Travel from Rome to Amalfi Coast

This is what I would do:

1. Ditch the rental car.

2. Take the airporter train from FCO to Roma Termini Station (32 minutes). 11 Euros.

3. Take any fast train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale. Note that the IC train costs one-half of the AV train, yet takes only 1 hour longer (130 minutes versus 70 minutes). Fare ranges from 20.50 Euros for the IC train to 44 Euros for the AV train.

4. Take the Circumvesuviana Commuter rail from Napoli Centrale to Sorrento (65 minutes)

5. Use the SITA buses to travel between Sorrento and Positano, Praiano, Amalfi and Ravello (100 minutes all the way to Amalfi).

6. Use the Circumvesuviana commuter rail to travel between Sorrento and Pompei Scavi (30 minutes)

7. Purchase the UNICO CAMPANIA 3T Tourist ticket for 20 Euros (per person), to get unlimited travel on both the SITA buses and the Circumvesuviana commuter rail in the Naples, Sorrento and Amalfi areas. Buy this ticket as soon as you arrive at Napoli Centrale, and BEFORE boarding the Circumvesuviana rail to Sorrento. It expires at midnight of the THIRD DAY after validation.

8. You can also travel to Capri from Sorrento on the hydrofoil or fast ferry (20 minutes). The UNICO CAMPANIA ticket is NOT valid for the hydrofoil service.

9. As an ALTERNATIVE to the UNICO CAMPANIA 3T ticket (20 Euros), consider buying the "Campania Arte Card Tutta la Regione 3 days" for 27 Euros. This gets you entrance to Pompei and one other site free of charge, plus free transportation. The regular entrance fee to Pompei is 11 Euros. You can purchase the Campania Arte Card at the Naples train station Info Point. In essence, you gain entrance to Pompei for an additional 7 Euros, instead of 11 Euros, PLUS you get the same transportation as with the UNICO CAMPANIA 3T ticket.

www.ferroviedellostato.it
www.vesuviana.it
www.sitabus.it
www.unicocampania.it
www.artecard.it

Unless you are going during the dead of winter do not rent a car. Use the bus. Traffic is crazy and you do not want to deal with that head ache. Sit on the front right side of the bus and enjoy the ride. Stay in Sorrento, you'll love it.

Thank you for your quick and informative reply. Sounds good. We'd be exchanging our anxiety about road travel for awkwardness with mass transit. But I think we can do it.

Two additional observations:

1. There is a direct bus from Roma TIBURTINA Station to Sorrento from Monday through Saturday at 14:00. The bus costs 16 Euros and arrives in Sorrento at 17:30. This avoids the connection at Napoli Centrale to the Circumvesuviana commuter rail. There is also a direct airporter train from FCO to Roma TIBURTINA for 5.50 Euros. DO NOT take the "other" airporter train to Roma Termini Station. DON'T confuse the two airporter trains!!!

2. There is limited boat service along the Amalfi Coast in April. Nevertheless, many people enjoy taking the SITA bus in one direction, and the boat in the opposite direction. Consider this possibility as well. For example, if you take the SITA bus to Positano in the morning, you could take the boat onward to Amalfi, then the SITA bus back to Sorrento in the late afternoon. Be aware that taking the bus BACK to Sorrento from Positano might be a problem if the bus (which originates in Amalfi) is already full by the time it reaches Positano. This is most likely to occur around Easter time and on week-ends.

www.curreriviaggi.it (Roma Tiburtina to Sorrento)
www.coopsantandrea.it (Boats between Positano and Amalfi)

Hi Carol,

We rented a car and drove the Amalfi Coast in June 2008. It was actually a really fun experience. I think that our first reaction was to be stressed out, but then we were able to get into the Italian frame of mind and it wasn't that bad. It just takes way more time to drive places than you think.

That being said, it was challenging to find a place to park the car. Once you actually get to Sorrento you won't need the car and you will likely have to pay between 15 and 30 euros per day to park it.

The public transportation can be a bit intimidating at first, but once you get into vacation mode it is less stressful. What is the worst than can happen if you miss a train or connection? You just wait for the next one, no big deal.

All in all, I would recommend the public transportation option. However, if you do choose to rent a car, make sure that you get the extra insurance. Accidents and vandalism are pretty common with rental cars over there.

Enjoy the Amalfi Coast. It truly is magical. :)

Since you mentioned you want to see Pompeii, I suggest considering Herculaneum as an alternative. Both Pompeii and Herculaneum are reachable by the same public train, and I thought the ruins at Herculaneum gave a much better impression of what the town used to be like.

I'm an advocate of renting a car. We rented a car (actually, a huge van - was supposed to be a mini-van, but it was a 9-seater) on our way out of Rome. We drove to Vesuvius, Pompeii, then to Sorrento where we left the car during our 3-night stay. (We stayed at La Tonnarella, which has free parking.) Yes, it was a tight squeeze in some of the Sorrento streets, but nothing too bad at all.

For the Amalfi Drive, we hired a driver, not so much because of being intimidated by the drive, but because of the parking limitations. We wanted to be free to explore the towns, and the luxury of a driver provided that.

We actually kept the car for the drive to Florence, Cinque Terre, then dumped the car upon our arrival in Venice (our last stop in Italy).

We loved the flexibility of a car, and you trade the experience of trains, etc. with that of being more of a local, eating at the Autogrills (actually, wonderful places!), etc. We're a family of 5, so your mileage (figuratively) may vary.