Planning a May trip to the above. Trying to keep it as simple as possible. Will be spending 16 nights on this trip but have flexibility if need be. Maybe 10 or 11 in Sicily the remainder on the Amalfi Coast. Renting a car. From Chicago suppose we would fly into Naples and get our car there. The Amalfi coast is fairly close by. We have been there before but were traveling by train. Then I guess we would ferry to Sicily and begin that chapter of our trip there - driving back to Naples and flying to Chicago.. This is a rough outline of the trip. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Irving
3315 posts
You may want to begin your trip in Sicily since it’s further south but I would still check the cost of flights in both directions. If you can fly into Palermo and out of Naples that might work better, however, you’ll have to connect elsewhere in Europe.
Plan on sleeping in three locations: Palermo, Saracusa and somewhere along the Amalfi Coast. Sorrento will be the most convenient if visiting Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples and Capri. Amalfi will make a good base if visiting Paestum.
If you fly into Naples take a ferry to Sorrento or a train to Salerno depending on where you’re staying. You don’t want to rent a car and drive in Naples, especially after being up all night. Furthermore, IT has very strict driving laws that come with costly fines when failing to observe a ZTL zone. I have no idea what ZTL zones are like in Campania but you don’t want to be ticketed six months later which can cost a couple hundred dollars. Apparently the longer you wait to pay your ticket the more it costs. I have also heard that Naples is one of worst places to drive.
You can take a ferry between Sicily and the Amalfi Coast but I don’t know about ferries between Siracusa and the coast.
Posted by
Washington DC
28386 posts
Ten to eleven days is quite short for Sicily. I always recommend at least two weeks for people with a car, longer if using public transportation. Even with two weeks you will have to be selective about where you go.
Although a car is helpful for getting around Sicily outside the major cities, others have suggested it is not a good means of transportation on the Amalfi Coast, but I haven't had the experience of testing that out. If you've been in the area before, I guess you are aware of the traffic challenges.
Be sure your car-rental company will allow you to take the car on a ferry. The ferries run from Naples, I believe. The alternative is a drive to Villa San Giovanni and the quick ferry across the Straits of Messina.
Sicily is a large island, and I don't think two bases is enough. That would in most cases mean excessive driving time, however, that depends on what places you want to see in Sicily. I agree that Palermo and Siracusa (Ortygia) are both good places to stay. Note that trying to drive in Palermo is borderline insane.