My wife and I are thinking of traveling the Amalfi coast in September. We would be flying into Rome from Berlin and making our way down to Sorrento My thoughts are to travel down the Amalfi coast then possibly returning to Berlin from the south of Italy. So I’m looking for suggestions for possibly hiring a driver to go down the coast. Would a slow ferry be worthwhile? I don’t want to travel by bus since my wife is not the greatest passenger being as how we had an unpleasant experience in Croatia one year. Any other thoughts or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Hi there, Sorrento is usually considered the place to stay for visiting Pompeii, rather than just the AC. You could hop a ferry from Naples or Sorrento all the way down the coast and see the beauty from the water, which we loved. Stay in Amalfi, or one of the other nearby towns mentioned below. Or take the train from Rome & stay in Salerno, easier dealing with luggage perhaps, and then travel AC north by ferry. In general, I prefer ferries to driving, no matter who is driving, as the roads are windy and traffic can be intense. The exception would be to consider a driver from the town of Amalfi up to Ravello, which is a gorgeous town perched high above the Med. Here's a recent thread on where and how to get around and suggestions. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/stay-in-amalfi-positano-or-sorrento-what-would-you-do.
Crystal B wrote a great TR on Sorrento here - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/12-nights-in-italy-jul-aug-2023-trip-report-part-2-sorrento
If you come back to us with more details about your interests, that too would be helpful.
This is a list of lots of threads from past year, hope it helps! https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=1y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Amalfi&utf8=%E2%9C%93