We went to the Amalfi Coast during peak summer season. These 4 tips made our trip better — but there's one mistake I won't make again.

• My family visited the Amalfi Coast during the peak summer season, and it was hot and crowded.
• I was glad we didn't deal with the hassle of renting a car, and we had comfy shoes.

When I planned my family's trip to Southern Italy — including a stop at the Amalfi Coast — for the end of July, I knew enough to expect it'd be hot and crowded.

July and August are some of the warmest months for the area, and it's famously a crowded tourist hot spot that can get expensive to visit throughout summer. I also saw many videos online of unprepared tourists lugging suitcases up cliffside steps in the heat and fighting for an inch of elbow room at famous sights throughout the region.

But I'd always wanted to visit, and I had to work around my kids' school vacation schedules. So off we went in peak season.

Although we made many happy memories, we also encountered plenty of discomfort. Here are four things that helped make our trip better — and one thing I wouldn't do next time.

Regularly taking our food to go saved us money

If you're ready to get off your feet and have the time to enjoy a restaurant experience, do it. But if you're just feeling peckish for a quick snack, eating it as you stroll can save you a few euros.

That's because some restaurants tack on a coperto, or an additional cover fee for a dine-in experience — even if you're grabbing a quick coffee or gelato at a sidewalk table.

It doesn't seem like much, but the name of the game for budget-conscious travelers is saving a few euros wherever you can. And did I mention how expensive this destination can get during high season?

I was glad we didn't rent a car

There are so many iconic sights around the Amalfi Coast, all packed into what seems like a feasible number of kilometers to traverse in a few days' time.

Renting a car is possible, but this area is not casual road-trip territory unless you're adventurous, fearless, and well-insured.

Many roads felt treacherous because they were narrow and perched above dramatic cliffs leading to the sea. Sometimes, they were one-way only.

If you're not staying in one location and plan to explore the area mostly by foot, I'd recommend hiring a driver (as we did) or arranging some other organized tour.

Packing fashionably but practically was key

The Amalfi Coast is like a fashion show in high season — a feast for the eyes of chic coastal Italian style.

But with the heat and cliffside topography, you must pack for practicality as well or pay for the choice with discomfort.

I was glad we packed breathable clothing that could withstand the stifling heat and humidity.

Comfortable footwear is also crucial because the beautiful path to Positano is steep, with lots of ramps and stairs. Some of the beaches have pebbles instead of sand, so consider packing water shoes or other supportive footwear, too.

Eating a lot of pizza was also a great idea for our wallets

Pizza is abundant, authentic, and downright delicious in the region, but there's a less obvious reason to eat a ton of it on the Amalfi Coast: It's cheap.

Prices around tourist hubs in this region felt sky-high, especially in busy season. Our accommodations, transportation, souvenirs, and meals added up, but we tried to save where we could.

At many places we ate, pizza was the cheapest item on the menu by a landslide. Fortunately, it's also a crowd-pleaser for our whole family, so sharing it felt like a true cost-saving strategy.

Still, I wish we hadn't overbooked and tried to do too much

Our Airbnb in Sorrento was our hub from which we'd visit the Amalfi Coast and surrounding area on day trips. This was a good move. Trying to pack a ton of activities into a few days amid hectic crowds and intense heat was not.

I'd booked many excursions online in advance but found my family was just too tired to do several of them. Unfortunately, I was on the hook to pay for them even if we didn't show up.

In fact, my husband and daughter opted out of our semi-private boat trip to Capri because they simply couldn't wake up in time. (They ended up getting FOMO and meeting the rest of my family there later on the ferry, meaning we paid double. Fail.)

I found if you try to do too much, you'll just exhaust yourself — at the expense of a fun or meaningful experience.

If I did this trip again, I'd plan to check off fewer of the so-called "can't miss" sights so I could spend more time relaxing and absorbing the scenery and local culture with a spritz in hand.