I will be staying in Sorrento during the last week of October this fall. I am trying to decide whether or not to rent a car for my stay. I have driven many times in France, but not in Italy. Since I will not be in large cities while on the Amalfi Coast I feel like I will be comfortable driving in the area. I like the idea of the freedom that a car provides and since it appears that some of the ferry service will be discontinued or at least less available at the time of year I will be visiting I am leaning towards renting a car rather than relying on ferry service to Positano or Amalfi. I am flying into Naples....would probably take the bus to Sorrento to avoid renting car at the airport and pick up and drop car locally in Sorrento. I would appreciate any thoughts on this. Thank you in advance.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7245 posts
I wouldn’t
Parking is a major headache in Sorrento and in all the other AC towns
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4631 posts
I was on a daytrip to the Amalfi Coast off a cruise a few years ago in the 3rd week of October on a Tuesday and the traffic along the Amalfi Coast was ugly even that late in the season. Not just the traffic, but the curvy, hilly roads. I talk about that experience as much as I do the beauty of the area. I'm glad we were on a 12 passenger bus, not only so I wasn't driving, but also so I wouldn't miss the views.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7947 posts
You are making a mistake in focusing on your James Bond mountain-road driving experience. The problem is that there is only one, two-lane road from Sorrento to Amalfi (more or less.) Busses often have trouble making the curves, and have to back up and take a second shot at it. Private tour drivers pull part-way off the road for their customers to take selfies and so on. It's a traffic jam problem, not a driving skills problem, even if you don't care about absent guard rails.
Every night we left the Ambasciatori hotel in Sorrento to eat downtown (on foot, I mean), we saw a line of 20 or more stationary cars on the street, waiting to enter a (paid) public underground parking lot. One reason for that is that Sorrento closes a number of auto roads each evening for the Passeggiata. But the AC towns simply have almost zero on-street parking.
October is definitely shoulder season, but I don't think you will find it a pleasure to drive. This is not an area of wide open spaces and little wooden houses that the Band of Brothers recently left behind. Sorrento is a purpose-built, postwar resort town, with mostly reinforced concrete modern multiple occupancy buildings, plus sprawling downtown retail, much of it pedestrianized. Positano is also highly pedestrianized, with hundreds (yes, hundreds) of steps between "avenues."
When our 8-hour car and driver dropped us for our "free time" in Positano and Amalfi, he pulled into a tiny pay-garage/lot, and played cards with his pals until we were due to be picked up or meet him. He did not try to park on the street. Near the "beach" in Amalfi, I kind of remember five or six parking spaces. Period.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6815 posts
No way. Not here.
I enjoy having the freedom to come and go as much as any road-trip-loving American, but Sorrento and the Amalfi coast is one of the last places I'd want a car. Once you see the roads there (and the traffic) you'll be very glad to not be behind the wheel.
Posted by
San Diego, California
5657 posts
They are now daily posts on this Forum regarding getting around the Sorrento/ Amalfi area. I suggest reading the last few months of very helpful posts under the Italy section. There's a wealth of info already posted. Many folks have used the Mondo Shared Tours site, which offers specials for RS folks, and have been very happy with the prices of these shared services.
Everyone agrees- no personal car!
Have a great trip.
Posted by
OP
35 posts
Thank you all for your input/insights. No car it is!!