Ferry between towns while on tour of Amalfi Coast?

[Wishing on a star]

I have now heard of this a couple of times.  Some private tours might try to accommodate this, while I know that others will not.

Anyhow, being on a cruise, would anyone who has done this say that this is very well worth it.  To get back out on the water and see the coastline from the ferry?

How nice, or 'not nice' is the ferry?   I saw one video where it looks like the guy was on the top deck, and it looked nice enough?

Or, should we just stick to the tour by land?

It looks like you can get some of that viewpoint, of the towns clinging to the mountainside, if you go down to the waterfront and go out on the docks.

Any good insight is much appreciated!

[euro cruiser]

The view from the water is more encompassing but obviously quite different than from the road.

 

However, the road is constantly clogged with traffic from April through November so it's an exercise in patience.

 

Depending on the time of year you are there and the port where you land it's possible to make this journey entirely or partly by water, for a fraction of the cost of a tour.

[euro cruiser]

The Alilauro ferries between Naples and Sorrento/Positano/Amalfi do not offer outside seating but the TravelMar ferries the travel along the coast (between Positano, Amalfi, Salerno and a few other coast towns) do.

 

You can see pictures of the Alilauro ferries here:  http://www.alilauro.it/flotta

 

You can see pictures of the TravelMar ferries here:  http://www.alilauro.it/flotta

 

The towns along the coast serviced by TravelMar are on this map:  https://www.travelmar.it/it/orari

[mapleleaves]

I did it and it was DEFINITELY worthwhile !   

When we went to Cinque Terre I had enjoyed seeing the villages from the ferry more so than walking thru them, so I wanted to do the same on the Amalfi Coast.  A totally different perspective than the drive. Both are beautiful. 

Our driver suggested a 7:30am pickup so we didn't experience any traffic issues at all.  This was mid Sept so a little quieter time of yr. 

 

The ferry was only 8 or 9 E, so why wouldn't you want to have the experience if you're doing a private tour? 

[euro cruiser]

I'm curious about why you would pay hundreds of euros for a car that you're not in?

 

If you're concerned about time you could pay for a car transfer one way rather than a full day tour that you won't be taking advantage of.

[Wishing on a star]

Thank you Mapleleaves.  It is nice to hear that you really appreciated that ferry ride and the experience from out on the water!   I will continue to look into the Ferry.

And, thank you do much EuroCruiser for the inks!

We are looking at travel in late April.  Well after Easter, and before Summer. Hopefully won't be totally crowded at that time.

 

[mapleleaves]

@wishing .  Just wanted to add that one member of our party would have preferred to do the whole trip by ferry!  She found the drive to be unnerving; too many twists and turns with steep drops.  Particularly the section after Ravello.  She enjoyed the views and was glad she went, but wouldn't repeat the drive portion.  It didn't bother me in the slightest, so it's a personal thing.  

We had a lovely warm day so we sat on the upper deck of the TravMar ferry. 

And yes, the view you get from the boat is much different that what you get from the beach.  The cliffs are VERY steep, so from the beach your view is lmited whereas the ferry is a couple of miles offshore so you get a complete view of the town, and even the hwy above it.  There's still a lot of mountain ABOVE the villages and hwy. That's what surprised me. 

I don't take photos when I travel (except of the people I'm with).  So I lifted a photo from google so you can see the town as it looks from the water, but I also included my fuzzy cropped photo that shows how mountainous the area is.

 Have a great trip, whatever you do !

[XuGator]

The ferries are nice and a very good way to get around quickly. We were in port (Naples) for 12 hours and hired a driver to take us to Ravello. We explored Ravello for about an hour and hiked down to Atrani and Amalfi. This was a great hike with terrific views and only took about 35 minutes. We spent some time in Amalfi and took the ferry to Positano. The ferry was quick and offered exceptional views. We spent about 2 hours in Positano and then took another ferry to Capri. The ferry ride to capri was a little less scenic and a little longer but still nice. After a boat tour around Capri - we caught the ferry back to Naples. The ferries are a great way to get around and you can book all of them on your own.