Amalfi Coast

A private car meets you at Naples International Airport (or the port, if arriving by ferry) and drives the winding coastal road south through Sorrento and along the cliffs to Positano. The drive itself is part of the experience. Your villa or hotel will be ready, with a welcome aperitivo waiting on the terrace.

A full day to settle into the rhythm of Positano. The town unfolds vertically, a cascade of pastel houses, ceramic shops, and narrow staircases that lead to small piazzas and unexpected views. Spiaggia Grande beach is steps from the main drag, and the water is the kind of blue that photographs never get right.

Ravello sits 1,200 feet above the sea, a hilltop town that traded the beach for one of the most famous views in Europe. The gardens of Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufolo have drawn writers, composers, and artists for centuries. Richard Wagner composed part of Parsifal here. Gore Vidal lived here for decades. The quality of light alone justifies the visit.

The town that gave the coast its name. Amalfi was once a maritime republic rivaling Venice and Genoa, and its cathedral, the Duomo di Sant'Andrea, is the kind of building you walk into and forget to leave. The paper mills in the Valle dei Mulini tell the story of a town that exported quality for centuries.

A private boat takes you from the coast to Capri, where the Faraglioni sea stacks rise from water so clear it looks digitally enhanced. The island is small enough to walk but dramatic enough to warrant a full day. The Piazzetta is one of the great people-watching spots in the Mediterranean, and the Blue Grotto is as otherworldly as advertised.

Praiano is where Amalfi Coast locals actually go. Quieter than Positano, less trafficked than Amalfi Town, it sits between the two with views that neither can match. The town faces due west, which means the sunsets here are some of the best on the coast. This is a deliberate pause day, designed for reading, swimming, and doing very little at a high level.

A day trip inland to the two cities buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD. Most visitors only see Pompeii, but Herculaneum is the better-preserved site: smaller, more intimate, with intact wooden beams, frescoes still vivid after two millennia, and far fewer crowds. A private archaeologist guide turns what could be a museum visit into a genuine encounter with Roman daily life.

Sorrento sits on a cliff above the Bay of Naples, with views across the water to Vesuvius and the city. The old town is a grid of narrow streets packed with ceramics shops, tailors, and family restaurants that have been serving the same recipes for generations. The lemon groves here produce the fruit that ends up in the region's limoncello.

Ischia is the Amalfi Coast's well-kept secret. Larger than Capri but far less visited, the island is volcanic, which means natural thermal springs, impossibly green hillsides, and a tradition of wellness that predates the modern spa industry by centuries. The Aragonese Castle, perched on a rocky islet connected by a stone causeway, is one of the most dramatic fortifications in the Mediterranean.

A final morning on the coast before your private transfer back to Naples. Depending on your departure time, there may be room for a last espresso on the terrace, one more swim, or a quick stop at a ceramics workshop in Vietri sul Mare, the town that produces the hand-painted tiles you have been admiring all week.