Naples to Positano - better to drive ourselves or transfer service
 

We're flying into Naples and have to transfer to Positano. Is it better to drive ourselves or use a transfer service? From what I've read there's not really a need for a car in Positano as the local buses are good. But is it more or less stressful to drive or be driven along the Amalfi coast. All the postings I've read talk about how the driver services have crazy fast drivers that make people feel sick with the speed/turns (fear?). Or is it worse driving yourself?

We thought about a ferry, but they don't seem to be running in mid May.

Any experiences one way or the other?

Sharonliz:
In 2009 we did a trip to the amalfi Coast; without a car.
Napoli-amalfi we went via public transportation(Currieri bus Napoli to Sorrento)(SITA bus Sorrento to Amalfi; via Positano of course).At the end of the trip we had a transfer(a Mercedes car) from Amalfi to Napoli.
Both options are good but one is better and more expensive(the transfer will cost some 90 to 100 euro).If money is no issue, go for the transfer, there is no such a thing as "crazy speed" as the route is narrow and always there is some traffic coming opposite you.Never saw or hear of bad accidents,sometimes the cars' paint suffer a little.
If you want to read the report, just click on my name.Enjoy your trip to this paradise!!!!!

You do not want to drive yourself. The hired drivers will do what you tell them--no need to get sick.

We've done it a few times, always with a transfer service. Believe me, unless you have nerves of steel, you do not want to drive the Amalfi Coast. Plus there is very limited parking in the coastal towns.

Yes you can board the Currieri service right outside terminal 1, it's about €10 one way and you can just buy from the driver. Then the Sita coach goes along Sorrentine peninsula - and even cheaper. Sit on the right side to get the good views :)
Should take about an 1.5hr to Sorrento and then 30 mins on to Positano.

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I have to disagree about the driving along the Coast. I am a VERY timid driver and had no trouble there in late September last year. You cannot go fast due to all the curves, and not once did anyone honk behind me, even though I am a turtle behind the wheel! As a matter of fact, the driving was actually lots of fun. No need to do this from the airport, though, and no real need to have a car if you'd prefer not to.

Having relied entirely on public transportation on our previous date, I don't think I would use it on a return trip. The problem with the buses was that they are SO CROWDED. We would often show up for a bus, be the first people there, and by the time the bus came along, there would be 20-30 people waiting for it. And then when the bus got there, people would PUSH their way onto the bus. Some people even went in the back door as people were exiting to make sure they got a seat... It was the most frustrating part of our trip. We were there in mid-September, I'm not sure how crowded it is in May. It wasn't like that all of the time, but when it was crowded, it was so frustrating.

You could hire a private driver to get to Positano from the airport and then take public transport. But, I wouldn't be afraid of driving. Just take it slow and you will be okay. If money isn't an issue and the cost of a rental car is do-able (it wasn't affordable to us when we went), then I would get a car.

Knowingly or not, you've chosen a relatively inaccessible destination... which is no doubt part of the reason for its charm, and consequent popularity!

If you'll take some advice from someone who has lived in the area for almost a decade, here's what I'd suggest in preference to the €90 or so cost of being driven.... but do bear in mind that it comes from the perspective of someone used to making a short and relatively inexpensive flight from England, rather than crossing the Atlantic!

From the airport, begin by taking the Curreri Viaggi line's bus to Sorrento. Tickets €10 each from the driver, pickup point really handy for the main "Arrivals" exit:

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/114454837

Summer and winter times, and other details here:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop..._Campania.html

That will drop you near the station in Sorrento, where - for €3.60 - you can buy the UnicoCostiera 90 minute tickets needed on the (roughly) hourly SITA buses that go to Positano and eventually Amalfi.... which you're likely to use another day, if actually not for this trip?

Ticket details:
http://www.unicocampania.it/index.ph...anner=costiera

Bus schedule (likely to change at Easter, and possibly again by the time you arrive!):
http://www.sitasudtrasporti.it/publi...pania/5070.pdf

Then have a look once the bus arrives - getting on if you can do so without too much of a crush (often possible after the post-breakfast crowds set off!). Otherwise, try the next - or give in and take a Sorrento taxi although that, based on the rates published by the town council there, may cost you €65 or so!

And at worst - if totally pooped after the flight - picking up a taxi from the airport rank should cost €120, see:

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/142141176

............................

More adventurous travellers, if feeling sufficiently perky - and lucky enough to coincide with one of their 4 departures (Mon to Sat only) - may like to take this SITA service from the airport and go to Salerno for just 7 Euro....

http://www.sitasudtrasporti.it/publi...pania/5002.pdf

And then from there continue on to Positano either with SITA again (slow, with a change of bus in Amalfi) or on one of the daily Coop Sant'Andrea boats (70 mins, fare some €11)

http://www.coopsantandrea.com/it/ser...rrivo=Positano

This shows where you'd connect in the centre of Salerno...
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/132810174

.......................................

Plenty of options then, but do be realistic about what you can achieve - especially if travelling with much luggage and, perhaps, a little jetlag?

Peter

Wow - thanks for the detailed options Peter. And yes, we chose the location first and only after the fact are trying to figure out how to get there....

A little jetlag is probably an understatement - our flight is an overnighter for us - we leave at 7pm and arrive at 10am'ish (15 hours of travel) so we'll all be quite tired. So the multipe buses/transfers might be too exhausting for the way there anyways.

We're going to Praiano, which is near Positano, which is, I think, your final destination I'm reading your post correctly. We opted the bus from Naples on the recommendation of the people at our hotel. You'll only have one bus transfer, from the Curreri bus to the Sita bus in Sorrento. The Sita bus will stop in Positano.

http://www.sitasudtrasporti.it/publi...pania/5070.pdf If you're going on to Amalfi, it stops there, too.

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