Shore excursions from the port of Amalfi
Private shore excursions from Amalfi Port
Why not make the most of your time and explore this wonderful area with us while your ship is docked in Amalfi. Amazing tours available every day from the Port of Amalfi helping you to see the places that appeal to you most and at your own pace.
By far the best way to experience the Amalfi Coast is with a small vehicle - without being hurried around with a large coach group. See the places that you want to see and stop for that perfect photo whenever you like. Not coming in on a cruise ship? No problem - we also offer all of our excursions from any accommodation in and around Amalfi and the Amalfi Coast.
You decide whether to enjoy one of our set itineraries or something different. If you are looking for something ‘off the beaten track’, please contact us and our friendly, English speaking reservation team will be more than help you to create your own itinerary.
OUR PROMISE:
- Email support before and after reservation booking.
- FLEXIBILITY
- VALUE FOR MONEY, cheaper than the cruise lines
- HIGH QUALITY, TAILOR-MADE PRIVATE TOURS
- PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH-SPEAKING DRIVERS
- FULLY AIR-CONDITIONED VEHICLES
- GUARANTEED RETURN TO SHIP
- 24/7 SUPPORT VIA TEXT, WHATSAPP, SKYPE, EMAIL, CELL
- Travel voucher filled with information, contact numbers, meeting points and handy hints.
Why not BOOK NOW before you travel. Reserve your private, deluxe vehicle and when you arrive in Amalfi, your professional English-speaking driver will be waiting for you to start your fantastic tour - all you need to do is sit back, relax and enjoy.
Port of Amalfi information
What to do from the cruise ship when visiting the Port of Amalfi?
Arriving into AMALFI port is a great advantage as it is situated right on the world-famous Amalfi Coast with the town of Ravello just twenty minutes away and in the opposite direction following the spectacular Amalfi Drive we have the chic resort of Positano. Whichever direction you travel in from Amalfi you will be able to enjoy the amazing views that the Amalfi Coast has to offer.
Perhaps you are looking for a little history and culture as well as enjoying the scenery; the cruise port of Amalfi is also within driving distance of two of Europe’s archaeological sites, Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as our friendly, live volcano – Mt Vesuvius. Perhaps you need a bit of persuading – we can always add in some shopping, relaxation and great food with world famous wines.
If you have visited the area before, please ask us about our alternative itineraries including our wine tasting lunch or our family fun tours where you and your children make your own pizza. Let us know what you would like to see and we will create a personal tour for you and your family.
Arriving in the Cruise Port of Amalfi, Italy
If your ship is calling here you can consider yourself lucky as there are so many wonderful places within driving distance that you can visit.
Amalfi Port is a small port, so your cruise ship will anchor at sea and then you will be transferred on a tender (small boat) to the dockside. Here you will find your professional English speaking driver waiting for you. He will have a sign with your name on and be eager to make sure that you are comfortable in your vehicle before heading off to start your exciting day in this wonderful area.
Your tour will be organised to fit in with your ship’s schedule; we usually arrange an 8am pick up and drop you off at around 5pm but this can be adjusted to make the most of your day according to your arrival and sail times. A punctual return to your ship is always one of our top priorities.
On our website we publish ideas for itineraries which are the most popular or the most requested by our customers. If you reserve a full day tour with us, this means that you hire a deluxe, air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking driver, giving you the flexibility to visit the places that interest you rather than having to follow a rigid schedule as you would on a coach tour with a larger group.
Some interesting facts about Amalfi and its surroundings…
The town of Amalfi lies at the mouth of a deep ravine and was the capital of the Maritime Republic known as the Duchy of Amalfi. It is the main town on the Costiera Amalfitana, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and was a popular holiday destination for the British upper class and aristocracy back in the 1920s and 1930s. The composer Richard Wagner and the playwright Henrik Ibsen both completed works whilst staying in Amalfi. In medieval times, Amalfi was famous for its important law and mathematic schools. It is said that Flavio Gioia was from Amalfi – he was the first to introduce the mariners compass to Europe. Amalfi is a small town and you can walk from one end to the other in about 20 minutes. There are very few historical buildings to be seen here as most of the old city slid into the sea during an earthquake in 1343.
Amalfi is famed for its production of sweet smelling and delicately flavoured lemons which you can see everywhere and the Limoncello liquor is readily available in this area. The lemons were first brought over to the Amalfi Coast centuries ago on trade routes from the Middle East and were treasured by sailors for warding off scurvy and other ailments whilst at sea. Many locally made ceramics are decorated with lemons; ceramic pottery work is a must have souvenir; many of the bright colours representing the rich colours that you will experience during your day – from the ‘golden’ sunshine to the ‘emerald’ green mountains right down to the glistening ‘blue’ sea.
The most visited place in Amalfi is the Cathedral – set at the top of a grand staircase with 62 steps, Saint Andrew’s Cathedral, (Sant’ Andrea) overlooks the Piazza Duomo in the very heart of the town. After completion of the Cathedral in 1206, the Saints relics were brought to Amalfi from Constantinople and there is a tomb in the crypt that still holds a portion of these relics. The bronze statue of Saint Andrew inside the cathedral was sculpted by Naccherino who was a pupil of Michelangelo.
In a secluded corner of the Cathedral we find the Cloister of Paradise, Chiostro del Paradiso which was used as a burial ground for the noble families of Amalfi. In an elegant Arabic style, the white columns and pointed arches which surround a garden, are proof of the influence that the Arab world had on Amalfi.
In the northern part of the new town we have Mill Valley where we find the Museum of Handmade Paper. Amalfi was one of the first places in Europe to make paper, the local people learning the skills from the Arabs. The museum is actually in the old paper mill and even today you can see the machinery and equipment that was once used to manufacture the paper by hand. They still produce the handmade thick paper in Amalfi and it is exported not only to many other European countries but also to America.
One event that attracts many visitors to Amalfi is the Historical Regatta which takes place on the first Sunday in June. It is a traditional rowing competition where the four main historical maritime republics in Italy compete against one another: Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa and Venice. The event is hosted by a different city each year so only comes to Amalfi every four years.
Heading towards Positano from Amalfi we pass by a town that was once nothing more than a tiny fishing village, today it is one of the Amalfi Coasts popular tourist destinations – Conca Dei Marini. Tucked beneath the famous coast road lies the most precious treasure of the town - the Grotta dello Smeraldo, Emerald Grotto. A local fisherman discovered the sea cave in 1932, before that it was unknown purely because it has no natural opening above the waterline. Take the lift down and visit the cave by rowing boat, famous for its shimmering green/blue colour when the sun’s rays filter through the underwater opening.
Just off the Amalfi Coast near Positano is a small archipelago of three islands - Li Galli – also known as Le Sirenuse. Several Sirens were said to have inhabited the islands (hence the name Sirenuse) and in ancient stories the sirens were depicted as having bodies of a bird with human heads, only more recently they were described as mermaids. The islands are part of the Maritime Protected Area of Punta Campanella but are privately owned and whilst you can swim in the surrounding waters, members of the public are not allowed to land on any of the islands.
So, the question is ... what can we visit from the Port of Amalfi?
Full Day Amalfi Coast Excursion from Amalfi Port
With your cruise arriving into Amalfi, it means that you have the whole of the famous coast road right on your doorstep. What better way to spend your day than travelling the whole of the Amalfi Coast in style – sit back, relax and let your professional, English speaking driver accompany you on this spectacular drive, stopping in each of the three main towns to explore.
We start by travelling the best part of the coast road and head straight to Positano where your driver will drop you right in the heart of the town saving you precious time and meaning that you have longer to experience the pedestrian area with its little lanes full of shops, boutiques, art galleries and cafes. Travelling back towards Amalfi to experience more spectacular views, our second stop is in Ravello, high up in the hills. Here you can visit the gardens of Villa Rufolo from which you can appreciate the amazing scenery gazing back down towards the sea. Take a stroll through the town and visit the Cathedral or just sit and relax with a drink in the main Piazza. The last stop, right by where your cruise ship is docked, is Amalfi. Here, in Piazza Duomo, you can admire the stunning cathedral of St. Andrew and the Cloisters of Paradise next door, wander through the town enjoying the many shops or visit the Paper Mill Museum. If you wish, your driver will be happy to make suggestions for a lunch stop to suit you.
Pompeii and Vesuvius Excursion from Amalfi Port
If sitting back and relaxing isn’t for you and you are more the active type, why not visit the amazing site of Pompeii and the culprit that destroyed it back in 79AD, Mt Vesuvius. You will enjoy a two hour stop at Pompeii, an extremely important Roman town, where you get a great insight into what daily was like life around 2000 years ago. If you wish, you can reserve one of our English speaking authorised guides for a private tour meaning that you will also learn about what you are seeing.
We then head to a place where you will experience some spectacular views over the bay of Naples. We reach the 1000 metre mark of Mt Vesuvius by vehicle and then from here where you have an optional 30-minute walk to the top. You can walk around part of the crater of this active volcano – the only one on mainland Europe. The streams of vapour that are often visible remind us that it is still very much alive.
Your driver will be able to give you suggestions for somewhere to enjoy lunch; if you wish, there is an option for a wine tasting lunch in a vineyard just a few minutes’ drive from Pompeii. During the meal you will sample five different wines along with rose prosecco and apricot grappa.
Options and alternative tour itineraries from Amalfi
If you have been to the area before or are just looking for something different, we are able to create an itinerary to suit your needs. You can choose the places that interest you most and we can put together a tour for you – as long as it fits in with your time in port. It is important to know that when you make a reservation with us for a private tour, you have a friendly English speaking driver and the vehicle available to you giving you the flexibility that you need to maximise your time in this wonderful area.
If there are younger members of family in your group, we do have a selection of child friendly tours and are proud that we can also provide child friendly guides for Pompeii. We have Gelato classes and pizza making lunches, so plenty to keep the little ones occupied.
Depending on the amount of time we have available, other places that we can visit from Amalfi include the second most popular archaeological site in the area – Herculaneum and a third and less well known, Oplontis, home to the Roman Villa Poppaea. If shopping and people watching from a street café is your style, a trip to Sorrento may interest you.
If a half day tour that lasts 4/5 hours is your preference, we are happy to help. If you would like to see just one place - for example Pompeii, Positano or Ravello – no problem. We can pick you up first thing and have you back on your ship by lunchtime!
Looking for a cruise that has Amalfi, Italy as a port of call?
Here are some of the cruise liners that sail to the cruise port of Amalfi:
Seven Seas Voyager; Seven Seas Explorer; Seven Seas Splendor; Oceania Marina; Oceania Sirena; Oceania Nautica; Azamara Pursuit; Azamara Journey; Azamara Quest; Royal Clipper; Seabourn Odyssey; Seabourn Encore; Windstar Wind Surf; Windstar Star Breeze; SeaDream I and II; Silversea Silver Shadow; Silversea Silver Spirit; Crystal Serenity;