Florence to Amalfi - shortest train ride?
 

Hi!

My fiancee and I are spending our 2 week honeymoon in Italy...original plan was Rome (4nights), Florence(6nights) and Cinque terre(5nights) but our bookings in Cinque terre fell through and everything is fully booked on our specific days, so we are thinking of taking the train from FLorence down to Amalfi instead.
I understand we'd have to transfer trains from either Naples or Salerno to get to Amalfi...any reccomendations on which is a better option? florence-naples or florence-salerno?
Any thoughts on driving down? Will a car be handy to drive to other little towns along the coast or are the trains sufficient?

Al input is appreciated! Thanks!

Oh, and any ideas on how many hours the train ride is?

There are no trains along the Amalfi coast. the trains go only as far as either Salerno or Sorrento (but that is a local train to which you have to change in Naples). After the train your choices are public bus (mobbed in tourist season - you don;t say when you will be there), possibly ferry - or private care service.

If outside tourist season - for instance May or Oct - you could rent a car and do it that way. Driving in tourist season is hell - traffic on the coast road goes about 10 mph.

Oh sorry - we will be there mid-May this year! According to the hotel website, the Salerno train station is a little closer than Naples. Is there a ferry option from Salerno? How long would the bus-ride take?
If we were to drive down from Florence, is there adequate parking available in/around Amalfi?
Thanks!

Salerno is your best bet---see trenitalia.com for details. From there take the Metro del Mare ferry or the SITA bus--ask your hotel about May schedules, but I suspect the bus may be more convenient.