Driving in from Rome to Naples and Campania
 

The last week of September I am planing to go with my two sisters to Naples and Campania and we were are planning to rent a small car to visit the area with a GPS and explore this beautiful area on our own...just taking some tours were it is needed (I.e. Pompei).
I have lived and drove in different countries so I think I am an experienced driver, but I have read that driving and parking in these small roads is inconvenient due to transit from big busses that block the roads and costly & difficult parking in all these towns, but I was considering that by the end of September the summer season was over and these inconveniences would be minor. I really appreciate guidance here since we are renting the car to visit Tuscany and we use it to go to Naples and Campania we could avoid the high costs of paying tours for the three of us every day. Is it really a bad idea?
Thank you very much for the guidance of those who know the area and can guide us in this important decision. I hope to share our good learning experience once we start our journey.

I think you will be just fine, but can you offer details on which places you plan to visit in Campania? Amalfi Coast? If so, try to reserve a hotel with parking; these include two that I've stayed in fairly recently (links below) but there are more, even if supply is limited.

I had a car at the end of September about two years ago and it worked out fine; you must be prepared to pay for parking in covered garages at times.

http://www.hotelfloridiana.it/?lang=en-EN (liked this one much better; it is in Amalfi, which I much prefer to Praiano)

http://www.tramontodoro.it/


One town I would not miss is Cetara, especially if you like seafood. There is a covered garage at the top of the town, up the hill from the main road.

You don't want to drive in Naples no matter how experienced you think you are (no need of a car in Naples).

I'm not sure why you think you would need to book tours to get places along the coast. Many towns are served by ferries and buses, but it depends on what you actually want to visit.

Even if you have a car, I would still take public transport for Naples.

If you are planning on visiting Rome with a car after Tuscany, you aren't allowed to drive in the historic center so you will either have to park the car outside the zone (ZTL)or find a hotel at the edge of the ZTL (parking runs 30-40€ per day).

Ekscrunchy, Thank you so much for your comments.
We are planing to visit the Amalfi Cost, Sorento, Positano, Pompei and Ercolano and since this is a relative big area, we thought of the convenience of driving and avoid to pay daily tours to each of these towns and visit by our own, even though we recognize that we may need to get a tour to enjoy some of these places (ie. Pompei and Ercolano). We will certainly include Cetara since we love sea food. ��

I was advised advised to get a hotel in Sorrento since it is centrally located, but not yet decided. I will look for hotels with parking.

Kybourbon, thank you so much for your advice. We are not going to Rome since we already visited in our last trip, so it is basically drive in the Amalfy cost area and (may go to Tuscany if it is not a big load for four days)....May be the four days are enough if we just want to visit the key highlights.

Quick question, what if we do not drive at all in Naples (just park there while we visit) and once we visited Naples we drive to the other towns?

Conclusion: it seems there may be more benefits to drive from Rome to the area around the Amalfi Coast in savings even though there are some costs involved such as parking. right?

I support Ekscrunchy in that you will be fine, and that a car is a good idea, while Kybourbon of course is right that a car is not a good idea for Naples, and that you will probably not use it very much. We went for the second time to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast in late April (4 nights), and here is how we used the car (or not!):

1. Stayed in Sorrento due to the easy access to Naples/Pompei and Capri. We arrived from Rome airport and used the car to visit Tivoli and Villa d'Este on the way from the airport. Our hotel had parking for 10 euro/day (to be booked in advance).

2. For Capri, we used the ferry from Sorrento. We took the first one in the morning, and enjoyed being only a few people on the ferry and having a coffee at the cafe on the pier in Sorrento

3. For Amalfi and Positano which we visited in one day, we used the car to drive from Sorrento through Positano and to Amalfi where we parked in the car park at the harbour (it is located to the west of the harbour with plenty of spaces left when we arrived at 9:30). For us the benefit was that we could stop along the coast, and we could decide ourselves when to go back. After having seen Amalfi we used the boat to go from Amalfi to Positano, and spent a couple of hours in Positano (the boat leaves frequently and is 8 euro/person each way). This way (although more expensive) we avoided waiting for a bus with empty seats. We then went back from Amalfi through Positano to Sorrento, and enjoyed the views again (slightly less than in the morning as there was significantly more traffic). The parking fee if I recall correctly is around 2 euro/hour.

4. For Naples, we again used the ferry from Sorrento (and I would recommend this, it is a wonderful way to get to Naples). We saw Naples and the Archeaological musuem and then took the train to Pompei in the early afternoon (35 minutes from Naples). (Some here will say that we did no justice to either place by doing them together in one day, but I have on a previous trip spent a whole day in Pompei, and for my dad 2.5 hours in Pompei was just the right time to get a really good feel for the place)

In addition to this, we used the car one evening to visit a wonderful restaurant in Sant'Agate above Sorrento.

As you can see, we did not have much use of the car while there, but we were still happy about it.

One thing to be aware of is that the maps used by the GPS are not very accurate for the Sorrento peninsula so the GPS may occasionally try to get you to drive down small very small lanes. We just ignored it and tried to stay on the main roads and it would then "recalculate the route" and typically come up with another route.

We based in Sorrento without a car for Pompeii, Herculaneum, Capri, and Naples, using the Circumvesuviana commuter train (and, of course, ferry for Capri). A car would be superfluous. We used guidebooks for the destinations, but if you want a guided tour of Pompeii, it would be easily available on site.

The train service between Naples and Rome is fast and easy. You may want to arrange your trip so that you use the car until Rome and then use public transit for Rome to the above Sorrento site grouping. You could use the money saved from rental, gas, tolls, and parking for a hired driver from Sorrento to Amalfi and Positano, allowing you the freedom to see the route instead of concentrating on the road, and with a private driver you could still call the shots on route, stops, and timing. You also would not be restricted to finding hotel(s) with parking.

This is really helpful info -I'm planning a similar trip next May,Rome to Amalfi by car. Plan to drive around coast and country. Can anyone recommend a map from the many available?