Amalfi Coast Tips

Many people make the mistake of visiting Capri as a day trip, but you won't get a sense of this gorgeous island unless you stay a few days and order the Insalate Caprese (sliced buffalo mozzarella and vine-ripened tomatoes) repeatedly.

If your Italian is minimal, be sure to bring a phrase book with you. Most of the people in the small villages don’t speak English. Don't begin any social encounter without saying buon giorno (good day) or buona sera (good evening).

Positano is more illustrious, but the town of Amalfi is more authentic – here you can get lost in a tight maze of alleys and see real southern Italians living and working – not just Americans shopping.

Eating on the run is just not part of the culture, so be patient and watch the show. Expect to ask for the check multiple times before it is offered.

Fruits and vegetables (go for a vine of cherry tomatoes) are displayed outside shops, but don't touch the merchandise. Get the proprietor's attention and point at what you want.

Amalfi rewards strollers with good deals on shoes (regard the wonderfully indifferent salespeople with amusement), but be sure to fortify yourself at one of the shops selling cookies, gelato, or fine cheeses and meats. Positano is best for gauzy women's wear, men's belts, and the area's distinctive blue-and-yellow painted ceramics.

Coming from the north, trains only go as far as Sorrento, but ferries run between Naples and Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast towns and islands.

Restaurants will have similar menus. The custom is to order a salad or appetizer, a pasta course, and a main dish. If this seems like too much, couples can share one pasta and one protein.

The local beverage is an acquired taste, but you'll be offered a complementary shot glass after every dinner, so be gracious.

Diane Lane may have given up her old life to move to Tuscany in Under the Tuscan Sun, but she fell in love with, and in, Positano. Rent the movie to preview your trip – the balcony scene was filmed at the Albergo California – albergo means hotel.

Because the towns seem to tumble down and wind around hills, the Amalfi Coast is best enjoyed by people who don't mind serious walking and stair-climbing (not recommended for children under 12).

Cabs are frightfully expensive, so if you tire of walking everywhere, the SITA buses run frequently between the towns. Buy a ticket at the nearest tobacco shop.