Best approach for leisure drive on Amalfi Coast Road

1. I would never attempt it in July with all the tour buses and huge crowds, no matter which day of the week. I happily spend several days driving in the area in April. No way I'd even consider it in July. Your mileage may vary.

2. There are a several very small roadside areas. In April I had no trouble stopping for photos, etc. I would expect them to be all full in July.

3. In the peak of the summer heavy vehicles including coaches are restricted to a one way flow. It is easier to creep along with them than against them. Even in April I had several close shaves and had to pull in the mirrors and sometimes reverse to a better passing place. The road is quite narrow and very windy. There are not heavy duty barriers between the road and the cliff edge.

4. Never seen one

Although I can't suggest a specific one, I think I'd hire a private car & driver. We been there and it is great to be able to sit back and enjoy the view. Having to watch the traffic and do the driving would take about 90% of the fun out of it for me. TC

There is a funicular service from Castellammare di Stabia Circumvesuviana station up to the top of Monte Faito (the highest mountain in the area) with spectacular views over Naples and surrounds. It is very popular with Neapolitans looking to escape the summer heat and there are some nice walks through the woods. However it did not run this year, some talk about maintenance issues but I suspect more to do with lack of funding. Maybe next year? We have driven up from Vico Equense but the road does have sheer drops alongside it which I did not enjoy! The road on the Naples side of the mountain is wooded and much more bearable.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=monte+faito&sa=N&hl=en&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=ArenUr-aIOSj0QWMiIGAAg&ved=0CD8QsAQ&biw=1536&bih=701

I agree with TC that you should hire a private driver...especially in July! We were there in early September and had considered driving it ourselves but in the end we reserved a private driver and it made all the difference in terms of how much we enjoyed the day along the coast and how much we were able to see. Parking is practically non-existent especially in high season and you will waste A LOT of time trying to find parking whereas the private drivers can drop you off in each town and come back for you later and therefore you don't have to worry about parking. The driver also knew all the great spots to stop and allow us to take pictures and we would not have known where to stop on our own. He also suggested a wonderful stop for lunch high in the hills in an off the beaten path town where we dined on the veranda and enjoyed views of the ocean below.

The coast will be very crowded in July and I truly think you'll enjoy it more if you don't have to drive it and worry about parking, etc. I can recommend an excellent driver if you're interested. Private drivers are expensive but my husband and I both felt that it was money well spent and after visiting the area, we both agreed that we made the right decision not to drive it ourselves.

Yes, a private driver is nice for those who can afford it. Some of us cannot. We would have to shorten our trip by 3 or 4 days.

If you go to pages 1006-1007 of the Rick Steves 2014 Italy book, you can learn about an arrangement that RS has made with Mondo Tours that will enable individual travelers to sign up for very reasonably priced day tours of Pompeii, Naples or the Amalfi Coast, evidently in April thru October of 2014. The 9-hour Amalfi Coast tour out of Sorrento will make photo stops along the way, and stop for one or two hours each in Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, and will cost 45 euros per person, planned for Monday through Friday. This is an experiment so no one knows how it will work out, but it sounds worthwhile to me, and I intend to test it when I am there in May.

Or take the bus from Sorrento.

I have seen the Mondo Tours information on pages 1006 and 1007. The problem is I cannot make my plans based on a tour that will go IF they have enough people signed up. Would you make any of your plane or train reservations with a company that said they would let you know the day before if they had enough people to make the trip? (I already have sent an email to Rick voicing my concern on this point). What do you do if they do not go? The other problem with the Mondo Tour is that it does not go all the way to Paestum which is a must on my itinerary. Even Rick does not recommend the buses if you want to go to Paestum.

If the Mondo Tour was a firm reservation and went all the way to Paestum I would book it within 5 minutes of making my plane reservations.

Bob - this company does a guided tour to Paestum from Sorrento on Tuesdays at 42 euro pp. Have been on it a couple of times, the last about 2 years ago. Found it well paced, guide v good and it includes a visit to the Cathedral in Salerno on the way which is well worth a visit.

http://www.goldentours.it/en/daily_excursions.php

PS - They also ran the tour from Amalfi (paid shuttle from Positano to the start point available) on Weds this year. They do not say whether it will be the same for 2014.

Linda,

That looks interesting but I would have to add a day to the trip to also go to the Amalfi Coast. I could easily drive to Paestum on my own on a day separate from the Amalfi Coast by going the inland route which I am sure what this company does.

We've driven the Amalfi Coast road three times during July and August and it is an adventure in motoring. The first time I kept a white knuckle death grip on the steering wheel. The road is narrow, extremely windy, and it requires your complete attention. My wife had wonderful views and all I saw was the road. There are places to pull over, but they are small and not very numerous. We did see buses, but they are smaller than what we imagined to accommodate the skinny, serpentine roadway.

In some places you will encounter cars parked on both sides of the road and the traffic is two ways. My biggest headache was the motorini (motor scooters) with their weaving in and out of traffic. The only traffic jam we encountered was near Vietri Sul Mare and it was caused by a driver in a van driving about 2 mph.

We did it...you can, as well.

Buon viaggio,

Thanks for all input.

Me and my husband are quite experienced on mountain driving (mostly in US). We drove from Denver to Pike's Peak and Mt. Evans, those routes (especially the second one) are probably on par with what we could find in Europe, aren't they?

Our tentative plan so far is to take a day trip to Paestum from Sorrento, each one drives one way and the other get s the views :)

We read elsewhere traffic is higher on weekends, so I'm thinking on doing this on a weekday to reduce chances of severe congestion a bit.

Don't the roads up Pikes Peak and Mt Evans have guard rails on the cliff side? Don't count on so many (any in some places) guard rails. And the road up Pikes Peak as I remember is wide enough for big American cars in both directions with a line down the middle, isn't it? Don't count on that between Sorrento and Salerno.

Just returned from the Amalfi area a few weeks ago. I too wanted to drive the coast and go to Paestum. Hired Monetti Taxi and very glad to do it all over again. Great experience! Professional driver/local resident, nice vehicle, good paced tour. Picked up at Sorrento hotel for 10-hour tour. With far less traffic than that seen in July, we were able to wander a bit of Positano and sit down for caffe, had an hour or so in Amalfi town for cappuccino and lemon cake, picture and view stops along the way to Paestum, lunch and sightseeing in Paestum, and a stop for buffalo milk icecream. Returned via the motor route and back at Sorrento hotel at the time promised. Great day. Great conversation with our driver, Raffaele. Great decision to book a tour with Monetti Taxi! Reasonable price for a 10-hour tour! Listed in Rick's book. The company will ask about your interests and plan the tour accordingly. Our day turned out exactly as we had hoped. We then returned to Amalfi Town via bus two days later and went up to Ravello. Felt we saw a nice slice of the area in those two days. Monetti also will arrange tours for you to other attractions, like Pompeii, Ercolano, Naples, etc.

July is likely crowded every day, but on weekends it's bumper to bumper and above all, parking will be the real issue. Lots of Napoletani go there for a weekend getaway.

Besides some spots along the road, there are parking lots scattered in various areas. It's expensive (at least Euro 30 per day). Once again on weekends you are even more likely to see all those lots full.

The recommendation on driving eastward is because in Italy you drive on the right side and when you drive eastward you will be driving on the side of the sea, therefore you'll be able to see the views from the top of the cliff better. However if you get distracted, since you are so close to the edge of the ravine, you might drive off that cliff and find yourself 'inside' the sea.

No cable cars or gondolas on the amalfi coast. Capri (Anacapri) does. Take a boat to the island if you want to get on one. The view from the top (there is a bar) is amazing.

We also used the Monetti taxi back in April and echo everything Crystal said. We actually went on a Thursday, which was a national Holiday, and ran into quite a bit of traffic and were really glad Raffael was driving. So plan the day during the week instead of weekend.