Itinerary narrowed down, need some travel advice

NAP to Positano with Curreri Viaggi (www.curreriviaggi.it) to Sorrento then SITA bus to Positano. I would rent in Sorrento and avoid the hassle of public transit from Positano to Orvieto. The drive from Sorrento is almost all freeway. You get on the freeway at Castellammare, just north of Sorrento. You don't have to drive inside Naples or Rome, the freeways run on the outskirts of those metro areas. Take a GPS unit with you with European maps loaded in it. Going to Orvieto is a extra hassle. It would also be more expensive for 4 people (4 train tickets will be more than the 30 euro of extra gasoline and freeway tolls). The option of Orvieto will require you to: bus to Sorrento (45 min) Vesuviana train from Sorrento to Naples (70 min) change to Train to Rome (70 min)
change to train to Orvieto (70 min) Add the transfer times for each one of the above. All of that with luggage to be transferred from train to train. And for what? to save driving 200 miles almost all on the freeway and save 30-40 euros in gas and tolls (and spend much more in train tickets)? If you weren't planning to rent a car would be one thing, but you are anyway. So why not eliminating the stress and rent 4 hours sooner.

Cindy, As you're planning to rent a car, are you aware of the usual "caveats"? EACH driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. Failure to produce an I.D.P. if requested can result in fines on the spot! You can easily obtain an I.D.P. at any AAA office for a small fee (Passport photos required). You'll also need to be aware of the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato areas, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in Italy (especially in Florence). Passing through these zones can result in expensive fines! Recent posts here would seem to indicate that authorities in Italy are becoming more aggressive in collecting the fines from foreign drivers and there may also be charges from the rental car firm for providing renter information to law enforcement. Regarding your Itinerary, it looks good. I agree that taking the Curreri Viaggi Bus from NAP to Sorrento and then Positano would be the best option. For the trip to Umbria, my preference would be Bus from Positano to Sorrento, Circumvesuviana from there to Naples and then train to Orvieto (which will probably be via Roma Termini). There are good car rental agencies close to the station in Orvieto. Happy travels!

I'd suggest taking a train to Orvieto for simplicity. It's about 70 minutes north of Rome. Hertz has a location 100 yards from the Orvieto train station. You can try Hertz.com or AutoEurope.com for the best rates. Chances are that AutoEurope would be furnishing a Hertz car in that city. Orvieto's a very enjoyable hill top city, and would be a good base to do day trips of Umbria out of. Don't miss Civita. And getting back to Rome and FCO would be easy.

Cindy - Yes, it makes sense. I would take a bus/train combo to Orvieto then rent a car there. You will be much moe relaxed than driving the AC. You could turn you car in at Orvieto and train into Rome, too. My philosophy is to minimize stress by using public trans whenever possible.

Thanks for all the input. Roberto - I tend to agree that with 4 of us and wanting a car for the Umbria Region, I will look into picking up a car in Sorrento and then driving from there. Do you have any idea how long a drive from Sorrento to Orvieto? Was not planning on making Orvieto our final destination, but thought a good place to lunch and see the town before heading to one of the towns we will stay in for 3 nights. Ken - we rented 2 years ago from Florence to explore Tuscany and stayed in Siena and loved having the car. One of our wrong turns and we ended up on the Ferragamo estate where we had lunch, couldn't have been more beautiful. Returned care upon return to Florence (didn't need it in the city) as we will do this time when we return to Rome.

It is usually less expensive to rent a car from the U.S. I would like to suggest a wonderful agriturismo outside of Orvieto, called Titignano. It is close to Todi and on the route to other hill towns. The food is incredible the views fantastic and the people who run it are very nice.

Sorrento to Orvieto is about 360 km (225 miles). It's all freeway except for the first 3 or 4 km (about 2 miles) from Sorrento to Castellammare freeway entrance. It depends on how fast you drive, but if you are a law abiding driver staying under the speed limit on the freeway (130km/h) with no major traffic delays, I would say less than 4 hours, including bathroom stop and/or espresso stop along the way. From my house in Florence to Positano I sometimes made it in 4 and 1/2 hours with little traffic (but I was not a law abiding driver and in those days there were no speed cameras).