The Amalfi Coast for Couples

For couples embarking on an Italian vacation, the most romantic way to arrive at the Amalfi Coast is by sea. The cruise from Sorrento (a lively town perfect for family travel) to Amalfi lasts about an hour, with the trip taking guests past much of the spectacular coast.

Between Sorento and the Amalfi coast, the boat skirts a craggy peninsula of soaring cliffs before reaching the fabled coast and its postcard villages. Clusters of candy-colored homes and villas seem to tumble down the steep ravines before spilling into the sea. Beaches hide in the smaller coves — you can only reach many of them by boat.

Each of these towns has its charms, but Amalfi is the place to choose for a base, in one of its many inns, apartments or luxury villa hotels. Above the Marina Grande (Amalfi’s 600-foot-long beach) is the eye-catching cathedral, its dome covered in colorful tiles.

Marina Grande is where to go for people watching, and you can either rent a lounge chair and umbrella at one of the beach clubs or scout a free patch of sand on one of the free beaches at either end. Expect them to be crowded — you’ll find a beach club a good investment, not to mention a better viewing point.

Boats leave the Marina Grande for the hidden cove beaches (and will return later to get you) or to see the nearby Grotta dello Smeraldo (Emerald Cave), the Amalfi Coast’s version of Capri’s famous Blue Grotto. Afternoon sun shines through the water, making it glow in shades of green, as though it were lit from inside the cave.

Between the beaches, the marina’s buzz (return in the evening for music and the lively social scene), the cafés, restaurants and time spent climbing through the terraced street for ever-changing views of the coast and sea, you’ll have plenty to do. But don’t miss a chance to visit the Amalfi Coast’s most romantic town.

Ravello sits on a terrace at the brink of a ravine high above Amalfi. The lush gardens that once surrounded its villas are now public gardens, with bougainvillea flowers and lemon trees framing magnificent views of the steep coast and the village below.