Amalfi Coast Boat Tours

From Naples you can spend an Amalfi Coast day at sea in three ways: a boat tour with a tour leader, a hydrofoil day on the public ferry, or a small boat with swim stops. The From Naples: Boat Tour of Amalfi, Positano and Ravello from HP Travel is the most-reviewed boat tour on this site, with 4.5 from 5,597 GetYourGuide reviews. It costs from $105 per person (checked October 2026), or $151 with a visit to Ravello.

Every boat day depends on the sea. NLG’s public ferries from Naples run from 1 April to early November in 2026, rough water can cancel any sailing, and road tours run all year. If you are traveling in late autumn or winter, check that your date is still on the calendar before you plan around it.

Quick picks for a day on the water

• Boat tour with the most reviews, optional Ravello visit, from $105 per person (4.5 from 5,597 reviews): View Dates & Prices or Check Tour Details
• Small boat with swim stops and drinks, up to 12 people, about 11 hours, from $195 (4.8 from 586 reviews): View Dates & Prices or Check Tour Details
• Public hydrofoil with staff and the longest time ashore, from $109 (4.2 from 984 reviews): View Dates & Prices or Check Tour Details
• NLG’s own round-trip ferry ticket, no guide, from $83 (4.0 from 1,040 reviews): View Dates & Prices or Check Tour Details

Boat tour or ferry: what you pay for

The ferry is public transport. NLG’s hydrofoils leave Molo Beverello in central Naples on a fixed timetable, some calling at Capri or Sorrento on the way, and an adult one-way fare to Amalfi is €32.50 on NLG’s own price list. Nobody guides you, an outside deck seat is not guaranteed, and you choose how long to stay in each town within the timetable. Our Naples to Amalfi ferry guide and Naples to Positano ferry guide cover departures, fares and tickets.

A boat tour adds the pickup, a route that hugs the Sorrento coast with commentary, a tour leader and set free time. On HP Travel’s days you board at the port of Torre del Greco after a short coach ride, and you get headsets, life jackets and toilets on board. Food and drinks are extra. A few reviewers felt the guided part was thin for the price and that a ferry ticket would have cost far less; others waited at the port in the sun before boarding. If commentary and a fixed plan matter less to you than flexibility, the ferry is the cheaper choice.

Four ways to spend the day at sea

HP Travel runs two near-identical days. The featured tour gives you 3.5 hours in Amalfi and 1 hour in Positano, over 8 to 10 hours. Choose the Ravello option and the Amalfi stop splits into 1 hour in Amalfi and 1 hour in Ravello, which you reach by minibus. Its sister day, the Amalfi and Positano Boat Tour with Free Time, has the same 3.5 hours in Amalfi and 1 hour in Positano, from $105 (4.6 from 195 reviews), or $94 if you join near Ercolano, Portici or Torre del Greco. One reviewer counted more than four hours from pickup to arrival in Amalfi, so expect a long morning.

You Know! Boat’s Positano and Amalfi Boat Tour with Drinks is the swim day. A minivan takes you from Piazza Garibaldi to the port of Piano di Sorrento, and the boat stops for swimming and snorkeling, with alcoholic and soft drinks and dry snacks on board, before 2 hours in Amalfi and a stop in Positano. Groups are capped at 12. Bring cash for the €10 destination fee, and your own snorkel gear unless you want to pay €15 for a mask and €9 for a snorkel. You are back in Naples no earlier than 20:00 to 20:15, and the operator says it is not suitable for cruise passengers. Reviewers’ main complaint is the van: more than two hours back to Naples after the boat. Its Viator twin, Small Group Amalfi Coast Boat Tour from Naples with Light Lunch, lists lunch among its inclusions, from $217 (4.8 from 551 reviews on Viator).

Worldtours’ Positano & Amalfi Full-Day Cruise from Naples puts you on the public hydrofoil with a staff member: about 105 minutes to Amalfi, a little over 3 hours there, 20 minutes to Positano, about 2 hours 20 minutes there and 80 minutes back. Seats cannot be reserved, and some reviewers found it no different from a ferry ticket.

The NLG ticket itself, the Ferry to Amalfi and Positano, covers one of two fixed circuits, Amalfi first or Positano first. Bought leg by leg at NLG’s adult fares, the same three crossings come to €77.50.

Boat rides added to road tours

Several road tours put you on the water for part of the day, which suits you if you want the drive and a short sea view. On the classic Sorrento, Positano & Amalfi Premium Tour you can add a boat ride in Amalfi for €15 on site, or book the $89 option instead of $71. Naples Bay Tour’s Official Tour with boat ride costs $93 with a shared ride of about 30 minutes, against $79 without, and refunds €15 if the sea cancels it.

TRAMVIA’s Positano & Amalfi day trip crosses from Positano to Amalfi by ferry from 1 April to 31 October and by bus from November to March. Our day trips page compares the road days in full.

Season, sea and seasickness

In 2026 NLG’s Naples timetables are headed 1 April to 15 November, but most individual departures stop on 3 November, so plan on the season ending in early November. In rough seas hydrofoils can be suspended, and the captain or the Coast Guard has the final word on the day. GetYourGuide’s free cancellation runs up to 24 hours before, and You Know! Boat offers another date or a full refund when weather stops the trip.

If you get seasick, think twice: the Worldtours hydrofoil day lists itself as unsuitable for people prone to it. For a swim, the sea off the Neapolitan Riviera averages about 26 °C in August and 21.5 °C in October.

Which boat day to book

Book HP Travel’s featured day if you want the sea route, a tour leader and long free time in Amalfi for $105. Pay $46 more for Ravello only if you are happy to trade most of your Amalfi time for its gardens. Choose the You Know! Boat day if swimming and a group of 12 matter more to you than the $195 price and an 11-hour day. The Worldtours hydrofoil day or the NLG ticket suit you if you want the most time ashore and are comfortable on a crowded public ferry.

Cruise passengers should start with our shore excursions page, because return time decides everything on a port day. When you have a date, check availability for the HP Travel boat tour.