Driving front Positano to Napoli

We can argue about the day of the week or the height of the tourist season, but you're talking about self-driving on a curvy, mountainous two-lane (one each way) road that has few stopping places for tourists with cameras, and local business-drivers. Then you have all of the "suburbs" of Naples, a traffic tunnel, and normal daily traffic and possible construction. We hired a car and driver from Sorrento to Naples (to the train station, with hourly trains to Rome) but I would say the answer to your question is, No.

Another factor is whether you have a bargain airline that may have annoyingly long check-in lines and poor passenger service in exchange for the low fares, and inflexible rules for travelers who accidentally miss a deadline or two. If this is your trip home, is there a connection to a transatlantic flight that would be a disaster to miss? Again, No.

Don't you need to be at the airport three hours before departure? That means the height of rush hour, in southern Italy.

Thank you for your advice. We leave in Los Angeles, CA. So we do have lots of experience driving mountain road. But right about unpredictable traffic and constructions. Thanks again

www.viamichelin.com suggests 2 hours drive time, but my experience of driving suburban roads in that area included significant delays. There are many hotels near the airport, if you decide to go that way. At Thessaloniki, Greece, I got lost on my drive to the airport/hotel, but that was the night before the flight. In northern Spain, I drove a couple of hours in the morning to get to Bilbao airport, and nothing went wrong, but it was stressful to worry about traffic and refuelling the car with a deadline.

Well, I kind of remember that Topanga Canyon Road is one lane each way, but it's not so common for people to be pulling over every quarter mile to take a picture or look at a diorama! But I have been caught behind trucks in Malibu. I can tell you that our hired car from Sorrento was not faster than the Circumvesuviana train to Naples-not counting that the train only runs twice an hour. Transportation in southern Italy has some, er, third-world aspects to it.

Once you are on the motorway the drive to the airport is pretty straightforward, just follow the signs. It is the getting off the Peninsula and onto to the motorway that can be a problem because of the weight of traffic. We travel to the airport, by private transfer, to get noon flights and always leave Sorrento by 8am to allow for hold ups but once we are on the motorway it is usually plain sailing. But there have been occasions when we have been glad of the built in time buffer. If you flight is to the USA the usual reco is to arrive 3 hours beforehand. As quoted by someone else, better to be one hour early than two minutes late!

Allow plenty of time for handing over the car and making sure that everything is cleared re state of the vehicle etc so no nasty surprises appearing on your credit card after you get home. Will you have to refuel so you have a full tank when you hand it over? If so more time needed.

Thank you everybody for your advices. I think it will be better to stay in Napoli. It will de safe. Correct me if I'm wrong.