Background
During Thanksgiving week 2025, our family took a trip to Italy! November is a tricky time to travel with weather, but the prices and crowds convinced us to go. Ben and I had been before without kids (link) but this time we decided to take the kids! We loved spending a few days in Rome with some history and museums and then took the train down to Naples/Amalfi Coast area where we explored the cities in that area, including an epic visit to Pompei. We love European travel as it always has family-friendly towns, easy navigating with trains and so much history and beauty. Traveling internationally with kids can be daunting but with a little preparation and research and tips from other travelers, we had a successful trip!
This post covers our days in the Amalfi Coast area with Salerno as our home base.
For more on our Italy Adventure, see our posts here
- Italy Adventures with Kids- Rome and Amalfi Coast Itinerary and Logistics
- 3 days in Rome with Kids
- 3 days Amalfi Coast Itinerary for Families
After our three action-packed days in Rome, we took the high-speed train south to Salerno, the perfect base for exploring the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, and Naples.
Salerno is the Cutest!
We knew we wanted to see the Amalfi Coast, but we preferred a base that felt less like a tourist trap and more like a real Italian town. Salerno was the perfect fit. It felt like we were part of regular life here-with walkable streets and alleys and real people with their cute running clubs and vibes. It didn’t feel overrun with tourists.
Apartment home base
Housing here was incredibly cheap in chilly November! We booked a Mini Apartment at Il Salernitano (via Booking.com) for a steal at about $80 a night. It had decent space, with 2 bedrooms, and a mini kitchen. It didn’t really have a dining or living space but that’s ok, the kids enjoyed setting up their Nintendo switch on some down times. The location of the apartment was an easy walk or bus ride to the main train station and port, and definitely met our needs.
Our 3 day itinerary in the Amalfi Coast
Day 1: Arrival in Salerno
We arrived early afternoon in Salerno after a train from Rome. One of the reasons we picked Salerno was for the Luci d’ Artista Christmas lights. This was a magical bonus of visiting in the winter months. From mid-November to early February, Salerno hosts a spectacular Christmas light display. The streets and park are lined with beautiful light installations such as jellyfish, clouds, flowers, and dinosaurs. It felt like a low-key version of the cool light projections we’ve seen in places like Chartres and Innsbruck. Definitely check the dates if you visit in winter!
Because it was raining when we arrived, we decided to do some exploring at the Salerno Archeology Museum: Not a must-do, but it was a fun, free, short stop right in town to break up the afternoon. We didn’t spend a whole lot of time exploring Salerno except for the lights. One thing I wished I had done ahead of time was to make reservations at La Botte Pazza: I found a recommendation for this restaurant with all-you-can-drink wine! We missed out because we didn’t book ahead. We ate close by at other restaurants and had great pizza, pasta and steak options.
Day 2: Naples Visit
Because of some yucky rain, we pivoted our plans and decided that indoor museums in Naples (about an hour’s train ride from Salerno) were the best use of the day. A mini umbrella would be a great item to pack if you have room!
Morning: Naples National Archaeological Museum (MANN)
We skipped a lot of museum time in Rome because all of the sites were really outdoor museums. We really enjoyed this museum in Naples as a rain option. This archeological museum houses the best artifacts recovered from Pompeii, giving us context before seeing the ruins themselves. Every exhibit had English signage, which helped us read up on the history. We used the Rick Steves audio guide here, too! (Just the transcripts) The downstairs statues were beautiful. We especially liked the Roman Gods room, which features the massive Hercules statue and the impressive Farnese Bull. Near the stairs, there was a cool video about the House of Faun. It made our later visit to the actual site in Pompeii come to life.
Kid-Tip: Bathrooms are in the basement! Use the elevator rather than trying to wrangle kids down the stairs.
Pizza Lunch & Afternoon Wandering
We grabbed pizza along a Via dei Tribunali where there were tons of choices. We went to the famous Gino Sorbillo on Via dei Tribunali. This was the best pizza of the entire week! It was packed and busy but worth the wait.
We briefly considered the science museum outside the city but decided the 30-minute commute wasn’t worth the time investment. Sometimes, cutting an activity is the smartest move!
Sunset at Castel Sant'Elmo
After a late lunch, we walked towards the Castel Sant’Elmo. This castle is mostly just a viewpoint, but it was half-price after 4 PM! (Don’t be like us and accidentally walk all the way around the castle to get to the top!) Look for the elevator to go up. Even with the rain, the views of the Bay of Naples were spectacular. We took a funicular down and had pasta near the Napoli train station before heading back to Salerno.
Day 3: Gorgeous Amalfi Coast Views
Boat Itinerary
We planned a full-day ferry trip with Travelmar for about €142 total, aiming for:
9:40 AM Salerno to Positano
Short time in Positano
1:30 PM Positano to Amalfi
Short time in Amalfi
4:30 PM last ride back to Salerno
Our boat to Positano was canceled due to weather, so we ended up with a simple 9:40 AM ferry straight to Amalfi and spent the full six hours exploring the area.
The views from the ferry were absolutely stunning and reminded us a bit of Cinque Terre.
Hiking to Nearby Towns
We had planned to take a bus up to Villa Cimbronne, but we decided we really wanted to explore on foot. We walked towards Atrani and got happily lost wandering the houses, climbing hills and stairs halfway up toward Ravello. It was fun until it wasn’t! We dipped our toes in the water near Atrani before heading back.
Exploring Amalfi
When we got back to Amalfi, we stopped for a delicious pasta lunch at Ristorante Pizzeria Il Teatro. It was just off the beaten path and hit the spot.
Amalfi is famous for lemons! The lemon sorbet is the recommended snack, but we weren’t feeling it, so we skipped it. A reminder that you don’t have to do everything on the “must-try” lists! We just grabbed some lemon-themed souvenirs instead.
After a fun day, we took the boat back to Salerno and spent some time in the city exploring the Christmas lights.
Day 4: Vesuvius, Pompeii, and up to Rome
Our final day was a logistical marathon, combining a hike, ancient history, and a major travel day. We heavily researched this day, and were advised against it several times, but we made it work!
Morning: Vesuvius Hike
We started with Vesuvius, knowing we could shorten Pompeii if we needed to.
From Salerno to Pompeii, we took an early train from Salerno (45 minutes) to the main Trenitalia Pompei station near the south side of the city. This was the most convenient station for us coming from Salerno, but if you’re coming from Naples or Sorrento, the Scavi-Villa dei Misteri has more amenities (including free baggage) We stored our bags for €25. We then walked 10 minutes towards the bus stop for the EAV 808 bus to Vesuvius. IMPORTANT: This bus is CASH ONLY! (€4 per person each way) The bus was a little late but took about 50 minutes. We arrived right at 11:00 AM for our ticketed entry time.
You need to get Vesuvius tickets ahead of time online. These are released 30 days ahead. If tickets are sold out, check for details on the last minute tickets: There are specific tickets that can be on-site using the entrance wi-fi.
We hiked 30 minutes up, spent 20 minutes at the top (didn’t walk around the full crater), and 20 minutes down. The hike wasn’t too bad, and the view was the reward! At the top, there’s a small store when you can get a drink (including wine) We took the 12:40 PM bus back down.
Afternoon: Exploring Pompeii (2 Hours)
After coming down from Vesuvius, we grabbed some quick pizza for lunch. (Time check 1:30p-2:30p) Gotta load up on carbs for more ancient exploration!
We then headed into the ruins. Our strategy was to use the Marina entrance and hit just a few key spots from our paper map: the Forum, where the casts are displayed, the famous House of Faun, and the theaters. Pompeii Tickets: Adult entry was €18.00, but kids under 18 were free!
The stepping stones were the highlight of Pompei. It wasn’t the temple or buildings, but the crosswalks lol. We used the Rick Steves transcript to learn about the stepping stones which acted as ancient crosswalks that let people get above flooded streets. The kids absolutely loved hopping across these huge stones (and doing a bridge pose, because of course).
The mosaics in the House of Faun were incredible, too, especially since we had seen the video about it at the Naples museum just the day before. We also had both kids do some background reading prior/during the trip including I survived and the book Escape from Pompeii. The kids recapped the story of the two star-crossed lovers, Felix and Thalia, who fell in love and run away just before the eruption. It was really fun hearing the kids treat the historical fiction as true. It made the mosaics extra cool.
Evening: Back to Rome
We exited the Pompeii site just on schedule around 4:30 PM, which was a good amount of time and made our way back to the station to grab our bags so we could head to Naples for the connection back to Rome.
We had planned to catch the 4:50 PM train from Pompeii to Naples, but unfortunately, a train strike canceled our ride! So we had the chance to do a different kind of history lesson and taught the kids about organized labor. We had to wait an extra hour for the 5:50 PM replacement train to Naples, but we were flexible and resilient (and the gelato break helped).
This unexpected delay pushed our entire schedule back, and we didn’t arrive back in Rome until a brutal 9 PM after the 45 min train to Naples, 15 minute connection, 1 hour to Rome, and an extra 45 minutes from the termini station to get to our hotel location
Since we had an early morning departure the next day, we prioritized convenience to the airport. We checked into the Holiday Inn EUR Parco dei Medici. While it was conveniently located near the FCO airport (which was the whole point!), trying to get there late at night from the city center after a long day of travel was exhausting. We grabbed dinner at the hotel that night and used their complimentary breakfast the next morning before heading to the airport.
More Italy
For more on our Italy Adventure, see our posts here
