javert8817

First timers going to Italy from New Jersey in July.
We plan during our 2 weeks of spending time in Rome, the Amalfi Coast (Positano?) , Giulianova (visiting relatives) and Venice.
Is it best to rent a car for the whole time?
I hear the Amalfi Coast is a treacherous drive...is it best not to have a car there?
Can we fly into a spot near the Amalfi Coast, or is it best to fly into Rome and go (and leave) from there? Or should we fly into Naples airport..although it looks like there aren't non-stops into there.
From Rome to the Amalfi Coast...train, taxi, bus?
Are there other driving areas that are treacherous mountain areas with hairpin turns I should be aware of?
Any general suggestions?
I know these are loads of questions. Sorry.
Thanks!!!!!

nytraveler

Well a car is useless in Rome and Venice. If you fly into Naples you could do the Amalfi coast, then Giuilanova (don't have a clue - but you might need a car) then drive or train to Venice (drop car there is you have one) and fly back from Rome.

BUT - if the trip is in July you may have limited flight options left. You do NOT want a car onthe Amalfi coast in the summer - not due to the road but to the traffic - which is horrendous - think 5 mph standing on a mobbed bus.

We stay in Sorrento (which is the end of the train line) to see Pompeii and Capri and drive down the coast to visit the small towns there - but we go in May when driving is possible. Also, to have a car there you need a hotel with parking = which is rare.

I find driving in Italy easy - but I like driving fast cars fast - and take driving seriuosly/follow the rules. Locals will not have any patience with people who dawdle or don't follow the rules - keep to the right lane except for passing, no calling or texting or eating/drinking while driving - you don't need to be aggressive - but do have to be confident and assertive. But no matter how good a driver you are - keep off the coast road in summer - it's just one giant parkng lot. Much better to take a ferry down the coast.

Mimar

You don't want a car in Rome, you don't want a car on the Amalfi Coast in July and you can't use a car in Venice. A car would be nice to visit Giulianova.

When in July is your trip? I gather you don't yet have plane tickets. It's a bit last minute for all this planning.

The Amalfi Coast is very busy in summer and the drive along the coast crowded with buses and visitors. I personally would be inclined to skip the AC this trip, given the relative difficulty of getting there and getting back. But it sounds like it's a priority with you. Do you already have hotel reservations there? You can take a train to Naples or Salerno, take a taxi to the port, and a boat to Positano.

And you can rent a car in Rome and drive to Giulianova. Maybe keep the car and drive up to Venice. Which is another popular crowded place in the summer.

Keep in mind that you will probably be jet-lagged and sleepy on arrival so don't plan any driving right away. Open jaws options are flying into Naples and out of Venice or vice versa. But, yes, you will probably have to take a connecting flight at least one way into or out of Naples. I see Delta has a nonstop flight between Venice and JFK. Or into Rome and transfer immediately to the Amalfi coast.

Good luck!

muskoka

We and two friends had a driver pick us up in Naples and drive us to Positano. That was a month ago and it took less than 2 hours. It can take that long just to leave Naples in July.

nytraveler is right: don't drive on the Amalfi Coast in
July: you'll just sit and fume. The street in Positano and the Marina Grande will be equally crowded; Sorrento, too.

Make sure you have dinner reservations well in advance of the nights you wish to dine out; tickets for the ferries, too. We rented an apartment in Positano which came equipped with a full kitchen, so if we were too late (even in May) to score a dinner reserv., we had the option of walking to the delicatessen for food.

Know the address exactly for your lodging. This might sound odd, but if your driver or you misses it the first time around, then you will have to go around through the town and outskirts once more - now that is a royal PIA!

Sassafrass

At the very least, I would not fly both into and out of Rome. Perhaps fly into Venice, then train or drive to Giuilanova (I haven't looked at routes, so no idea which is best, except it is on the opposite side of the country from Rome), then Rome, then the AC and fly out of Naples. If Naples doesn't work for flights, then go Venice to Giuilanova to the AC to Rome, and out of Rome.

You can't use a car in Venice, don't want one in Rome and, in July, don't want one on the AC, so the only time you might use one is to get to Giuilanova and someone else will know better about that.

BTW, you are not asking loads of questions and the ones you are asking are logical for your situation.

HG001London

i too would not recommend driving in any of those places (u cant in venice realluy anyway) If i were u i would fly into naples, go to amalfi and then fly from naples to rome and train it from rome to venice and leave out of venice. To me it makes most sense for Rome to be your middle spot if possible.

have a great trip

Mimar

Fly from Naples to Rome? The train runs city center to city center so would be more convenient and take less total time.