Italy is an absolute dream. It is filled with so many beautiful cities so I always want to keep going back to explore. Carl and I spent one incredible week in Italy and got to explore the cities of Rome, the Vatican, Positano, Capri, and Ravello. We spent two days exploring Rome and the Vatican and four days in the Amalfi Coast. It was a jam-packed trip but we felt like we had enough time to see all the highlights. In this travel guide, I will be sharing all the details of how to spend one week in Italy and and the ultimate Rome and Amalfi Coast itinerary.
One Week Italy Itinerary : Overview
- Day 1 – Rome
- Day 2 – Rome
- Day 3 – Amalfi Coast (Positano)
- Day 4 – Amalfi Coast (Positano)
- Day 5 – Amalfi Coast (Capri)
- Day 6 – Amalfi Coast (Ravello)
- Day 7 – Amalfi Coast (Ravello)
How to Get to Italy
There are international airports in almost every major city in Italy. For this Rome and Amalfi Coast itinerary, I recommend flying into and out of Rome.
How to Travel Around Italy
For getting around Italy, you can either rent a car, take public transportation or fly. For this Rome and Amalfi Coast itinerary, I recommend taking public transportation. In Rome, it is super easy to get a cab or even just walk everywhere and driving in the Amalfi Coast is tough because the roads are so narrow.
7 Day Rome and Amalfi Coast Itinerary: Details
Rome + Vatican
Day 1: Arrive in Rome + Explore City
On the first day of your Rome and Amalfi Coast itinerary, you will be landing in Rome. If you took an overnight flight, I would drop off your bags at the hotel and get right to exploring the city!
I recommend starting your day at the Colosseum and Roman Forum. To save time and avoid waiting in line for tickets, I suggest booking a tour. Carl wanted our Colosseum tour to include special access to the arena floor so we booked this Semi-Private Colosseum Tour with Special Access to the Arena Floor, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill! We liked that this was a small group tour so it only included a maximum of 12 people.
This tour starts off at the Colosseum where you can access the arena floor through the recently opened “Gladiator’s Entrance.” This was pretty cool! After the tour of the Colosseum, your tour guide will take you to the Roman Forum. This was the center of Ancient Roman society and gives you a glimpse of what life in the empire was like. Once inside the Roman Forum, you will be able to hike to the top of the Palantine Hill. The views from here are incredible!
After the Colosseum tour, you can recharge with some pizza! The next half of the day will be spent visiting the following:
- Spanish Steps – walk up 135 steps of the oldest surviving landmark in Rome
- Trevi Fountain – the most famous fountain in the entire world
- Pantheon – temple for Roman gods and famous for being the most preserved monument of ancient Rome
- Piazza Navona – one of the most beautiful squares in Rome, home to some of its most famous fountains, like the Fountain of the Four Rivers and the Fountain of Neptune
After all this walking, you should reward yourself with some delicious pasta! The best pasta we had in Rome was at the restaurant Trattoria Vecchia Roma. I highly recommend!
Day 2: Visit the Vatican
On the second day of your Rome and Amalfi Coast itinerary, you will be visiting the Vatican. The Vatican is absolutely beautiful and it is a must-see on your trip to Rome! When visiting the Vatican, it’s best to plan your visit in advance especially during peak tourist season. I recommend booking a guided tour to give you a deeper understanding of all the art and history and to ensure you see all the highlights.
Here are the most iconic sites to see at the Vatican that you want your tour to include:
- St. Peter’s Basilica – this is one of the largest churches in the world and a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture. You can even climb to the top to see incredible city views.
- St. Peter’s Square – the grand square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica
- Vatican Museums – home to an incredible collection of art and historical artifacts. While exploring the museums, make sure you see:
- Sistine Chapel
- Raphael Rooms
- Gallery of Maps
Carl and I did this tour: Skip the Line Group Tour of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. We loved it and our tour guide was great!
After your full day at the Vatican, you should head back to Rome and grab dinner in Trastevere. This neighborhood is home to some of the best hidden gems of Rome that have some of the city’s coolest bars and restaurants.
Positano
The next part of the Rome and Amalfi Coast itinerary will be Positano! Positano is beautiful and it was my favorite part of our trip! Before writing about Day 3 of the itinerary, I thought it would be helpful to share transportation info, where to stay, and recommended restaurants below. Click here to skip forward to Day 3!
How to Get to Positano from Rome
The most common way to get to Positano from Rome is through Naples. You can take a flight or train into Naples from Rome. A train and flight from Rome to Naples are both an hour so we decided to take a train since tickets were much cheaper! We booked our train tickets in advanced using the Italo Train Website here.
The drive from Naples to Positano is about 60-90 minutes depending on traffic. I recommend booking private transportation ahead of time for convenience. We booked a car through Divina Car Service. We loved our driver, Enzo! He is from Positano so he gave us all the helpful tips and even coordinated dinner reservations for us on our first night in Positano!
Where to Stay in Positano
Hotels:
This is an elegant and charming hotel. They have a cool infinity pool and are the only hotel in the center of Positano with a privately owned beach reserved for their guests.
This is a family run boutique with classic decor. They have a rooftop pool with panoramic sea views.
This is a beautiful hotel with a Mediterranean decor and design that is centrally located – close to both the beaches and main town. It also has stunning views of Positano.
This is one of the best luxury hotels in Positano. It is absolutely gorgeous and listed as one of the leading hotels of the world! This would be an incredible hotel to stay at for your honeymoon!
Airbnb:
The hotels are pretty pricey in Positano so I also suggest looking at Airbnbs as well! You can find Airbnbs with an amazing view for half the price! Carl and I found the cutest Airbnb with an incredible view of Positano. We loved our stay and thought it was such a great find!
Carl and I went to the local grocery shop down the road so we can cook breakfast. We loved eating breakfast and watching the sunset from our private terrace. The owner of the Airbnb was so responsive and we had everything we needed! She is also the one who coordinated our driver to pick us up from Naples.
Positano Restaurants
There are a bunch of amazing restaurants in Positano! I highly recommend making dinner reservations way in advanced, especially if you are going during the summer. Restaurants will literally turn you away if you don’t have a reservation. Here are the ones we went to that we loved:
Buca di Bacco
This is a great lunch and dinner spot! Their risotto is so good. I had the lemon risotto with shrimp and Carl got their seafood risotto. So yummy!
Don Giovanni
We came here for dinner on our first night and loved it! And the views are amazing!
Casa e Bottega
This is the cutest restaurant! They serve both breakfast and lunch and their food is so yummy. I also love that they have healthy options. I recommend trying one of their fresh juices!
Osteria Le Tre Sorelle
This restaurant is right by the beach We came here for dinner on our last night and we decided to do a traditional four course Italian meal. The food was amazing and we loved our server. Carl even got to pick his own fish in the kitchen!
Now back to our itinerary!
Day 3: Travel to Positano + Shopping
Transportation Info: 1 hour train from Rome to Naples
On the third day of your Rome and Amalfi Coast itinerary, you will be traveling to Positano! I recommend taking the train from Rome to Naples (only an hour ride) and coordinating private transportation from Naples to Positano (60-90 minute drive). You can book train tickets in advanced using the Italo Train Website here. We booked a car through Divina Car Service. We loved our driver, Enzo!
After checking into your hotel or airbnb, you can spend the afternoon checking out all the shops. You will find clothing boutiques, art galleries, local food items, ceramic shops, souvenir stores, and even a shoe store where you can design your own pair of sandals!
Day 4: Hiking, Beach, Limoncello Tasting
On the fourth day of your Rome and Amalfi Coast itinerary, you have a few options that you can do in Positano:
Hike the Path of gods
You can start the morning hiking the Path of gods. The Path of gods is a 5 mile hiking trail at the top of the mountains with incredible views of the Amalfi Coast. It is an easy hike that takes about 3 hours.
Relax at the Beach
You can’t have a Positano trip without spending some time at the beach. After hiking, you can spend the rest of the afternoon at the beach or you can skip the hike and head to the beach first thing in the morning!
The main beach is called Spiaggia Grande. It has a spectacular view of the town. There is both a free section where you can lay a towel down and a section where you pay 15-20 Euro for a lounge chair. Each chair also comes with a QR code where you can order food and drinks.
If you want to check out other beautiful beaches in Positano, you can check out Fornillo Beach, Arienzo Beach Club, and One Fire Beach.
Limoncello Class
One of my favorite things we did was visit the limoncello shop, Valenti. It was actually right next door to our Airbnb and our driver said it was the best limoncello in Positano!
The owner was so genuine and kind. She let us sample limoncello, marmalades, spreads, olive oils, and sorbet. Everything was so good! We wanted to buy everything haha! We loved the limoncello, pistachio spread, and truffle oil.
You can book a limoncello tour where you learn how to make limoncello and lemon marmalade. This tour lasts an hour and a half that takes place in either their factory or pergola garden with an amazing view of the Positano bay.
Day 5: Day Trip to Capri
On the fifth day of your Rome and Amalfi Coast itinerary, you will be taking a day trip to Capri! Capri is so beautiful and known as Italy’s luxury island. The island is filled with beautiful viewpoints, gardens, high-end designer stores, small towns, and fun water activities. It is the perfect combination of natural beauty, glamour, and history.
How to get from Positano to Capri? There are two options to get from Positano to Capri. One of the ways is by ferry which takes about 20-40 minutes. The first ferry leaves around 9am and the last boat leaves around 6pm.
The second way to visit Capri is booking a boat tour! The most popular tour companies in Positano are Blue Star Positano, Princess Positano, and Positano Boats. Spots fill up pretty quickly so I recommend booking one in advance! You can book a private or small group tour.
The boat picks you up at 9am and sails to Capri. Once you arrive, you have four hours of free time to explore the island and grab lunch. When you meet back at the boat, you will sail around Capri and visit the White Grotto, the natural arch, the Faraglioni rocks, Punta Carena with its lighthouse, and the Green Grotto.
They also stop at the famous Blue Grotto, which you have to pay an additional 15 EURO, if you choose to see it. When we were there, the line was super long so we made a group decision to skip it. On the way back to Positano, they also stop for swimming! This is a full day tour and a lot of fun!
Here are the best things to do when exploring Capri:
- Shopping
- There are three main shopping streets in Capri that you can explore. One of the streets, Via Camerelle, is where you will find all the high-end designer stores.
- Augustus Gardens
- The Augustus Gardens are beautiful botanical gardens where you can see stunning views of the Capri island blue waters.
- Pizza with a View
- Carl found the best lunch spot at Ristorante Panorama Capri. It’s such a cute restaurant with amazing views! And their pizza is so good!
Day 6 + 7: Ravello
On the sixth and seventh day of your Rome and Amalfi Coast itinerary, you will be visiting the beautiful town of Ravello. Ravello is located high in the mountains above the Amalfi Coast. The mountain and ocean views are incredible and it’s just so peaceful and serene.
It takes an hour to drive from Positano to Ravello so the best and easiest transportation option is booking a car through a private transfer company. We booked a car through Divina Car Service, the same company who drove us from Naples to Positano.
Since Ravello is so close to Positano, you can do a day trip or you can stay one night in Ravello. Ravello has beautiful luxury hotels and since we were only staying for one night, we decided to splurge and stay at the Belmond Caruso Hotel. The hotel and room were incredible. It is the most amazing room I’ve ever stayed at in my life and it had a beautiful view from our private terrace.
These are the best things to do in Ravello:
- Visit the Gardens
- Ravello has two beautiful gardens – Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufolo. You can purchase tickets at the entrance and they both cost 7 Euro. They also have a museum where you can learn the history about the gardens.
- Explore the Town
- Walk around the town and the lovely town square, Piazzo Duomo, and check out all their cute shops. The square is also home to Ravello’s cathedral.
- Take a Cooking Class
- A highly recommended activity in Ravello is Mamma Agata’s Cooking Class. The class starts at 10am with a welcome greeting and lemon cake! Then, you get to cooking! It’s a 3 hour class and then you reward yourself with lunch on the beautiful terrace tasting all the food that was cooked during the class.
- Relax
- Ravello is perfect for relaxation. We loved spending the day relaxing by the pool.
Ravello Restaurants
- Belmond Caruso Pool Cafe
- Mimi Ristorante Pizzeria
- Rossellinis Restaurant
- Trattoria Da Cumpa Cosimo
Hope you enjoyed my Rome and Amalfi Coast itinerary!
