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.Â
How to Prepare for a Trip to the Amalfi Coast with a Baby:
What to Consider
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
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.Â
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.Â
If any of those are fully booked you can also try Hotel Montemare or Hotel Royal Prisco.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Any questions about traveling to Amalfi Coast with a baby? Post them below and I’ll reply ASAP.
Hi,
I am from India and We have to go this month end in family function (marriage) Bali with 7 month old baby. As like you people we are also worried about weather change other things about baby.
He’ll be fine, 7 months is a good age to travel for a baby:)
We are planning on traveling to Amalfi Coast with our 2 year old son this June. We’d like to split our stay between 2 locations. Whether it be Positano, Amalfi, Sorrento or Capri. Your post has encouraged me that Positano could still work for us! I have a couple of questions. Do you think there are enough restaurants that accept toddlers? Is the stairs and walking in Positano really too much for toddler? I would really love to stay there.
Did you visit Capri to stay or on day trip? From what I read it seems like Capri is not overly kid friendly, so maybe a day trip would work… but I’m wondering if even a day trip is not a good idea?
Positano can definitely work! Plus it will be so much easier with a toddler that can actually walk 😀 The only restaurants that wouldn’t take toddlers and kids are at hotels that aren’t kid-friendly, but it was not a problem at other places. I’d avoid some restaurants that are on the side of the road (in case your toddler decided to take off).
In terms of stairs, every hotel says how many stairs you have to go through to reach it, you can just avoid those. For instance, from Marincanto it was just a road down to the beach (no stairs) unless you reach the church, then about 10 steps – we asked which way to turn for fewer stairs and friendly locals explained it to us.
Capri isn’t that baby-friendly in terms of facilities but I know people who have done it with babies and toddlers. I’d recommend going to Da Adolfo restaurant. It’s a restaurant only reachable by boat and they have a private beach there. It’s pretty fun for a half-day trip! I wrote more about it in my guide to Positano: https://annaeverywhere.com/positano-italy/
Sorry – I have one last question! We were thinking of renting a car and a carseat but everything I’ve read says parking and driving is difficult on Amalfi Coast. It worries me to take taxis without a carseat for him. So I’ve now thought maybe we can just as easily get around by train/bus. Do you think renting a car and renting or bringing a carseat is necessary?
No problem at all! 🙂 Parking is indeed difficult, but not impossible. It’s possible to get to some towns by bus/train, but frankly that would be more stressful because they’re always overpacked and you might end up waiting hours nad push through crowds to get on a bus (unless you’re just going to stay in Sorrento then it’s an easy train ride) – otherwise not recommended with a toddler and luggage. If you rent a car you can either find hotels that offer parking or opt for public parking lots (either way it will be 30-35 EUR per day). While in towns you won’t use a car at all, but it will be easier to get to Amalfi for sure.
One thing about carseats and other baby safety items in Italy: no one cares about it. It’s very normal to take a taxi without a carseat in Italy and same goes for boats. When we rented a boat we called to make sure they have life vests and they told us multiple times they do, but once we got on the boat they were like: “Lifevest? no, we only have adult-size ones”. So if you’re worried bring your own life vest for him too.
Hi Anna,
How old was baby D at that time?
Many thanks!
He was exactly a month old 🙂
Hello, we are going next year to Vietri and I wondered what time of year you went?
Many thanks!
Hi! We went in late May/early June.
Did you drive to the Amalfi Coast?
Yes, precisely drove from Matera and finishing in Naples.
Hi and thanks for your post! My husband and I want to travel to Italy next week with our 4 month y/o. We are currently thinking of landing in Naples, ferrying to Sorrento and basing ourselves there- then doing day trips by ferry to Amalfi, Capri, and Maiori-Minori (the walk between maybe) and finally returning to Rome by train to fly home. Do you have any experience with this type of trip (i.e based on ferries)? what is your opinion?
Ferries are easy to get on and off, but it does get crowded so might want to get tickets in advance (especially the route to Capri). Most people just take a shuttle from Naples to Sorrento as then it can drop you off at your hotel vs the ferry terminal, but it’s definitely an option.
Hello there,
I can no longer find your recommended kid-friendly hotel in Positano. Do you recommend other ones?
Thanks
I just added them 🙂
Hello, we are planning a trip to the Amalfi region with our 10 months old baby. We are thinking of Sorrento as they say it’s more flat. In your opinion, which one is more friendly Sorrento, Amalfi, or Positano.
Thanks 😊
Sorrento is baby-friendly for sure, but then you have to deal with transportation to other spots on the coast. Amalfi is pretty flat too, but I wasn’t too charmed by it.
Hi Anna. Thank you so much for sharing yiu invaluable experience with all parents daring to plan a trip to the amalfi coast. We’ve got a trip coming up and your post has helped tremendously.
Totally random question, if you don’t mind me asking, where did you take the first picture (the family picture) it’s totally picture perfect and I’d love to find a similar view when taking our family picture. Thank you 🙂
It’s the terrace of Marincanto Hotel 🙂
@Anna Karsten, thank you so much
Hii, travelling end of July with our 8 month old baby. We plan to stay in Maori. Do you find it necessary to take taxis/transfer/bus or can everything be reached by Ferry? We originally wanted to rent a car from Naples but heard that traffic is very bad? Thank you!
If you’re traveling at the end of July I would advise against public buses, because it will be extremely crowded and you’ll be waiting forever and with a baby, it’s going to be a nightmare. The ferry is possible, but it is crowded. Honestly, I enjoyed having a car in the Amalfi Coast – traffic is bad, but you’d be stuck in the same traffic no matter what.
Hi Anna, Thank you for such a useful blog! We’re travelling to the Amalfi Coast in September with our little boy who will be 10 months old. I know your little one would have been too small for a high chair, but did you notice if the restaurants had them? Or should we take our stroller?
Thank you!
Sian
They don’t, but it’s not unusual to the Amalfi Coast – most places in Italy don’t offer high chairs. A stroller will fit some restaurants, but not all because spaces are small and often you need to leave the stroller outside. Your best bet is to get a portable harness type high chair that you can attach to the seat – https://annainthehouse.com/best-portable-high-chairs/
Hey can you tell me more about car rent situation. We are traveling with 1 year to naples and amalfi for 4 days then rome and Sicily . How is your experience with driving car in Italian roads overall ? Do we need car seat ? We have rented car on mountain roads before and I would say I am above average experience. Also is it wise to rent a car from naples airport and drive to Amalfi or rent a car in Amalfi and take transportation from airport ?
Thanks for your help
Definitely easier to rent in Naples and then return it in Rome or back in Amalfi (depending on how you want to get to Rome). You can either rent a car seat or bring your own. Roads are narrow and Italians tend to drive slightly faster and then quickly stop right before the turn, but honestly… I see so many bad and crazy drivers in the US recently that you should be just fine 🙂
Thank you for all of your amazing information. I am travelling to Sorrento with a 14 month old in May. I need to rent a crib. Can you recommend any rental companies that I can contact?
Only this one, which is basically renting from private people (https://www.babonbo.com/en/search/sorrento/IT/cribs-and-cots). For this are I suggest getting a hotel or rental with a crib already
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 baby’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!
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 😀
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.
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. 🙂
Hi! We’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?
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.
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 🤔 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.
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.
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 it’s hard to find distilled water?
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 🙂
Thank you for this! I am looking at hotels in Amalfi for 2 plus a 6mo old baby, but I am not finding anything I love that isn’t pretty expensive. We are planning to go late April, but have some flexibility. Do you suggest staying in Sorrento and doing day trips? I don’t think we’ll rent a car and we prefer to have a home base for the 5 or 6 nights versus move around. Positano for 5 or 6 nights? Thank you!
Positano is definitely expensive. You could stay in Sorrento and do day trips for sure, but I’ll be real when it comes to prices: public busses with a baby can be tricky, because you have to fight for seats and wait for them on the tiny side of the road and private shuttles add up.
Hi! I’ve been to many places along the Amalfi coast many times throughout my life, but never with kids! Your blog is very helpful, I’m planning a 1-2 week trip for this summer with my husband and our 2 kids (3 yr old, 1 yr old). We’re going to bring 2 individual light travel strollers rather than a double given the narrow alleyways/sidewalks so need somewhere flat with easy access. We’re flying in and out of Naples and are hoping to find one home base to spend our time, and then take multiple day trips throughout our time. We are hoping not to rent a car (to maximize time relaxing) and figured we can use the ferry, private transport, or taxis to get around during day trips. Where would you recommend we stay? I’m considering Sorrento, Amalfi, Maiori or Cetara. (Or given all my limitations with 2 young kids, would you recommend Puglia or Liguria instead haha).
We actually did Puglia on the same trip, so you can add Puglia as well (but then I do recommend renting a car!). I would say that most families tend to stay in Sorrento as it’s easiest to get around.
Hi! my family is traveling to Amalfi Coast this summer and trying to figure out the best place to be our base. It is 8 adults and 2 kids (1 and 2 yrs old). We want to get a nice villa and be able to travel to a lot of different spots. Do you recommend Positano, Amalfi or Sorrento as our base?
I’d say Sorrento might be the easiest.
Hello! What month did you visit Amalfi with your baby? We were thinking of taking our 7 month old at the end of August into September
Early-mid May. August and early September will be the end of the season so slightly warmer 🙂