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Positano is a town you look down from and almost never look back at.
Everybody arrives from above, by bus or by car, and walks down. So the view you carry away is the one from the top of the ravine, over rooftops, with the dome of Santa Maria Assunta below you and the sea beyond it. It is a wonderful view and it is not the town.
The town is a vertical stack of houses in a cleft, and the only place you can see it whole is a few hundred metres offshore. Half an hour after leaving Spiaggia Grande, if you turn round, Positano is doing the thing it does in every photograph anyone has ever taken of it, and you are the only person looking at it that way.
That is what a boat here is for. Everything else about it, the swimming, the caves, the drink at sunset, is a bonus on top.
What leaves from Spiaggia Grande
The jetty is at the eastern end of the main beach, past the sunbeds, and the boats go from a row of small kiosks along the front. You can book on the day in May or September. In July and August you cannot, and people who try end up on the four o’clock departure into the afternoon chop.
Three broad shapes of trip:
- West, towards Capri. An hour and a bit across, then the island circuit. This is a long day and it is the wrong way to do Capri if you are only going once, because the crossing eats the good early hours. It is the right way if you have already seen Capri and want it again from the water.
- East, along the coast. Praiano, the Furore fjord, the Emerald Grotto, Amalfi, sometimes as far as Atrani. This is the better half of the coast for swimming and the tours stop twice for it. The shared coast tour from Positano is the standard version and the one most people want.
- Straight out and back at sunset. Two hours, no destination, a drink. The point is the light on the cliff face and the town coming on. More on that below, because it is the one I would spend money on.
Li Galli, and the sirens
Three small islands sit about three kilometres offshore from Positano, low and green and privately owned. Li Galli.
Homer put the sirens here, and the islands are called Le Sirenuse for the same reason, which is where the hotel gets its name. Rudolf Nureyev bought them in 1988 and died five years later; Massine the choreographer had them before him and built a dance studio on the main one. You cannot land. The boats go round them and slow down, and there is nothing to see beyond a villa, a jetty and some pines.
I mention them because they are on almost every itinerary and because knowing what they are changes them from three rocks into the reason this stretch of water has a name.
The swimming near them is very good and the water is deep and cold, which after a day in Positano in August is the entire point.
The sunset run
If you do one thing from a boat here, do this one.
Positano faces roughly south west, which means the sun goes down more or less in front of the town rather than behind the headland. From the water, in the last hour, the cliff face goes from grey to apricot to a genuinely absurd orange, and then the lights come on from the top of the ravine downwards, because the highest houses lose the sun first and switch on first.
It takes about two hours. There is usually prosecco and something to eat. The sunset cruise with aperitivo is the fuller version, and there is a cheaper shared sunset tour that goes to the same place at the same hour, which is worth saying plainly, because the light does not know what you paid.
What it costs, and when
Prices checked September 2026, and they move every season:
A shared half day along the coast runs roughly sixty to ninety euros a head. A full day with lunch and two swim stops, eighty to a hundred and forty. The sunset cruise, fifty to eighty. A private boat for the day, from about six hundred for up to six or eight people, which is where a group of four stops finding it ridiculous.
Ask two questions before you pay. Whether fuel is included, because on some private hires it is not. And whether the Positano landing fee is covered if you are returning by a different operator.
Season: boats run April to late October and the schedule is thickest June to September. The sea is calmest in the morning almost every day, the wind comes up after lunch, and cancellations here are about swell rather than sky. If the forecast is marginal, take the early departure, not the cheap one.
Getting on and off the boat
Spiaggia Grande has no pontoon for small craft. You board off the beach or off a low wooden jetty, stepping down onto a moving gunwale, usually with a hand from the deckhand.
It is easy enough for most people and it is genuinely awkward with a pushchair, a bad hip or a lot of luggage. There is no lift, no ramp and no alternative. If that is a concern, the boats from Amalfi harbour a few miles east use a proper quay and are far more manageable.
Bring a towel. Bring shoes you can get off quickly. Bring cash for the Grotto if your route includes it. Do not bring a hat you love.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do boat tours leave from in Positano?
From the eastern end of Spiaggia Grande, past the sunbeds, where a row of operator kiosks sits along the front. Boarding is off the beach or a low wooden jetty rather than a proper quay, so it involves a step down onto a moving boat.
How much is a boat tour from Positano?
Checked September 2026: a shared half day along the coast is roughly sixty to ninety euros a head, a full day with lunch eighty to a hundred and forty, a two hour sunset cruise fifty to eighty, and a private boat for the day from about six hundred. Ask whether fuel is included on private hires.
Is it better to do Capri or the Amalfi Coast by boat from Positano?
The coast, if you are only doing one. Capri is an hour each way from here, which eats the calm early hours, and Capri is better reached from Sorrento. Heading east along the coast gives you better swimming, the Emerald Grotto and the towns.
Can you land on Li Galli?
No. The islands are privately owned, and boats circle them and slow down rather than stopping ashore. The swimming nearby is excellent, and deep and cold, which is the real reason to go out there.
Do you need to book Positano boat tours in advance?
In May, June and late September you can usually book a day or two ahead at the kiosks. In July and August book before you arrive. The morning departures fill first and they are the ones you want, because the wind gets up after lunch.
What happens if the tour is cancelled for weather?
Operators cancel on swell rather than rain, and a reputable one will refund or move you. This is why booking early in your stay rather than on your last day matters: it gives you a second chance at the same trip.
Read also: A day on Spiaggia Grande | The best beaches in Positano | The Complete Guide to Positano
