AMALFI COAST WITH KIDS

We’re just home from almost two weeks in Amalfi town. It has rained non stop since and I’ve had two stews so it’s like I never left tbh. Before I start, I want to say that I don’t intentionally try to glamorise any holiday. I adore taking photographs and making little videos but anyone with kids knows that it’s never picture perfect in real life. The chaos involved at every dinner and activity can be overwhelming sometimes but sure it’s all part of it. If you could hear the sounds going on in all my videos before I put cute Italian music over it, you’d laugh.

Right, so it’s no secret that I love Italy - I never stop going on about it. The thing is, I’m just in love with it, warts and all and I love it despite all the things that make it hard work - and believe me it is, at times, hard work. It’s just that for me, the pay off is so worth it. 
So many people said I was mad for bringing 3 children to Amalfi and they’re totally right - for so many reasons it really shouldn’t work. But let me tell you why ignored everyone lol. 

First of all my eldest, Tom, is a gas fella. He has unusual interests. He loves adult company and interaction. He has an obsession with boats and anything sea related. He wants to talk to fishermen and chat to owners of restaurants (asking them who caught their calamari ) He wants to ask farmers and gardeners how they grow lemons (he has already gotten himself a job next summer in Donna Stella’s) He loves watching every day things that other people would maybe find boring. Tom would love a resort initially but I honestly think he’d get a little bored after a while. 

Bobby is the loveliest and most easy to please child, he’s so happy with anything. I swear, he gets excited about everything so I knew he’d love it too. Plus he’s such a pet that he just loves whatever Tom loves.

Tess is 2, so she had no choice. HA!! Ah no, like she just loves bossing the boys around so she can do that in any country! Plus we fell in love with how the Italians are with children when we went for the first time in 2016 so we thought why not give it a go. 

Why did we choose Amalfi? 

This was a really difficult decision but it became a case of better the devil you know. I was worried about doing Como or Garda because I’d never been there and outside of the campsites I’m not sure what way it caters for kids. I was also concerned about transport because I would never want to drive in Italy. I really toyed with Puglia, Sicily or Sardinia but was worried that it may be just too hot. So just decided that for the first time travelling as a family of 5 it might be best to just go to where we know.

Choosing out Airbnb… 

This was easy… we left it late and there wasn’t much left to choose from but when I say we lucked out with it, I mean it. The apartment was perfect. It was spacious, spotless and right off the main Amalfi drag. So you are right in the middle of Amalfi, beside shops and the beach. It was up some steps but to be honest most of the coast is. It’s something you just have to reconcile with before you go.

We always do Airbnb since we had kids. It makes more sense to be able to put the kids to sleep in a bedroom and have a living area to enjoy a glass of wine when they’re asleep. Most apartments in Italy are a little dated but always super clean and to be honest I love the charm of an older place.

You’ll find our Airbnb here It looks like the July and August dates next year haven’t been released yet.

We paid just over 2k for 2 weeks which isn’t bad for the size and location of the property. I looked up hotels here in Ireland a few days ago in the hope of going for a night or two before the kids go back to school and most places around 2k for 3 nights. Hilarious.

How did we get there? 

We flew into Naples and I think our flights were about €1,600 for the 5 of us which was ok considering we were a little late booking. I’m currently looking at flights for next year just out of interest and I can get flights for us all for about €900 (including our bags).

Getting to Amalfi town directly from the airport can be tricky. I think most people get a taxi for about €250 (1hour & 45mins). We decided to get the Pintour bus which brings you right into Amalfi town. €20 for Adults and €10 for kids (2 hours). There are only 3 or 4 time slots a day and we missed our bus because of flight delays on the way out and we had to wait in Naples airport for 2 hours until the next one. The first day was very long and we were all very tired by the time we got to the Airbnb but I still say it was worth it. Plus bus journeys on the Amalfi Coast are slightly more scenic than the 120 to Edenderry so they don’t count lol. We could have gotten a taxi but we were trying to do everything on a budget. Sit on the left hand side for the best views!

Now, if you’re just going as far as Sorrento from the airport then The Curreri Viaggi has a better service and more time options. We took that one the last time we were there. Sit on the right hand side for the best views!!

The kids were great on the flight and the bus. I was so worried beforehand but they were just brilliant. Bobby and Tess had never been on a plane and Tom couldn’t remember being on one so I think that they were just so excited.

Is Amalfi Town suitable for kids?

As I mentioned in previous blog post, we had visited Amalfi town before and found it one of the better places along the coast for getting around with a buggy. There aren’t as many steps compared to a lot of the Amalfi Coast and the beach is on the same level as the town so it’s really easy to access it. I really liked Amalfi town, I found the locals so lovely and warm considering it’s so busy with tourism. At night, when we were going out for dinner, we would leave the buggy behind so we could explore the maze of streets that are up steps off the Main Street, it’s so pretty, with lots of little hidden restaurants and courtyards.

I will say though, Atrani is right next to Amalfi town and is only a 10 minute walk through a lovely cool tunnel. We spent most days there as it’s so lovely and peaceful. A pretty beach and a quaint village with just 1 piazza and a few restaurants. I would love to stay in Atrani the next time.

Day Trips

We had great intentions to do loads of day trips like we had done the last time we were here but to be honest we just loved Atrani so much and the boys really loved it. They got in with a few Italian kids and had a ball there everyday, so I didn’t want to drag them all over the place unnecessarily. There were two places though that our boat obsessed Tom really wanted to go. Positano - because we could get the ferry and Furore because there is picture of him there beside a little fishing boat when he was 2 and he couldn’t remember it so he really wanted to go back. I just love it there.

Positano

Ah, Positano… dare I say it… I was disappointed. The last time we were in Amalfi, we stayed in a cute little town called Piano and we visited Positano several times, we were so in love with it.

Now? It’s a sea of wealthy people and influencers, I know that’s rich coming from an instagrammer, but it was wall to wall with them lol. We watched as people posed hilariously in the water sometimes for over half an hour. Gas. It provided some entertainment but it was just another world.

It’s completely overpriced too. We paid €80 for two sun loungers and an umbrella. Shane is still not the better of it. Lol. Not only that, we were right next to loungers that had mattresses and buckets of champagne beside them. I said to Shane, imagine we’ve just paid €80 for loungers and we’re still the poorest people on the beach hahaha.

I also think that because it’s just crazy busy there, they weren’t overly friendly compared to other parts.

Furore

I have a soft spot for Furore, you get the bus from Amalfi (20 minutes, €1.60) and it drops you on a bridge at the top and you have to walk down A LOT of steps - we didn’t bring the buggy that day.

I’m obsessed with it. It’s a stony beach and the water is crystal clear. There is a guy there very casually renting out loungers (€10 each) and he has cooler boxes full of beer and bottled Aperol Spritz (€4)

We spent the day there and I still love it just as much. There are no facilities there though so be warned. Bring a packed lunch and be prepared to walk back up the steps to the restaurant at the top to use the bathroom. Consider it your workout. Shane brought the boys up when they both needed a No. 2. Fun times :-) and he just bought two ice pops and used the toilets.

So obviously it’s not ideal for families but we always manage and the boys loved it. Tess slept for most of it :-)

Buses are quite regular too so no issues getting one back.

The Downsides (for some)

• Don’t expect Italy to have the same conveniences as Spain or Portugal. I personally don’t see this as a negative but they don’t pander to tourists. You take them as you find them. You go to Italy to live like them whether you like it or not. They look after their own -sometimes if you pick a sun lounger you will be told no, that’s for a local resident. I admire them for that. I take no offence. You also will not find a “Full Irish” anywhere haha, would have loved one near the end!

• It’s so funny but for a country that seems to absolutely adore children the facilities can be poor a lot of the time (in fact, most of the time) Naples airport in the arrivals section, the toilets were so bad that I wouldn’t even change Tess’s nappy there. The departures area when we were leaving was spotless to be fair though. It was just the toilets downstairs when we arrived. I don’t think I ever saw a baby changing facility anywhere along Amalfi while I was there. Toilets in general are usually tiny and a kind of an afterthought. Although the buildings in Italy are so old that I’m sure that presents problems for those wanting to upgrade.

• The steps are an issue in a lot of places with a buggy. Positano is the worst, in Amalfi town there were a good few ramps beside steps so that was fine. If you have a very small baby I’d use a baby carrier. Tess is quite independent and hates the buggy so like I said I left it behind in the evenings but we used it with relative ease during the day. A couple of steps here and there but nothing I minded too much. BUT that’s why we all love Amalfi, the way everything looks stacked on top of one another, you can’t get that without steps. That’s why it’s so beautiful!!!

• Don’t go to Amalfi for a white sandy beach, they don’t exist. Most beaches are a mix of sand and small stones and some of them are really rocky. The sand is dark too. This doesn’t bother me in the slightest and it didn’t bother the kids at all. They were laden down with stones on the way home :-)

• It can be expensive (if you’re not careful) Don’t eat anywhere in a main square is my biggest advice, it’s generally very expensive and sub standard. Find hidden local gems. Some places in Amalfi were charging €10 for an ice cream but in Atrani we found this lovely older couple through one of the tunnels into the piazza and they were €2.50 plus they were lovely people and the kids loved going there.

• Italians don’t really do breakfasts like we do here. It’s mostly sweet things which is grand for a week but I defo recommend hitting up a supermarket and getting eggs, cereal, bananas etc. I don’t know why but I don’t mind them eating Nutella pastries on holidays if they’ve eaten a boiled egg first. Make it make sense lol.

• Now, here me out, one of the biggest pros is the food but it can also be a negative if you’re traveling with kids. Italians wouldn’t lower themselves to do goujons and chips so poor Bobby and Tess literally ate pizza every single day for dinner. Tom is a little more adventurous so he was grand but it might be trickier for those with fussy eaters. There is rarely chicken on the menu. Just an FYI

• Most of Italy’s beaches are privatised meaning if you want to go there you have to pay for loungers. There’s usually a strip of public beach that you can use for free though and our Airbnb had a parasol there for us to use. In Atrani it was €30 for 2 loungers and an umbrella on the first row, closest to the sea. We obviously didn’t do this every day but the days we got there early and spent the whole day there we would. This gives you access to the showers and changing room too. The guys in Atrani were lovely but it’s worth noting that the public part of Atrani is lovely and has a bouncy castle too so there’s no need to pay for loungers if you’re on a budget. Amalfi beach was quite crowded so we only did that the first day and went to Atrani the rest of time.

• Restaurants in Amalfi can get busy so it’s best to make reservations. Just on the morning is usually fine. We loved Donna Stella Pizzeria so that’s definitely worth a visit but reservation definitely needed for there.

In Conclusion…

Italy can be a glamorous honeymoon destination or a bucket list holiday but it can also be a casual budget friendly getaway. The kind of all holiday where you are eating a takeaway pizza on the beach or a €4 cocktail from a guy with a cooler box.

You may have to work harder to get around and figure things out but isn’t that a bit of craic and a bit of culture for kids :-) Can’t make things too easy for them now!!!!

Also, I’m not sure if locals would have been as nice to us if we were there alone, the kids were treated like celebrities everywhere we went. They couldn’t care less about us and for that reason alone I feel Amalfi is perfect for families.

There is no doubt about it though, a resort is probably an easier option for a family. I can totally see the appeal. I was actually flat out researching resorts because I loved the idea of the pool and the evening entertainment and the not having to move if you don’t want to. The boys are at an age where they are great and easy to entertain but Tess is still at a tricky age and some meals in Italy were truly awful haha so I can imagine how nice it would be to have children’s entertainment and how that might captivate them long enough so that you can enjoy your meal. I really get it. I would actually love to try it out at Easter next year. Shane will kill me haha but for now Italy still has my heart. I truly love it.

Jx