Please consider including Naples and Procida in your Amalfi-bound itinerary. You’ll be close enough and they are awesome. I have this whole entire Naples guide here and it is an awesome city worth a seriously deep dive. Procida rules--it’s beautiful and is a favorite weekend escape of mine. You can read up on it here.

The Amalfi Coast can be as touristy as it is beautiful, so for the best experience, stick to the places below. And don’t rule out renting a car! Get full insurance coverage so it’s consequence-free. Take yourself to Lo Stuzzicchino in Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi and Osteria Reale in Tramonti, and up to Raito. Explore all the corners of the coast few visitors get to. A car will also give you flexibility to pop down into Campania’s countryside to eat amazing mozzarella at Taverna Penta and Vannulo, visit Paestum for the Greek ruins (and more mozzarella di bufala), make a trip to Pepe in Grani in the Alto Casertano for very special pizza, and/or head into the Irpinia area for spectacular wines made from Fiano, Greco, and Aglianico.

Things to do

• Visit Marisa Cuomo’s vineyard, spectacularly excavated into the Amalfi cliffs
• Visit Ravello: Garden villas and breathtaking views entice visitors to Ravello. Stick around for the pizza at Mimì.
• Shop for ceramics at Solimene in Vietri or Lucio Liguori in neighboring Raito (shout out to my friend Guido Gambone for connecting me with his ceramics-making neighbor!). I like stopping in Cetara beforehand to buy salted anchovies and colatura (anchovy elixir) from my pal Giulio Giordano at Nettuno and to eat at Acquapazza.
• Hike the Sentiero degli Dei (Path of the Gods). There are many trail options here.
• Lay out and take a dip at Furore, one of the most spectacularly beautiful places on the Amalfi Coast (visit this site for tips on getting there).

Places I like to Eat

• Da Armandino: At Armandino (Praiano), just let them guide you to the pescato del giorno. There are always local shrimp on the menu, fished in Praiano and fried whole.
• Lo Stuzzichino in Sant’Agata (above Sorrento) is extremely awesome.
• Taverna del Leone (Positano): The menu features local dishes alongside more creative options, all of which are made from carefully chosen ingredients. Classic decor, professional family management, and a striking open-view kitchen adorned with local blue-and-white ceramics.
• Osteria Reale (Tramonti): For a really nice inland meal, the osteria at Reale, an agriturismo and vineyard, is wonderful. Their timballo of wild greens and sausage, cavatelli with potatoes cooked in terracotta, and braised pork with sundried tomatoes and olives is a window into what the food of the Amalfi Coast was before commercial fishing, refrigeration, and ice arrived in the mid-20th century.

Further Afield

• Inland, Cardone in Agerola does great salumi, and you’ll recognize the place from the Amalfi Coast episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on which I appeared as Andrew’s co-host.

If you’re looking for something on the way out of the Costiera en route to the airport, I recommend stopping at Nonna Rosa in Vico Equense. The pasta dishes are amazing and Peppe Guida’s food is refined  but not precious. Also in Vico, on the water with a view of Vesuvius, Il Bikini is a posh beach club with a restaurant. The pasta is great and the frittura mista is lovely. Further north near Vesuvius in Sant’Anastasia, E’ Curti is freaking amazing and one of my favorite places for Campanian comfort food.