Plan Your Positano Visit

Hours, prices and access verified by the Positano Tours team — last checked 2026-09-11

Positano is a town built down a cliff to one beach, with one road above it and no railway anywhere near. That shapes every plan you make here, from the day you arrive to the tours you book. Every fare, side by side, sits with the tours from Positano listings.

Positano in one paragraph

The houses climb from Spiaggia Grande, the main beach, up a steep valley to the SS163 coast road, and the hamlets of Montepertuso and Nocelle sit higher still. The majolica dome of Santa Maria Assunta marks the bottom of town, beside the pier where the boats and the ferries tie up. Almost everything you do starts at one of two places: that pier, or the road above. Knowing which one your day starts from is the whole of the planning.

Arriving: road, sea or bus

By road

From Naples airport a private transfer takes about an hour to an hour and a half. Drivers can set you down on the one-way road through town, which saves most of the stairs. If you drive yourself, parking is scarce and an alternate-plates rule covers the coast road on busy days from June to October.

By sea

From roughly April to October, ferries from Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Amalfi and Salerno land at the pier on Spiaggia Grande. You step off at the bottom of town, which is easy with a light bag and hard with a heavy one.

By bus

The SITA coast bus runs between Sorrento and Amalfi and stops at Chiesa Nuova, at the top of town, and at Sponda, nearer the beach. Buy your ticket before you board, at a newsagent or bar, because it is not sold on the bus.

The detail for each route is on how to get to Positano, and the bus stops, the local bus and the porters are on getting around Positano.

The steps are the town

Positano is a staircase. The lanes between the road and the beach are steps and ramps, and a hotel "near the beach" can still be a hundred steps above it. Pack light, wear shoes with grip, and ask your hotel where the nearest road or bus stop is before you arrive.

Save your legs for the day out. Porters meet the bus stops and the pier and carry luggage down the lanes, and a private transfer can stop on Viale Pasitea, the one-way road that loops through town. Both are covered on getting around Positano.

The pier on Spiaggia Grande

The pier at the western end of the main beach is where your boat day starts. The ferries use one side and the tour and private boats the other, and the operators' kiosks line the beachfront behind it. Each listing names its own meeting point, from an info desk opposite Chez Black to the orange umbrella outside Le Tre Sorelle, so read yours the evening before and arrive 15 to 20 minutes early.

The Pompeii tours from Positano work the other way round: a van collects you from your hotel or the nearest point the road reaches, and brings you back there in the afternoon.

Know where your day starts? Compare the tours that start there.

Every card says whether the day begins in Positano, how long you spend in town, and what the fare leaves out.

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What a tour fare does not cover

Most fares here cover the boat or the car, the skipper or driver and, on the boats, drinks. What they leave out is usually paid in cash on the day, so it pays to know it before you book.

What	How much	Who charges it	Which fares leave it out
Landing or docking fee	About €10 a head where the listing names a figure	The boat operator, on the day	Several coast and Capri boats; each card says so
Capri landing tax	€5 a head, 1 April to 31 October	The municipalities of Capri and Anacapri	Every Capri day that lands you on the island
Blue Grotto	About €18 a head, rowboat and entry	Paid at the grotto; closes in swell	Every Capri day that stops there
Pompeii ticket	€20, or €25 with the suburban villas	The archaeological park	The private cars and transfers that visit Pompeii
Positano tourist tax	€2.50 to €5 per night, April to October	Your accommodation	Not a tour cost: it is added to your hotel bill

Each figure above comes from the body that sets it, and each card says which of these its own fare leaves out. The Pompeii tours from Positano itself carry the ticket in the fare.

Positano out of season

From November to March the ferries stop, many hotels and beach clubs close, and the town is quiet. The SITA bus still runs, MAR Positano, the Roman villa under the church, opens from 10:00 to 16:00, and the tours that start in Naples or Rome keep running. The month-by-month picture is on the best time to visit Positano.

If the sea is rough

The sea decides the boat days, not the calendar. Operators can cancel for weather, and when they do you are offered another date or a full refund. Almost every tour here also has free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. If the forecast looks poor, book a road day to Pompeii from Positano instead; the Pompeii tours run in any sea.

Frequently asked before you go

Do these tours leave from Positano itself?

Many do. The coast boats and the private Capri boats board at the pier on Spiaggia Grande, and the Pompeii days from Positano collect you at your hotel. Others start in Sorrento, Naples or Rome, so every card here says where the day begins.

Where do tour boats leave from in Positano?

From the pier on Spiaggia Grande, beside the ferry dock. The operators' kiosks line the beachfront, and each listing names its own meeting point, so arrive 15 to 20 minutes early.

What is not included in a boat tour price?

Positano ticket prices on the boats cover the boat, the skipper and usually drinks. Often left out are a landing or docking fee paid in cash, snorkel gear on some boats, lunch ashore, and on Capri days the landing tax and the Blue Grotto. Each card lists what its own fare leaves out.

What happens if the sea is too rough?

The operator decides on the day and can cancel for weather, and you are then offered another date or a full refund. Almost every tour here also has free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, so book early and keep your plans flexible.

What is the Positano tourist tax?

Between €2.50 and €5 per person per night, charged from 1 April to 31 October by hotel class: €5 in five-star hotels, €4 in four-star, €3 in three-star and €2.50 elsewhere. Children under ten pay nothing.

Can I drive to Positano?

Yes, on the SS163 coast road, but parking in town is scarce. From June to October an alternate-plates rule applies between Vietri sul Mare and Positano from 10:00 to 18:00 on set days, so check before you drive.

Next: compare every tour on Positano Tours, see what to do between tours on things to do in Positano, or check the weather by month.