Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Capri and Ischia
A chain lost between the Positano ferry and the sand of the Spiaggia Grande
At Positano the ferries tie up at a pier that belongs to the Spiaggia Grande itself.
If the chain dropped on the pier or on the sand at Positano, a detectorist has somewhere definite to start, because the ferries land at the beach's own pier. The first thing to settle is whether it could instead have gone over the side on the way in, since that changes the odds.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Positano, Amalfi, Sorrento, Capri or Ischia with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach or the pier, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Still on the boat, or already ashore
Go back over the crossing first. If you remember the chain on your neck as the ferry came alongside, the pier and the sand come before the sea. Mark your towel on your phone's map before you leave the beach, and keep the ticket or write down the time the boat docked.
From the Positano pier across to Ischia
- Positano
- Spiaggia Grande (Marina Grande), Positano
- The ferry pier on the Spiaggia Grande, Positano
- Fornillo beach, Positano
- Arienzo beach, Positano
- Amalfi
- Marina Grande beach, Amalfi
- Molo Pennello, Amalfi
- Piazza Duomo and the old town, Amalfi
- Atrani beach
- Sorrento
- Marina Piccola, Sorrento
- San Francesco beach, Sorrento
- Marina Grande, Sorrento
- The Villa Comunale and its lift, Sorrento
- Marina di Puolo, Massa Lubrense
- Capri
- Marina Grande harbour, Capri
- The public beach at Marina Grande, Capri
- Marina Piccola, Capri
- The Piazzetta and the funicular, Capri
- Ischia
- Ischia Porto
- San Pietro beach, Ischia
- Spiaggia dei Pescatori, Ischia
- Maronti beach, Barano d'Ischia
- Sant'Angelo beach and Le Fumarole, Ischia
- Baia di Sorgeto, Forio
- Citara beach, Forio
- Chiaia beach, Forio
From the Positano pier to the bay of Maronti
Positano and Amalfi are on the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento looks out over the Gulf of Naples, and Capri and Ischia are islands in that gulf.
The Spiaggia Grande and its pier, Positano
The Spiaggia Grande, which Positano also calls Marina Grande, is the heart of the town, with the majolica dome of Santa Maria Assunta above it, and you walk down to it along Via dei Mulini. The beach has its own pier where the ferries tie up, so the first thing we ask is whether you were waiting for a boat, stepping off one, or down on the sand.
Fornillo and Arienzo, Positano
Fornillo lies in its own bay, in the part of Positano that shares its name, and you can walk there from the seafront. Reaching the water means going down long flights of steps, with stretches of free beach beside the concessions. Arienzo, known as the beach of 300 steps, sits between two high cliffs with a stairway down from the main road, and boats run to it from Positano and Praiano.
Marina Grande, the Molo Pennello and the old town, Amalfi
Marina Grande is Amalfi's own beach, sand and pebbles in front of the town, lined with lidos, bars and restaurants. The ferries leave from the Molo Pennello, where the Lungomare dei Cavalieri begins. Behind the seafront are the alleys and stairways of the old town and Piazza Duomo. At the pier, tell us whether you saw the item fall and where along it you were standing.
Atrani, next door to Amalfi
Less than a kilometre from Amalfi, Atrani has a small beach of sand and fine gravel below sheer cliffs, split in two by the Dragone stream, part free and part with bathing facilities. The piazzetta, Piazza Umberto I, opens straight onto it.
Marina Piccola and Marina Grande, Sorrento
Sorrento stands on a high cliff with Marina Piccola and Marina Grande at its feet. A lift goes down from the gardens of the Villa Comunale to Marina Piccola, where the hydrofoils and ferries leave, and just below the gardens are beach concessions and free stretches, the San Francesco beach among them. Marina Grande is a fishing village with a small sandy beach, reached from the centre through a tunnel cut into the rock. Halfway to Massa Lubrense, Marina di Puolo has pebbles, sand and a small free beach, a short walk from its car park.
Marina Grande and Marina Piccola, Capri
Boats to Capri come in at Marina Grande, where the funicular climbs to the Piazzetta, and the public beach is a short walk from the harbour. On the far side of the island, Marina Piccola has two small free beaches, one on each side of the Scoglio delle Sirene, reached by the Via Mulo steps or by bus.
San Pietro and the Spiaggia dei Pescatori, Ischia
Close to the port of Ischia, San Pietro and the Lido are large beaches with many bathing concessions. Nearer Ischia Ponte, the Spiaggia dei Pescatori still has fishermen's boats and nets on it, with the Castello Aragonese in the background, and the water is shallow.
Maronti in Barano, Citara and Chiaia in Forio
Maronti, in Barano d'Ischia, is a long bay with a footpath to it from Sant'Angelo. In Forio, Citara is the beach on the bay where one of the island's thermal gardens stands, and Chiaia is a large beach.
Sant'Angelo, Le Fumarole and Sorgeto
Sant'Angelo is a car-free fishing village with a beach of soft sand a few metres from its piazza. Le Fumarole beach lies right next to the village, and taxi boats leave from its little port. Not far away, in Panza, the Bay of Sorgeto is a crescent cove under rock walls, reached down about 200 steps, where hot water rises into hollows ringed with stones at the sea's edge.
What we do with your ferry times and pins
Ferry times
Give us the boat you took and the time it docked. Set beside your pins, that time shows the detectorist whether to start on the pier or on the sand.
Four places called Marina Grande
Positano, Amalfi, Sorrento and Capri all have a Marina Grande. Your pin settles which one you mean, and nobody sets out for the wrong town.
A day spread over two towns
Capri in the morning and Sorrento by evening? Put the whole day into one WhatsApp chat, in order, and we decide with you which stop comes first.
Costs
We explain the costs before any search is booked, whichever town or island it is.
How people get down to the water here
The way down to the sea changes from town to town, and it belongs in your message.
Stairs, lifts and a funicular
On much of this coast the water is reached down long flights of steps, as at Fornillo, or by lift and funicular, as at Sorrento and on Capri. If it may have gone on the way down, send that route too.
Where the ferries land
Positano, Amalfi, Sorrento and Capri each have a pier or harbour where the ferries come in. A loss on a pier, or on the sand beside the Positano pier, gives a search a place to start. If it went overboard in open water, it is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Questions about Positano, Amalfi, Sorrento, Capri and Ischia
The chain may have gone into the sea as the ferry came in to Positano. Should the Spiaggia Grande still be searched?
Yes, if there is a fair chance it came off after you stepped ashore. At Positano the ferries tie up at the beach's own pier, so the landing and the sand sit side by side. Try to remember whether you last felt it on deck or once you were on the pier. Send your pin, the time the boat docked, and a photo of the chain or its pendant.
An earring came out on the way down to Fornillo, or maybe on the beach.
Fornillo means going down long flights of steps, so the stairs and the sand are two stretches to cover. Say whether you walked round from the seafront or came from a bus stop or car park nearby, where you spread your towel, and when the gap on your ear was noticed. If you still have its partner, a picture of it beside a coin shows the size.
My ring came off on the Marina Grande beach in Amalfi, not far from the ferry pier.
Tell us which lido or bar you were in front of, or whether you were on the free stretch, and how near the Molo Pennello that was. Say if you swam, and whether you walked up into Piazza Duomo afterwards, because the square and the alleys may need a look too.
A wedding band came off during a swim at Marina Grande in Sorrento.
The beach at Marina Grande is small, so the part of it you were level with narrows things down quickly. Tell us where you went in, whether the water came to your waist or your shoulders, and whether the band had felt loose that day.
An Oura ring went missing between the Villa Comunale lift and the free beach at Marina Piccola in Sorrento.
The lift runs from the gardens of the Villa Comunale down to Marina Piccola and the port, and the San Francesco beach lies below the gardens. Give us the last moment you are sure it was on your finger, down on the sand or on the way back up.
My bracelet came off at the public beach by the harbour at Marina Grande on Capri.
The public beach is a short walk from the harbour where the ferries dock, so place your towel for us by the boats or the buildings behind it. If you took the funicular up to the Piazzetta before you noticed, the ride and the square count as much as the sand.
Could a watch lost in the shallows at the Spiaggia dei Pescatori, near Ischia Ponte, be found?
The water there is shallow, and fishermen still keep their boats and nets on the beach, with the Castello Aragonese in the background. Use the castle and the boats to show where you went in, say how far out you waded, and whether the strap or the clasp was the weak point.
All we know is that it was somewhere on Maronti beach.
Maronti is a bay of 3 kilometres, so the stretch you were on comes first. Tell us whether you walked over on the footpath from Sant'Angelo or reached it another way, and describe whatever stood nearest to you on the slope behind. A photo taken from your towel towards the hills helps place it.
Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Capri and Ischia
Name the beach or the pier, and the boat if there was one
Ferry days and beach days alike.
Tell us on WhatsApp which town you were in, what went missing and whether a boat came into it. The pier, the ferry time and your pin can make up the next message.