Amalfi Coast - car needed??

Way more of a hassle than it's worth. You do not want to drive the Amalfi Coast, and it will be expensive to park it.

Just be cautioned in advance-
The Sorrento/Amalfi Coast is a victim of its Instagram success- it's very crowded three seasons of the year, and shoulder season is no longer less traveled. Compound that with poor infrastructure, narrow roads, traffic congestion, and poor public transportation. There is no quick and efficient mode of travel, it's very different from areas north of Naples. The Circumvesuviana train doesn't always run on time, is pretty gritty, with no air conditioning. The Sika buses are extremely crowded and often skip stops if they have no space for additional passengers. The ferries are weather dependent.You need lots of patience- and time- to explore the area. But one thing you definitely don't need is a car!

(I believe the train to Salerno works well, but then you still need to move around that area .)

Safe travels.

If I have a car, will it make things a lot easier or more of a hassle
than it’s worth. Definitely planning to get a car when I leave there
and drive to Umbria

Having a car will make things miserable, expensive and a hassle.

Take the train further north to pick up your car for Umbria- somewhere past Rome- Orvieto or Chiusi. Depends where in Umbria you are headed. Drop the car as soon as you do not need it.
Strategic use of a car will save you headaches and money.
Check AutoEurope.com to see what your options are. Be aware of closing times for most all rental agencies- closed Sun, closed 12-1 on Sat, closed mid day during the week.

All drivers must have an IDP, read up on ZTLs, driving in Italy, etc.

We enjoyed driving around the Amalfi . It was one of the highlights of our trip.

There were some hair raising moments, but the transport isn't reliable hence the car gave us independence.

We picked up the car up and dropped it in Naples.

We based ourselves in Ravello and Furore.

Rob_chris, it would probably be useful to know the month and year of your trip.

I don't know the precise dates when it starts each year, but the region restricts rental cars to certain days of the week. Cars with even numbered license plates on even days and odd plates on odd days (or the other way around).

We were part of a small group tour in April and our driver said that parking is always a challenge and expensive. As we were driving towards Positano he pointed out that all the cars parked along the side of the road were parked illegally and would be ticketed but not towed. He said people park anyway because the ticket is cheaper than the parking. Even with this illegal parking, it was still a mile+ walk downhill into town.

I have visited that area without a car although have driven elsewhere in Italy. We stayed in Piano di Sorrento which is 2 stops out of Sorrento on the Circumvesuviana train line. Never had trouble with the line. Trains often run late, but you are in Italy so that is normal. Took a few buses including the regional bus to the Amalfi. The bus to Amalfi was 2 hours to Postiano starting in Sorrento (narrow roads, on cliffs, way too many cars), but driving wouldn't have been any better. The bus driver knew what he was doing and occasionally got preferential treatment at corners. The traffic is awful and there is no parking available at all. Took the ferry between 2 towns which provides a great view of the coast. Then regional bus back to Piano di Sorrento. The bus route is 1 way.

Capri was great but do it as a tour. They get preferential treatment on the ferries and arrange transport on the island.

Don't think driving in North America or anywhere else in Europe prepares you for driving on the Sorrento peninsula. The bus rides alone will convince you of that. Also, if you want to experience Italy, accept that things don't ever run on time; that driving is easy (more small towns don't even fit an average North American car and you cannot take a rental into the old town itself); or anything is like home. Relax, slow down and don't plan to do anything on time.

Stuart, I'm a little concerned that this is only your second post in 12 years. Has your account been hijacked?

Do not make the mistake of simply balancing "the freedom of the open road" with "public transportation." Southern Italy is not like northern Europe for either means of transport. April is ahead of the peak, but the whole reason for staying in Sorrento is its EXCELLENT access to public transportation for arrival, departure, and daily daytrips. Otherwise, it's a purpose-built, postwar, reinforced-concrete resort town. We spent five nights in the Ambasciatori Grande, and it worked great for us.

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

It's not needed, traffic is often congested and parking is expensive (like 30 euro a day, or 4 euro per hour). However public transportation options are not that great either (crowded and infrequent buses) and hiring a private driver is even more expensive, albeit convenient. So pick your poison.

Hi, No, don't rent a car for the AC, nor to drive from there to Umbria. As others have said....You can take the train from Naples to Rome, perhaps pick up a car in Orvieto for Umbria, return it same place. On the AC, we've rented a driver for the day, do a search on main RS page. May 1st is a national holiday, so assuming you mean mid April, admittedly 'shoulder season' but that's disappearing. Others have stayed in Salerno & day-tripped by ferry up the AC, don't recall if ferries are yet running.

Good reading on what the AC is like now that it's an Instagram sensation - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/rome-amalfi-coast-and-sicily

Apologies for my vagueness acraven.

It was 2019 September, used to be shoulder season, but so much nowadays in Europe.

I think it depends on how confident you are driving in Europe. We mostly prefer trains, but as mentioned on this thread transport on the Amalfi is not great. We waited over an hour for bus from Ravello to go anywhere basically, when the bus finally arrived it was full. From then on we travelled by car.

We didn’t drive in Naples central. We picked the car outside Naples and the drove around the Amalfi for two weeks

We are our 70s. It had its moments, but enabled us to see so much more of the area.

Not sure if I would do it again though!!!

You are braver than I am, that's for sure!

Not sure about braver than you. There were many moments my eyes were shut.

It was r less scary than we anticipated. All the reviews made is seem horrendous, but the scenery was worth it

Just don’t look down.

We did this same trip several years ago in the late fall. We flew into Rome. Took the train to Naples and were lucky enough to ferry to Sorrento as we knew a local who helped coordinate that. Otherwise we would have taken the train to Sorrento.
No car needed. We ferried along the AC and it was beautiful and no hassles.

We left for Orvieto by train and picked up our rental car north of Rome… in.Poggio, I believe. It was so easy to pickup and drop.

Good luck with your planning!

Thanks to all. I've driven in Italy & many countries, so no fear, but consensus tells me no car for AC. Thanks for your time

CAPRI acommodation recommendations for two nights April 2024?