The low-cost Amalfi coast

LIKE a young Sophia Loren emerging seductively from the Mediterranean, Italy's Amalfi Coast boasts a breathtaking beauty that has long made it one of the most glamorous destinations in the world.

Divine landscapes, architectural wonders and chic villas hang perilously over azure seas.

Towns have names almost as famous as the Hollywood celebrities that frequent them: Sorrento, Positano, Ravello.

All conjure up images of heiresses sipping cocktails in exclusive hotels.

Go off-season, however, and swap flashy suites for family-run B&Bs and there is no reason why even the most cash-conscious traveller can't enjoy this region's unforgettable charms. I arrived in early spring.

Along with the autumn months, this is a wonderful time to get acquainted with this most alluring of coastlines.

The temperatures are balmy and the tourist hordes conspicuous by their absence.

After a magical hour's train ride on the Circumvesuviana line from noisy Naples, I was walking through the hazy night air in Sorrento.

A popular tourist destination for centuries, this Roman town rose to become an essential stop in every self-respecting aristocrat's "grand tour" of Europe.

Instead of being greeted by the marble reception of a plush hotel, however, I had organised a midnight rendezvous with Luigi, the night porter of my B&B.

With his set of keys jangling, he led me through the darkness to Casa Astarita, a converted convent with huge rooms and arched ceilings.

I slept with the French doors open, the contented buzz of alfresco dining on the street below lulling me to sleep.

The communal breakfast table was laden with breads, fruit and homemade jams the following morning.

After the owner had fussed over me like a malnourished son, I walked to the lovely Villa Comunale park with its palms, landscaped lawns and views of Mount Vesuvius, lying like a sleeping giant across the Bay of Naples.

Here, I drank espresso and consulted transport timetables for my whistle-stop tour of this celebrated coast. Ferries and buses run regularly between all the Amalfi towns, even off-season.

Buses are cheapest but even Jeremy Clarkson would blanch at some of the vertigo-inducing bends.

I plumped for the E9ferry and sauntered down to Sorrento's pristine marina.

On deck, the click of passengers' cameras reached a crescendo as the town of Positano came into view 20 minutes later.

Beautiful pink, white and yellow houses cling to the spectacularly steep cliffs, making it the ultimate picture-postcard town.

With a gelato in hand, I was soon ducking into the shade offered by narrow, bougainvillea-canopied walkways lined with pretty boutiques, galleries and upmarket cafés.

Walking anywhere in Positano means going almost vertically up or down and I felt as though I was at the gym as I huffed my way to the Casa Celeste B&B.

It was worth the climb. Marco's home sits majestically above the town, giving every balconied room views of the mountains behind and the sparkling waters of the Tyrrhenian below.

I spent a pleasant hour exploring the town's church of Santa Maria Assunta, working up a righteous hunger that was satisfied with the best clam linguine I've ever tasted, courtesy of Ristorante Bruno, which overlooks Positano's manicured beach.

The delightful hamlet of Nocelle, high above Positano, marks the start of the "Pathway of the Gods".

This steep path weaves along the cliffs past terraced vineyards, abandoned stone huts and trees moulded into impossible shapes by the gradient and winds.

Two hours later, I descended to the town of Praiano far below, serenaded by crickets and the clinking of mountain sheep's collars.

An ancient fishing community, Praiano is firmly off the Amalfi tourist trail and wonderful for it.

Fillippo runs B&B Locanda Costa Diva, a welcoming retreat with views over the lemon grove-embroidered headland.

Famished after my walk, I devoured a dinner of octopus and potatoes in their ristorante, lively with friendly locals.

It seemed only polite to share a few limoncellos, the local liqueur digestif made with Fillippo's own lemons.

A 20-minute bus ride the following day brought me to Amalfi itself, a once booming port from which the coastline takes its name.

Taking Sunday mass in the brightly painted Cathedral of Sant' Andrea gave me a real taste of Old Italy and set me up for Ravello, my final destination.

Tour guides like to claim it is the place where the devil tempted Christ with the beauty of the world's kingdoms.

Setting eyes on it for the first time, this seems entirely plausible.

Virginia Woolf, Gore Vidal, DH Lawrence - the list of high-profile visitors drawn by its inspirational setting is endless.

B&B I Limoni is set into the hillside below the town and surrounded, as the name suggests, by lemon trees.

Luigi and Rosa's home is a delight, with large ensuite rooms decorated by their talented daughter with hammocks dotted around the grounds.

I climbed the ancient steps back up to the town and pottered around the Moorish cloister and exotic 19th-century gardens of the Villa Rufolo, which inspired the opening scenes of Wagner's opera Parsifal.

As evening approached, I headed to the floodlit town square for some local specialty, gnocchi with tomato and mozzarella, and a glass of wine. Off-season and on budget, my own grand tour had been a resounding success.

GETTING THERE

British Airways (0844 493 0787/ www.ba.com) offers return flights from Gatwick to Naples from £187.

Casa Astarita (dialling from UK: 00 39 081 877 4906 / www.casastarita.com) offers rooms from £76, Casa Celeste (39 0898 75363 / www.casaceleste.net/index.htm) from £71, Locanda Costa Diva (39 089 813 076 / www.locandacostadiva.it) from £98 and I Limoni (39 089 858 056 / www.bb-ilimoni.com) from £62, (all two sharing, B&B). Italian State Tourist Board: 020 7408 1254 / www.italiantouristboard.co.uk