Amalfi coast

At that time of year, the Travelmar ferries will be in operation, weather permitting. Alternatively, there are buses and taxis.

The answer probably depends partly on where you want to go. Can you provide some details on that? And have you decided where you will be staying?

We will be staying in an Airbnb near Skala. We would like to travel to nearby towns such as Positano, Sorrento, and Ravello. Are taxis large enough to handle a group of eight people?

This is a high priced tourism area, and vehicle trips can be slow, running up the provider's costs (and return-empty costs). I am sure you have chosen a very attractive place, but the only "good" place for daytrips to everywhere is the pedestrian resort of Sorrento, just west of the real Amalfi Coast. There are van taxis, but they might cost more. And remote locations have fewer car service options. There will still be heavy traffic on the only two-lane road in the area, in September.

Even if you don't pay for waiting time (say, at Pompeii), it could easily cost over 200 Euros for each of two trips. (Did not do research on that number!)

Welcome to the forum!

We will be staying in an Airbnb near Skala. We would like to travel to
nearby towns such as Positano, Sorrento, and Ravello. Are taxis large
enough to handle a group of eight people?

I assume you mean SCALA which is in the mountains next to Ravello - limited bus service there.

How will you get there and where are you coming from?

Driving on AC is never recommended.
To get to Positano you would need to get down to Amalfi and take a ferry or bus to Positano.
Ravello would be a short bus ride- you may need to transfer here to get anywhere down on the coast.
For Sorrento- bus to Amalfi then ferry to Sorrento.

Taxis normally fit 4- you would have to arrange for larger van transport for a party of 8. Taxis are famously overpriced on AC. It will not be cheap!
It might be worth your while to hire a driver- cost spilt by 8 could be affordable.
There are many but here is one we used in the area
www.topexcursionsorrento.com

Transportation around the AC is chaotic, crowded, inefficient, slow. There are many threads here discussing this issue- do some searches and research.

Bus & Ferry schedules
https://www.positano.com/en/bus-schedule
https://www.positano.com/en/t/positano/sorrento

and lots of general info on this particular website-
https://www.positano.com/en/e/how-to-get-here

You might want to rethink where you stay.
Amalfi and Sorrento are the transportation hubs for the whole area- I would choose one of them- or maybe split your stay between the 2 depending on how many nights you have.

We are also considering massa lubrense. Would that be a better option?
Thanks for everyone’s help and insight

Massa Lubrense
No ferry access
Limited bus service
Not on AC

Look at Maiori
Ferry, bus, a bit less busy/crowded
Easy to get to/from Salerno -direct trains to Naples, Rome, Paestum

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/travel-news/june-2024/hi-from-rick

@Short

Have stayed for 3 days in late September in Massa Lubrense at an agriturismo. http://www.lalobra.it/inglese2019.html

My experience. Thoroughly delightful. Italian breakfast under the lemon trees looking west over the Marina Della Lobra into Tyrrhenian Sea and onto the Isle of Capri. This is agriculture land not urbane dwelling as elsewhere along Amalfi. Did a couple of early morning walks down to the marina and chatted with some of the locals out working on the olive and lemon harvest. On my last day chanced upon a fishing boat crew who were taking a break after unloading a catch of mackerel (sardines) for local fish mongers and restaurants. Invited me to share their cheese, salami, and local rough red wine. Made fun of the Lombardian Italian dialect I had been schooled in back in Perth. Taught me some useful southern dialect insults to use on my friends back home. Used them to riotous laughter back home. Did the obligatory ferry to Capri.

Got on well with the hosts. They insisted that we have our last evening meal with them. I do not remember it being included in the bill.

Do not know about public transport in this area as we always lease cars.

Been to Amalfi Coast a few times. Here is my recent experience. 6 adults and 2 children. 2 cars.

4 Days this past April at Agerola looking over Positano. In years past have dined on the balcony at the Belvedere Restaurant, Caruso Ravello as the sun sank into the west and a full moon rose in the east. Do not think you will find this one in Steve’s travel books. This time eat at Agerola and in private homes mostly. Had the little town of Pogerola, https://www.summerinitaly.com/guide/pogerola#google_vignette high above Amalfi Town recommended. We were recommended to go at sunset for the experience. A local gentleman helped us park our cars and my son and grandson were invited to play a game of bocce, while my BIL and I dropped into Gerry’s Pub for a pre-dinner beer.

La Capannina. Where apparently the locals from the coast go to eat. Maybe we struck a good night. Genuine home style Italian cuisine that did not have the taste of re heated earlier prepared food that one so often comes across in aggressively marketed tourist regions. Marvelous vista to the southeast along the coast. Enhanced as dusk fell and the lights of the towns began to twinkle down the coast and across the bay at Marina d’Archie.
https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Restaurant_Review-g187780-d1532587-Reviews-La_Capannina-Amalfi_Amalfi_Coast_Province_of_Salerno_Campania.html
For those who need of the reassurance of previous eaters.

No idea how to get there by public transport.

Have never used public transportation here. The slow driving does not annoy me. Parking requires patience.

Actually, my family has banned me from driving here. Too aggressive and cavalier is their reasons. Your compatriots appear to have had some bad experiences. Follow their recommendations.

Never been on a ferry in this bay, but the view on a nice day from the deck on a sailing yacht all along this coast to Naples and north is wonderful.

Regards Ron

Oceanfront Atrani would be ideal— it’s right next door to the town of Amalfi with its ferry connections to Positano, Sorrento, Capri, and Salerno. The ferries actually are faster than the buses which transport throngs of people in season.

The best views of the Amalfi Coast are from offshore and that’s what makes the ferries the way to go for transportation—they’re both a practical way to get around and scenic. They also let you relax by giving the crazy traffic on the Amalfi Coast a miss.
The fastest route to beachside Atrani takes the 35-minute ferry from Salerno to Amalfi and then a short, ten-minute walk through the pedestrian tunnel to Atrani. Salerno has high-speed train service from Rome via Naples. The ferry from Amalfi to Sorrento takes between 60-90minutes. Ferries from Amalfi to Capri take one hour.
Staying in Atrani means walking ten minutes from the ferry port and bus stop in Amalfi just next door. If you stay in Scala- you have to either hoof it or hire taxis every time you need to ascend 1,200 feet from sea level to reach Scala.

Atrani, a fishing village with just a thousand residents, has been named the “Least Touristy town on the Amalfi Coast.”

The fastest route to beachside Atrani takes the 35-minute ferry from
Salerno to Amalfi and then a short walk through the pedestrian tunnel
to Atrani.

Next April, we are basing in Salerno for 3 nights. One day, we've hired a driver to take the 4 of us to Vietri Sul Mare, Ravello & Minori. If the weather's nice (and the ferry's operational), we may want to take a second day to visit Amalfi & then walk to Atrani, because what you've described seems to be relatively painless. I will look it up but from those that have been, is Atrani worth a look-see?

I just watched the great Netflix film noir drama Ripley, and the parts shot in Atrani appear to have tons of stairs...but I realize that's indicative of the A.C.!

You may wish to discuss and define (among the 8) just what are your objectives? And how different they are among 8 people? The 2 of us slept 5 nights in purpose-built resort Sorrento because it has the best daytrip transportation. Worked out great.

Beach many days ( look up climate data and nearest beach size and pebbles or sand.)
Taste the "good life" of Positano.
Dining out often
View from the rental, and its pool
Nightlife and partying
Serious visits, like Pompeii, Capri, Paestum
Art and world history in Naples
Living like a local (whatever that means!)
Seeing "rural" Italy
Avoiding mass tourism like Sorrento
Serious hiking or outdoor sports

Have you looked into how long it will take to get to your rental, and where else you will sleep, the night before you fly home?

We stayed in Minori. We took the ferry from Salerno instead of coming down from Sorrento. We were there the last week of June and it wasn't crowded at all. I would recommend you find a similar town where the ferry stops, that isn't one of the main international tourist hubs. With a group, it is best to position yourself somewhere convenient and let people plan their own day trips.

I have posted my thoughts on another post but here goes:

Can I ask what age bracket you are in? I am F, 70+, solo and only use public transpo. Will be on the AC Nov 3-8. Was originally going to stay in Sorrento but was going to spend all my time on the AC and found out some strange info that Sorrento was some what revived after WWII. So I cancelled my apt and decided to stay in the Hotel Fontana, Amalfi right at the bottom of all the AC hills and in front of the bus depot. Buses go west to Positano, etc and east to Ravello, Atrani, etc. It is a main transfer point.

I would have loved to stay in Positano (Under the Tuscan Sun) but did not want to expend a lot of energy going up and down the steep hills before I even got where I was going to have to climb up after a day of sightseeing. Check out directferries.com for all the ferries/times/fares. Enjoy

Was originally going to stay in Sorrento but was going to spend all my
time on the AC and found out some strange info that Sorrento was some
what revived after WWII.

Janet, can you explain what the "strange" information you referenced is? Sorrento isn't a sleepy little town and hasn't been for quite some time (we've stayed there). It's a lively and important transport hub for ferries around the Sorrentine and AC during the warmer months, and for commuter rail to/from Naples, Pompeii and some other destinations. It's served by bus service as well, and the town center is fun for browsing the shops in the evening when a few of the streets are closed to vehicular traffic.

short1557, I'll agree with the advice to discuss the prime sightseeing objectives and personal budgets of the group before settling on a base. Taxis are expensive in this region, driving and parking aren't necessarily easy, and your group of 8 may not have the same ideas for how they want to spend their time. You may very well want to choose a base less isolated than Scala to allow people to more easily come and go on their own + access some of the attractions and activities that appeal to them.

I dare say that Sorrento is more important to the peninsula during the off-season, November through March. For our purposes in early March 2017, it was much more vibrant and available--with a plethora of high-quality, reasonably-priced restaurants open--than anything on the Amalfi Coast itself, and that includes Amalfi-town & Positano, which are pretty deserted off-season. We were able to take an uncrowded SITA bus across the peninsula to Positano and wander, finding one little wonderful cafe open. Then we simply took the bus back to Sorrento.

Nothing 'strange' about it. I love Sorrento.

The OP’s group is going during high season in September.

I hope the OP returns to let us know how all this advice is being taken

It seems everyone is divided on renting a car and driving on AC. Does anyone know if parking is easier in September?
Thanks, Dave

Dave, September is still high season on the AC. It'll be VERY busy, and I can't imagine parking and heavy-traffic challenges would be any fewer than in the summer months.

Ditto what Kathy said

You know, this newsboard has recently cautioned members (to abbreviate ... ) not to be too negative towards questions that betray, perhaps, little knowledge of their destination, perhaps because it's their first time to Europe. But it appears that you really have (at least from your short questions) little information about your chosen destination. I fear that you are treating like a drive to the mall, from perhaps the Rome airport.

I thought that having the 8 of you talk about what you WANT to do might be helpful, but you are asking only very specific questions. I suggest that you post a DRAFT of your TOTAL itinerary, as well as an idea of what your collective hopes are for the visit. I can tell you that in the last week of May, the busses between Sorrento and Amalfi were so full that the lines to board were longer than the capacity of the next, half-hourly coach. Choosing a remote location, in the hope of a quiet visit to an undiscovered (!) place does have some down-side risk.

This part of Italy has suffered decades of under-investment in infrastructure, because of the central covernment's "northern" bias. (Ignorant foreigner opinion.)

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/getting-around-amalfi-coast

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-coast-for-7-nights-itinerary-help

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/pompeii-and-vesuvius-69e8366c-1e75-4a14-a0bc-0677269492d1

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-coast-for-5-days-where-to-set-base-from

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/one-week-on-the-amalfi-coast

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/how-do-i-get-from-pompeii-to-positano-is-there-a-direct-route

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-2-weeks-of-day-trips-from-sorrento

@ Dave

No, there is no divided opinions. There are your compatriots who have had unbelievably bad experiences, maybe cannot handle close quarters driving and either are trying to protect you from harm or think you cannot master close quarters driving.

If you have doubts, about your abilities and experience follow them.

Then there is my family. I have posted our experiences at Massa Lubrense and in this area as an alternative. Not a recommendation. We chose to go to Italy because it is exotic and have friends and relatives there. And we always enjoy our times there. We have chosen to drive not because it is easy, but because it is hard, serves to test our skills and is another of life’s challenges we are willing to accept. (Plagiarising Kennedy at Rice.) It is best fit for our purposes.

I come from a land down under, where women glow and men thunder. (Plagiarizing Men at Work)

To answer your question about parking. You are smart to ask. Probably will as a first-time experience seem like hell to you. As always should you or travel partners fail, you are in good company.

Cannot tell if your group is a bunch of late teens/early twenties with a zest for adventure or a group of mature citizens who have passed on adventure in earlier years. Either way you are courageous tackling this as a first up assignment, and I wish you the best of luck.

Regards Ron

It seems the OP has disappeared.
An Italian friend of mine from Campania—the region the Amalfi Coast is in— absolutely will not drive on the Amalfi Coast because of how horrendous traffic and parking is. He’s driven the freeways of Los Angeles and in Rome & Naples, but Amalfi is too much of a nightmare for him to consider.driving there.
And you know how bad traffic must be when even some of the locals won’t drive near it.