Fornillo Beach and the cliff path

Fornillo is Positano's other beach, one headland west of the main one, and the difference is the walk: a paved path cut into the cliff that leaves the Spiaggia Grande pier, passes under the medieval Torre Trasita and runs a few hundred metres above the water before dropping onto a smaller, quieter strip of grey sand.

The path is as much the location as the beach. It has the sea directly below, the tower ahead and the town stacked behind, and it is narrow enough to feel private while being a public right of way the whole length. On the beach itself the cliffs rise close behind, so the background is rock and greenery rather than the town — a different Positano from the amphitheatre shot, and useful for exactly that reason.

Because the cove faces south-west and the headland cuts the early sun, Fornillo comes into its own in the afternoon, precisely when the main beach is at its most crowded. It stays busy in August but never approaches the Spiaggia Grande's density, and the beach clubs at the back leave a decent public stretch in front of them.