

You'll want to head towards "Salerno Molo Concordia" which is also the "Piazza della Concordia". It's literally straight out the door, across the piazza, down the street until you get to the big highway, across the highway, and from there you are at the outside edge of the port (Molo Concordia). Just walk down (litearlly, the ground slopes downwards here) and around [all of the fishing boats to where you see a row of little shops], towards this point on Google Maps, and you've found the ferry departure point.

I highly recommend that you don't buy a ticket for "Molo Manfredi" as it's farther away and only worth it if you happen to be staying near there.

There are a handful of ferry companies that operate ferries to the towns along the Coast. Some only go to Amalfi and Positano while others dock at all the towns. The main company is TravelMar, and they actually have a partnership with TrenItalia, so you can book a single ticket through the TrenItalia website (or any of the aggregate websites like Trainline*) rather than having multiple tickets.

Salerno Concordia to Amalfi on TravelMar.

As you can see, the ferry leaves essentially once an hour but a little more frequently towards the middle of the day. There is a lunch break in the middle of the day before they resume operations at 1:10pm.

As mentioned, TravelMar isn't the only ferry. And while spending 35-70 minutes on a ferry isn't bad at all, some ferries operate faster boats.

Salerno Concordia to Amalfi on Omio, an aggregate.

On the above screenshot you can see a company like PositanoJet offering a same-priced ticket for a trip that only taks 25 minutes insread of 35-70 minutes. If you're spending a day on the Amalfi Coast, taking a faster ferry there and back could save you roughly half an hour.

In either case, if you're planning your trip, you can book through an aggregate like Omio* or directly through the company like TravelMar.

And that's it, you're on the Amalfi Coast!