weilferg

My husband and I are renting a car to drive from Nice to Rome. We do not know whether we should keep it for the Amalfi coast or if we should just turn it in Rome and take the train south. It would not be that much more expensive to keep, but I read (in Rick Steve's book) that it is more of a hassle than a help to help to have a car in the area. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Dori

I have a friend that lives in the Amalfi Coast, and I just got done visiting him. The driving along the coastline was beautiful but absolutely crazy. You can never see what's coming around the corner until you are on top of each other. I trusted him because he has lived there his whole life, but I just kept thinking I hope to God there isn't a clueless tourist on these roads. Not to mention trying to find parking is a complete hassle and this was considered the off season. I would definitely use public transportation there if I didn't have a friend that lived there with a car. Enjoy. You'll love the area!!!

mari3

We just returned from Southern Italy and I believe you would find it a lot easier NOT to have a car to drive the Amalfi Coast. It is absolutely gorgeous but better done by the professionals and you can look around more. My husband and I lived overseas for 5 years, and travel in Europe a lot, and almost ALWAYS rent a car for everyplace.(except a many areas of Italy) I feel it would be best to turn in the car in Rome(you certainly don't need it there).,and the rest by private tours, or pubic busses. Sorrento is gorgeous, Pompeii interesting, Capri, Montecassino etc. Well , you could probably do the area around Pompeii, Salerno, possibly Sorrento by car...but doubt if you would enjoy the Almalfi Coast drive with your own car. The big busses add to the confusion "on the tight curves"!

sognatrice

I have driven the Amalfi Coast a number of times both in daylight and at night with s friend who is a lifelong local resident and also on my own in a rented car (off season, in rainy conditions). I have also taken the bus. I had a great experience with all 3 forms of transportation, but I suggest leaving the car in Rome and having a private driver for the Amalfi Coast area if it's your first time there, to avoid having to concentrate on driving and parking instead of enjoying the amazing scenery!

az

do text search on &quot;rules for driving the amalfi coast&quot; for humor/insight on driving the a.c. will top it for you if you can't find it.<BR>bottom line: if you enjoy driving, the a.c. is a blast; if not, it can be scary.<BR>enjoy.

maitaitom

I loved driving the Amalfi Coast a coupe of years ago. Of course, I don't know if I can say the same for my passengers. Every time they saw a bus coming the opposite direction around the curve they were sure that (a) it was going to hit us or (b) I was going to drive us off the cliff. That said, I can hardly wait until the next time I visit to make that drive again. It was really fun.

Kate

Just did it. 3 days ago. And my arms are still aching from gripping the steering wheel so tightly.<BR><BR>I'm a confident driver. I live and drive regularly in London, I've happily driven in Manhattan, and even survived the rush hour in Florence without losing any hair. But the Amalfi Coast, my god, never again!<BR><BR>My worst fear before I went was my vertigo - no problems there, I never looked at the view, I was too intent on the cars hurtling towards me. All I could think was &quot; this road wasn't meant for cars, it was meant for donkeys, what am I doing here?&quot; I saw one head on collision.<BR><BR>But worse than the coast road was the towns - try negotiating a road barely wide enough for one car, with 10 tourists walking in front of you, 2 scooters weaving past you, and a bus heading straight for you.<BR><BR>I've never been so quick to dump the car and hit the lemoncello.<BR><BR>That said, I'm glad I did it - you've got to do these things once. But next time, I'm on the bus, swigging from a large bottle of chianti as we swing over the sheer drops.

judya

You sure don't want a car in Rome. We took the train from Rome to Sorrento with a stop in Pompeii. A travel agent in the Rome train Station did all our train reservations, free. Stayed in Sorrento and took a bus for the amalfi coast. Beautiful scenery, but if you drove no one would be able to enjoy the views. We have driven a lot of mountain roads (even in France) but not amalfi.

Cicerone

A couple of things to consider:<BR><BR>-as mentioned above, there is very little parking in any of the towns along the coast. Your hotel may have parking, but that will not help when you are going out to dinner or taking in the sights in the other towns.<BR><BR>-gas costs about $4 a gallon. I don't know why this doesn't get more mentions here, it may be that people are unaware of it until they get to Europe.<BR><BR>-your car rental company many not permit you to take a car to the Naples area. Due to high car theft rates, some rental comanies do not allow cars to be rented if they are going to be driven in Naples; or they may not cover you if you drive a rental car here and it is stolen. As you are renting in France, you should definately make sure that you are permitted to drive in the other countries which are on your itinerary.

cruelbee

Dori, did you meet up with Vincenzo while you were in his area?