cdispoto

My current itinerary involves leaving Florence on 9/29 via rental car and - after a few days in southern Tuscany - dropping the car off in Sorrento on October 2.

However, I am wondering if it would be wiser to keep the car in Sorrento until we head to Rome on October 6. The car would make it easier to get to Pompeii, etc. but I don't think we would need it otherwise and I have a feeling the drive to Rome may be congested.

Thoughts?

crazyfortravel

Driving on the Amalfi Coast is not for the faint of heart...personally I would not choose to drive that section of road. Can you not visit Pompeii on your way to Sorrento and then drop off the car? That would be my suggestion.

cdispoto

That's not a bad idea, although it is a long drive to begin with. But that actually seems to work. Thanks for the suggestion, I really have to consider that.

kettamic

Driving the Amalfi Coast in October is not a problem. Having the car would allow you to travel the coast at your own pace. Even if you have a car in Sorrento, I would suggest taking the train from Sorrento to Pompeii.

NoCaliGal

Kettamic has it right. But after you complete your driving on the Amalfi Coast, drop your car off in Sorrento or Naples and train from Naples to Rome in 2 hours on the Frecciarosso high speed train. . The drive is not very interesting and you surely don't want to drive through Rome.
The only thing is would say about driving the Amalfi Coast is that only one of you is going to enjoy the view during the driving. The other has to keep eyes on road and watch for buses who drive wide around blind curves. It's perfectly easy to take the buses and ferries there; people do it all the time.

nytraveler

You will be there in the off-season and I would definitely keep the car. Yuo can use it to get to Pompeii as well as to town along the coast and up in the hills - without the hassle of waiting for a bus. Just be sure that your hotel has parking available or can reco a reliable place to put it for overnigts.

We always have a car there (but in May) and find it very convenient. Also, driving the coast road is fun (if you like driving) - not scary at all - there's a substantial stone wall between the road and the drop off into the sea - it's not an open cliff - as in some places in the Italian lakes.

crazyfortravel

My concern with taking the train to Pompeii would be where to leave my luggage unless you plan to overnight there.

Jean

There is luggage storage at the entrance to Pompeii.

Your dates may be considered "off season" for the Amalfi Coast, but you will still see lots of tourists and traffic. I wouldn't discourage you from driving the coastal road, but I also wouldn't say parking in the more popular towns will be easy.

NoCaliGal

Re: driving to Pompeii from Sorrento.
Taking the little train line Circumvesuvianoa from the train station in Sorrento to Pompeii is certainly one of the easiest little trips I've ever taken. Cheap too. If you buy the 3 day ArteCard pass that includes all bus travel, the Circumvesuviana train, 2 free entrances into museums, including Pompeii, plus 50% off other museums, you'll probably be ahead. 27 Euros.

No matter how you get there, go early. It can still get quite hot, and you will spend hours there. Bring a bottle of water, which you can refill from the ancient drinking fountains in Pompeii which still work (oh, those Romans!!)
The do have one small restaurant/snack bar there, where the wild Pompeii dogs hang out looking for meals.

nytraveler

East of parking is comparative. If you live in a suburb where you can park in your driveway or in front of your house - and then in a lot at the mall or the job or the school, etc - then finding a place to park may be a unique experience.

But for people used to living in a city with limited parking - we never had any trouble parking in towns on the Amalfi coast - always found a spot within 10 minutes or so - as long as you can parallel park on either side in a spot barely larger than the car. (Our hotel did have parking for overnights - although limited and nose to tail.)

NoCaliGal

That brings up the size of your car....smaller is always better in Italy! Squeezing your way into garages, parking spaces and even arches..enough said!

cdispoto

Just to fill in everyone on the resolution, my hotel in Sorrento (Maison Tofani) does not have a lot so I will drop the car off in Sorrento. However, I found a one-day rental convertible from www.sorrentocarrent.com for 110 euros and they drop the car and pick it up at our hotel.

This seems almost too good to be true, any thoughts?

Maclin

I have the same question, We are going to be in Rome then travel to Atrani. I don't really want to have a car as the house we rented has no parking place.