Amalfi Coast Bus Ride

it is a blue SITA bus that is pretty much a city bus running between towns. There is no such thing as a reserved seat on it; first-come, first-served. You can get off, but the ticket has an expiration time (I think you can also buy a day pass). It is pretty cheap, just a few euro. Buy the ticket at the Sorrento station.

If you are thinking of Pompeii then it might we worthwhile & convenient to buy the Campania Artecard for 27E (http://www.artecard.it/) tutta la regione 3 days since that will include the Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Sorrento and the SITA bus down to Amalfi (actually as far as Salerno), as well as 2 sites such as Pompeii.

Thanks so much. I will look into the card. We will be using the train from Naples to Sorrento. Then Amalfi bus ride,the train to Pompeii and tour Pompeii. Even if we are not going to use the card for another site do you think it is still worth purchasing the card? I have not check into that yet. Again, thanks.

--Marcia

The Campania 3-day All-Region Artecard (27 Euros) may very well be worthwhile in your case (if your sojourn is limited to 3 days or less). Here's the calculation:

Naples-Sorrento: 3.40 Euros
Amalfi Coast ONE DAY bus ticket: 7.20 Euros
Sorrento-Pompei: 1.90 Euros
Pompei-Sorrento: 1.90 Euros
Sorrento-Naples: 3.40 Euros
Total individual fares: 17.80 Euros
Entrance to Pompei: 11 Euros
Total: 28.80 Euros

If you use the Artecard for one additional entrance fee (e.g. Naples Archeological Museum), you save an additional 6.50 Euros. Alternatively, if you use the Artecard to gain access to BOTH Pompei and Ercolano (which are considered 2 sites), you save the 20 Euros entrance (plus more than 17.80 Euros in transportation) = 37.80 Euros normal cost!!! And if you continue to use the Artecard (within its 3-day validity) to gain access to a THIRD site, you save 50% of the normal entrance fee. The more sites you visit, and the more transportation you use, the greater the cost savings. Remember that the Artecard is NOT valid on the hydrofoils or ferry boats. But it IS valid on all Naples city buses, subway system, funiculars, plus all the Sorrento city buses, plus all the SITA buses along the Amalfi Coast (Sorrento to Salerno, including Ravello).

I was looking at the list and we may be going to the Paestrum Greek ruins as well. We can just get off the bus and tour and get back on and do the rest of the coastal ride. I think we will purchase the card. Thank you so much for all the information. One other thing...the card will work for the SITA buses and the Circumvesuviana trains both correct? We will be staying outside of Sorrento in Sant Angello. Is this on the SITA bus line or will there be another bus system for that?
--Marcia

You can use the local EAV bus service or the Circumvesuviana between Sant Agnello and Sorrento. Here is the EAV bus timetable

http://www.unicocampania.it/files/orari_costiera/eav_2.pdf

And here is the Sorrento - Amalfi Coast timetable (at bottom of page)

http://www.sitabus.it/sitabus/campania/orarioCAMPANIA/QUADROXIV.pdf

YES, the UNICO CAMPANIA 3 T tourist ticket, which is a component of the 3-day Artecard for the entire region, covers both the Circumvesuviana train, the SITA Amalfi Coast buses, and the EAV buses in and arround Sorrento. Here is a COMPLETE list of the operators covered by the card:

http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/53219/campania-artecard-help.html

OPERATORS COVERED BY THE UNICO CAMPANIA TOURIST TICKET:

ANM (bus) covered area: Naples, city center and suburbs www.anm.it call center: 800 639 525

CIRCUMVESUVIANA (railway) covered area: Naples, Avellino and their provinces www.vesuviana.it call center: 800 053 939

CTP (bus) covered area: Naples and Caserta, city centers and provinces www.ctp.na.it call center: 800 482 644

METRONAPOLI (rail) covered area: Naples Underground (Lines 1 and 6) and 4 funiculars www.metro.na.it call center: 800 56 88 66

SEPSA (railway) covered area: Naples and suburbs www.sepsa.it call center: 800 001 616

AIR (bus) covered area: Naples, Avellino (city center, suburbs and its province) www.air-spa.it call center: 0825 204250

CTI/ATI (bus) covered area: Avellino city center and suburbs www.cti-ati.it

AMTS (bus) covered area: Benevento city center and suburbs www.amtu.bn.it call center: 800 999 295

ACMS (bus) covered area: Caserta city center and suburbs www.acms-spa.it

EAVBUS (bus) covered area: Naples, Avellino and Caserta (city centers, suburbs and their provinces) www.eavbus.it

METROCAMPANIA NORD-EST (railway) covered area: Naples, Caserta and Benevento (city centers and their provinces) www.metrocampanianordest.it call center: 800 127 157

CSTP (bus) covered area: Salerno, city center, suburbs and its province www.cstp.it call center: 800 01 6659

SITA (bus) covered area: Naples, Avellino and Salerno – city centers and their provinces www.sitabus.it call center: 089 3866711

TRENITALIA (railway) covered area: Naples Und

WOW...this is more information than I ever dreamed that I would get. You guys are great! This is our first time in the area. We are so looking forward to it. You are making it easier for us. Thanks
Ciao,
Marcia

I think that the FASTEST way to get from Sorrento to Paestum is:

1) HYDROFOIL from Sorrento to SALERNO-Molo Manfredi (NOT covered by Artecard transportation);
2) TRENITALIA TRAIN from SALERNO to Paestum (covered by artecard)

www.metrodelmare.net (to Salerno-Molo Manfredi)

www.trenitalia.it

It's a two-kilometer jaunt from Salerno Molo Manfredi to the train station (25 minutes on foot, or take a local city bus).

ALTERNATIVELY, you could take the SITA bus to Positano (covered by Artecard), then the ferry boat to Salerno-Molo Concordia (NOT covered), then walk 400 yards to the train station.

www.coopsantandrea.it

BEWARE that the total travel time between Sorrento and Salerno by SITA bus (covered by Artecard) (with a required bus connection in Amalfi) is in excess of THREE HOURS each way. You pay nothing for the transportation, but must endure SIX HOURS on the bus round-trip!!! Taking the boat from Sorrento or Positano to Salerno will make the trip faster (but you incur the cost of the hydrofoil/ferry ticket, which is not insignificant).

Marcia -

This can be an enjoyable trip, but you should be aware of some things about the bus trip itself (the great advice given on how to arrange the trip having already been said).

While scenic, the drivers tend to provide a Mad Hatter kind of ride along the cliffs. This can be somewhat exhilarating, breathtaking, and frightening, but they manage it somehow. It also has been known to cause severe motion sickness (personally witnessed, unfortunately, by me on one of these trips). First timers want to see the views, so they chose seats up front. Uh Uh!! Sit over the back wheels where the constant motion is much more minimal.

Also, you can not purchase a ticket on board. Not sure if that got mentioned, but you need to buy the tickets inside the station at Sorrento beforehand.

One other tip -- when taking the SITA bus in the direction Sorrento to Amalfi sit on the right side of the bus for the best views. We took it around 8:30am last summer and there was no line to get on, but I've heard for later trips there can be a substantial queue.

Thanks for all the information. There are eight of us that will be traveling together. We all had dinner together tonight and I shared all of your information with them. Everyone is grateful to you. A couple had already asked about the motion sickness issue. We will be equipped just in case.
Ciao,
Marcia