The first time I took this drive, I was looking for the fastest way to get from Sorrento to Amalfi. I had slept in after too many limoncello the night before. With the extra sleep and a clearer head, I wanted to meet back up with my friends, who had taken an earlier ferry to Amalfi. The pensione owner, who patted my hand in a grandfatherly way each time I asked for help, went over the bus schedule with me and told me where to catch the bus. As I headed out, he handed me a napkin full of biscotti and blurted something quickly in Italian. All I heard was "mal di stomaco" (upset stomach). I said, "grazie" and blushed, thinking he must have known I drank too much the night before.
As it was my first time in Sorrento, and Italy, family and friends gave me a laundry list of "must dos and sees" for each city. The list was so long that I would have had to spend all my time seeing other people's favorites instead of creating my own. After maybe one day of trying to do that, I decided to ignore the list and find my own favorites. My notes on the list next to the Amalfi Drive read, "Take the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi - nice view."
Nice view doesn't quite describe the bus ride. It started out a little slow and bumpy as we ambled across the peninsula. (Sorrento is on the northern side of the Sorrentine peninsula. At the tip of this peninsula, the gulf of Naples ends and the Amalfi Coast begins.) I saw lemon groves, houses, and hotels tucked away among more lemon groves as we crossed the peninsula. Once we arrived at the coastline, things changed dramatically.
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The ride went from bumpy to winding. After the first few curves, I understood why the pensione owner had said, "mal di stomaco" and given me the cookies. The two-way highway is a narrow winding road, barely wide enough for two buses to fit next to each other when coming from different directions. (More than once, one bus had to back out of a turn because both buses wouldn't fit.) On one side of the highway is a steep wall of rock climbing farther up and back. The other side, the coastal side, is an even steeper drop, hundreds of feet, down into the blue sea. A small railing winds with the highway road. It's the only barrier between the road and the drop.
The bus hugged the railing as we wound our way along the coast. At every curve the bus driver tooted the horn to announce its entrance into the even narrower turn. The bus driver's gray hair and beard gave me comfort. At the time I thought this showed his experience and success with driving this road. Looking back, I think the stress from this drive several times every day might have caused him to gray prematurely.
My coast-side window view drew my attention away from the barf bag-inducing push and pull of the road. That view, throughout the entire ride, made my mouth drop deep like the cliffs from which we drove. The sapphire blue sea. Stark white or pastel colored villas, topped one upon another, clung to the hillside. Bougainvillea climbed walls and terraced patios in full fuschia-colored bloom. There were more lemon groves and also small secluded beach coves nestled in the curves of the rocky coastline.
Looking Down on the Coastline's Cliffs
View of the Amalfi Coastline
Villa Clinging to the Cliff
Bougainvilla Covered Building Along the Drive
Secluded Beach
Looking Down on Positano from the Positano Bus Stop
Positano
That first trip was years ago. Each time I return, I take this bus ride. Each ride is like my first, awestruck I gawk out the window. Yes, I could rent a car and drive myself, being able to stop whenever I choose. I'd rather let someone else, who is more experienced with the road and Italian drivers, drive while I look. You can rent a private driver, but the bus is a great deal for such a view. Last summer the roundtrip fare from Sorrento to Amalfi was 7.50 euros. Luckily, I almost never get carsick, but I still pack a few cookies and a water with me each time, just in case. These photos are from my most recent trip in the summer.
Yes, the drive is a "nice view," indeed. This is one piece of "must see" advice I'm glad I took, although accidentally. And, limoncello continues to play an important part in some of my most memorable travel experiences.
Information on using the buses:
The SITA bus website gives you information on bus routes and schedules. There are buses that run from Sorrento to Amalfi, stopping along the way at Positano.
From the main bus stop in Amalfi, you can pick up another bus to ride along the rest of the coastline to Salerno.
Bus schedules change throughout the year, but you can easily pick up a current schedule wherever you're staying, the tourist office in Sorrento Positano or Amalfi, and at the bus ticket offices in each city. Many tabacco shops (Tabacchi) and cafes along the coast also sell bus tickets.
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What "must see" travel advice are you glad you took? Is there one "must see" you wish you hadn't?
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Related Posts:
Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples Italy
Pasta Genovese and Other Neapolitan Sauces at Citta del Gusto
Photo Tour of Spaccanapoli and Napoli's Historic Center
Taste of Napoli - 15 Favorite Dishes for the Food Lover in Naples
Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged
Journey Through the Pastries of Naples
Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri
The Dish from Naples: Pizza Margherita from Two Pizzerie in Napoli
Bella Napoli - Neapolitans Warm My Heart Like Their Food Warms My Belly
Gnocchi all Sorrentina - A Taste of Sorrento (my post for Napoli Unplugged)
Mustaccioli - Christmas Cookies from Naples ( my post for Napoli Unplugged)
Your blog never fails to a) take me right back to Italy with your lovely words b)make my heart actually feel sad that I can't be there right now...what a beautiful memory...
Posted by: Liana @ femme fraiche | January 08, 2011 at 03:40 AM
And the Sita bus drivers are so friendly too. They let me on even if I have to stand against the windscreen due to the crowds, will chat endlessly once they know I'm Italian and are able to cross themselves while turning a hairpin bend. And what patience they have- love them.
I hope the Sorrento bus to Amalfi took the Nastro Verde route, it's even more spectacular!
Posted by: Rosa | January 08, 2011 at 05:26 AM
First, thanks very much for your comment on my piece about Beirut. Second, i'm thrilled to have found you. I'm going to the carnival in Venice at the end of February and then plan to travel all over Italy. End of winter seems to be good time.
Posted by: inka | January 08, 2011 at 07:32 AM
Must-see/do: visit Kilauea volcano in Hawai'i; get to the top of the Andes somehow; swim in the waters of the Caribbean Sea; any real rainforest (there aren't many left); bask in the sun in any Italian piazza
Wish I hadn't bothered: took bus trip from central D.C. to the National Cathedral(zzz); Butchart Gardens in British Columbia are pretty but way too expensive and too far out of the way to be worth the price; the Vatican museums.
Posted by: Paula | January 08, 2011 at 10:49 PM
Really one of the most beautiful places I have EVER been to !!! Thanks for the memories !! sniff sniff!!
Posted by: Cristina, from Buenos Aires to Paris | January 09, 2011 at 02:03 PM
Stunning photos! We keep talking about spending some time in the area (not just a passing visit) but it hasn't happened yet :(
Posted by: Corinne @ Degustinations | January 09, 2011 at 07:27 PM
Liana - I do try to take everyone to Italy with each post about it, but I also understand the heartache you feel. I too feel it whenever I'm not in Italy.
Rosa - I so agree with you about the bus drivers (see my post on the people of Napoli). I don't think that the first ride was the Nastro Verde route, but it was such a long time ago, I'm not sure. I do agree that it is even more special!
Inka - Wow! I'm going to be in Venice for Carnevale, too. We should meet up for a spritz!
Posted by: Kathy | January 09, 2011 at 09:05 PM
Paula - Thanks for all the input! I do have one question. You really wish you hadn't bothered with the Vatican Museums??
Corinne - Thanks! I can understand why you spend only a passing visit, as you seem to have a beach right outside your door there in Australia :-) but the food is also worth delving into!
Posted by: Kathy | January 09, 2011 at 09:12 PM
Lemon groves and bouganvilla and secluded beaches and those windy cliff clinging roads sell me! My son just peeked over my shoulder and said "That would be a nice place to live". I'd even be content with a visit. :)
Posted by: Nicole | January 11, 2011 at 11:14 PM