If you are planning a trip to Positano, I am sure you are also planning on capturing some photos there to! It is easy to find inspo photos all over the internet as Positano has risen in popularity over the years and seems like it has become hot spot for bloggers, creatives, and photographers to come capture photos in this gorgeous destination.
However, scavenging Pinterest for the perfect shot is only half the battle. What many don’t realize is that although Positano is an extremely popular and highly photographed location, there is little to no info on the internet explaining how to get to certain locations among this Amalfi Coast city. Positano is a village on a mountainside. Most roads and walking paths aren’t even picked up on Google Maps! I can say first hand that the effortless photos I have taken in Positano are not what they always seem! YES, it is beautiful (and honestly prettier in person), however getting to these locations are not always as glamours as they appear on a screen!
I myself have traveled to Positano twice now and have taken photos in some of the most iconic spots. Some have been easy, some I stumbled upon, and some I hunted for and learned the hard way (aka hiking 3 miles of unnecessary stairs up a mountainside to get a shot from above).
Today I want to save you the time, research, and extra stair steps (lol) to get to the Insta-worthy spots in the EASIEST and most direct way possible! I feel like something like this is SO needed and there is literally NOTHING on the internet explaining it!
Before I jump in I just want to say one thing. All of the info in this article is based off of my own experiences and places I have found! Taking photos for instagram is what I do for a living and I want this article to not only help those in my same career field but also those who are just looking to take photos in some of the most breathtaking parts of Positano on your vacation!
Okay enough chit chat… time for what all my insta photo lovin’ honeys have been waiting for!
The Most Instagramable Spots!
(AND HOW TO GET TO THEM)
1.FAMOUS POSITANO HOUSE STACK- SPIAGGIA GRANDE
Now this one is not too terrible to get to! It is really the center point of Positano! However when I first came here I was mistaken thinking this was Fornillo beach. If I am correct, Fornillo beach is actually on the other side of the stack of houses on a smaller beach. The main beach is called Spiagga Grande. There are signs that point this way all over town. An easy way you get right to the beach is to map out Chez Black on your phone (it is a restaurant right on the beach). If you make it there you have practically made it to the beach!
GET THE SHOT: To get this shot I recommend facing the water then walking left along the shore into the umbrella area. The further away the more of the houses and ocean you can get into the shot.
WARNING: Despite all the smiles you see in photos this beach freaking HURTS your feet lol! Definitely wear a pair of sandals on this beach since it is all pebbles and be prepared for your feet to feel a little uncomfortable when you take them off to shoot! If you have tough feet then it won’t be too bad!
2.COLORFUL BEACH CHAIR AND UMBRELLAS
Now that you are on the beach you can also see the chairs and umbrellas I mentioned in the previous spot! This also makes for a cute backdrop shooting the other direction!
NOTE: These are privately owned chairs so you can’t sit on them publicly or set your stuff down on their side of the beach technically! Usually they are fine with people snapping a few photos on a not so busy day but make sure you make it quick! I have taken a picture on a chair before but we did it in about 30 seconds haha! I am not recommending to sit on them and it is probably against the rules, but I am just speaking from experience. I also have only ever come in May, so the summer months like June and July will mostly be a bit busier just so you know!
ALSO: These chairs belong to hotels so you do have the option to sit in these chairs daily by the beach if you want to stay there!
3.STAIRS TO POSITANO
OKAY… before I get into this one please note this is by FAR the most difficult location to get to and a confusing one to explain. There are no directions on the internet really explaining how to get here so I will try my best to explain! Also please note that there is hiking involved if you wish to get to this spot! For some it may be a fun activity to do in general! This is probably the prettiest hike in all of Positano. But for others who have a hard time going up hundreds of steep stairs or simply don’t want to hike, I would think twice before trying to get to this location!
SIDE NOTE: Originally when I went here I thought this was The Path of the Gods. On my second trip I actually realized that it is the name of a hiking trail one more town over in Nochelle! I hear is beautiful and great if you are looking for a great intense hike! However as of my understanding it will not get you the views that you see in my photos or ones like it!
HOW TO GET THERE
There are kinda 3 ways I am aware of on how to get to this spot. Coming from above, coming from the bottom up, and coming from the bottom on the wrong side of the path and accidentally-walking-to-the-top-and-coming-down. Can you guess which one we accidentally did? LOL. The last option is what you probably want to AVOID lol.
OPTION 1: Start in Montepertuso & walk down the mountain
On my first trip to Positano I actually stayed in a village over the mountain called Montepertuso. This village is at a much high elevation than Positano and there are stair steps leading from the town all the way to The bottom of Positano. This would be the best option if you don’t want to climb up any stairs and are looking for a very scenic downhill hike. The only downside is you will need to take the Montepertuso-Nochelle bus to get to the starting point.
Again there are really no signs or labels, this path is more of a local hidden path not a tourist attraction. Because of this I think the best way for me to show you is by screenshotting a map and drawing on it to explain!
First you will need to get on the Montepertuso-Nochelle bus! it is less than 2 Euros to ride! Once you are on you want to stay on this bus until you get to this point on the map that I marked below. From there get out and head down the path!! It does go into two directions so I will mark on photos below which way to go so you are not confused!
The map on the left shows the bus route in blue! The purple dots are major pick up points where you can get on! The orange dot is where you want to get off of the bus! The red path is the oath down (this path is not to scale just showing you where it would kind of be in theory.
The map on the right is the bus route again but on a satellite view so you can get a feel four the terrain!
I will show this map below later, but if you where starting at the bus drop off point which would be in the North East corner of the map, make sure you take the BLACK path down and not the Red. You will not get the same view on the red path!
OPTION 2: Walk from Positano up
This way has the potential for being the best way but going the right direction on the path can be confusing and require walking up quite a bit of stairs.
Originally I didn’t have the exact pin point spot on where to get on this path. I only knew about it because we finished the hike here. The path begins by coming off a street and walking up steps into an alley behind houses. Just keep going right and following the steps up. The path will veer off to go towards peoples homes, just follow the only one that keeps going up. Once you make your way above the homes you’ll start to see the breath taking view! As I mentioned before there are many spots along this path perfect for photos so it is up to you how high you want to climb to take the photo!
After much searching on the street view of google maps I found the EXACT ADDRESS for where to get on this path! At the base of the path there is a vending machine in a wall. across the street is where the path begins.
BUT once you are on MAKE SURE YOU GO RIGHT. On the map I have made the path you want to go on in black and the path you want to AVOID in red. So if you go right you should be GOLDEN. From there go up the steps and happy hiking:)
AVOID OPTION 3 (unless you want to hike up and down an entire mountain.)
So as I mentioned Grant and I found a map with the paths on it. I thought that from memory of my last trip instead of doing the hike down in option one, I could find the base of the path and walk up in reverse. the BIG thing we didn’t realize is that the map we found does not shoe ELEVATION. So to us it looked as if we wouldn’t travel too far. We ended up hiking all the way up to the top of the mountain and the back down. Our calves were totally shot for days and in the moment our legs were shaking uncontrollably. This is the true definition of “Doing it for the gram” lol. I am not trying to scare you away though and although it was tough we both had a ton of fun and felt very accomplished after! We just weren’t prepared for what we were getting ourselves into lol. We also found this cute little spot to take this photo on the way up so that was a plus!
And before you ask… yes, we hiked all of this with multiple outfits packed in backpacks as well as a tripod and YES, I really did change into a sparkly maxi dress for the main shot! haha just being real with y’all lol!
On the map above we accidentally walked up all the way on the red path then had to come down all the way on the black path! if you are up for a large hike and adventure then I say go for it!
ALSO: On the way up the red path is where we were able to shoot this awesome photo!
5.LOWER POSITANO
This one is simple to get to, the Positano bus stops here and it is walkable from many locations! I shot this in front of the restaurant Casa e Bottega. It is also super cute place to eat and even take photos inside if you have time. It is one of the only restaurants in Positano that serves non traditional Italian dishes like juices, pancakes, egg bowls, lunch dishes and more!
6.MOUNTAIN ROAD
This spot was found just down the road from Risorante da Costantino! It is a great place for a good mountain road shot and there are usually cute cars parked along the side. It also has a pretty sweet view of the city too! If you go inside the restaurant I think it has the best view of all of Positano!
7.POSITANO FROM A YACHT
Everyone seems to take these amazing photos from a boat with the beautiful Positano city in the background or of the Mediterranean, but how they do it? I recomend going to Spiagga Grande (the Beach) and going over to all the little stands that sell boat tickets. You can look around at the vendors and compare prices, time, etc and then book the one that is best for you on the spot! You usually have to book these at least a day in advance. We ended up doing a tour to Amalfi it was 70 Euros a person for an 8 hour boat trip with a 3 hour stop in the city of Amalfi. The boat held 12 people and was a super fun experience. Our driver served us beer and wine and also let us go swimming in the sea! On this 8 hour trip you will find PLENTY of opportunities to take photos and also have the time of your life! This was my favorite thing we did all trip! They also do a boat trip to Capri!
NOTE: You can take ferries to these destinations but you won’t get photos on a private yacht styled boat! And you also won’t get the full day boating experience!
8.MONTEPORTUSO ROOFTOP
I took this shot from my airbnb rooftop my first stay in Positano! The family’s hospitality is AMAZING and you can pay them a few euros to make you breakfast or even dinner on the rooftop terrace. Here is a LINK to their airbnb incase you want to book there for your trip! It is extremely affordable and has the coolest view!
If it is your first time using Airbnb you can sign up via my link and get $40 off your first home booking!
9. LA TRATORIA TAGLIATA
This is not only my favorite restaurant in all of Positano, but quite possibly one of the coolest views as well (especially at sunset). The place is called La Tagliata. We shot the photo on the little balcony when you first walk in. There are also places right next to the restaurant that gives almost the same amazing view. I think if you are gonna come all the way for the photo you HAVE to get dinner hear too. you will not regret it! It is a family style place with no menu, 45 euros a person, unlimited wine, 5 course meal, with limoncello shots to end the night! it is a lot of bang for your buck if you ask me.
NOTE: To get here you will need to take the Montepertuso-nochelle bus! just map the restaurant on your phone and ask the driver to let you off when you get to the place!
AMALFI
Amalfi is a near by city that I definitely recommend at least taking a day trip to while in Positano, you can get there by ferry, yacht, bus, or car if you rented one. It is about an hour bus ride away! It is actually one of the 4th oldest cities in italy! This place is filled with colorful buildings and lots of photo ops.
10.BEACH IN AMALFI
The beach is very easy to find in alma, right next to the bus loading zone and much more accessible than places in Positano
11.ANDREA PANSA OUTDOOR SEATING
This photo was shot at this cute cafe that serves alcoholic beverages, tea, coffee, gelato, and pastries! The outside view is amazing and really shows off the quaint Amalfi city center plus it is a fun place to stop for a snack!
12.AMALFI LEMON SHOP
This place is located right next to Andrea Pansa! So just map to the cafe and it will be the next store over. There are plenty of places like this all over italy but I just wanted to share because I thought this one was especially cute!
13.CATTEDRALE DI SANT’ ANDREA APOSTOLO
This Cathedral is amazing especially the exterior and the steps leading up! In the actual indoor part I would not recommend taking photos as it is a holy place but the outdoor hallways are gorgeous and that is where I captured this shot! It is 3 Euros to go inside but I would definitely recommend! Aside from the photos, the interior is AMAZING.
14.WHITE BUILDINGS
Another simple shot! This was taken right outside the few steps to the Amalfi beach! So if you find the beach these are just the buildings across the street!
RAVELLO
Ravello is the city above Amalfi in the mountains. It is an easy bus ride up and has some of the most breathtaking views in all of italy! Many weddings are held here and lots of wineries and lemon farms surround the area. Unfortunately I went on a kind of rainy day but I will include some photos from online too so you get the idea!
11.VILLA RUFOLO
This is a place you can easily put into your maps! It is 7 euros to get in but by far the best views in Ravello. There are gardens and look out points all over. Once you are in you will find all of these amazing spots right in front of you!
12.CITY CENTRE
The main little city center is also cute! Little cafes and a church in the background and rolling hills on the other side if you shot in the other direction!
That is all my friends! I hope you found this article extremely helpful! I wish there would have been a guide like this when I went but I am happy to have experienced and discovered so much to be able to share with all of you! Happy traveling!
XO Josie
