The honest truth about Amalfi Coast

Amalfi Coast... the dream destination, for every follower on social media. Yet... is this place really worth the hype?

My boyfriend and I are newly graduated college students and currently residing in Paris, France. We have heard of this beautiful destination, read the articles, watched the tik toks, and booked our tickets. We were tight on money so many of our financial decisions were based on a tight budget plan.

Living Situation

My boyfriend and I booked an Airbnb for 80 euros a night in Agerola, Italy. To paint the picture of our location, Amalfi is full of mountains and coves. Amalfi sits at the bottom of a mountain and Agerola sits right above the town on top of the mountain. Making the journey to Amalfi a 50-minute bus ride or a 3-mile hike down the mountain. Despite being further away from Amalfi, this was our cheaper option to be close to this beautiful destination and still be able to see the ocean from the top of our mountain top town. Because our destination sat at the mountain top, the prices for food were very reasonable compared to the food at Amalfi Coast. The food was so affordable that we never once ate at the Amalfi Coast (one glass of wine was 26 euros for perspective).

Public Transportation

Now, this is where we get to the downsides of the Amalfi Coast. As mentioned above the Amalfi Coast sits at the bottom of a mountain, and our Airbnb was on top of said mountain. We had no choice but to take the bus to the top. Now imagine this... being on the diamondback rollercoaster at Kings Island for a total of 50 minutes. My boyfriend and I rode this bus a total of 4 times, and each time we stepped off of the bus, we felt nauseous. The hills, the curves, the fast driving, and the mugginess of the bus made the ride unpleasant. Amalfi's Public transportation is not ideal! there is no organization with tickets, bus signs, etc. We tried to fix our problem and work around the bus system.

So the first morning we woke up in Agerola, we decided that we wanted to go into town at Amalfi Coast. From there we refused to take the bus so we chose the 3-mile hike down instead. This hike was all steps and all downhill. Even though there were some miserable points, like falling down the stairs and having achy legs, it did have beautiful views of the ocean.

The hike did save us money (and stomach problems) but it did take a little longer to get to the bottom of the mountain. We enjoyed the beautiful views and nature. At the end of it all, we were able to jump right into the ocean, to clean off the heat and sweat from our hike.

Food

Our food at Agerola was incredible and very affordable. We ordered an appetizer, 2 entrees, and drinks for a total of 26 euros. This was one of the only times we ate out just because we wanted to save money since we were on a tight budget.

We went to the grocery store on the first night and collected many groceries for a total of 14 euros. We bought bread, jam, pasta, pasta sauce, snacks, etc.

This was definitely the cheaper route because then we were able to use the money that was saved for other experiences throughout our journey in Europe. If you calculate the amount of money we spent on this trip for food you could total it up to about 40-50 euros for two people. This was extremely reasonable, especially since we were staying at the Amalfi Coast for 3 days!

Beaches

When researching beaches, ensure you know the difference between a private beach and a public beach. That is because we ran into this situation a few times.

On top of that find a beach with no black sand. This is something that I did not originally think was going to be an issue, but stepping on the black sand barefooted can be extremely painful on a hot summer afternoon. If you do decide to go to a beach with black sand, make sure you bring sandals with you to walk up to the ocean. Along with finding a spot on the beach, ensure you arrive at a decent time because these beaches become packed, especially during the summertime. Be prepared to bring cash to spend at least 20 euros per person to receive a spot on the beach.

Things to do, while on a budget

The best thing about this place is that there are many things to do. This destination has some of the prettiest souvenirs/gifts I have ever seen. Amalfi Coast is loaded with stores selling handmade items and high-quality souvenirs.

The Amalfi Coast is known for its lemons, so there are lemon-styled objects for sale and lemon-flavored food everywhere. So if you love lemons then you are in luck, this place is for you!

Take a day to explore the village, and check out everything this place has to offer. Take a look at all of the unique clothing, that you won't find at any other destination. And be sure to bring a lot of water to stay hydrated in the summer heat!

Once you no longer feel like adventuring around the Amalfi Coast, take a ferry to Positano or Capri and visit those islands as well! There you will find new things to do, new beaches, and new sights to explore.

In Conclusion

Since we were doing this destination on a budget, we were limited to certain things as newly graduated college students. If we had the money to do this destination again, we would have avoided the public transportation and found a hotel room that was closer to the coast. The hotel rooms close to the ocean are not cheap so ensure that you are willing to sacrifice that type of money. On top of that, there were many opportunities for private boat rides. These would have been neat to try out, but these boat rides were pricey, so money needed to be set aside for that. Yes, this destination is really neat and really pretty, but this is a location I would not travel to again unless I had a lot of money to spare. And if you have a yacht then this place is for YOU!