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Amalfi Coast with a Baby: It’s Possible!

Amalfi Coast with a Baby: It’s Possible!

When I decided to take a trip to the Amalfi Coast with a baby I turned to the Internet for advice. As it was our first trip (not counting coming back home from his birthplace) with a baby I wanted to know what to take and how baby-friendly is Positano and Amalfi.

Upon a day of full-on research, I was terrified and scraped this trip idea altogether. Everyone claimed that while traveling to Italy with a baby is great, Positano with a baby is the worst idea I could have. However, I’m glad I didn’t listen and took the trip after all, as it was amazing and definitely possible with a baby. 

How to Prepare for a Trip to the Amalfi Coast with a Baby:
What to Consider

Amalfi Coast with a Baby

Where to Stay on the Amalfi Coast with a Family

When you have a pram or a stroller you want to ensure that your destination is easily accessible. Everywhere I looked I was told that we should be staying in Sorrento because of the baby. While the easiness of strolling around Sorrento and the elevator down to the beach seemed tempting, I wanted to experience the sunsets of Positano as well. 

Also Read: Full Guide to Positano

child friendly restaurants Positano

For many parents, a baby carrier could simply solve the problem, but neither do I or my baby like the carrier. Plus, you don’t want to sit with a baby strapped to you at all times in hot weather or at a restaurant.


Finding Family-Friendly Hotels on the Amalfi Coast

Many couples with small babies choose to stay in fully catered hotels so they can have a break from cooking and cleaning, but it’s not really our travel style. Plus, there are way too many dining options in the area you don’t want to miss out on. 

The issue on the Amalfi Coast, especially in Positano, is that many hotels simply don’t accept children at all, or children under 8 years old. However, just because many hotels and restaurants don’t accept children it doesn’t mean that the whole town, although small, is kids unfriendly. There’s even a giant playground on the beach, so Positano is a place where children can also have fun.

That said, restaurants on the beach are very family-friendly with fancy changing tables and older kids can play on the beach while the adults eat in peace. 

We were able to find some hotels that not only accepted kids but also provided cots and other baby gifts.

In Amalfi, we stayed at NH Convento di Amalfi which was one of the most beautiful hotels I’ve ever stayed with a private lemon garden, infinity pool and even a 13th-century monastery. 

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Baby at the Beach: Essential Infant Beach Gear

In Positano, we stayed at Hotel Marincanto which had step-free access, a wonderful view, and I’d definitely stay there again – with or without kids. 

If any of those are fully booked you can also try Hotel Montemare or Hotel Royal Prisco.

hotel Marincanto Positano

Family-Friendly Hotels on the Amalfi Coast


The Most Child-Friendly Towns on the Amalfi Coast

The most kid-friendly towns on the Amalfi Coast apart from Sorrento (technically not on the Amalfi Coast) are Maiori, Minori, and Amalfi. All of them have a short boardwalk where you can go with the stroller without lifting it, a limited amount of stairs and relatively large pebble beaches to bring your pram along. 

Getting to the Amalfi Coast with Kids

If you’re traveling with babies or children it usually means that you won’t be traveling light with a small suitcase or a backpack. I was glad we rented a car and drove ourselves. 

If you’re afraid of driving on the windy roads of Amalfi, you can use public transportation at least to Sorrento, but I highly advise to take the slightly more pricy Campania Express rather than Circumvesuviana that gets way too packed and very uncomfortable for children. 

From Sorrento, while there are public buses, do yourself a favor and arrange private transportation. Even off-season you might take waiting for the next available bus for hours standing on the crowded and narrow side of the road, so you don’t want to do it with small children or strollers. 

how to get to Positano


Positano with a Stroller

If I did this trip again, I’d probably bring only my lightweight Yoyo travel stroller instead of the main Uppababy Vista one. We wanted to minimize the number of things we carry through the airport, hence why we just took a car seat with a stroller base.

As a result, it made things heavier and required two people to carry it down the stairs instead of one, on top of making the baby sweaty (like in any car seat). If I was to do this trip again I’d leave the car seat in a car and walk around with a travel stroller

That said, we weren’t the only ones visiting Positano with a stroller. There were plenty of other “crazy” people with babies and strollers, so if you don’t want to believe just me that it’s possible. 

Positano with a stroller

What to Pack for Amalfi Coast with a Baby?

You need to keep your little one out of the sun, which means a hat, sunscreen and shade cloth are a must.

One thing I found quite difficult to get in the area were surprisingly diapers. Most of the time I buy diapers and formula at the destination to limit my luggage when flying with a baby, but you might want to stock up on diapers elsewhere.

READ NEXT
Cruising with a Toddler or Baby: Tips for Taking Kids on a Cruise

I was lucky baby Dylan was still in size 1 and I was able to grab the last and only available pack of diapers at the one pharmacy in Positano and one in Ravello, but they didn’t have diapers in his size in Amalfi. While I usually buy diapers on the go, Positano isn’t a place to do so and the last thing you want on holidays is to run around looking for extra diapers – keep your travel baby items ready.

Positano with a baby

Positano with kids

What to Do in Amalfi Coast with a Baby?

The best part of traveling with a small baby is that he’s pretty much happy with anything and easily amused by the surroundings. Dylan loved the boat ride and slept most of the time due to the calming motion.

We could also easily take him to the beach without having to worry about the sun as most sun loungers have umbrellas. 

Most restaurants were baby-friendly, minus a few fancy hotel-based spots in Positano (I listed them in my guide to Positano), but you can simply avoid those. 

Amalfi coast with kids

Any questions about traveling to Amalfi Coast with a baby? Post them below and I’ll reply ASAP.

Maira

Wednesday 1st of November 2023

My baby will be 11 months when we travel to Almafi coast. We are staying in positano and Almafi. He is on formula. Do you think itโ€™s hard to find distilled water?

AnnaEverywhere

Tuesday 14th of November 2023

Honestly, it's not a thing in Europe. Distilled water is sold in some big supermarkets and only some pharmacies, but it's meant for steam irons, not babies. Everyone just boils water or uses bottled water (San Benedetto is the recommended brand of water). I've never used distilled water for formula in my life and don't have any European friends who used or even heard about it either. Your baby will be fine with bottled or boiled water, don't stress :)

sara

Wednesday 11th of October 2023

Hi, thanks for the suggestions. We're heading to Italy in early March for 1 month. Would you suggest Sorrento with a 10 month old and a 4 year old? We're thinking ๐Ÿค” of staying at an agritourismo for 2 weeks and then going to another town for 2 weeks. Where would you suggest in March? We don't want to be too far from Rome since we're landing there by plane.

AnnaEverywhere

Thursday 12th of October 2023

Hmmm... March will still be relatively cold (around 60 but some days could get colder to feeling like 40s), so no beach weather especially since it might get rainy as it did in the recent years. Lots of places directly on the Amalfi coast in Positano, Ravello or Amalfi will be closed because it's so off-season, but you can still visit Capri, Ischia (via Naples), Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Oplontis. If you want to stay at agroturismo, then you definitely need a car. I will say that in March I wouldn't stay in the area for a month especially considering that the weather might be iffy, rather split it to spend some time in Rome.

Jessica

Tuesday 19th of September 2023

Hi! Weโ€™re traveling with my 4 month old to the Amalfi coast. I see you wrote you went on a boat ride with the baby? Which boat ride? Do you mean the ferry?

Anna Karsten

Tuesday 19th of September 2023

Not the ferry, but you can take a ferry too if you wish to go to Capri. We rented a small private boat, there are plenty in the area - you can rent with a driver or drive yourself.

Mel

Tuesday 28th of February 2023

Hi Anna Thank you for an amazing blog- I have been searching the internet going back and fourth between Sorrento and Positano. I was just about to stick with Sorrento until I came across your page. I ama actually excited to book Positano for September with our 11 month old. :)

Chelsea Schnepf

Thursday 26th of January 2023

Hi Anna,

I will be traveling to Positano in September for my brothers wedding. I will have a 5 week old. Were you able to get your babyโ€™s passport expedited? How did that work? Also, would you recommend the Doona? Or just skip the car seat and stick to a compact stroller? Thank you!

Anna Karsten

Thursday 26th of January 2023

That's a tricky situation because you're assuming you'll have a 5 week old but babies can be overdue so that's shorting your time to get a passport and I know. Both of my kids weren't born in the US so we had passports done at the Embassy and all the same day, but then exchanging them in the US took forever, it's pretty crazy. As I applied for my own passport (my first US passport) recently I can talk a bit about the experience... since it's going to be summer many regular appointments will be booked up (we had to drive for 2.5 hours to find an appointment and it still had to wait 2 weeks) and you can expedite the passport but since you have only 5 weeks assuming the baby will be born on time that's tricky, especially considering that you need to go get the baby's birth certificate first. Your best bet will be to get an emergency passport issued at one of the US passport centers - they changed the system now and you need to call and schedule an appointment and unfortunately last summer it also was fully booked up and they weren't taking any appointments quite often (or even weren't taking phone calls) so I had to be on hold for hours and days and they only found appointments like in Honolulu (and we're in North Carolina), so you need to have faith that it works out basically and you'll get lucky. I don't want to sound weird but your safest bet would be to have a baby abroad :D

In regards to Doona I absolutely do NOT recommend it, especially in Europe. It's super bad for the baby to be stuffed in it for extended periods of times (especially so young) and pretty much a nightmate for stairs and cobblestones. Compact and more importantly lightweight stroller with bassinet option or full recline for sure.

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