Fellow travelers,
After spending 23 nights further north in Italy in October my wife and I are considering driving a rental car from Montepulciano (we will have gotten the car after a visit in Siena) and dropping it off near the Naples train station. The A1 highway goes east of Rome and Google says the route takes about 4 hours. It seems like a good use of a day’s rental car as bus/train connections aren’t too convenient nor is returning the car to Siena. Does this make sense to those familiar with Italy?
We enjoy museums and historic sites so we are planning to spend three nights in Naples (a day to Pompeii/Herculaneum/ and a day in Naples for the Archeological Museum, Rick’s Walks, etc..).
Then I’m considering a stay in the Rick recommended town of Ravello on the Amalfi coast. If the weather looked good maybe we could make a detour in late October to visit Capri for either a day trip or spend the night on Capri or in Sorrento and then take the bus via Positano to stay in Ravello the next night. Then get to Salerno and take the train to Rome for our final five nights. I wish we had two, three or more days for this area but we don’t. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5128 posts
First of all I'd recommend dropping off the car near the airport and not the train station; drivers and traffic in Naples are a next level of crazy. Yes to Pompeii AND Herculaneum as well as the museum. If you have time, also visit the Villa of Oplontis which is one train north of Pompeii Scavi. I'd take extra days in Capri in a heartbeat over the Amalfi Coast, we loved it there. We actually based ourselves in Sorrento for 2 weeks in 2023 and did daytrips from there. It's a good transportation hub to get you to ask the place you're thinking of. Next visit we're going to plan for a few days in Capri.
Here's my Trip Report if you're interested. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-2-weeks-of-day-trips-from-sorrento
Posted by
5897 posts
Agree, I would drop the car at NAP.
With five nights for the area, I would let the weather dictate. If you are enjoying Naples, just stay there (or maybe check the forecast in case you need to reverse the stays). I would not do any one-night stays, so I would look at pics and activities and decide if you want the Amalfi Coast OR Capri.