We are taking a trip to Italy end of May. Is it possible to get a private driver to take us from Naples down the Amalfi coast? We want to experience the coastal scenery, as well as see Pompeii/Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius and eventually Capri. There will be 3 or 4 of us traveling. Has anyone done this before and recommend someone or a company in particular? Also, how much do these services run?
Posted by
Oregon
111 posts
Rick Steves' Italy guidebook has several suggestions for getting around the Amalfi coast (pp. 1100-5). Drivers listed there cost about 300 euros for an 8-hour day. If you don't have the book, see www.monettitaxi17.it or www.sorrentosilverstar.com.
Posted by
Alta Loma, CA, USA
1446 posts
We spent 5 days in Sorrento last September and used a private driver for a day trip along the Amalfi Coast. He picked us up at our hotel in Sorrento in a comfortable, clean and new Mercedes van. He drove very conservatively which I appreciated because I'm prone to severe motion sickness and I was worried about the hairpin curves along the Amalfi Coast. He even let me sit in the front passenger seat due to my motion sickness and I was happy that I didn't get queasy even once. Our driver was Francesco Marrapese & his web-site is www.francescomarrapese.com. His English was perfect (he lived in the U.S. for several years) & he was very professional and knowledgeable. He used an Ipad to enhance our experience which was really neat; my husband & I both agreed it was a nice touch! Francesco showed us movie and commercial clips that were filmed along the coast and he would freeze the scene when we were coming up to the exact place where it was filmed. It was really interesting.
Francesco tailored the day to our tastes and made suggestions for places to stop/see. It was a very relaxing day and I'm SO glad we hired a private driver because we saw much more with the driver than we would have on our own trying to use public transportation. While it's not cheap to use a private driver, my husband & I agreed it was money well spent. We liked Francesco so much that we also hired him for a transfer from our hotel in Sorrento to the train station in Naples (with a 2-hour stop at the Archaeological Museum first). Have a great trip!
Posted by
San Leandro, CA, USA
65 posts
My wife and I would also encourage you to do this. We hired Raffaele Monete [email protected] (pretty sure I found him through Rick's book) and he gave us a wonderful, worry free day.
We were picked up in Sorrento, went to Paestum then back up the Amalfi Coast. Stopped for lunch, stopped at several spots along the road with exceptional views, and several of the towns along the way. Was with us more than the contracted time.
It was wonderful to be able to see the coast without worrying about driving; to be able to stop at a town and not have to worry about where to park; to get from point a to b in the way that let us pack much more into the day than would ever have been possible on our own.
The rate for the day was 360€ - BUT PLEASE REMEMBER- This was two years ago, and we were picked up in Sorrento, not Naples!