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Picture this: A beautiful Italian city over looking the Mediterranean sea, yet also in the mountains. You have to blink twice just to make sure you are not dreaming. The view is breathtaking. Quaint little colorful cliffside houses stacked on top of each other are draped off the jagged cliffs. Delicious food and wine can be enjoyed while admiring fishing boats in the calm sea? Sound like a place you would want to visit? Positano Positano is a little town on the Almafi Coast of Italy. The Almalfi coast actually consists of lot of small towns/villages. I suggest visiting Positano which has one of the largest stretches of beach. Getting there From Naples you can take a train to Sorrento (1 hour, about $3), and then a bus to Positano.!Beware the bus ride! Yes, it is beautiful, but the roads are torturous. There are small curvy roads along the side of the mountain. From the bus window you can look down all the way to the bottom where the cliffs meet the ocean. If you are prone to carsickness or fear of heights you might want to take along some Dramamine and a blindfold. If you can survive the bus ride you will see that it is quite worth it in order to enjoy the beauty of Positano. Where to stay If you are a budget traveler I suggest staying in the youth hostel. Positano is known as the place where many rich people vacation. Therefore, hotels are pretty expensive. I was there in the summer of 99. At that time there was only one youth hostel. I'm pretty sure it was called Hostel Positano or something like that. This place was pretty nice. It was more expensive than other hostels in the other cities I was in. We paid about $20-30/per person/per night. They had separated rooms for men and women. Each one had bunk beds and slept about 8 people. The bathrooms were nice. I remember one of my best showers while traveling was there. The hostel is on a hill overlooking the beach. They had a nice deck to hang out on. Unfortunately this hostel did have a lockout (time when no one can be at the hostel) from 11:30am-5pm. What do do Positano is pretty relaxing. There are lots of little fashion shops. You can go hike down to the beach. I suggest you bring water with you. It is about 800 steps down to the beach that wind through the houses and cobblestone streets. Getting down there isn't so hard, but on the back up? The beaches are rocky, so bring along some good sandals. Also, there are not really that many places to sit unless you rent one of the beach chairs. So, plan on that extra cost. On this beach nudity is allowed. Just a warning if you take offense to that or have little kids. Food The food is wonderful. There is lots of really good seafood. One restaurant I recommend is Ristorante Bruno (Via C. Colombo, 157, tel- 089-875392). Two of us ate good sized dishes and wine for about $20 total. Down the street from the hostel is a little market/grocery store. If you are on a budget you can go here and buy some stuff to make sandwiches or salads. So.. If you plan on going to Italy, Positano is one place not to be missed. I have traveled to many countries and this is one of my 2 favorite beaches.