Review: Amalfi Driver (Private Tour: Sorrento, Positano, and Limoncello Tour)

This is a review of an excursion I booked through Amalfi Driver during my family’s Mediterranean cruise. You can read the entire report, starting HERE.

Website Description

Tour of Amalfi Coast and Sorrento Coast in one Day Trip

Visit the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento Coast in one day trip! Let’s enjoy the “Maritime Republic” of Amalfi and its medieval historical center, then we go to Positano, the village of VIPs of the Amalfi coast and at the end explore a walking in Sorrento, the town of the lemons.

Amalfi:

This tour starts from the agreed point in the morning and our first stop is Amalfi. The drive to Amalfi will take 60/90 minutes (depending the traffic). You will have free time to explore the ancient “Marine Republic” (or Republic of the Sea). Visit the 11th century Cathedral of Saint Andrew (amalfitan saint patron) with amazing gold and bright decorations, walk around the labyrinth of tiny alleys where you can have really good shopping and buying souvenirs or just take a bath into the sparkling blue water of the see. Here you can also think about your lunch, you only need to speak with driver to arrange a nice place for your meal. (we suggest to have a limoncello tasting in the factory)

Lunch:

Lunch will be discussed with the escort driver first thing in the morning. The escort driver will make recommendations/suggestions. Reservations will be made if need so.

Positano:

You will have free time to explore the beautiful atmosphere of this ancient colorful village made famous by VIPs from the 60s till today, appreciate the famous exclusive ceramics of the local artisans, enjoy a glass of wine on the beach looking the see. Get lost into the tiny streets and stairways of the this cliff village with flowers everywhere. Known to be the jewel of the Amalfi Coast, Positano is guaranteed to present you with a warm, genuine and authentic Italian experience. The driver will reach the furthest part of the town which is accessible by vehicle, at which time you will walk through the narrow streets and alleys. Here you will see various local arts and crafts, galleries and a bougainvillaea flower shelter which will lead you to the beach. Here you can take a stroll along the boardwalk. Many celebrities are known to vacation here, so it could be your lucky day! (we suggest to visit ceramics factory to see how they make it)

Sorrento:

The drive to Sorrento take 1 hour and along the way there will be a couple of stops where you can take pictures of the spectacular panoramic views of the coast. You will have free time to explore. Sorrento is a small, quaint, and relaxed town in Campania, Southern Italy. Here you will have time to explore the town and walk along the narrow streets that lead to many homes, restaurants, family-owned shops, taverns, villas, hotels and, most importantly, unforgettable scenery. Overlooking the Bay of Naples, the waterfront is captivating and relaxing. This town is an extremely popular tourist attraction that has a lot to offer, from delicious food to wonderful views. Sorrento is full of intriguing architecture, churches, leather factories, limoncello factories and inlaid woodwork shops. From here you will stop to enjoy some of the finest culinary spots Sorrento has to offer. You will have a wide variety of food to choose from such as meat, fish and true Neapolitan pizza cooked in an ethnic brick oven, along with salads, seafood, vegetables, desserts, wine and various drinks. (we suggest to have olive oil tasting in the factory or visit the “inlaid wood artwork” factories )

End of tour:

Back to the pick up location between the hours of 4-5pm or what was agreed upon.

Process/Booking

The website has a “Get A Quote” button that leads to a form to fill out. I gave the requested information and received an email back within a couple days. We were able to go back and forth to build the itinerary for the day, specific to our time limits. I then put down a deposit and paid the rest in person.

A few planning notes:

I took the entire price of the excursion in Euros and added the appropriate gratuities. Then, I used my bank’s currency exchange calculator to determine how much that would be in USD. I divided each by how many would be taking part in each tour/transfer. I had everyone pay me upfront and got the tips in Euros ahead of time.
I also added a bit, because the exchange rate does change.
WhatsApp is majorly used in Europe, so I had that downloaded. As soon as we got into port, I checked it for messages from the tour operators. This was the form of communication for all of our transfers/excursions/tours.
Due to the nature of the area, it isn’t always possible for things to go as planned. They do warn you of this, but it’s good to just know. If a road is shut down, for one reason or another, there aren’t a lot of options (if any) to go a different path. We ran into this, ourselves.

Excursion Recap

Note: Most of this portion is the same as my trip report. If you’ve already read that, you can skip along to my overall thoughts below!

We met up with our driver for the day, Marco. He let us know that there were some traffic issues and advised us that we could either go to Amalfi proper OR we could go to Sorrento and Positano. We wouldn’t be able to go to all three, as originally planned. We decided on the Sorrento and Positano route.

We first drove to Sorrento. The drive alone was simply breathtaking and felt like a dream come true. Our driver stopped along a scenic shoulder, so we could get our first photos.

We had a little over an hour to explore the town of Sorrento. Marco gave us a few ideas on which way to go, so we followed his advice. Almost immediately, we came across a stand that made fresh-squeezed juices and slushes. I got an orange one and it was amazing.

We all sort of shopped around, staying together, splitting up, and just moseying around the town. I found a lot of cute souvenirs and gifts to bring back home. As we headed back to the van, we found a shop with gorgeous ornaments…. so that was a big score!

We then made our way to Positano, where I just couldn’t get over all the views. The pictures below don’t do it justice, but I was awestruck. We also couldn’t stop laughing along the way. Marco was a great driver – don’t get me wrong – but, it was like Mr Toad’s Wild Ride, lol.

We also had a moment where a man was selling camouflage flags on the side of the road. My aunt commented on it (because it was a little odd) and my mom said she couldn’t see it (because the passenger seat was blocking her view). My sister then bursts out laughing because she thinks she’s making a joke. Then, we ALL were crying laughing when we realized that my mom wasn’t being funny. Poor Marco didn’t understand what all we were laughing at, so Jen explained it to him. Then, he chuckles and goes, “Oh, I get it. Haha. That’s funny!” which prompted more laughter. It may have been one of those things you had to be there for, but we would randomly giggle over it for the rest of the day.

We had an hour to explore Positano. It was beautiful…. and every bit as crowded as they say. I got separated from everyone, so just walked around, shopped, and got a slice of pizza. It was a quick hour before it was time to meet back at the van!

Our final stop was at a Limoncello Factory for a chocolate and limoncello tasting. Jeff even found a place to sit in the shade, lol.

It was time to head back to the port. Despite it being a crazy ride, I fell asleep…. as did my mom, aunt, and sister, lol. Emily was in the back and said that she was holding on for dear life (as was Jeff), while the rest of us were passed out.

We got back to the port, grabbed a group photo with Marco, and said our goodbyes.

Overall Thoughts

The tour company is one that I would definitely recommend! They did a great job adjusting our itinerary to see as much as possible. If I go back, I would use them again to see Amalfi, Pompeii, or Capri.

I enjoyed both Sorrento and Positano, but I think Sorrento has the slight edge. It was just calmer. It could be that we were there so early, but the streets were easier to navigate and it wasn’t as much uphill/downhill.

The website doesn’t currently have a price listed. We paid $125 each (6 of us) in summer 2023. I imagine it’s gone up by some since then, but this just gives you an idea of a starting point. This is 100% worth the price, even if higher. NCL was charging more than $125 each and were having a more difficult time getting through traffic. In fact, since we were consistently ahead of the NCL Excursion bus, I felt completely at ease about making it back to the port before them.

Italy/Greece 2023 Trip Report (September 1 – 15, 2023)
– The Beginning (Vivi Alla Giornata!)
– The Planning Process (Rome)
– The Planning Process (Greece Ports)
– The Planning Process (Italy Ports)
– Flight Confusion
– Day 0: Leave for Rome (September 1, 2023)
– Day 1: Rome Arrival and City Tour (September 2, 2023)
– Day 2: Board the Breakaway (September 3, 2023)
– Day 3: Sea Day (September 4, 2023)
– Day 4: Santorini, Greece (September 5, 2023)
– Day 5: Athens (Piraeus), Greece (September 6, 2023)
– Day 6: Mykonos, Greece (September 7, 2023)
– Day 7: Olympia (Katakolon), Greece (September 8, 2023)
– Day 8: Valletta, Malta (September 9, 2023)
– Day 9: Messina (Sicily), Italy (September 10, 2023)
– Day 10: Naples, Italy (September 11, 2023)
– Day 11: Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy (September 12, 2023)
– Day 12: Disembark and Vatican City (September 13, 2023)
– Day 13: Rome (September 14, 2023)
– Day 14: Leaving Rome (September 15, 2023) and Some Final Thoughts