Side trip from Positano

Hi Lindah, you might want to take a ferry over to Amalfi and then take the bus up to Ravello for the day. I’m not mentioning driving because you’re requesting no hair pin curves, but that’s the type of road to go either west or east from Positano.

I agree with the suggestion to go to Amalfi via ferry and add Ravello. Another option is the ferry to Capri. We spent a full day there without visiting the grotto but following other suggestions from the RS guidebook.

The roads to and from Positano are extremely hairpin curves and in June will be very busy. Parking there is also very difficult and you can't drive into the village. Are you absolutely certain you want to be driving on the Amalfi Coast.? If you do want a side trip you can go to Ravello on the bus or take the bus and then train to Pompeii if you haven't seen it.

We don't want to drive on a road that has too many hair pin curves, though, because that might be a bit stressful.

How are you planning to get to Positano? There is no 'straight' road there. You show New Orleans as your home, so driving the winding cliff side roads to get to Positano will probably cause you to not want to drive them again until you have to leave.

Finding parking at the destination will be challenging and expensive.

Positano is a place to 'be', not a base to go somewhere.

Ferries from Positano see Travelmar.

Lindah, the effort was made in another post to talk you out of the 6-person van you've rented but looks like you're determined to have it. I also saw mentioned, in a previous post, that you've been as far as Amalfi with a car (daughter driving?) but it's unclear if you've been anywhere else on the coast by road? I'm guessing not as just getting TO Positano will involve a narrow road and hairpin curves. The coastal road is so tight in places that approaching traffic sometimes has to stop and back up on the curves to let the tour buses by.

I get carsick just watching some of the footage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL3tziOxNC8. (remove the romantic music and the reality is a bit different)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCnyHBxmgWg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxFALPuxVIY

​You could visit Paestum, if you are interested in Greek Temples

We don't want to drive on a road that has too many hair pin curves

And you are staying on the Amalfi Coast? In Positano, no less? Good luck, the driver(s) got my full admiration and respect.

Are there any hills close to New Orleans where ​you can practice on a side street? I mean reverse parallel parking to make room for buses, while driving a manual 6-seaters van on a slope. With a callous bus driver 10 feet away who's talking on the phone about your driving skills and the "usual suspects". Then the German guy on a Mercedes behind you will start honking.

You may find this slightly different question helpful:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/how-do-i-get-from-pompeii-to-positano-is-there-a-direct-route

I personally would not take a car to Positano in June, even if my housing promised a parking space. It's kind of like taking a car to visit Manhattan, any time of year. Our driver for the day (from Sorrento) parked in tiny, full parking garages (i.e. blocking a customer in a slot) while he played cards with his friends while we walked around each town.

Positano is a remarkable, visually attractive town that it is quite fine to spend two nights in. We made a different choice, Sorrento, because we planned to take daytrips every day, and see Sorrento on foot on the way to dinner each night. We also aren't that interested in pebble beaches or cold seawater. I say, perhaps too often, that the US and the Caribbean have much better beaches than does Italy.

Have you done a little Google Maps search showing the route(s) from Positano to Sorrento (or anywhere else on the Amalfi Coast)? Assuming Sorrento is your choice, using your lodgings as your starting point and a specific location in Sorrento as your destination will provide the most relevant map.

If you do that and zoom in on the main roads, SS163 and SS145, you will see the truth of what people are saying. Be sure to click on Satellite to see the road(s) and then Street View to get a better idea of what you'd be driving through.

Keep in mind that the SS163 essentially runs east and west along a cliff with the water on the south side and the steep hill(s), where the towns are, on the north side. Positano itself is described as " a cliffside village ... with a pebble beachfront and steep, narrow streets."

As others have said and as the driving videos show, the road is very narrow and the "barriers" to keep you from going ass over teakettle into the Mediterranean are very short. If you drive anywhere from Positano and return, your group will be right next to the edge on part of the trip.

As the Google Map shows, no matter if you are on the edge or not, hairpin turns are the norm so be prepared to be stressed. The distance from Positano to Sorrento is only 18 KM with constant twists and turns. Add in the crowded conditions and hilly nature of the road(s) and some of your group may want to wear masks -- over their eyes.