Villa Cimbrone Gardens in Ravello, Italy

How to get to Villa Cimbrone Gardens

In order to get to Villa Cimbrone, you have to get to Ravello. In order to get to Ravello, you will have to get yourself to Italy. The best airport to fly into is Naples Airport (NAP), followed by taking a train to the city of Salerno. If you want a cheaper option, you can go by bus.

• Take the SITA 5000 bus to Salerno from Naples City Center

• Take the SITA 5003 bus to Salerno from Naples Airport

• *There is also a Direct Bus that goes from Naples to Amalfi, however it runs 1-2 times daily and takes 2 hours. Just look for SITA bus 5020.*

Then from Salerno, you can:

1. Take a ferry from Salerno to Amalfi (the ferry also stops at Vietri Sul Mare, Cetara, Minori, Maiori, and Positano).

   • Followed by taking SITA bus number 5110 to Ravello.

2. Take SITA bus number 5120 from Salerno bus station to Amalfi.

   • Followed by taking SITA bus number 5110 to Ravello.

3. Take a taxi direct to Ravello.

Option #2 is the cheapest option and the one we ended up doing. We rarely take taxis if public transport is available. You can get bus tickets at any Tabacchi in Italy, but usually only with cash.

The path to the Villa Cimbrone gardens is marked from the Ravello center. You can’t miss it.

When to visit the Villa Cimbrone Gardens

The Villa Cimbrone gardens are open most days between 9am to 5pm (last arrivals allowed to enter at 4:30pm). With that said, the best time of day is definitely morning as there will be less people, plus you may find yourself in a situation where the cloud cover in the area sits below the many viewpoints of the gardens. This makes for such amazing photos as it feels like you are in the sky.

Furthermore, you can also choose to stay until the gardens close in the hopes of getting a bit softer light from the sun, shining onto the grounds.

The time we visited was in the middle of summer, during a heatwave. This means that many of the plants and trees were full of fruit and lush vegetation, so we definitely feel that we saw the Villa Cimbrone gardens at its most plentiful. I also imagine that late spring and early autumn are also wonderful times to go since the temperatures will still be ok and most of the vegetation will still be intact.

Photographing the Villa Cimbrone Gardens

Upon entering Villa Cimbrone gardens, you will receive a map showing you the different ways you can meander about. I prefer to just go as I please and enjoy the gardens in a roundabout way. Most of the quant scenes you will see can be easily captured with a standard focal length lens, 24-70 mm. In some cases, a wide angle lens of around 10 mm can also be quite useful.

When you reach the viewpoint that contains many busts of prominent figures of the past, you can see different parts of the Amalfi coastline. This is where I would recommend using your telephoto lens, 70-300 mm, to capture other Amalfi villages from above (perfect if you don’t have a drone).

As far as drones are concerned, I do believe that Villa Cimbrone gardens does not give permission for flights, as it would affect the overall aesthetic of the grounds. But double check and I could be wrong. Nonetheless, most of the Amalfi Coast is legal for flying drones, Ravello included, so check the relevant drone maps through the Italian authorities to plan your flights.

Overall though, I don’t believe that a drone will fully be able to capture the beauty of the Villa Cimbrone gardens as well as a trusty DSLR.

Happy shooting!

Purchasing Photos

Conclusion and Further Resources

These gardens are not just gardens, Villa Cimbrone is also a hotel accommodation. So if you would like to immerse yourself in such a gorgeous landscape, sitting atop the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast, then this is the place. More information can be found on their official website.

If you want to read more about places to see and what to photograph in the Amalfi Coast as well as Italy as a whole, check out my blog posts below.

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