Amalfi town view from the water
Italy with kids

How to visit the Amalfi Coast with kids: all you need to know (2023/24 update)

All you need to go to visit the Amalfi Coast with kids: best Amalfi Coast towns for families, family-friendly transport options, practical tips for visiting this stunning corner of Italy with little legs in tow!

I don’t think I will ever forget the moment my kids saw the Amalfi Coast for the first time.

We had just made our way to the port of Salerno, ready to board the ferry to Minori, our home for this vacation, and my son suddenly went ‘WOW, what is THAT?’

I quickly followed his pointing finger, took in the breathtaking sight in front of me and quickly replied: That? That is the famous Amalfi Coast!

Kids are quick at picking up on the wonder and magic of places but when it comes to the Costiera Amalfitana, the Amalfi Coast, not even the most jaded travelers can be immune to its charm.

As we stood on the ferry pier, the view in front of us was simply magical.

Across the green-blue sea, a tall series of mountains caressed the sky, with peaks to numerous and varied you thought you were watching a living thing more than a mountain system.

In the distance, we could make out the shape of the tiny villages that make this area so famous, their marinas glimmering in the sun and their bell towers reaching towards the sky.

The promise of beauty of this area was maintained and more when we explore this area on the following days and this family guide to the Amalfi Coast is the result of that experience.

Here, you will find our practical tips for visiting the area and Amalfi Coast highlights.

Is the Amalfi Coast child-friendly?

The Amalfi Coast is child-friendly but not in the traditional stroller-friendly, toddler-friendly way.

Families with primary school kids or older kids will have no issues here and will find plenty to do and enjoy for a few days (see below).

Families with toddlers, however, will notice this is more a place for adults with kids, rather than for kids.

What I mean with this is that while you can bring little kids anywhere on the Amalfi Coast, the place is full of steps, pebbly coves and has a distinctive lack of playgrounds, so it is child-friendly in atmosphere more than facilities (don’t worry this guide will help manage it anyway!)

Minori, Maiori and Amalfi are the most child-friendly towns on the Amalfi Coast.

Positano on the other hand poses significant difficulties to families with small children and the Amalfi Coast in general has no attractions that are specifically for kids.

For these reasons, the Amalfi Coast is often described as one of the least family-friendly areas of Italy, so much so that many avoid it during a family trip.

However, I believe that with the right tips, it is perfectly possible to have an amazing time on the Amalfi Coast with children and our very own experience there is proof of that!

There is no doubt that the peculiar geography of the area and some logistical considerations when it comes to transport make it a destination that does require a little bit of planning.

This is why I wrote this family guide!

Detail of road with steps in Amalfi Town

The main things to take into account when planning a family trip to the Amalfi Coast are:

Transport: Unlike other areas of Italy, the Amalfi coast has a limited to non-existent train system.

The area can only be visited by a combination of train+ferry, car or bus, each solution posing potential issues for families. See below for pros and cons of each and my tips!

Stroller accessibility: most towns are hard on stroller wheels and the back of the parent pushing them!

Choosing the right town is paramount if you are visiting with a toddler. Below, you will find our tips for that too!

Things to do: The Amalfi Coast has plenty to offer to visitors but not an awful lot for kids if what you are looking for are kids attractions or large, well-equipped beach clubs.

The place is perfect for boating, sightseeing and eating, so it is most suited to kids who are happy on the water and enjoy some walking. See out tips on the best things to do below!

Strollers or baby carriers for the Amalfi Coast?

The main reason the Amalfi Coast gets the label of being family-unfriendly is that the area is particularly hard to explore with a baby stroller or pushchair.

Most towns tend to have steep streets or even steps that in many cases make pushing strollers simply impossible so if you are planning on visiting with a small child, having a carrier with you is paramount.

If you are staying in Positano, I recommend you leave the stroller in your hotel for the entire length of your stay while if you are in towns such as Maiori or Minori you can probably mix and match carrier and stroller depending on the plan for the day.

You can find our favorite baby carriers for Italy here.

Best things to do on the Amalfi Coast with kids

Take a boat tour with swimming stops

The Amalfi Coast is best seen from the water, the perfect vantage point to appreciate its scenic coastline, colorful towns and jaw-dropping beauty.

There are plenty of kid-friendly boat trips along the Amalfi Coast and you can choose between a variety of boats (some simple, some really luxurious), number of stops, departing port etc.

Kid-friendly boat tours on the Amalfi Coast you may like are:

  • LivTours (high end) Amalfi Coast boat tour: a high-end, outstanding, family friendly boat tour on a stunning boat with the option of stopping for swimming, drinks and snacks on board, with my favorite family-friendly tour operator in Italy.
  • Blue Star Positano >> Small Group Amalfi Coast Day which can arrange boat tours with swimming stops, town visit stops and even lunch spots accessible by boat only for a truly unique experience. The company has life jackets but I recommend you bring your own for toddlers or very young kids to take no risks with size.
  • Capitan Ago Amalfi Cost Boat Tour from Sorrento is another great family-friendly boat tour with swimming stops and the option to dock in Positano and Amalfi town, recommended by one of the parents in my trusted “Italy with kids facebook group’ (if you’re not in it, join us! how to at the end of this page)
  • Sal Boat Amalfi Coast boat and fishing tours are another great find by one of the parents in my trusted “Italy with kids facebook group’ (if you’re not in it, join us! how to at the end of this page), offering boat tours with option to stop and swim or even fish!

Good to know! Boat tours are pricey but don’t be discouraged! if they are out of budget, you can still see wonderful views of the Amalfi Coast from the ferries and the kids can easily swim in Maiori, Minori, Amalfi, and even Positano!

child on boat Amalfi coast

Take a day trip to Capri

I have always loved Capri with kids and the Amalfi Coast is a great place to depart to explore it!

You can go by yourself, in which case I recommend you read:

My travel guide to visiting Capri with kids and

How to spend one day in Capri

Or you can opt for an organized day trip like the following:

LivTours Capri day (boat and Capri island excursions) >> a fantastic day on the water and on land by the trustworthy and family-friendly LivTours guides, my go-to for family tours in Italy.

They are high-end, make you feel like royalty and are so attentive to kids, you can tell the owners are parents of little ones themselves!

Take a kid-friendly cooking class in a farm

The Amalfi Coast and Campania in general have outstanding food.

So, there is no better way to tap into local culture and keep the kids entertained than joining a cooking class!

Fab ones are:

This one with Amalfi Heaven Gardens which includes a walk in their lemon grove! The class is suitable for kids age 8 and up and it’s in a wonderful farm with stunning views. You get to pick ingredients, learn cooking techniques, cook and, of course, eat!

Primaluce Farm kid-friendly pizza class, which is set in a teaching farm and is perfect for kids and adults, who are sure to like the limoncello-tasting option too!

Go on a family-friendly food tour in Sorrento

If your family loves food tours, then you have to book one with the Gourmet Girls Sorrento!

The tour is fantastic, it makes you feel like a local while partaking a meal with extraordinary and fun guides and it is family friendly (lots of food, make sure you go hungry!).

The tour is a fantastic thing to in Sorrento on arrival as it gives plenty of ideas for places to go back to!

Book here >>> Gourmet Girls Sorrento (Tell the MAfrta drom Mama Loves Italy sends you!)

Go hiking

The Amalfi Coast has beautiful hikes: some easy to do with kids, some only suitable if you have experienced hikers in your family.

An easy one most families with kids can enjoy is the Path of Lemons (Sentiero dei Limoni) which has lots of steps but is easy and has beautiful views.

Learn about it here >>> The Lemon Path Minori to Maiori with kids

A more challenging one is the famous Path of the Gods, which I only recommend you tackle if you are all steady on your feet and well used to hiking as it has some sheer drops and well over 1000 steps!

path of lemons amalfi coast

Swim!

The Amalfi Coast and first and foremost a beautiful stretch of the Mediterranean coast so there is no doubt that one of the best things to do with kids here is enjoy the beach and the water!

The beaches of the Amalfi Coast are small and tend to be pebbly, so you want water shoes with you, but once you know not to expect vast expanses of sand, you can have a lovely time here!

The best family-friendly beaches on the Amalfi coast are in Maiori, Minori, Positano (Pupetto Beach Club is usually nice and well prices – but check prices as they change!) and Amalfi.

Go to Pompeii

Many families visiting the Amalfi Coast use the opportunity to also visit stunning Pompeii.

Indeed, Pompeii is not far from the coast however, it is now always the easiest place to reach so it is best to know what to expect!

If you are staying in Sorrento, a trip to Pompeii is easy, since you can get there by train. If you do so, I recommend you book a kid-friendly guide with Mariaclaudia Tours (tell her I sent you), so they can meet you at the entrance of the site and show you around

If you are staying somewhere, I recommend you instead contact a guide that can also provide transport.

In this case, I recommend Pinocchio Tours. Contact Mariacristina at kids@pinocchiotours .com for a personalized quote, they have lovely cars and guides!

Read also >> our tips for visiting Pompeii with kids

Most family-friendly towns on the Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast is dotted by a series of small towns sandwiched between the coast and the mountain nearby.

The biggest town of all and the gateway to the area is Sorrento and, from there, you can access pretty much all the others either by boat, car or bus.

All towns have their charms but when it comes to kids, they are very much now all as family-friendly as each other!

In my opinion, the most family-friendly towns on the Amalfi Coast are Minori, Maiori, Amalfi and Sorrento (which is not technically on the Amalfi Coast but so near, for travel purposes, it works)

Minori – best family friendly town on the Amalfi Coast

Minori is my base of choice when visiting the Amalfi Coast with my children.

View of Minori from the boat

It is a tiny town, more or less at the center of the coast, and I love it because it is less busy that others on the coast and I feel retains a lovely, local feel about it, without compromising on facilities and services.

You can find my full guide to Minori here

The town develops between the little port and the mountains and has a main promenade along the seashore and a maze of small streets climbing up towards the mountain slopes, a characteristic its shares with most towns in the area.

Despite the geography of the city, it is not hard to negotiate Minori’s streets.

Unlike Positano, for instance, Minori has flat parts and many stroller friendly areas and it also has several car-free streets and alleys children can safely walk and play in.

Minori has a lovely small beach, many restaurants and families with older kids will love the option to walk along the ‘Path of Lemons’ a historical walk that connects the city to nearby Maiori.

Minori is where we based ourselves and the place we called home was B&B Casa Amorino, which we can highly recommend.

The one downside of being in Minori is the transport.

Regular ferries connect the town to Maiori, Salerno and Amalfi however, being a smaller town the rides are less frequent than if you were in a bigger center.

Maiori – most toddler friendly town on the Amalfi Coast

If you are visiting the Amalfi Coast with a toddler, then you may want to consider as a base the town of Maiori.

Playground in Maiori, Amalfi Coast, Italy

Located just beside Minori, the main characteristic of this town is to be largely flatter than others and more spacious.

The main street is so large here it has a pedestrianized center and overall you feel you are in a much bigger center compared with Minori when it comes to the availability of shops and the size of hotels.

Maiori also has some nice beach clubs along the main waterfront and a seaview playground our kids loved!

Maiori has also a lovely church with a distinctive tiled dome and shares with the other towns in the area a wonderful natural position.


Personally, I find it a little less charming than its neighbor Minori but for convenience, you cannot beat it if you are traveling with a toddler!

A great family-friendly hotel in Maiori is Regina Palace Hotel.

Amalfi town – the best family-friendly town on the Amalfi coast for families who want to be in the center of it all

Amalfi town is the wonderful village that gives the name to this coastline and an absolutely stunning place to visit.

Promenade in Amalfi town

Located in the center of the coast and a bit of a transport hub for the area, it has a bigger port than many other cities and sees ferry, cars, and buses go in and out of it pretty much at all times.

It is one of the easiest towns to reach and while you will find yourself in the heart of the Costiera, you will also be well connected to pretty much anywhere in the area.

Amalfi has an important history and it is one of the most beautiful towns in the area when it comes to architecture and landmarks.

Here you have a stunning duomo, fantastic small whitewashed alleys, an interesting arsenal and, for the kids, you will find a nice playground, a fun underwater nativity scene (in a fountain on the main street), and a very interesting Paper Museum.

Amalfi is one of the best places to stay with kids in the area if you want to be in the thick of it all.

Bigger and busier than other centers, Amalfi has a lot to offer in terms of accommodation and shops and it is easy enough to maneuver with a stroller, with the notable exception of some of its side streets (always ask your hotel if there are steps to reach it!)

We loved Amalfi and if you have toddlers of school age kids, the history of the town will go a long way to add charm and depth to this wonderful seaside town.

You can find my full guide to Amalfi town here.

Sorrento – most beautiful getaway town to the Amalfi Coast for families

Sorrento is not technically on the Amalfi Coast but rather on the Costiera Sorrentina, the other side of the promontory.

However, this is irrelevant when it comes to travel planning in the area as the town shares many of the charms with others on the Costiera proper and is a perfect getaway town to the area.

Unlike other towns in this list, Sorrento is served by the train and this makes it one of the easiest places to reach on the Amalfi Coast for families who do not want to drive (see below for details)

The town itself is beautiful, well served and it is a great place if you want to have the option of tours in the city (take the Gourmet Girls Sorrento food tour!) and boat trips to Capri and other localities in the area.

Fab family-friendly places to stay in Sorrento with kids are Hilton Sorrento and Hotel Antiche Mura.

Other places to see when visiting the Amalfi Coast with kids

While Minori, Maiori, Amalfi and Sorrento get my vote as the most family-friendly towns on the Amalfi Coast, I could not fail to mention other stunning places that you may want to add to your visit (and that would be great with older kids).

Vietri sul Mare – lovely town famous especially for colorful ceramics and tiles, excellent for shopping.

Positano – the ‘vertical city’ that will capture the kids imagination with its precipitous steps plunging towards the bottom of the city (a nightmare with babies and toddlers but glamorous and fun otherwise!)

Furore – a stunning fjords perfect for families with older kids who want to swim between imposing cliffs

Ravello – far from the sea but with stunning views over the sea below

How to easily get to the Amalfi Coast with children

The closest international airports to the Amalfi Coast are Rome and Naples and the biggest getaway towns to the area are Salerno and Sorrento, more or less at the two ends of the Costiera.

Getting from Rome to the Amalfi Coast by train

The easiest way to get to the Amalfi Coast from Rome is to get the high speed train to Salerno.

Kid in Amalfi Coast watching the sea

The train is frequent, fast and offers discounted tickets to families and leaves you at Salerno main station.

From here, a 2 minute walk will bring you to the ferry port, where you will be able to board a ferry to your destination of choice.

The second option is to get the high speed train from Rome to Naples and then the local train Circumvesuviana to Sorrento.

The local train departs from a separate area within the main station, making this is the easiest way to get to Sorrento from Rome.

From Sorrento, local buses and ferries will connect you to other parts of the Costiera however, I find this solution works best if you choose Sorrento as a home base.

How to get around the Amalfi Coast with kids in tow

Once you have made your way to your homebase, you will want to explore the area and you have three options: the ferry, the bus, the car.

The Amalfi coast by ferry – our recommended mean of transport for families with kids

The ferry is by far my favorite way to travel along the Amalfi Coast, especially with kids.

The ferries operate as shuttles connecting the different towns, they are cheap and they are a wonderful way to see the Coast from the sea, by far the best vantage point.

Tickets can be bough on the day and kids under 10 have discounted rates.

Please be advised that ferries only go during high tourism season (April to October).

Amalfi coast by bus or car: why we don’t recommend it to families with kids

The bus is also a good way to explore the area however the road here is winding and busy so this is not a viable solution if you have kids who suffer from motion sickness.

The same can be said about visiting the Amalfi Coast by car with an extra caveat: as well as the winding road, the Amalfi Coast is famous for traffic and lack of parking.

A car, while excellent in the low season to have freedom of movement with kids, really is not your best friend here.

The one reason to opt for buses or car is the season: outside summer, the ferries are few and far between so the bus/ car may well be the only option to have some flexibility in your schedule.

The name of the bus company here is SITA and you will see them pretty much anywhere.

Tickets can be bought on the day and they usually leave/arrive in the center of the towns, meaning you can then easily walk to your accommodation.

What to pack for visiting the Amalfi Coast with kids

You can find my full packing list for the Amalfi Coast here but here is a quick overview of what I recommend you pack in addition to your Italy travel essentials.

  • Swimsuit
  • Beach towels
  • Sunscreen and beach essentials (sunhat etc)
  • Water shoes (lots of pebbles!)
  • Refillable water bottle
  • All-terrain stroller OR lightweight travel stroller – find our tips for using a stroller in Italy here.
  • Baby carrier
  • Camera and tech (adapter etc)

I hope you enjoyed this quick guide to visiting the Amalfi Coast with kids and you found it useful. Safe Italy travel planning!

Want to know even more? Pop into my FREE Facebook Group about traveling to Italy with kids and let’s chat!

Marta Correale is an Italian mama of two. Born and raised in Rome, Marta has a passion for travel and especially enjoys showing off Italy to her kids, who are growing up to love it as much as she does! A classics graduate, teacher of Italian as a second language and family travel blogger, Marta launched Mama Loves Italy as a way to inspire, support and help curious visitors to make the most of a trip to Italy and learn about Italian culture on the way.