The Amalfi Coast is well-known for many things — swanky infinity pools, limoncello, and one particularly famous white-knuckle drive. What is perhaps less known are the many options for those looking for more active ways to enjoy the great outdoors, including several spectacular hikes between the area’s more remote villages higher up on the cliffside.
When planning our short stay in the region, I was pleasantly surprised to find that our Airbnb in Agerola was just a short walk from the trailhead for the most famous of the hikes, aptly named the Sentiero degli Die (or Path of the Gods).
About the Sentiero degli Die Hiking Trail
The primary Sentiero degli Die trail connects Agerola to Positano, with an alternate route that connects as well to Praiano around the halfway point. The hike from start to finish is 7 kms and takes about two hours to complete (not including the trek to the trailhead).
Our Route: Agerola to Positano
Our Airbnb host gave us instructions for a day-long loop that included the 2-hour-long hike, a ferry ride, and stops at the two most popular towns along the coast, Positano and Amalfi. After absorbing as best we could the detailed instructions provided by our host, including the various bus schedules and ferry timetables needed to complete the loop back to our home base, we made a loose itinerary and planned to set out for the hike on our second day.
We departed our Airbnb in the morning, walking first to the small town of Agerola to locate the trailhead. Luckily for us, we were staying high up on the mountainside just a 15-minute walk from the trailhead, which allowed us to avoid the steep climb from the road below, saving our energy for the strenuous hike ahead.
Once in Agerola, we followed signs for Sentiero degli Die, walking along a road for some time until it dead-ended into a trail.
The first part of the hike had beautiful views of terraced vineyards with wide views of the beautiful deep blue water below.
This trail has been in use since the 1800s as the primary connection between the more remote villages in the area. While it’s most commonly traversed by tourists, there were signs of it still being used by locals — on a couple of occasions we stepped aside to let a farmer and his mule pass by.
The hike started off fairly easy with little change in elevation — we were happy to take it easy as even before 10:00am the sun was already out in full force. We rounded a corner and were surprised to find a lemonade stand along the trail — tempting to say the least but we pressed on!
At about the midway point, we rounded a corner and suddenly the views and terrain had a noticeable shift. At the point where two paths merged was an especially photogenic rock-turned-fountain with an expansive view west of the undulating coastline.
From this point onward, there were noticeably more people along the trail. It was now around midday, and we had just reached the most spectacular stretch of the hike. Some small traffic jambs slowed down our pace quite a bit, which was fine by me since it was hard to resist stopping every few minutes for a photo op.
Finally, we rounded a bend and spotted in the distance a cluster of pastel houses clinging to the cliffside — our destination at the end of the trail, the too-perfect-to-be-real town of Positano!
The trail ended in a small town called Nocello.
The office trail ends there, but to get to Positano we still had another 45 minutes to go. This part was entirely downhill (hooray!) but required walking down 1,500 steps — no, I didn’t count, but a sign in Nocello kindly warned us of what lay ahead. By the time we reached the bottom, we were exhausted. Surprisingly, I think the stairs at the end were the toughest part!
Once we reached the road, we were again rewarded with postcard views of the seaside village, this time with a view of the back-sand beach below the town. We walked along the side of the road and before long found ourselves in the winding, narrow streets of Positano.
We found a nice restaurant near the center of town where we had a break for lunch. After eating, we headed to the pier to purchase our ferry ticket to Amalfi and then headed back to the beach. We grabbed a spot in the sand for a much-deserved break.
Post-Hike Ferry to Amalfi
A couple of hours later, we were boarding our ferry and set out toward Amalfi. We grabbed a seat toward the back of the boat on the upper deck and settled into our seats for a quick but beautiful ride along the coast.
The ferry route took us east, following the coastline and passing by the small towns of Praiano and Conca dei Marini. We watched as a steady stream of cars wound their way along the rocky coast and across impressive arched bridges that seemed to be carved into the cliff.
Traveler Tip: There’s some debate about which is the best way to experience the Amalfi coast: by ferry or by car (or bus, for those less without a car). We did a little bit of both, and while both have their advantages, we felt the ferry was the easiest and most overally enjoyable option. The drive is definitely more intense and is unfortunately not the most enjoyable experience for the driver, who will be too preoccupied navigating the narrow, winding streets (trying not to hit any cars, buses, or people) and likely won’t catch much of the scenery.
We had just an hour or so to explore Amalfi before boarding our the last bus headed back toward our Airbnb. This proved the be enough time as the majority of the town was packed with touristy shops and lacked the authentic Italian charm of other places we’d visited along the coast.
There was one notable exception to this, however: the striking Cathedral of Saint Andrew the Apostle (or, more simply, the Amalfi Cathedral) at the center of town.
With a few minutes to spare before our bus’s departure, we took a stroll down the pier for a final view of the seaside town. And with that, our excursion came to an end. All in all, it was a very memorable day in one of the most beautiful places in the world!
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