Naples & Amalfi Coast 5-Day Itinerary 2026

Quick answer: Five days is enough to do Naples properly (two nights) and then settle on the coast for three, with Pompeii slotted in on the transfer day so you never backtrack. Base yourself in Sorrento rather than Positano if you want easier logistics and better value, and treat Capri as an optional swap. Skip the rental car entirely; the road is gorgeous and miserable to drive.

The mistake most people make with this region is trying to “do” the Amalfi Coast as day trips out of Naples. It looks close on a map. It isn’t, in practice, once you factor in the Circumvesuviana, a transfer in Sorrento and the slow coast road. This route fixes that by splitting the trip cleanly: a real city break in Naples first, then a relocation to Sorrento, with Pompeii bridging the two so the moving day still earns its keep.

Pacing is honest here. Days 1-2 are urban and intense. Day 3 is a travel-plus-Pompeii day, which is tiring but efficient. Days 4-5 are slower, coast-focused and as relaxed or as packed as you want them.

Day 1: Naples old town

Arrive, drop bags, and walk straight into the centro storico. Start at Spaccanapoli, the dead-straight street that slices through the old town, and let it pull you east. The two unmissable stops are the Cappella Sansevero (book the timed ticket ahead - the Veiled Christ genuinely lives up to the hype, and the queue does not) and Napoli Sotterranea, the Greek-Roman aqueduct tunnels beneath your feet.

For lunch, eat a fried pizza or a cuoppo of fried street food standing up - this is the cheapest great meal you’ll have all trip. In the afternoon, the Duomo and the chaotic shrine-shop street of San Gregorio Armeno (year-round nativity figurines) are a short wander away.

Evening: sit-down pizza. The famous places (Da Michele, Sorbillo) have lines; a dozen others a street over are nearly as good with no wait. Budget €6-10 for a margherita, and don’t over-order.

Day 2: Museums, viewpoints and the seafront

Morning belongs to the MANN (National Archaeological Museum). This is non-negotiable if you’re seeing Pompeii - almost all the best mosaics and frescoes were lifted off the ruins and live here. Give it two hours.

In the afternoon, ride the funicular up to Vomero for the Certosa di San Martino and the best panorama over the bay and Vesuvius. Come back down and walk the Lungomare, the car-free seafront, out to the Castel dell’Ovo for sunset over the water.

If you’d rather hand the city over to a local for half a day, a guided walking tour of Naples’ historic centre threads the highlights together and saves you the navigation. A food-focused option works just as well in the afternoon.

Day 3: Pompeii, then relocate to Sorrento

Check out and store your luggage, or just take it with you - this is your transfer day. Take the Circumvesuviana from Napoli Garibaldi toward Sorrento and get off at Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri, about 35 minutes. Trains are basic, often crowded, and pickpockets work the Naples-Pompeii stretch, so keep bags zipped and in front of you.

Pompeii is enormous and the on-site signage is thin, so this is the one place a guide pays for itself. Pre-book your entry and audio guide, or go fully guided - a skip-the-line Pompeii ticket with audio guide means you walk past the worst of the queue. Three hours is realistic; do the Forum, the Villa of the Mysteries, the brothel, the body casts and the Stabian baths, then stop.

Back on the same Circumvesuviana line, continue to Sorrento (the end of the line, roughly 30 more minutes). Check in, and ease into the evening with an aperitivo on Piazza Tasso. Sorrento isn’t the “real” coast, but it’s flat, walkable, well-connected and far cheaper than Positano - the smart base.

Day 4: Positano and Amalfi by SITA bus or boat

This is your headline Amalfi Coast day, and how you do it matters. Two honest options:

By boat (recommended in season). Ferries run from Sorrento to Positano and Amalfi from roughly April to October. They’re faster than the bus, you skip the switchback nausea, and the coast from the water is the view everyone remembers. A full-day Amalfi Coast boat tour hits the headline towns with swim stops in between.

By SITA bus (year-round, cheap). The blue SITA line crawls the cliff road. It’s an experience and costs a few euros, but it’s slow, packed in summer, and you’ll stand. Buy tickets before boarding from a tabacchi.

However you arrive, Positano is for wandering down (and the brutal climb back up), a beach drink, and photos. Amalfi itself has the striped cathedral and the easiest bus connection up to Ravello. Don’t try to add Capri on the same day - pick one.

Day 5: Ravello, then a slow finish

Take the short, steep SITA bus from Amalfi up to Ravello, the quiet, high, garden town that the coast’s day-trippers mostly miss. Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone (the Terrace of Infinity) are the two paid sights and both are worth it - this is the most peaceful, most beautiful stop on the whole coast, and a deliberate calm note to end on.

Back in Sorrento by afternoon, use what’s left of the day for limoncello shopping, a long lunch, or one final swim. If your flight is the next morning, you’re a straightforward Circumvesuviana or transfer away from Naples airport.

Prefer to outsource the driving entirely for the coast portion? A guided Sorrento-Positano-Amalfi-Ravello day tour covers Days 4 and 5 in one swoop, which suits travellers who’d rather not juggle buses and ferries.

Where to stay

Naples (nights 1-2): Stay in or near the centro storico or Chiaia. Chiaia is calmer and more polished; the old town puts you in the thick of it. Avoid the immediate blocks around the central station after dark.

Sorrento (nights 3-5): The town centre near Piazza Tasso keeps everything walkable - station, port, restaurants. Sorrento is the right call over Positano for a no-car, mid-range trip: half the price, flat streets, and the ferry/bus hub for the whole coast.

Could you base on the coast instead? Yes, but Positano triples your accommodation cost and adds stairs to everything, while Amalfi is convenient but plainer. For five days with two in Naples, Sorrento wins.

Practical tips

Skip the car. Parking on the coast is scarce and extortionate, the ZTL zones will fine you, and the road is white-knuckle. Buses, ferries and the Circumvesuviana cover this entire itinerary.
Book Pompeii and the Cappella Sansevero ahead. Both sell timed entry; both have real queues otherwise.
Coast ferries are seasonal. Roughly April-October. Outside that window you’re on SITA buses, so adjust Day 4 expectations.
Carry cash. Smaller coast cafés, the SITA bus tabacchi and street food are cash-friendly.
Best months: May, June, September and early October. July-August are hot, crowded and pricey; winter shutters much of the coast.
Watch your bags on the Circumvesuviana - front pockets, zipped, in sight.