Wheelchair accessible options in the Amalfi coast

I found Ravello to have a decent amount of level walking. But you will have to accept the need for costly taxis and car-services. (Sorrento is not on the AC. I'm not quibbling over terminology; The difference is important because Sorrento has the best transportation access.)

It would be useful to know if the friend can walk short distances or a few stairs on crutches?

If the wheelchair lift is working, Villa Oplontis may be possible while Pompeii is not. If you use a cab to get there, Herculaneum is possible. The five big cliffside hotels in Sorrento have sea/sun bathing platforms accessed by their elevators.

Thank you for the quick reply. My friend can walk a short distance with assistance and crutches. Perhaps 10 steps or so. We have successfully been able to help her upstairs as well. She couldn’t do a full flight of stairs, but she can do a short run if we are there to help her.

My wife had a terrible back operation on 7/12. After leaving the hospital and rehab, she was home 5 hours when her knee gave way and she fell and broke a leg above the ankle. I've been taking care of her every since 24/7. We are very fortunate to have an electric wheelchair and a portable power scooter she's been traveling with the last couple of years.

Italy is not the best place for people with mobility issues--simply put. And the Amalfi Coast is vertical.

I was on a trip many years ago with someone that broke a leg. When she got out of the hospital, she flew home 1st class on a commercial flight. That's what I suggest in this situation. No reason to affect the rest of the party and their trip.

Could you possibly hire a private driver to take you all to the various Towns, get her set up in a cafe while you all wonder around? The Amalfi Coast is great for people watching, I am not sure her age or comfort level on being alone but I know I would not want to hold up the group. We hired a private driver that took us from Sorrento to Amalfi, Positano and Ravello who dropped us off as close as he could to the no car zones and picked us up spending about an hour is each town and we had lunch at a beautiful restaurant in Ravello. Amalfi and Ravello were easy to navigate, but Positano may be another matter. Or maybe you all can take turns in the group on sitting with her in each town?

Does she have travel insurance? I'm with David as I think flying home and resting the leg is better than overdoing it and risking it not healing properly. This is spoken as someone whose has numerous leg/knee surgeries.

Regarding Oplontis, because the 10? steps down are 4' deep and 8' wide, she might be able to do that even if the wheelchair lift is broken. (Southern Italy!) Oplontis is artistically important so this is no "burden" on the rest of the group.

I have to agree with David - this situation wouldn’t be fun for anyone and she should go home and take it easy.

I was at the Amalfi Coast two weeks ago.

She could do the ferry between locations since it is a ramp, and there are seats just inside the end of the ramp. Don’t try the bus.

Amalfi has a piazza just past the main intersection that you see when coming off the ferry. The Duomo with all of the steps is in this piazza. There’s several restaurants with outdoor tables including gelato shops, and a wonderful pastry shop. I wouldn’t try to go farther uphill because it’s a crowd of people, cars and motorcycles on that street, and pedestrians do not have the right-of-way.

To go to Ravello from Amalfi, hire a taxi. Ravello is very flat and has a main piazza of shaded tables, etc. The Villa Rufolo has signs as being wheelchair friendly, but I don’t remember any view sites that were wheelchair accessible. But if others in your group are there, there are places in the shaded garden to relax.

We also stayed in Salerno. The newer part of the city next to the old center has some flat streets, including the one where the evening passeggiata thrives. There’s also the waterfront promenade area that is very flat and has a nice restaurant. You could take the ferry to Salerno.

If this person is okay with riding a train or taxi (no idea w a wheelchair), Paestum would be a good day trip from Salerno to see the Greek ruins. It’s all flat at that site.

Will you be traveling by train at all? Trenitalia has a wonderful serve called Sala Blue that assist people with mobility issues on and off of trains. You can arrange thus online or at mist stations, several hours prior to trip.