Italy Roadtrip

The "Amalfi Coast" is rather vague when looking at driving to Venice. Where will you be starting from on your way to Venice?

Are you looking to take the most direct route, or do a bit of 'off the beaten path', perhaps by driving along the Adriatic coast?

If you do not want to drive more than 4 hrs per day, I doubt you can make the trip with just one overnight stop. Otherwise I suspect when its over we will be hearing from you about a bunch of speeding tickets that show up 6 months after you get home.

Are u going to take the tolled A1 motorway? That makes a difference during a +8 hours drive; Orvieto and Arezzo are both close to the A1.

On the other hand, if you are taking the A1 motorway and you are stopping only once, why on earth you are not taking the direct high speed train from Salerno to central Venice? Do you like driving in tunnels and on viaducts? Do not expect any view before Rome and after Florence.

If you want to drive, you'd better Google "tutor system" and "ZTL fine". Be also aware that there are 3 speed traps on the causeway that connects the mainland districts of Venice with the floating, tiny, neighbourhood you see on postcards. The speed limit on signs is 50 kms per hour? Drive at 56 and you'll be fined 3 times in a row. There is no mercy because there isn't another way to get to central Venice by land.

Take the train or fly if you aren’t making this a multi- day site seeing drive. Darius describes the drawbacks of a direct drive. Their toll roads are as interesting as our interstate highways. Not much! It is a long drive and a car is of little to no use at either end of the drive. That’s my 2 cents based on 6 trips to Italy.

Listen to Dario. Take the train. 5 hours and 40 minutes and you are in Venice. Rested and you'll have no concerns about tickets, fuel and the cost of a car rental, plus you get an extra night in Venice.

The trains are great alternatives and extremely reasonable.

One more vote for taking the train. Unless your itinerary includes other places before Amalfi and after Venice and you are keeping the car for a longer time. In that case though I would plan at least 3 or 4 days to travel between the two so you can drive no more than the 4 hours and spend half a day in various small towns.

I love driving, but in Italy, other than visiting remote areas, I always choose rail travel. Purchasing tickets in advance is normally less expensive than car travel, a lot more comfortable and is stress free. If you want to spend a night en route, Bologna is worth a visit and is a rail hub. It’s also easy to visit Parma or Ravenna by rail from Bologna.

Thanks everyone for their wonderful advise, we are driving as we have the car for 4 weeks but will now look at our itinerary and be back for more help as I am a first timer.

I really suggest you Google as much as you can about driving in Italy since this is your first time in Europe. I know your first inclination is to drive so you can go wherever and whenever you want, but the restrictions are so abundant in so many cities. In addition, parking can be expensive and elusive, not to mention parking and speeding violations which exist. While actually driving a car in Europe is no different than at home, the pitfalls are greater and unless you are fluent in Italian, the signage will drive you batty.

Unlike the US, public transportation is excellent in Europe. Trains will get you almost everywhere and if not a bus will do it. Unless you have a disability that would require you or a travel companion to need a car, I think most here would not recommend driving as a first choice on your first trip.

If this is your first trip to Europe, I really agree with Threadwear that you should reconsider your mode of transportation and whether you really need a car. Renting a car for your entire stay in Europe is a common beginners mistake many North American tourists do when visiting Europe. But just because you are used to driving everywhere, it doesn't mean that it is the best way to travel around Europe where there are trains and buses almost everywhere. And when going from e.g. Naples to Venice there is a difference between sitting in a car at 110-130 km/h or in a train doing 300 km/h.

And if you insist on driving, make sure you learn the rules of the road and the traffic signs. Prepandemic, threads about "unfair"* tickets in Italy was a regular occurrence on this forum.

*In 99% of all cases, there was nothing unfair about the tickets.

We lived in Italy and travelled lots during our 2 1/2 years there. Early on we selectively rented a car where public transportation wasn’t ideal. But after a year, we relied on trains, buses, and occasional taxi or private driver.

Assuming the city (s) you fly in or out of do not need a car. If a destination has a central train station, no need for a car.

The two regions that are best with a rental car are Tuscany (not Florence). And southern Italy ((Puglia).

Keep in mind that tolls and gas are expensive. Parking can be confusing, and reading Italian signage (or misinterpreting signage) could result in costly tickets 6+ months later.

Consider renting a car to explore an area, but not as transportation to get from point A to B to C.

I’ve been to Italy 3x now and driven at least on part each time. I love driving there, and if you learn the signs and such it is quite easy and fun.

That being said… both the Amalfi coast and Venice are especially car pointless. If you can avoid it, I’d suggest what everyone else did and take the fast train. It is magical, and we Americans are MISSING OUT on such great infrastructure. Cheap, fast, reliable, amazing.

Also, gas works out to about $6.50 a gallon right now. Not great.

If you must drive, it would depend if you want to be just off the main road or game to get into smaller towns.

Don’t forget to get the $20 International Drivers Permit. Saved me a big fine on a random passport and document check.

I'm sitting here wondering what you were planning to do with a car for 4 weeks. The fact that this is your first trip to Europe is a big old red flag prompting me to ask a bunch of questions similar to those others have asked.

When are you traveling? Where will you arrive? From where will you depart for home?

Will all 4 weeks be spent in Italy? Will you be renting and returning the car in the same country, even if spending only part of the time in Italy? Are you prepared to pay the huge drop-off fee if renting in one country and returning in a different one?

Please forgive me if you've already done all this research, but I'm going to post some links available on this very Rick Steves website to help in your planning.

Travel Tips. Included here are sections on Trip Planning, Transportation, Packing Light, Money, Phones & Technology, Theft & Scams, Sleeping & Eating, Health & Hygiene, and Sightseeing & Activities. Within each section are practical details on European travel to help you learn what you need to know, especially when you don't know that you need to know it. Here's the link: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips

About renting a car, you can't beat the information you'll find at Gemut.com. Plus they are in Oregon and have a US phone number. Particularly important is the information you'll find in their free download brochure titled "What You Need to Know About Renting & Driving a Car in Europe." Pay particular attention to the Insurance information on p.4, the International Driving Permit (IDP) information on p.8, the Stick with One Driver and Think Twice about International One-Way Rentals information on p.12 and the Restricted Zones in Italian Cities information on p.18. Here's the link to the free download: https://www.gemut.com/latest-travel-news/what-you-should-know-about-renting-a-car-in-europe

The true Guru on train travel anywhere in Europe is the Man in Seat 61. The link to his "Beginner's Guide to Train Travel in Italy" is here: https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm

And the hot topic of the year(s) is how Covid-19 is affecting European travel. Here's a link to the basic information in "Covid-19 & Travel FAQ": https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/coronavirus-faq The topic is being discussed in many of the forums, but "Covid-19 & Travel" is the main one: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/covid19

P.S. Assuming that you are planning to actually drive the Amalfi Coast, keep in mind that going west to east you will be on the cliff side, east to west you will be on the hill side. We were on the public bus from Salerno to Sorrento going east to west. That was close enough to the edge for me. Google is your friend for finding in-car driving videos. There are lots of them, so be sure to look at them to see what the drive is like.

Renting a car should only be a last resort if trains are not available for where you want to go. Or if you’re going to be staying in the countryside for a while.

If you must keep the car and not take the train, take advantage of it by taking the opportunity to visit parts of the country which would not be convenient to visit without a car.

The drive from the Amalfi coast to Venice takes well over 9 hours, even without pit stops for gas, which is impossible because no car will have such big gas tank, therefore you can’t make it in two segments of under 4 hours each. You can probably make it in two segments of 5+ hours each, but even in that case you will be forced to take the boring freeway to make it possible.

I would plan to make it a few day trip with visits of various quaint villages of Tuscany, Umbria, for example. There are countless itineraries to consider. If you have a car for 4 weeks it means you must be staying long enough in Italy to squeeze such a beautiful detour in your plan.

For the most comprehensive rules of the road for Italy, please download this e-book. It contains not only info, but also pictures related to subject matter.

https://italybeyondtheobvious.com/custom-italy-vacations/what-to-do-and-see-in-italy/
Click banner at bottom of page.

I’ve driven in Italy 12 of my 15 trips and not once have I received a ticket.

Thank you again everyone for you reply to my posts. You have all been very helpful in your opinions and suggestions.
Thanks gerri for your positive post and link to the road rules.
Have a great day everyone.