Picture this: you’ve saved for months to see the legendary Amalfi Coast. You arrive in Positano, expecting a postcard. Instead, you’re trapped in a human gridlock, barely able to breathe.
That’s exactly what happened on May 1. Footage shows a narrow cliffside walkway in Positano totally jammed with tourists, standing still, unable to move an inch. There’s no room to lift a camera, let alone enjoy the view.
The video went viral—and it sparked rage among Italians. “This is not tourism, it’s disgusting,” one viewer wrote. Another lamented: “What have you become, my beloved Positano?”
A frustrated tourist on the scene added: “You can’t have tour groups of 40 people taking up all the space at once. Glad we left early. What a mess!”
Even the former mayor, Salvatore Gagliano, who owns a local hotel, called the scene “straight out of the Third World.” He explained: “The roads are narrow. When they’re blocked, there’s total confusion.”
Travel expert Lee Abbamonte, who has visited every country on Earth, says the Amalfi Coast feels more suffocating than other overcrowded spots because it’s tiny. “Smaller streets, less capacity—and tons of day trippers pouring in from Rome and Naples,” he explains.
He blames social media for exploding the region’s fame. “The secret is out,” he says. Now the coast is drowning in “the collision of social media hype, cruise traffic, and post-pandemic demand.”
Another expert, Jordi Lippe-McGraw, visited before the boom. “It was busy, but not overwhelming,” she recalls. “Now it’s noticeably more crowded. What used to feel lively now feels congested and hard to enjoy.”
She urges smart planning: go early or late in the day, book everything ahead, and don’t try to conquer the whole coastline in one day. Better yet, stay in a quieter town and use boats instead of cars.
Angel Castellanos, host of a popular travel channel, agrees the coast was never built for millions of visitors. Yet he insists it’s still “absolutely worth visiting.” The trick? Spend several nights there instead of rushing through.
And for those desperate to escape the crush, Abbamonte is heading to the Aeolian Islands off Sicily this June. “Similar beauty,” he says, “but way lesser known.”
The Amalfi Coast isn’t ruined—but it’s changed. The magic is still there, buried under a sea of selfie sticks and day-tripper buses. You just have to know how—and when—to find it.
