Feedback on Travel Options

Take a train to either Naples or Salerno, rent a car there and drive to Agerola, OR rent a car straightaway in Rome, do the drive to Agerola.

Most would discourage a long drive after an overnight flight. Renting in Rome is the lesser of the options you provide.

Driving from Naples is longer , but driving from Salerno has you westbound into the late afternoon sun on the Coast road.

Some people here (if they rent a car in Florence to drive where trains don't go in Tuscany) rent on their last day in Florence on the way out of town; and if they're returning the car to Florence, often they rent at the Florence airport, even if they're not arriving or departing from Florence using the airport.

Newbies to Italian driving often seem to have significant stress if they try to drive into Italian towns or cities.

My personal general rule in Italy is: if trains go there (regular train service), take the train. But that's with 2 people, you have 4, so a car starts to make more sense. But it's not like renting a car here, or parking a car here, don't assume your hotel will have adjacent free surface parking, or that your room will have screens on the windows, etc.

Thanks all! It seems (according at least to Google Maps, that is) that the drive time is almost the same from both Naples and Salerno, but that is a good point about the direction and sunlight. So yeah, my thought was also that this seems to be more practical (aside from staying overnight in Rome, which we'd rather not - impractical as it is..) to take the train and then rent in Naples.. Not sure about traffic getting out of the area though.

For Florence, I was thinking that we may want to do a couple of trips where driving is necessary and since we're staying in a smaller town (I think?), it is better to drive there...? So, with the itinerary still up in the air, I'll just assume at this point that we'll have and need a car (either way we get there) for the Tuscany leg of our trip. If we take a train from Naples, then I'll just have to figure out the best place to rent from, perhaps the airport as mentioned and the best way to get there from the train station.

For driving in cities when you get your car and when you drop off I recommend google maps. I used it to get from the car rental place outside of Bath to a pay parking lot a few blocks from our B&B and again when we dropped it off near the train station in York. But I have to say, I take trains over car driving when I can.

If you're going to drive into Florence, research in advance the location of parking in town. And also get familiar with the "no go" ZTL areas or you'll get an expensive ticket in the mail a month or two after you get back.

Since you’re staying basically in only two locations with parking, I say in for a penny, in for a pound.

1. Depending on the driver’s ability after a long flight, you’d have to choose between driving from FCO to Agerola (about 3 1/2 hours) or taking the train to Naples and renting your car there. The train might be faster but with two kids, you’d have to take the Leonardo Express to Termini, change to the train for Naples and then locate your car rental agency before heading out to your lodgings.

2. Even though it’s over a 5 hour trip to Donnini, the convenience of driving (and possibly stopping in Tivoli or Orvieto on the way) might well be worth it. I remember stopping at the rest areas on the Autostrade and my daughter thought they were almost like amusement parks inside. Driving to Naples, returning the car, heading to the rail station, finding the car rental place in Florence with two kids and baggage? No thank you!

3. If you want to spend your last night in Rome, take the train from Florence and book a hotel near Termini. When you leave the next morning you could either take the Leonardo or I’d suggest arranging a taxi with your hotel - wouldn't cost too much much more than the train. If you don’t want to go into Rome and stay at a hotel in or near the airport, I would drive and return the car there.

Overall, to keep stress levels low and to enjoy your trip more, keep it simple.

Thanks! . I guess we just want to have the car on both legs since we know there are a few day trips we want to take where we either need to drive or hire a driver. Having the car seems to give us more flexibility. I will definitely do my due diligence in researching the areas beforehand, for sure. I'm pretty confident in my husband's driving ability/sense. He's European himself, and has driven all around Europe. So hopefully we'll be okay on that front; or, that's what I will believe... :) For the most part, I like the idea of taking the train to Naples to cut down on the driving after the flight. I also love the idea of taking it from there to Florence to eliminate that long drive time. So I guess our concerns are how feasible is it to rent two different sets of cars and how difficult it might be to navigate the train station/logistics with the kids and luggage... Appreciate the feedback so far!

Thank you, Philip! I must've posted my reply above before I saw your post. After going through it in my head, it seems that with the kids -- having the car would be less stressful logistically. I've already (mentally) prepared for losing at least one day (not including arrival day) to travelling, so maybe that's what we should stick with.... Thanks for the tip about Rome too - if you have a hotel to recommend around Termini, I would welcome it!

What time is your flight back home?

I really suggest that you drive back to FCO, turn in your rental car and stay at the Hilton. They offer a free shuttle into Rome, dropping you off at the Victor Emmanuelle Monument. From there, the Trevi Fountain, Forum, Spanish Steps and the Piazza Navona are a fairly short walk.

In the morning, there's a free shuttle to your terminal.

Hi Joni, and welcome to the forum.

The easiest way to do all you want is to take the train from Rome-Naples. Hop on the Circumvesuvian to Sorrento. In Sorrento on Corso Italia are the car rental agencies. Rent here and drive to your lodging in Agerola. You should have no trouble parking here. Just keep in mind the road at this time of year may be contested, so you may not go faster than the bus in front of you. Another option would be to to have your lodging recommend a driver from Naples to Agerola. Picking up the car as you leave Sorrento.

I'll second Philips idea to stop in Tivoli, your kids will love it. It's almost the halfway point of your drive.
https://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/villa_deste
His tip on the Autogrill (rest stop) is on point too.

DougMac gave you the best location to drop the car and sleep on your return to Rome. Enabling you to hit the highlights of Rome on an evening walk when Rome is at its best.

Your trip sounds wonderful, you and your family will have a great time.

Isn't this exciting! I loved planning our trip to Italy and gleaning thoughts, wisdom and feedback from this forum. It was extremely helpful to us. We stayed in Furore just below Agerola on the Amalfi Coast last month and traveled by train from Rome (Termini) to Salerno and then took the bus to Amalfi and transferred to the bus heading to Agerola which stopped just a few meters from the apartment in Furore. We chose not to drive, although it might make sense for you to do that. If you drive, there's a route from Naples that goes directly to Agerola (over the mountain), so you do not need to go to either Salerno or Sorrento - unless you want to. This is what our hosts suggested to us if we had rented a car (A3 to SS145 to SS366 = approximately an hour by car from Naples). The Sita bus from Agerola to Amalfi is easy and costs under 2 euros per ride. Can you ask your hosts what they recommend? Enjoy! Ciao, Sheila

Yes! This forum has been an excellent resource! I'm looking at the timings of the trains, giving us at least a 2 hour window (probably more) after our projected landing time (11:40 - so thinking not any earlier than 2 to get out of the airport, and still need to get to station), so that has us to our rental at about 9:00 p.m. The simplest way with the kids in tow might be to drive out of Rome after all :) My husband is pretty used to this, since we've had to drive to his sister's place for 3-4 hours after a long trans-Atlantic flight. But, I'll go ahead and ask our host too; that's a good idea. While I liked the idea of train(s), driving might actually be more convenient with the kids.

The Hilton Roma seems like a great option. I wish they would allow us to just book the one room with 2 twins, since it's just the one night. Our holiday last year had us in Stockholm for an overnight that was supposed to be a room for 4, which ended up being just 1 bed... and we survived pretty decently for a night. So, I would imagine we would sleep even better on 2 separate twins :) But, maybe it's a liability issue or something. I would really love to do an evening walk through Rome. I remember it being so beautiful, so if we've got a chance to do it, I'd love to go for it. So, maybe we can train it in from Florence, stay near Termini and either arrange a taxi or shuttle service or take train back to the airport.

Once I put together a rough itinerary for the trip, I will also probably share for feedback/suggestions! ;) Thank you all who've taken time to provide input!