Stunning vacation hot spot turns into overcrowded nightmare as tourists flood streets
The Amalfi Coast draws millions of tourists each year — and the surge is now straining the region.
Footage captured on May 1 shows overwhelming crowds in Positano, a small cliffside town just south of Naples.
Tourists were seen standing still on a tight walkway, leaving little room to move.
TOURISTS SPRAYED WITH WATER GUNS BY PROTESTERS AS EUROPEAN ANTI-TOURISM TREND GROWS
Other viral videos of the overcrowded streets sparked backlash among Italian social media users.
"This is not tourism, it's disgusting," one viewer said.
"What have you become, my beloved Positano?" another mused.
"You can’t have these tour groups of 40 people taking up so much space all at once, and let all these people come in and get stuck like this," a tourist wrote.
The tourist added, "Glad we left early today. What a mess! And such a sad story for Positano, and this whole region."
Former mayor Salvatore Gagliano, owner of a local hotel, told The Telegraph that the tourist scenes are "straight out of the Third World."
"The roads are narrow," he said. "When they are blocked, there is total confusion."
The Amalfi Coast isn't uniquely overcrowded, but it feels more packed than other destinations, said Lee Abbamonte, a New York-based travel expert.
AMERICANS CHOOSING TO VISIT SMALLER TOWNS OVER BIG CITIES AS TRAVEL COSTS RISE
Abbamonte, who says he's visited every country in the world, told Fox News Digital the area "seems even more crowded because it’s a smaller place with smaller streets and less capacity for visitors."
He said they also "get a lot of day trippers coming down from Rome and Napoli. A lot of this is due to the increase in the Amalfi Coast's profile on social media. … The secret is out."
Abbamonte said he's traveling to Italy in June, and hopes to avoid crowds by going to the Aeolian Islands off Sicily instead.
The Aeolian Islands are "similar in beauty, but way lesser known," Abbamonte said.
The Amalfi Coast is becoming "more challenging" for tourists, said Jordi Lippe-McGraw, a New York-based travel expert and influencer.
"I’ve been there in the past, and while it was busy, it didn’t feel overwhelming at the time," she told Fox News Digital.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
"Now, it’s noticeably more crowded. The difference is pretty significant, especially in peak summer. What used to feel lively now often feels congested and harder to enjoy."
Lippe-McGraw suggests that tourists "go early or late in the day, book everything in advance and don’t try to do too much."
"If possible, stay in a quieter nearby town and use boats instead of driving," she said. "Adjust expectations."
Angel Castellanos, a California-based travel expert and host of "The Tour Guy" on YouTube, told Fox News Digital the coast was never built to handle millions of visitors at once.
The coast is experiencing "the collision of social media hype, cruise traffic, and post-pandemic demand, all in one of the most physically constrained destinations in Europe," he said.
Travelers seeking a serene Italian escape instead find traffic jams, long ferry lines and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds.
But Castellanos said that the Amalfi Coast is still "absolutely worth visiting."
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
"The key is planning to travel smarter," he suggested.
He recommends staying several nights instead of rushing through on a day trip.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES
"Pick small towns that aren’t on the American radar. … and don’t try to conquer the entire coastline in one day."