Positano Beaches
Positano's beaches are grey pebble and sand under the cliffs, and each one is reached a different way: down the lanes, along a cliff path, down a long stairway or by boat. The coves further along are the ones the Positano boat tours stop at to swim.
Spiaggia Grande, the main beach
How to reach it: walk down through the lanes from either bus stop, or from the loop road. Free or lido: free stretches sit beside the paid lidos with their sunbeds and umbrellas. What is there: the pier, the ferry dock, the tour boats' kiosks, and the church of Santa Maria Assunta just above.
It is the busiest beach and the most convenient, and the one you will cross to board any boat from Positano.
Fornillo, along the cliff path
How to reach it: the path Via Positanesi d'America, which runs west from Spiaggia Grande around the headland past Torre Trasita. Free or lido: both, side by side. What is there: a smaller, quieter beach below the western half of the town.
Families often prefer it for the calmer mood, and it is the beach of the town's fish festival on the last Saturday of September.
Arienzo, down the long stairway
How to reach it: a stairway commonly counted at about 300 steps from the coast road east of town, or the beach club's own boat. Free or lido: half free, half club. What is there: a narrow beach below villa gardens that keeps the sun into the late afternoon.
Save the stairs for the way down if you can: the boat back is kinder on a hot day.
Laurito, by the red-fish boat
How to reach it: the Da Adolfo boat, with a red fish on its mast, from the pier on Spiaggia Grande; there is no road. Free or lido: the cove is given over mostly to the restaurant. What is there: a long lunch by the water.
Free beach or lido?
On every beach here the free stretch and the lido sit side by side. On the free part you bring your own towel and find a spot; at a lido you pay for a sunbed and umbrella and get showers and a bar. In August the free stretches fill early, so arrive in the morning or book a lido the day before.
Beaches you reach only from the sea
Further along the coast the best swimming is in coves with no path at all: Tordigliano, the water below Marmorata, the mouth of the Furore fjord. The boat days from Positano and Sorrento stop at them, and one Sorrento boat stops at Arienzo, so a morning on the water is also a day of beaches.
Swim the coves no path reaches.
The shared coast boats stop two or three times to swim, with masks aboard on most.
What to bring for a beach day
- Water shoes: the beaches are pebble and grey sand, hot underfoot by midday.
- Your own towel for the free stretches; lidos supply theirs with the sunbed.
- Cash for a sunbed, a drink or the boat to Laurito.
- Something for shade on the free beaches, where there is none.
When the beaches are quietest
Early morning, before the day boats bring visitors in from along the coast, and late afternoon, when the sun drops behind the cliffs on Spiaggia Grande but stays on Arienzo. In June and September you can find space at midday; in August, arrive before ten or book a lido the evening before.
The four beaches side by side
| Beach | How you reach it | Free section | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spiaggia Grande | Down the lanes from the town | Yes, beside the lidos | Easy access, the boats |
| Fornillo | The cliff path from Spiaggia Grande | Yes, beside the lidos | A quieter day |
| Arienzo | About 300 steps down, or the club's boat | Half free, half club | Afternoon sun, fewer people |
| Laurito | The Da Adolfo boat from the pier | Mostly the restaurant's | A long lunch |
Getting from your hotel to the water is on getting around Positano, and the months when the sea is warm enough are on Positano weather by month.
Next: plan the rest of your stay on things to do in Positano, or compare every tour on Positano Tours.