Positano has become a bit of a picture postcard for the Amalfi Coast attracting more and more visitors each year, and mythology claims that Positano was gifted to the nymph Pasitea by Poseidon.
While I enjoyed my time in Positano, I’m glad we chose not to stay here as our base for travelling around the Amalfi Coast. While we didn’t dine in any high-end restaurants, or even sample the nightlife, we still felt as if Sorrento was the better choice overall.
Bus from Sorrento to Positano
The bus to Positano boards from opposite the train station, you’ll see the SITA bus stop signs and usually a queue of people. You’ll need to purchase your bus ticket before boarding the bus, there are three places near the bus stop to do this – two ticket stations on the ground floor of the train station or Bar Frisby a little further down the road if it’s open. You can either get the Amalfi or Positano bus, both stop in Positano. We caught the 09:45 am bus and arrived in Positano at 10:25 am.
There are two bus stops in Positano, Chiesa Nuova which is the first one you’ll come to at the top, or Sponda which is nearer to the beach and further down. If you want to stop at the TikTok viral CB dress shop, depart from Chiesa Nuova which will walk you passed a nice brunch spot as well as this and other shops.
Positano Bus
A Quick Guide to Bus Tickets
Bus tickets were always required to be paid for in cash, however, there is now a Unico Campania bus app you can use to purchase and use tickets instead – it’s fairly new, so we only witnessed a couple of people using it, but it seems like it could save a lot of stress and hassle.
You will need to specify your location when purchasing the tickets as there are different tickets for different locations. The Corsa Singola is a single ticket valid for one ride on one carrier in one direction – they come in different values AC1, AC, AC3 – the further you go, the higher the number and the more expensive the ticket.
Single Bus Ticket
We purchased all of our bus tickets for the next couple of days at one time, and while they were helpful in providing the correct tickets, we didn’t realise there was a difference since they looked alike. For this reason, we used our Corsa Singola AC2 for 2.40 on the way there, but when purchasing to return it was an AC3 at 3,40.
You can also purchase the COSTIERASITA for €10,00, that’s valid for 24 hours from the first validation, that gives you unlimited rides on the SITA bus across the coast. It is cheaper to purchase two singles for Positano.
You’ll need to validate the ticket on board the bus in these machines or with the driver.
Brunch and Shopping
It took around an hour to reach Positano from Sorrento, and we spotted a lovely looking brunch spot on our way from the bus stop down. It was called Case E Bottega and was extremely popular, we were told it would be a 20 minute wait for a table but after leaving our details it only ended up being a five minute wait.
Banana Pancakes
With our stomachs replenished, we continued our descent finally coming to the famed CB Positano dress shop as well as others. We spent some time meandering in and out of shops until we made our way to the main beach.
Spaggia Grande
There are a few beaches in Positano, with the main and most recognised being the Spiaggia Grande or Marina Grande Beach. Like most of the beaches we encountered, the beach had a free section where you could use your own towel and a paid section.
Free Section at Spiaggia Grande
In this case, the paid section was organised by L’Incanto with the blue and white striped umbrellas. We decided to treat ourselves to a sunbed, these could only be booked in pairs so with three of us we had to book four, however, you could select the beds you wanted at the time of booking. We booked online just over a month in advance and paid £37 each which was non-refundable.
The beach is a pebble beach so it can be painful walking in and out of the sea ore around the beach, I recommend bringing a cheap pair of flip-flops for this reason.
On arrival, we were given paper wristbands but unfortunately, our beds were being used by someone else, so we were able just to use three other available beds rather than creating a scene. Attached to the umbrellas are QR codes that will allow you to order drinks and refreshments from the menu, we had a limoncello spritz for 14 euros.
It wasn’t long until we were feeling a bit peckish and sought a quick fix. We had wanted to order the heart-shaped pizza from Chez Black but were told they didn’t do takeaway, so instead, we ordered one from the nearby restaurant, it cost 18 euros for a small, basic pizza – I wouldn’t recommend it but it served its purpose.
Since the pizza didn’t cut it, we had a couple of sweet treats on our way back to the bus stop – a cannoli and a lemon sorbet.
Positano to Sorrento
The buses back to Sorrento were rumoured to run until 10 pm, Google Maps was entirely useless giving us false information as they ran every 10 – 20 minutes. Typically the bus begins in Amalfi, so it is already full or half full before even reaching Positano, so even when catching it at 6 pm, it took another hour and 3 buses later to be able to board one.
This is partly because we were boarding where we departed from Chiesa Nuova, we realised the next day on our return from Amalfi that we would have been far better off-boarding from Positano Sponda instead.
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