Travel for Bliss

Positano is a stunning, picture-perfect town on the Amalfi coast in Italy. Positano in autumn, especially in October, is just as photogenic and well worth visiting as the busy peak season of summer. Imagine the ochre hued buildings stacked upon each other on the steep mountain slopes, the lights glittering in the cool evenings, and the gentle rush of the waves on the black sand beach. October is one of the best months to visit Positano. The weather is warm enough for summer dresses during the day and cool enough in the evenings for a cute jacket. Below is a guide on how to enjoy Positano in the offseason.

So the biggest question you’ve probably got if you’ve found your way here is if Positano is worth visiting in autumn. I visited Positano in October and I can unequivocally say, yes, Positano is definitely worth visiting in autumn, especially in October. It’s even rated as one of the best times to visit!

It’s a beautiful town full of old buildings stacked on top of each other and Instagrammable restaurants and bars just waiting for that perfect sunset. Shops sell everything with painted lemons, from plates to lacy lingerie. I’d almost say autumn is one of the best seasons to visit Positano during. There are a few different factors as to why Positano is, in my mind, perfect in October and I’ll go over them below.

Positano is definitely quieter in autumn. Some hotels or guest houses have already closed for the low season in winter. If you visit Positano in autumn you will have some of the beaches and walkways to yourself in the morning. By ten in the morning, the day-trippers on the ferries and buses will start to arrive and you will have to share your idyllic paradise with a lot more people. The good news is that the crowds will start to dwindle by four in the afternoon as the tours begin to head back to Naples and the last ferries depart for Capri or Naples.

Because of this influx, it is much better to stay in Positano in autumn than just to visit it on a day trip. If you spend the night in this Italian paradise you will have the town to wander in the morning and evening. The streets are calmer, and the beaches are definitely less crowded. There’s room in restaurants so that you don’t need to worry about booking a table and you may not even have to line up for Franco’s Bar, one of Positano’s most fashionable places with a spectacular view.

The quieter period in Positano, from October onwards, is better for photos. Sunrise is around seven in the morning, so you don’t need to get up quite so early, and you’re much less likely to have hordes of tourists in your photos. You still get all of the charms of Positano and the Amalfi Coast, you just don’t have to share them with so many people. The Amalfi coast has over 5 million visitors per year at the moment, so you definitely want to try and avoid the peak of this as much as possible.

If you visit Positano in October and November you will find that the prices are much better than the peak seasons of summer and spring. Because fewer people are visiting, the guest houses and hotels lower their prices. September is technically autumn but can still be peak season, as it is so close to summer. Positano in October, however, should have the lovely weather and views that everyone comes for but have much better prices due to the drop in traffic volume.This is a seasonality trick to get value for your travels. You can find more travel agent insider tips in my travel hacks guide.

Have a look around on different websites for deals. There’s always a few in October to find. Great websites to check out are Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Airbnb and Hotels.com. We were able to get a great deal at Casa Teresa, and it was a beautiful guesthouse.

Positano is a beautiful village in Southern Italy. The Amalfi Coast is stunning, and you can see why it’s one of the most visited places in the world. Because of this you definitely want to go there for good weather. Being able to enjoy the beach and outdoor restaurants and bars is definitely a priority. If you go in October, you will still be able to do all of this. The weather in Positano in autumn is in the mid to low twenties with cooler evenings. During the peak of the day, if there’s sunshine, it can still be hot, so make sure you have that pretty hat with you.

November is when it starts to cool down, so if you want the sweet spot check out Positano in October. We were there in mid-October and every day was sunny with blue skies with a max of twenty-five degrees Celsius. We ate delicious gelato, had pasta lunches in the sun and sipped on cocktails as the sun set with no need of a jacket.

Positano is famous for its black sand beaches and brightly coloured beach umbrellas. Part of the appeal is definitely sunbaking or picnicking on the main beach with the town reaching far above you. It’s a beautiful sight and definitely something worth doing for relaxation. In September and October, you can still definitely go swimming in Positano. The sun was perfectly warm for sunbaking and the sea was refreshing when I went in to cool down.

So, the answer is a big yes to swimming in Positano in autumn. Don’t forget to pack your swimmers and towel. You can sunbake on the beaches for free or pay the beach bars for the use of their sun lounges and umbrellas.

As I’ve said above, the weather in Positano in autumn can be very mild and still feel summery. I wore short dresses and skirts during the day and was comfortable. During a walk around the beach, I was almost too hot and needed a swim. I’d definitely recommend sunglasses, a hat, and sunscreen for sun protection. The highest temperature might have been twenty-five degrees Celsius, but it felt like twenty-eight. Perfect gelato weather.

As soon as the sun sets the evenings begin to cool down. If you go to dinner or a bar it’s a good idea to bring a light jacket with you to slip on when you leave. Even walking around Positano at night wasn’t too bad. I had my jacket but would usually have to take it off after walking up all the stairs!

You can do almost anything in Positano in autumn that you can do in summer. It’s definitely a seasonal town, with many places closing for winter, but autumn still has several great activities.

GO SWIMMING AT THE BEACHES: As I’ve mentioned above September and October are still amazing for swimming in Positano. Bring your bathers and have a jump in the Med. The views are gorgeous, and the sea is usually calm and clear. Enjoy a cocktail at one of the beach bars while you sunbake or picnic on the beach with friends as the sun sets.

TAKE A BOAT TOUR OF THE COAST: There are many great companies in Positano offering shared or private boat tours of the Amalfi coast. The view as you pull away from Positano is simply stunning, and the rest of the coast is picture-perfect. In autumn it can still be lovely enough for a day out on the water.

CATCH A FERRY TO AMALFI, CAPRI, SORRENTO OR NAPLES: If you want less of a boat tour and more of a village-hopping adventure then catch one of the ferries to other beautiful towns on the Amalfi coast. Some ferries will be almost like a hop on hop off service, so you can see multiple villages. It is easiest to buy the tickets at the offices at the wharf. Online was difficult to use and said it was sold out when it definitely wasn’t. If you want to know more about Naples then check out my guide.

THE PATH OF THE GODS: If you’re not feeling the relaxation at the beach or the pasta siestas, then you can get active with a walk on the Path of the Gods. Like everything in Positano, there are lots of stairs, so you need some level of fitness to complete this. One of the best things about visiting Positano in autumn is that the weather is usually milder than summer, so you won’t melt while hiking the astounding views.

GO SHOPPING There is lots of shopping in Positano. A lot of it is not cheap, but there’s usually enough to meet everyone’s budget. Grab one of the beautifully painted plates or olive oil dispensers in the ceramic shops, or browse the multitude of lemon prints in the clothes shops. You can get the usual limoncello or Italian olive oil from different shops.