Amalfi by Car?
 

Hello all,
I have been reading all the posts about travel in the Amalfi region...I have rented an apartment in Sant Agata sui Due Golfi for a week and will be planning day trips from there...we are renting a car, as we are coming from and returning to Rome. Most of the posts are concerned with boats, buses, trains, and car hires...are the roads that "white knuckle" that nobody rents cars?....Is car travel that tough?.thank you,
Mikek

Mike there are many long discussions of this topic that you can find by doing a search here...

I grappled with a similar question for an upcoming trip...I think a lot depends on the month that you will be there.. But do a search and see what you come up with..
there are many dissenting opinions on this topic!!

We too rented an apartment in the hills above Sorrento. We stayed five nights there and two on Capri. For our Capri stay, we left our car with the people from whom we rented the apartment plus they transported us to and from the ferry (for a price of course). We were there during the first week of September.

We drove all over, from Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius to Amalfi and the Massa Lubrense. Frequently we pulled over, parked the car and took off on a hike.

And NO, the roads are NOT "white knuckle" and car travel is NOT 'that tough'. In fact, having the car added immensely to our enjoyment of the region!

It really depends on when.
It is not the danger factor, it is the convenience factor. I have driven there twice but both times were off season. Check out your parking options first, but I would probably drive with a weekly rental.

We rented an apartment for 2 weeks this past July in Sant'Agata and really had a great time. We had a car (parking included) and would not have done it any other way. The roads are not that scary at all, not even the famous coastal road. The drivers can be aggressive but we are used to that living in Paris. Parking can be expensive but for us it was worth the freedom of not adhering to a bus schedule. The only place we did not drive into was Naples. We parked at Pompei and just took the train from there.

When will you be going ?

It's not danger that's an issue (the roads are perfectly safe, even if a little twisty/windy) - its the traffic and the lack of parking spaces that are problems.

If you're there in the summer traffic on the coast road travels between 5 and 10 mph - so boats are a better choice for actually getting anywhere.

Other times of year the roads aren't so bad. (We have been in May several times and driving was fine - but our hotel had free parking. If yours doesn;'t it can be a MAJOR issue.)

The worst traffic is south of Sorrento - from there north the road is wider and you can do reasonable speeds.

we DID NOT enjoy having a car in March on the Amalfi Coast - after a drive up the Coast Road from Paestum, it stayed parked in Ravello until we left to drive over the Mountains to the Naples airport.

If you are a seasoned driver and enjoy challenging curvy driving, sheer drops, etc. you may enjoy the experience. Neither my husband (the driver) or I (the rider) did, and he as driver felt he really did not get to SEE that amazing coast - he was too focussed in safe driving and dealing with the constant turning. Remember too the cars are stick shift which is less of an issue on autostradas than little, hilly curvy roads.

Thanks for all the replies......I have driven the Cinque Terre, Lugano area of Switzerland, and the Autobahn in Gemany (from which I just received a photograph of me speeding...in the mail..entirely in German, which I can not understand...but that is another story)...the replies eased me a great deal...kellee21..I am going May 3-10, 2008...again thanx...

any suggestions for food, or must see in the Amalfi Coast (aside from the obvious would be most appreciated)....gratzie.mikek

I agree that roads in the Amalfi area are not for inexperienced or nervous drivers.

But - assuming a reasonable level of experience - and that you enjoy driving - it's really not scary - compared to many other roads in europe. (The Amalfi Drive has a sturdy stone wall between the road and the drop to the sea - but the road is twisting and winding, with narrow lanes - and parking spots are VERY little larger than a car - so you have to be a good parallel parker.)