summertime26

Hi,

During our trip to Italy we have decided to rent a car in Florence on May 21st and return the car in Naples May 23rd and then catch a boat to Positano. I am looking for off the beaten path places to go and to stay on our two day road trip! Any suggestions welcome!

annhig

summertime - when i opened this I was expecting to see that you were going to be spending a week or so doing this "road trip", not one night and 2 days.

Where in Florence are you going to rent the car [beware the dreaded ZLT] and where in Naples are you going to return it? [beware, well, just Naples! - the traffic is unbelievably difficult to drive in].

in 2 days, you really aren't going to be able to venture far off the beaten path.

personally, I would get the train to Naples, and spend the night there, Plenty to see to fill 24 hours certainly, and you will definitely appreciate Positano when you get there.

jackiebowyer1

May I interrupt and ask what the dreaded ZLT is in Florence? I am renting a car at the airport in Florence in hopes that I will be outside the city limits to avoid horrid traffic. I will then head from the airport to the Siena, etc. enjoying the little villages for 3 days until Rome. So will I be out of the ZLT zone?

MmePerdu

If you really have only 2 days for the drive, as Annhig implies, it makes no sense. Relax on the train instead. There are any number of places to spend the night, but Naples probably is the most logical.

ekc

I agree with annhig - it is a waste of time and money to drive from Florence to Naples.

There is no ferry from Naples to Positano. You would have to get from Naples to Sorrento, then catch one of the infrequent ferries from Sorrento to Positano, or take the bus.

Michael

You could stop in Tarquinia and visit the Etruscan museum and tombs.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4201814438/

summertime26

We will be getting the car May 21 and have all of the 21st, 22nd and then return the car mid day the 23rd. So we will have 2 nights and 2 1/2 days. Maybe instead of dropping at Naples we can drop in Pompeii? Then see Pompeii and train to Sorrento and boat to Positano.

greg

Florence is not the only city with ZTL.
ZTL = zona a traffico limitato (in Italian) = limited traffic zone. The sequence of letters differ depending on from which language the acronym was derived.
The primary issue in Florence is not the horrid traffic. There isn't much car traffic in ZTL because you (as a non resident or a service vehicle) are not allowed to drive in there. They meticulously enforce this by ubiquitous cameras and the fines are cumulative. There is no upper limit of these fines you can accumulate in a day. Florence is not the only city. Practically any medium to larger city/town you would be visiting would have this zone. Rome has it and so does Siena and other hill towns in the area.
Napoli, on the other hand as different issue. If you are not used to driving in big cities in Southern Italy, you might not know how to drive in a environment where you might be continually about to t-bone somebody or be t-boned. Even though you might think there is no space between your car and the car in front to merge in, a car or several cars would suddenly dash in front of you front the side streets and you are expected to react to this. And you, in return need to be able to do this if you want to make headway in Napoli.

summertime26

After reading this, maybe we will just train to Naples, stop in Pompeii, train to Sorrento and stay over night and then Positano for 3 nights. My whole itinerary is:

May 14th - 16th Venice - leaving on a late train to have the day in Venice.

May 16th - 21st - Florence

May 21 - 23 ?

May 23 - 26th Positano

May 26 - 30th Rome

We are traveling with our daughters (20 & 21) I have posted this on another thread here and did get some good advise.

dwdvagamundo

Don't drop at Pompeii--you'd still have to fight your way through Naples traffic--one of the most hellish drives I remember was late afternoon traffic to Sorrento which got better after about Pompeii. I'd drop the outside of Naples and take the train into Naples (Centrale). You can catch the Circumvesuviano train that goes via Pompeii to Sorrento from that station.

However, I concur with the previous posts that it might be better to simply train straight to Naples. Naples has a lot to see and do.
If you do decide to drive in Naples, then the best advice I ever got was "don't look in the rear view mirror. Ever."

bobthenavigator

List dates by where you will sleep---makes no sense having the same dates twice.

yorkshire

If you are set against Naples you could always go to Capri between Naples and Positano, but Naples seems the obvious choice--especially if you have any interest in Pompeii. After visiting it last year, I just don't get the avoidance of Naples--it is an amazing city!

Sassafrass

Like almost everyone else says, just take the train to Naples. Direct, relaxing, easy. If you do not think you will be exhausted, stashing you luggage at the entrance to Pompeii and touring there on the way to Sorrento works. That is about 3-4 hours travel altogether. Otherwise, go on to Sorrento, enjoy the afternoon and evening. See Pompeii early the next day by train from Sorrento. Have the hotel in Sorrento keep your luggage, on to Positano from Sorrento.

Another option if it interests you.
Stay in Naples and see one or two of the museums.
Next morning head to Pompeii and on to Positano.

You will appreciate any extra days on the Amalfi Coast. Go to Amalfi, Ravello, Paestum or Capri

sandralist

To me it sounds like it could be a lot of fun to get off the beaten track with a car for 2.5 days. Otherwise all you will experience of Italy is the tourist side. There is a lot of beautiful territory between Florence and Pompei, and you will be driving through famous scenery for some parts. There are many choices for unknown towns along the way.

Check out the idea of spending your first night on the road from Florence at either Narni or Civitella d'Agliano. These towns are charming and very few tourists go there. But to get to either of these towns, take the S2 south of Florence and plan to have lunch in Montalcino. That is not "off the beaten track" but it is very beautiful with beautiful views.

Your next day, on your way to Pompei, consider stopping off in Agnani and spending the night in neighboring Fiuggi. (It would be surprising to see a tourist). Leaving the next morning, It might be easiest and not too expensive to drop off the car at the Naples Airport and take a taxi to Pompei (it's only half an hour from the airport).

You can reserve a car with AutoEurope and if you change your mind because of weather forecasts or some other reason, you can cancel without penalty and take the train.

If you would prefer to take the train the whole time, don't let me stop you. The sooner you book the cheaper the tickets will be. But it is very normal for people to drive from Tuscany to southern Italy and enjoy the countryside. Thousands and thousands of tourists just like yourselves do it every year, many in less than 2.5 days, and those who are interested have no trouble getting off the beaten track. You might want to keep that option open.

sandralist

Here is information about the towns I mentioned

http://www.mapitout-montalcino.com

Narni

http://www.bellaumbria.net/en/narni/

Civitella d'Agliano

http://www.localidautore.com/paesi/c...liano-271.aspx

Anagni (sorry, I just realized I misspelled it the post above)

http://www.localidautore.com/paesi/anagni-1166.aspx

Fiuggi

http://www.localidautore.com/paesi/fiuggi-455.aspx

sandralist

http://www.initaly.com/regions/hilltowns/fiuggi.htm

dwdvagamundo

yorkshire--The Bay of Naples is one of my favorite areas of Italy and Naples one of my favorite cities. However, I wouldn't drive there again unless I absolutely had to, and the OP doesn't.

sandralist

dwdvagamundo,

It is not clear to me what route you took the one time you were in the area, but people in this thread have been unnecessarily alarmist about leaving Florence with a car and driving it to Pompeii. The highways south include a beltway bypass of Naples, just like highways in cities all around the world do. One does not need to drive through Naples to drop off a car.

One reason I suggested dropping off the car at the Naples airport is that it is just off the highway but well outside the city. There are many clear highway signs indicating where to go to get to the airport (just like there are everywhere). The drop-off point at the airport is not hard to find (take a left shortly after you enter the airport area). The offices are open all day and on weekends. There is a taxi stand right across from the rental office to get to your next destination. It is flat rate into the city (there is also a cheap bus) should one want to go to the docks and onto the Amalfi. Pompei is not far away should one want to go there.

It would be a pity, in my view, if the OP never reconsidered this mini-road trip because of all this unnecessary fear mongering by a handful of people. Spread out over 2.5 days, it is a leisurely drive down, absolutely none of it inside cities.

Yes, in Italy, the drivers "tailgate" and foreign travelers on the autostrade should stay in the right lane so that others may pass them. Yes, when you are on the perifphery of Siena, Rome or Naples or any larger population center it will not be like driving in farm country. I am sure people mean well, but combining Florence with the Pompei and the Amalfi coast is a very common itinerary for a great many tourists in Italy and many choose to cover the distance by car without running into trouble.

MmePerdu

"alarmist", "fear monger" ?

Oh, please. The biggest objection here has been the time factor. If they had a week to devote to the drive nobody would likely be objecting. The main point has been efficiency, balancing time spent moving with enjoying the short time they have BEING somewhere. While your information is valuable, it comes across as strong-arming the OP to do it your way. Taking up more space on a thread does not make it better advice.

dwdvagamundo

I've driven in the Naples area three different times on two different trips to Italy. It may be that the beltway was not there the first time

First time was south of Naples trying to get to Sorrento. Unfortunately we arrived around rush hour, and it took hours to get to Sorrento. I did get one good driving tactic however: when the nearest oncoming lane was clear for a space, drivers would pull into that lane and zoom up a ways, and other drivers would always let them back in. I've tried that around where I live (particularly near my home) and it works well.

Second times were around Pozzuoli and areas north trying to drop off our rental car and then departing from the ferry docks to Pozzuoli. Traffic directly in the City was better than that outside, as everyone had to drive fairly slowly. Same as here in Atlanta, where the worst traffic is the Perimeter and outside it rather than directly downtown or in Buckhead.

I'm not trying to be a fearmonger--I love the area, as I think I said above, and if I got the chance to return and a condition were that I drive there, then I'd do it. But if the OP and her family can avoid it,they should.