Italy by car
 

My husband and I are traveling in Italy for 3 weeks, one section of our trip we will be staying in Livorno for a week, we were able to secure a timeshare. We plan to have a car and take day trips to the surrounding hill towns. The last 4 days we will be leaving Livorno, we wanted to go to Sorrento and take a day trip to Pompeii. We will have a car in Livorno, our plan was to turn in the car and take a train to Sorrento, however, after reading posts on the train and bus changes we are thinking to drive to Sorrento and turn in the car. We are in our late 60"s , and have driven in Italy before, we are starting to think all the baggage changes would be hard by train. We have not been to the Amalfi coast before, but we are not intimidated by driving. Any input would be appreciated.

Wildyellowrose,

You dont say when your trip is. If between June to mid Sept, then you definitely dont want to drive on the Amalfi. Summer traffic is horrendous and there is nowhere to park.

Read this about driving:

http://driventoit.blogspot.com.au/

Dropping the car in Sorrento would eliminte driving on the Amalfi Coast. The drive from Livorno to Sorrento is at least 6 hours (not counting lunch, stops, etc.), and you'd have to be sure to arrive before the rental office closes for the day.

I would take the train (5 hours or less, one change) to Naples and then take a taxi or hire a driver to reach the final destination.

If you stay in Sorrento or Naples, Pompeii is easy.

There are direct trains from Leghorn to Naples (Livorno Centrale dp 7.03 and 15.09) and Salerno (Livorno Centrale dp 15.09). The train change at Naples is facilissimo.

I have driven to Sorrento, though just from Rome and not from Livorno. In general, apart from the time, it's not a difficult drive. Much of it is on the autostrada, and the notorious winding, hilly roads are south of Sorrento, so you won't encounter them.

If driving is your preference and you're confident about it, I don't see a problem.

Getting to Sorrento by car is easy - these are major roads - not like the tiny cifff roads down on the AC itself. (We have been twice by car in the middle of a road trip and it was fine - but it was also May and our hotel had free parking, which few do.)

However, you need to be sure the rental office will be open when you need it - since outside of airports many rental offices in Italy have very limited hours versus the 7 am to 10 pm 7 days a week we expect in the US.

We spent a month driving all over Italy. Definitely don't drive the AC. My husband is retired law enforcement so very good at defensive diving. The AC about did him in. Between the narrow roads, the buses and the cars having to drive into your lane around the corners, it was anything but fun. The rest of Italy was fine, although you feel like a snail when you drive, no matter how fast you go, because someone always want to go faster.

I agree the drive from Livorno to Sorrento should be relatively easy with the biggest problem predicated on where the rental agency is located in Sorrento. There can be some confusing and winding roads in/around Sorrento. Let me add I returned from the Amalfi Coast a few weeks ago and did the drive everyone recommends you don't attempt-Sorrento to Salerno. It was a bucket list item for me and having completed it, I came away with a couple of thoughts. We had "only" two instances where we had to stop and negotiate a tight fit with a couple of buses. It's funny how everyone helps you with clearances as I suppose they don't want any further delays. Of course, the driver is preoccupied most of the time and therefore cannot take-in the beauty as wished. On the other hand, the passenger gets the joy ride of their life (as long as they choose not to help the driver with distracting sighs, shreaks and hushed screams but instead concentrate on the scenery towards the sea). Two and a half hours later, the open highway provided a nice break from the more intense driving experience along the AC. Very glad I did the drive but no need to do it again!

:-)

<as long as they choose not to help the driver with distracting sighs, shreaks and hushed screams>

Uhhh..that would not be me..I was shreaking and yipping the whole way!

Thank you everyone, I think driving it is, will be turning the car in Sorrento, not sure about return to Rome yet, but all the replies were wonderful